i got to stop at a all hunting sporting goods store thrusday. walked in and looked around, man at the stuff they got. went over to the ml section and was amazed at the stuff they had. i was straining my eyes looking for roundballs and patches when the shopkeeper came over to help. i looked at him and said man ya'll got almost everything you would need but what i want. he looked at the racks of goods and ask what could you need that i don't stock, i just looked at him and said stuff to shoot my muzzle loader. like what, i said roundballs, patches,powders a new nipple wrench some percussion caps ect. he looked at me funny and said everbodies done gone to inlines and we don't stock that stuff anymore. then he trieeeeed to steer me over to the inline guns as i walked out the door.

I had about the samething happen to me too. I went to see if one of GUNshops I buy from had something I was looking for my new englander. named the gun, ask me if it was a inline. then got close when he miss took it for something else.

It's amazing the number of sporting goods employees that have no practical knowledge of muzzleloaders and the supplies that are needed to shoot them. I have heard them explain to customers some of the off most incorrect and off the wall things. The problem is the customer in many cases has no idea that the employee is brain dead and believes them. Also if they do not have the things you need, they often times try to talk you into something that simply will not work.

I was in a Gander Mountain looking for powders I wanted to try. As I questioned the person in the gun section about what I was looking for, he kept telling me they had Pyrodex RS and Triple Se7en, which was on the shelf behind him. I was just about to leave the store with nothing when he said, I have some other stuff in a safe in the back. So we went and looked. There he had Black Mag3, Pinnacle, APP, and 3f powders. He had #11 caps, and most of the other things I needed.

little-d

Personally I think there will always be a niche for traditional guns. I have several and i really enjoy looking at them and shooting them. Thet are certainly special to me.

But, your sporting goods dealer is probably more than correct about inlines. The last figures i saw for the national retail of muzzleloading firearms traditional ML's were about 8% of the gross.

It is awful hard for a retailer to stock on the shelves products that do not have the demand. So we must rely on a few retail otlets that you might find that cater to traditional ML's or use the exspanse of the internet to find the dealers that maintain and carry these products. There really are some good ones on the internet...

There is great sport in humiliating sporting goods store clerks, especially at Bass Pro.

like lowes when you ask about nails and the girl looks at her hands.be careful asking a brain-dead male clerk about round balls? go figure.old school gun stores are on the brink of history.

Amen, Underclocked. I am brand new to the sport but have been on this site almost daily and amazed at what I have learned from the members here. I can't believe how little I know but compared to the staff at BP I don't feel quite so incompentant.

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Forget d-i-c-k-s, Bass Pro, Gander Mt, even Cabelas is limited in their BP stuff--they only carry mainstream stuff. Shop at Track of the Wolf, RMC Sports, Midway, MidSouth (for bullets and sabots)etc. I buy my Goex BP locally but have to go 50 miles to get it (Clarke Brothers below Warrenton Va). Penna is better than Va for BP stuff, very difficult to get BP stuff in Va, no flintlocks for sale, no percussions only inlines from CVA, Knight and TC. I have my brother buy it for me and when I go to see him I pay him for it. Another good source is the "Eastern Outdoors Show" in Harrisburg in Feb of each year. Take a day off and go to it. Excellent for Hunting, Fishing, boating and camping. Everything. Crowded on Sat and Sunday. Best to go on Tuesday or Wed. I am sure the Vegas SHOT show is like that from descriptions I have seen.
Chap Gleason