traditional muzzle loader?
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YoteSmoker
Handloader
- Oct 3, 2006
- 1,602
- 0
TC White Mountain, Renegade, or Hawken. Cap and Ball would be my pick anyday over a flintlock if trying to go for a traditional style, due to weather and lock time. I shoot Encore and my mom and dad both have Omegas, but sometimes I kind of like the traditional idea even if not as efficient.
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Guy Miner
Master Loader
- Apr 6, 2006
- 17,664
- 5,453
I've had excellent service from my .50 T-C White Mountain Carbine. Traditional, but handy and easy to carry. Reasonably accurate. I took a few mule deer with it back in the 1990's, then that group of hunters broke up as people moved, retired, etc. I still enjoy shooting it, just haven't hunted with it in a while. Nicely made rifles:
Don't believe the WMC is made anymore - but used ones are avail. It's pretty neat with a half-octagon, half round barrel. Much like the T-C Renegade, but shorter and handier. Truly wish we could hunt all three seasons here in Washington: archery, muzzle loader and modern rifle, but hunters here have to choose. I'd be out there for all three if I could!
I remember taking my first mule deer with this rifle, a doe at about 25 yards or so. Smacked her in the base of the neck with a .50 cal, 385 grain soft-lead, hollow point Hornady Great Plains bullet... Was using black powder. As I stepped aside to see past the cloud of smoke - I saw four legs sticking straight up out of the tall dry grass. At that moment I thought - dang, the old Mountain Men were better armed than I'd previously thought...
Regards, Guy
Don't believe the WMC is made anymore - but used ones are avail. It's pretty neat with a half-octagon, half round barrel. Much like the T-C Renegade, but shorter and handier. Truly wish we could hunt all three seasons here in Washington: archery, muzzle loader and modern rifle, but hunters here have to choose. I'd be out there for all three if I could!
I remember taking my first mule deer with this rifle, a doe at about 25 yards or so. Smacked her in the base of the neck with a .50 cal, 385 grain soft-lead, hollow point Hornady Great Plains bullet... Was using black powder. As I stepped aside to see past the cloud of smoke - I saw four legs sticking straight up out of the tall dry grass. At that moment I thought - dang, the old Mountain Men were better armed than I'd previously thought...
Regards, Guy
Guy, one of my best friends from school has (haven't seen him in 15 years) the same rifle. I remember shooting through a whole box of balls and a lb of Pyrodex a few times. I think he used 70 or 80gr of Pyrodex and man, what a fun rifle it was. I would get one of them in a heartbeat. Scotty
tddeangelo
Handloader
- May 18, 2011
- 2,023
- 20
I really am partial to a Lyman Great Plains rifle. You can get barrels for them with faster twists (I think those are 1:32, but I could be wrong) for conicals/sabots, and with slower twists (1:60 or 1:66, can't remember which, for patched round balls).
The GPR is a bit longer, but for me they hold so steady and are so much easier to shoot. The T/C Hawken is a standard around here, too.
I have a T/C Renegade, but I really don't shoot it much anymore. It fit me fairly well when I was younger, but now it's just a fight to get it all lined up right, and that's not conducive to good shooting.
If the Lyman GPR is just too long for some tastes, their Trade Rifle would be a good T/C Hawken substitute.
I was shooting my brother's GPR for the late season this year (to avoid my Renegade), and at 50 yards, I could hold about 4" offhand. For not shooting a flintlock year in and year out, that's pretty decent. At 75-80 yards, I could hit soda can sized dirt clods pretty regularly.
And don't be a afraid of a flintlock, guys. As a bumper sticker I saw yesterday said, "Real Men Shoot with Flint and Steel".
Oh, and while not for everyone, here's what I was eyeballing yesterday......a mere three years' wait and a pile of cash, and it will be mine...
http://www.allenmartinrifles.net/gallery-of-guns/john-schreit-rifle/
The GPR is a bit longer, but for me they hold so steady and are so much easier to shoot. The T/C Hawken is a standard around here, too.
