This inline stuff is pretty much too much for me. I didn't realize it was going to be so complicated. With my TC Hawkins it was either patched round ball or one of 2 conicles, Maxi Ball or Maxi Bullet. And the powder was Goex FFG with a #11 cap and that was it. Oh, I did go to Goex FFFG and a 10% reduction in powder to equal the FFG. But now it's Goex, Pyrodex, Triple 7, Black Horn just to name a few. Then the primers, jeez, you know them better than me. Now you have to deal with the mutitude of bullets and sabots, SST, FTX, XTP, UPS, STP, just to mention a few and not to mention the various weights. I can't be the only one having a hard time sorting all this out. Crap, if I want to use Black Horn I have to modify my breach plug? I don't have a shooting range in my back yard either. I have to drive more than an hour one way and pay to use a shooting range, so trying all of these powders and bullets is not only expensive but time consuming. Give me a break! Then the cleaning. Who in the world decided it was easier to clean an inline than a sidelock. BALONEY! I don't clean anyting but the barrel and nipple on my Hawkins and it's a snap. The receiver area of an inline is a major pain to clean. It takes me more than twice the time to clean an inline than a side lock.

3 patches, 2 q tips and a drill bit to clean my breech plug. Took me longer to get the supplies set up than to clean my actual inline.

i like to keep things simple so i own a handful of inlines, a few sidelocks and one flintlock

pluckit.. I could not agree more. I can clean a sidelock in no time. And your right... load a roundball and go hunting. It was cheap to shoot. You could make your own bullets.

I once thought, I should sell all my inlines, but then I would not have anything to play with. No matter what powder I shoot in an inline, it usually takes me more then a couple patches and a few Q-tips to clean. But then, I am kind of fussy about how I clean a rifle.

I too can clean my flintlocks easier than my Knight Disc, but I have kept the other stuff pretty basic...

Since I shoot Goex FFF in my flintlocks, I shoot the same in my Knight...I use CCI 209 shotgun primers...I do have several different bullets and sabots that I like to use but if you stick with the Harvester green sabots, the Knight short black sabot and the MMP-24 Knight sabots you can have all type of bullet combinations that will work, especially using loose powder...

Currently I'm using Hornady XTPs in 240 and 300gr in .430 caliber and Hornady XTPS in 250gr and .451 caliber...All group well with either 80 or 85 grs of Goex FFF...

And do you have balistics data on those loads? Or do you have to dovelope that data yourself with outings to the range? Otherwise how would you know how much those bullets drop at any particular range.

Nope, don't have ballistic data for them any more than the load for my flintlock...In my .54 I shoot 80grs of FFF Goex and a .530 round ball...I'm sighted 2 inches high at 50 yards and about 2 inches low at 100...

With the inline loads, I start at 80grs, go to 90 and then 100 if the gun groups...My Knight just likes 80-85grs, so does my brothers, so does the Knights a couple of buddies have...So I typically try 80, 85, 90 and settle in on the load it prefers...

With an inline, I sight in 2 1/2 inches high at 100 yards and check out to 150...They will be about 4-6 inches low at 150 which is as far as I care to shoot with a muzzleloader...

When I started shooting flintlocks back in the 70s, I tried larger powder charges and found that just increased fouling and recoil, not killing power or accuracy...

Other than that Pluckitl, how do you feel about in-lines?

I like them all, but do favor the sidelocks. Because of the "primitive season" rule change in Louisiana, one of our club members replaced his Remington 700ML with a NEF 45-70. It today's short "after the hunt" range session I outshot him with my .58 Hawken at 100 yards. However, I have to admit he beat me in reloading time.

The only reason I ever wanted an inline was for the safety features, specifically, the safety. On a Hawkins the only safety is half ****. And I always hunt with the hammer fully ****ed. That combined with the fact that the set screw is completely removed, and I hunt with the set trigger allready pulled makes for a dangerous situation. The only inline I own that doesn't have a safety is the Wolf. The other two have a regular safety. My Brolin Arms plunger style inline has a thumb style safety and my Traditions has the best, a cross block trigger safety.

totally agree with you Pluckit, I just love my sidelocks. But I too bought some inlines and like them also, they are better for long range shooting because their easy to mount scopes on. Much harder too clean than sidelocks. Guess I'm luck enough I can just step out In my yard and shoot. We just can never get too many toys

Side locks are what aparantly, what people over 40 shoot during muzzle loader season or all deer season long. Like i do, love me some big bore front stuffers easy to clean easy to shoot. (1) 72cal rifle , (2) 66cal, (1) 63cal double rifle, (2)58cals, several 54s, 52s, 50s, 45s, 40s, 36s and two tack driving 32s, all side lock guns. oh oh wait and (1) optima pro hunter. I shoot alot of powder and lead up every year. target and hunting . I was taught very young. If you shoot it or it get's wet you clean it. So i spend a lot of time cleaning. not much more trouble to clean any of them one from the other. That's is one farmer's with not enough guns veiw. a clean gun looks better and shoots better.