Early to mid 70's is when I started. I started with a original Springfield Rifle in .58 caliber and a .58 caliber my friend owned. Then I used that friends CVA .58 caliber Mountain Rifle for a year and he would not sell it to me so I bought a Thompson Center .54 caliber Renegade which I still shoot. In fact I just re- blued the barrel. After all those years the brown came off. It was a kit rifle back then, and now it has a blue barrel. Since then I have added a number of rifle to the collection including flintlocks, persussion, inlines, and smoothbores..

I've owned my CVA Bobcat for almost exactly a year. I wasn't even in the market for one when I bought it but the price was right and it seemed fun. Now I'm hooked.

Heres a thought from an old timer, its not how long you been doing it or what gun you prefer but how much you enjoy doing it. Lee

Well lets see. PA started their primitive season in 1974 I believe. And I was shooting a ML about 2 or 3 years before that. Probably about 1971 - so 37 years. My rifle was a T/C Hawken 50 cal flinter. Bullets were patch and ball.
I remember a group of about 6 or 7 of us would go out on Sunday with our MLs. One of the games we used to play was to take plastic soup spoons and a box. Slide the handles of the spoons into the box edge and shoot the spoons offhand at 50 yds. But you had to shoot them in order (i.e. left to right). This game gave me a lot of respect for the accuracy of a quality ML with the correct load.

I was bitten hardby the ML bug 38 years ago. T/C .45cal Hawken Caplock Kit that my uncle gave me for Christmas. I'll never forget the days we spent putting it together, browning the lock and barrel. Still haveand love it. Still shoots a ragged hole at 50 yards.

Since, still have and have had a bundle of different ML's both traditional and inline styled from T/C, Knight, Remington, H&R, Pedersoli, CVA, Traditions, Italian MFG's. I think I have about 40 at the moment as I sort of went on a spending spree last fall.All production ML's but then I buy cheap and neglected ML's and revive them to either give away as gifts or to sell very cheap to only cover what I have into them. PlusI loan ML's out to friends so they can hunt during ML seasons.

I also sometimes have ML's given to me by folks that either don't use them or have gotten frustrated with one (sidelock or inline). Iwas recently givena really nice .54 T/C Thunderhawk.

Have my beloved50 cal MK-85 in wood furniture that I have had since 1986. Likely the most accurate ML I own.

The most modern are the T/C Encore and Omega's. Looking at getting a Knight Disc Extreme at the moment if the $ is right.

Recently started getting my feet wet with flintlocks. Have a T/C Hawken Flint and DP Frontier Flint. If I can I will be getting a custom long barrelflintlock in 2008 in either 40 or .45 cal.

If it loads from the muzzle then it's great with me. Everything except the CVA "Electra", which is truly a solution to a problem that did not exist.

Pretty much the case with much of the more modern ML's are solutions to problems that did not really exist, even though I am a technocrat and do love the inlines.

My heart however is really with a sidelock of some fashion which I why the next big $ ML is going to be a custom rock lock.

Almost all (95+%) of my hunting and target shootingis done with an ML of some flavor.

Tahquamenon

Built my first muzzle loader, a .40 caliber sidehammer caplock, in 1962 with an assortment of parts from Dixie Gun Works and a piece of American Walnut that someone gave me. It's getting pretty ragged.

Was it 1974-I was thinking it was 1973. I was just going from memory-so I am pretty sure you are probably right. It sure was alot of fun back then wasn't it.

What I hated the most back then was you only got one tag, and you had to buy your MZ permit before the season even started. So if you killed a buck with a rifle you did not even get a chance to MZ hunt. Tom.

Started out mid 70's when mich had their 1st mz season with a tc .50 cal hawken. the first day shooting it my dad took the roofing nail holding the paper plate to the stske, where the X was! I remember he said nice rifle!! Since then, just been more of the same. tc sidelocks and knight rifles. currently, 2 knights a bighorn .50, mk95 .50, tc .50 renegade waiting on a new gm fast twist bbl, wmc .50 my daughters, tc new englander on the way and another wmc.50 on layaway (used) the new gm barrel for the wmc just arrived today it fits my daughters so im hoping it fits my new (used) one.

About 20 years-started with a T/C Hawkins

Semisane - you're right. That piece of yours is getting pretty ragged. Before you go an hurt yourself, I take it off your hands. Just drop me an email and I'll send you the money to ship it. Don't want to see a fellow MLer get hurt.