I started muzzleloading back in the 70s...I do own an inline, but I haven't even loaded it the past 2 seasons...I use my flintlocks...When I started inlines weren't around, they were developed for the guys that didn't want to learn to use a side hammer...

Muzzleloading seasons came about because of the lobbying efforts of the NMLRA, back in the 60s...

I have always loved American History, so I guess that's my reason for sticking with my flintlocks...As most deer in the US are killed within 100 yards, I just don't see any real challenge with my Knight Disc with a 3x9 Leupold scope on it...Not much difference than using my bolt action rifle with a Leupold...

Muzzleloader barrels aren't made to withstand the higher pressures of smokeless powders...I have seen this explained and it had to do with the fact that the cartridge guns have a closed breech with the cartridge case expanding to divert the gasses toward the end of the barrel...With muzzleloaders, the powder is poured directly down the barrel, so the breech sees the same pressure as the back of the projectile...

Another point...When muzzleloaders were introduced tbe barrels were made of iron, not steel, the Bessemer furnace wasn't invented until the mid 1800s...Only then was steel produced in mass quantities...Remember steel is iron that has carbon mixed in, to make it stronger....

So with black powder, the iron barrels were strong enough to contain the pressure of the powder...With steel barrels, better powder was developed and the stronger steel helped contain the higher pressure of smoke less powder...

Make sense???

I watched a hunting show a while back, and they said how residents could use high power scopes, yet non-residents had to use either no scope or a 1 power scope, maybe this is there way of saying don't hunt our state!? I say either don't have a non-res season, or level the playing field, I don't like double standards.

Black powder and black powder subs burn quickly and inefficiently. As for muzzleloaders unable to cope with "smokeless" pressure, well, they better be able to. A max charge of triple 7 can hit 30,000 psi +. There are many centerfire and recommended Savage smokeless loads that produce less than that.

I'm one of those SOB's with a savage inline that shoots smokeless. I cant disagree thats a better rifle for killing deer 300 yds away than a flintlock. The point around here is to kill the deer, and many of them as possible. BP is a very fast burning powder, and pressure can exceed some smokeless loads. Slower powders are a good way to keep pressure low and velocity up, but they are much harder to ignite than bp. Thats where the problems can come in.

Doegirl75,

What happened to your sniper kitty avatar? The new one is cool too but so was the kitty.

Nchawkeye,

Unless I missed something allmost all muzzleloader barrels nowdays are made of some sort of steel, not iron. Even the iron ones could handle charges of over 100 grains according to some accounts, though most of those were only shooting round ball. Also, I don't find my sidelocks any more difficult to shoot than my inlines, flintlocks do add some new elements to the mix though. According to a muzzleloader gunsmith I know the main things that create trouble with a muzzleloader using smokeless powder is the design of the breach plugs and/or the design of the nipple, they are not strong enough to handle the added pressure and can burnout or blow out as a result. The barrels themselves will handle more pressure than the BP and nipples will. Then again, if someone short starts a bullet all bets are off, in that situation any barrel can blow, even with black powder.

This comment does not imply that it is safe to use smokeless and I urge everyone to stay within the recomendations of the manufacturer.

I wonder how a Savage smokeless muzzleloader would handle an accidental double load?

dmurphy...Yes, muzzleloaders made today are made from steel...I was discussing the original muzzleloaders, made 200 years ago...They were made from iron.

Even today, custom barrels are not the same as those made for inlines...

Well, a double powder charge would probably knock you on your can. Each Savage is proof tested individually to 129,000 psi. If there's a gun to make that kind of mistake with, it's this one.
A double charge involving two bullets? Well, that's an obstruction and all bets are off involving any gun.

frontier...I think Toby Bridges could answer that!!!

Safely from the accounts I've seen, though I wouldn't try it. They are proofed to 129,000psi. book loads are around 35,000psi. Double powder and double bullet might result in a bulged barrel, thats why it is critical to use witness marks on the ramrod with ANY muzzle loader.