Let the sparks fly

[RDL270]

Okay, I know I'll have a ton of disagreement on this one. BUT, you know what I would like to see..... early muzzle loading season, let it be for the old traditional style muuzzeloader, iron site, cap or flintlock, no scopes. I know go the pioneer weapons area. I shoot an inline... a ruger... and I am amazed at the accuracy, the ballistics I get, etc. I shoot a Lyman great plains rifle for competion and also own a couple of orginals But what I am seeing is a complete die off of the traditional muzzeloader. We are having a muzzle loader shoot on August 16th and can't find enough interest to field teams. I believe we have 4 teams showing up. The clubs are dying out one by one. I thought with the Last of the Mohicans and The Patriot came out a resurgence of shooting the old style smoke pole would come with it, but it didn't. Oh well, they renamed the Dan' Boone Parkway to Hal Rogers........I hate to keep up with times.....
Go ahead shoot me down.

[GSP]

RDL, you ever shoot with the Salt River Longrifle bunch?

[RDL270]

No I have not, I was a member of Lil Kentucky Muzzleloaders, shot with a bunch from Spencer Co. till they folded, but now just shoot on occasion. We are having a shoot at Fern Creek Sportsman club on the 16th, if the salt river bunch would like to field a team, I'm sure we could fit them in. Let me know and I'll give you a contact number.

[GSP]

I have a meeting tonight and may see some of those guys. If I do, I'll let them know.

[shogan]

You know part of me is like well then I may as well throw away my muzzle loader if they make it primative only (and I don't have a primative), so that would suck.

And part of me is like well these new muzzle loaders have advanced so far it's almost like they are not muzzle loaders any more and maybe your right.

But then someone will go out and spend $1000 on a primative that will out shoot the 100 bucks I could afford and the cycle would start all over again.

I'm just glad I have the opportunity to hunt and this is america and If someone wants to build a better mouse trap then so be it.

[Big58cal]

Hey Roger, you need to burn some more powder. Sounds like the blackpowder smoke level in your bloodstream has reached a critical level! You need more!

I've got a side-hammer and an in-line. I've gotten several deer with the "big 58", but I prefer the .54 cal in-line. It's a deer killing machine!

I understand where you're coming from, but it will never happen. There's too many deer taken during the early season, with a large majority of them being does. The KDFWR counts on this. They keep telling everyone "more", "more", but if this happened, it would cut the kill. This is also the same arguement that the traditional bowhunters use ("if it's got wheels, it's not a bow").

The way I see it, if it ain't broke, don't fix it. All that would be done is to further divide the hunting ranks. People are happy because they've got greater accuracy and longer ranges, and the KDFWR is happy because they get more deer killed.

If it were done, possibly during December or January sometime. But, if something like this gets put in, then you would have to divide the bow season into traditional and compound, put in a shotgun, pistol, blow-gun, adel-adel (sp.), knife, etc. season.

[RDL270]

Awww Mark, I know, heck if they opened a rock throwing season, I'd be the first in line to buy a tag, of course, Cabela's or Ronco would come up with the new improved rock throwing sling and I would probably buy that too. I guess I just hate to see the old muzzle loaders die out. But you know me, I'll be out there that first legal day in Sept. bow in hand and then every other device after that......... I guess I'll keep shooting that patched round ball at paper...and brown hide when I can.

[Big58cal]

Places like Bluegrass Army Depot (BGAD) (and I think Ft. Knox), are also contributing to the decline of the traditional ML. I know it used to be at BGAD that you had to shoot a patch-less projectile if you hunted with a ML. That means either buffalo bullets or sabots, which cuts out a lot of the traditional ML's.

Just like with traditional archery though, there's always going to be some die-hards out there who will always shoot the side-hammer and flintlocks.

[RDL270]

Mark I pulled this off Ft. Knox's website, interesting on the shotgun primers ignition prohibited. Does not mention patched round ball. This is Knox only. I did not look up BGAD

Authorized guns are 12, 16, or 20 gauge shotguns (slugs only) or muzzleloading rifles with flintlock or percussion cap, between .38 caliber minimum and .58 caliber maximum, or muzzleloading shotguns with single projectile slug. Muzzleloaders that utilize rifle or shotgun primers for ignition are prohibited. Powder charges are limited to a maximum of 100 grains. Rifles and handguns are prohibited

[Wildcat]

That will leave out a lot of the new MZ's since most of them only use 209 primers.

[RDL270]

Now, doesn't a shotgun slug have a shotgun primer..........

[schuyler olt]

I hate it when somebody points out the obvious.[:o)]

Gotta say I'm a sidehammer guy myself. I don't have a problem with the "modernists", but I just like the fun of the traditional style gun. I even use a .32 for squirrels, which is a real hoot. Snap. BOOOM. Thud. Gotta love the sounds in the woods![}:)]

[Multidigits]

The Ft. Knox rule is to limit the 150 yard + muzzleloader shot. Some of their rules don't really work, but that's the way the Army works. ou play by their rules, or ou don't play, period!