Well...What do most of you think muzzleloading is gonna be like in another 50 years. I won't live long enough to see it, but I would like to hear what most of you can speculate. I think there will always be a devoted traditional crowd, but what is technology going to do to muzzleloading as we know it? I would tend to hang with the traditionalists if I were still around...But what do you in-line boys think will transpire??? Now, ya gotta remember, it's not a muzzleloader UNLESS IT'S LOADED THROUGH THE MUZZLE!! Lazer sighted, app. downloadable, and satellite guided rangefinding scopes, self cleaning powders (the more you shoot, the cleaner it gets), GOD ONLY KNOWS what kind of projectiles (heat/mass seeking), etc., etc...where is it gonna end?

BPS

As you said.. there will always be those that love the charm of Traditional Rifles and what they can do. But I do believe the projectiles and optics will make great advances in the muzzle loading market place. We are already seeing that. Look at what has advanced in just the last ten years.

Another concern of mine would be in the political forum. It is possible, the hue and cry of certain political power groups will make sure that the use of a muzzleloader is for amusement only and not for hunting. Perhaps in 50 years, hunting as we know it will not exist.

One other concern is the use of LEAD. Oh yes, the DREADED LEAD BULLET. That magic metal that animals eat and then die from it. That magic metal that comes out of the ground and has been around for hundreds of years. I can see again, political groups outlaw the use of lead. Imagine trying to shoot a traditional rifle with something non lead.

I think in the future, that electra style rifle might be more common than not. In 50 years my son will have hopefully taught his son and grandson to hunt. I only hope that the things that I have taught him and those things I have yet to teach him will help him be a better person. It will be up to him to see what is 50 years down the road and determine if it is better than what his old man used.

One piece polymer stock and barrel units with barrels lined with a newly developed ceramic steel fiber, shooting a wide selection of smokeless powers ignited by caseless precussion disks held in a tubular magazine that feeds the disk into the ignition chamber upon pressing a button behind the trigger guard, or (for the diehard traditionalists) upon cocking of a hammer.

Patent Pending

I have an uneasy feeling this may be closer than some might think. Maybe the day will come when a person can sit in camp while the ML is mounted on a remote controlled turret that's computer controlled and all that has to be done is push Ctrl/Alt/Delete and the animal is terminated. Being a traditionalist and looking at ways to be even more traditional, I hope to never see it get more modern than it is now.

I believe the trend is starting to swing toward traditional rifles, that inlines will disappear when they are no longer legal for hunting and that only reasonably accurate copies of originals will be allowed for hunting.
One of the reasons is that when the population grows hunting will be restricted to shorter range weapons as it is in many places now and the inlines are getting long ranged enough that they will eventually be put in the same class as high powered rifles.

Inlines will not disappear. They will not become illegal to use. Remember that the number of hunters is dwindling. Hunting is the best form of deer population control availble to the DNR. If anything, the rules will ease. Scopes will be allowed everwhere and powder and bullet restrictions will disappear. If you don't think I am right, look at how the states are adopting crossbows. The situation is virtually the same.

One fear I have is the Washington will continue to erode our second amendment rights. We could see ML's become more prevalent because restrictions on cartridge firearms will be increased. For those of us who like to use ML's exclusively in the hunting field it is no problem. But it would be a huge problem for us as Americans.

Finally I have one hope for the ML's of the future. I would like to see more higher quality rifles in the market. There are many high quality cartridge rifles/companies in the market that make quality pieces at reasonable prices. While we have some quality makers in the ML market, I would like to see more in the future.

I'd love to find out, but then i'd be the oldest human since Moses.

I'm waiting to hear Mountaindevil's prediction. I'm sure it will be pretty good.