OK, here's the deal.

We use our magical time machine to reach back to the year 1831 and pluck a Mountain Man from the slopes of the Rocky Mountains. We take him to the range and set him up to shoot a scoped TC Hawken with a variety of bullets - patched balls, Powerbelts, XTPs with sabots, and Hornady FPBs.

Now we're ready to send him back to 1831, and we tell him he can take only one thing back with him. Either the scope or a lifetime supply of any one of those bullets.

Which would he likely choose?

(I told you I was bored.)

Other: GORE-Tex.......... But given what you have listed, "lifetime supply of any one of those bullets"

The bullets. The scope could break tomorrow, plus it wouldn't be an advantage without a higher performance/longer range bullet to go with it.

Depends on the bullet. If it is something he can cast himself, he might choose the scope. But most likely it would be the bullets.

And even I am calling UNCLE... I was going to shoot yesterday, but it was to darn hot. Very humid to boot. And I have a lot of work to do outside, but refused to do it. This morning I got up at 6:00 am and unloaded the truck. It was full of lumber for the project to the garage, and it was already 72 degrees. But we got that done. The lawn will just have to wait.

I sure can't figure how those people out west and down south can do it. Man when it is hot, I am all in. Give me the cold any day.

I wouldn't trust the scope for extended use in the wilderness and roundballs will kill just as far as most are accurate with open sights...

He'd probably tell you to keep the Hawken and would prefer a good flintlock with a more reliable Siler flintlock on her...In 1831, most of the guns out west at least would have still been flintlocks...

OK, but which one of those bullets?

Mountain men never had any powerbelts and if you could give them some they would melt them down to make round balls which is about what they are good for.

Semi, I have never fired a flintlock... Were they smooth bores? If so thats out of my league. I will leave the bullet type up to those who have knowledge of such guns. But the scope seems like to many possible problems. I will suggest the new Bloodlines from Knight(throw a bone to Grouse and company)

Fast twist barrels are a more recent invention and the newer saboted bullets likely wouldn't work in his old rifle, least wise they don't work well in my 1:60 GPR. So unless we let him have the rifle too, I think he'd take the patch and ball.

HA