[W. C. Quantrill]

Many of us are deeply into muzzleloading. Muzzleloaders are guns of an era past that used black powder and round lead balls. We who shoot the smoothebores and rifles of that era worked very hard to get muzzleloading events and muzzleloading hunting seasons. It was us traditional muzzleloaders who worked and lobbied for the muzzleloading seasons that gets some of you extra hunting tags.

Now, the X and Y generation is being tempted into buying the stainless steeled barrelled bolt action, primer ignited, fake powder and smokless powder, copper jacketed and saboted slugs guns that technically load from the front and calling them muzzleloaders.

Those of us who really do use muzzleloaders build and shoot our own guns. We use real black powder. We use cast round balls in patches, the way they were originally done. These cheatlines have been developed for one reason, so that the dood that lives in the city can get another hunting license, that's all. A guy I evicted from my farm was bragging about his Savage bolt action that used smokeless powder and jacketed bullets at 2400 fps and with his scope he could make 200 yard shots. I have to compete with that? No, he lost his hunting privileges that day.

The "modern" muzzleloader is nothing but a cartridge gun without the shell casing. It is designed to take advantage of the primitive early hunt. My take is, that if you want to shoot a muzzleloader, then get a muzzleloader and shoot it like it was intended to be shot. If you want to use a modern stainless steel rifle with fake powder and jacketed bullets and scopes, then do it in the regular hunting season with the regular rifles. Join a local muzzleloader club and hunt fair chase with a fair gun. Hows that for my contribution?

True information and support? I invite you to join the real muzzleloaders at
muzzleloadingforum dot com, or at traditionalmuzzleloadingassociation dot com and learn from the best. These sites are all about traditional muzzleloading and you can learn about the guns, the history, gunsmiting and everything that goes along with black powder.