Originally Posted by hunters_life

Do your interests lie in flintlock or percussion? Patched round ball or Minie or Maxi ball? (yes there are differences between Minie and Maxi). Some like to sling big conical bullets out of their sidelocks. I am one of them on occasion. Are you looking at .45, .50, .54, or .58 caliber? These questions are pointing to what type of rifling twist and depth as some will perform well for one but not well for others. Like with Maxi and Minie, you want a shallower groove depth for a Minie than you want for a Maxi. And when you want to sling a big conical, you will want to have enough twist rate to handle the length and weight. As you have obviously noted so far, there are tons of options and variations out there for the traditional shooter. Kind of deciding where your interests may lay will help us figure out what would be best for you. I am a Lyman and Thompson Center fan when it comes to traditional style Muzz but they can be a little up there in the prices. But you pay for quality. I also have a few European made sidelocks but you don't even want to imagine the cost of those. But I've been into traditional shooting since I was knee high to a grasshopper.