I have a T/C Renegade, but I really don't shoot it much anymore. It fit me fairly well when I was younger, but now it's just a fight to get it all lined up right, and that's not conducive to good shooting.
If the Lyman GPR is just too long for some tastes, their Trade Rifle would be a good T/C Hawken substitute.
I was shooting my brother's GPR for the late season this year (to avoid my Renegade), and at 50 yards, I could hold about 4" offhand. For not shooting a flintlock year in and year out, that's pretty decent. At 75-80 yards, I could hit soda can sized dirt clods pretty regularly.
And don't be a afraid of a flintlock, guys. As a bumper sticker I saw yesterday said, "Real Men Shoot with Flint and Steel".
Oh, and while not for everyone, here's what I was eyeballing yesterday......a mere three years' wait and a pile of cash, and it will be mine...
http://www.allenmartinrifles.net/gallery-of-guns/john-schreit-rifle/
tddeangelo
Handloader
- May 18, 2011
- 2,023
- 20
If you're ever driving through PA again, give me a shout. If you have time, you can shoot mine. Flint ignition, but a little smoke and spark isn't a problem...
tddeangelo
Handloader
- May 18, 2011
- 2,023
- 20
When looking at front-stuffers, at least in my opinion, your first decision is what you want it for. Sounds silly, but is it simply to hunt another season? If so, they make some very modernistic "traditional" rifles...synth stocks, recoil pads, short/fast barrels, fiber optic sights, stainless, etc. They are made with hunting in mind, and really only hunting. They make no effort to connect to tradition, but to make another season available to the hunter. And there's nothing wrong with that.
Then there are more traditional guns. Guns that will have brass fittings, curved buttplates, buckhorn sights, etc. They are not "authentic" in a literal sense, but they are at the very least making an attempt to recreate the experience of using a firearm from the era in which blackpowder was THE powder.
For these purposes, I'll omit any mention of the type of rifles I've been looking at. That's really for the shooter/hunter who has something specific in mind, and is willing to build (or have built) what he/she wants.
T/C and Lyman are the real run-aways in this market. CVA is there, too, and I guess they make ok stuff, but I've never shot anything of theres.
By the way, I don't find shooting a caplock to be a lot more challenging than an inline or a centerfire rifle. There's a bit of black magic in making a flintlock do things reliably and regularly, lol. Not so much for a caplock.
Then there are more traditional guns. Guns that will have brass fittings, curved buttplates, buckhorn sights, etc. They are not "authentic" in a literal sense, but they are at the very least making an attempt to recreate the experience of using a firearm from the era in which blackpowder was THE powder.
For these purposes, I'll omit any mention of the type of rifles I've been looking at. That's really for the shooter/hunter who has something specific in mind, and is willing to build (or have built) what he/she wants.
T/C and Lyman are the real run-aways in this market. CVA is there, too, and I guess they make ok stuff, but I've never shot anything of theres.
By the way, I don't find shooting a caplock to be a lot more challenging than an inline or a centerfire rifle. There's a bit of black magic in making a flintlock do things reliably and regularly, lol. Not so much for a caplock.
DrMike
Ballistician
- Nov 8, 2006
- 37,186
- 5,656
That is an excellent synopsis, Tom. Good stuff.
I have a TC Renegade that I got when I was around 20 or so many Years ago, and have taken many deer with it and a few hogs as well using 90 gr of pyrodex and a hornady roundball, it's a real nail driver with this load. I still get it out from time to time and shoot it.
onlymuzzleloaders
Beginner
- Sep 4, 2013
- 15
- 0
usmc 89":mj8j6tns said:
I hope you found one to your liking because if you did I am sure it is the only gun you have used since you got it. too many young fellows dont understand the word traditional anymore, grow your food, hunt for meat, and hunt them with a muzzleloader. My family have been doing this since my ancestors landed on this land from the old country
This forum has a great muzzleloading section. some forums have one post a day or maybe a month about muzzleloading
