Traditional?

I have used both. Here in Virginia I have a Muzzleloader season. I enjoy shooting my inline (invented before the percussion) by pouring FFG down the muzzle as I load it. :lol:

During rifle season you will usally find me shooting a single shot rifle. I by no means go around telling people that use bolt actions, pumps, lever actions and semi-autos that they should hunt like I do. Afterall we are both hunting legally, who am I to judge them :wink:

I like going this route:

Untitled by Sharps Man, on Flickr

Iowa has had a muzzleloader season for quite a while. It was started as a more primitive hunting and I hunt with a TC Rengade and open sights with a patched round ball, I'm trying to stay with what it was envisioned.
Truth is when hunting in the Woods in Iowa it's hard to get a shot longer than 100 yards and most times its under 75 yards. So it really does not matter what you use.
Use what you like but I will use a side lock muzzleloader in muzzleloader season will I be at a disadvantage to a inline yes.
Should muzzle loader record books accept animals bagged from inline muzzleloader the answer is NO.
They should have there own Record Book. IMHO

Muldoon love the powder horn and bag.

I'm a little dissappointed by how this post has deteriorated. Funny how some people feel the need to get so defensive.......
I might be the old hand here having started hunting with a ML in 1976. I know how our Black Powder season got started in my state, I was one of the original signers petitioning the state for a ML season. There were no inlines at that time, they contributed nothing to our efforts.
I hunt with 2 flintlock rifles that I built. Open sights. I shoot only patched round balls and real blackpowder. Last year I got an 8 point buck and a doe with my .54, got a gobbler with a 11 inch beard this spring with my .40 caliber. Oh yeah. One shot each.
There was some insinuation that my kind of hunting is unethical? I don't think so.
I own 6 horses but I'm not taking any of them in the deer woods to drag out a deer. I've got an ATV for that. And a 4WD!
And Guess What?
Don 't tell anybody but I have a gunsafe full of scoped centerfire rifles! And I've used them too.
But I've never shot an inline and never will. And that's all I need to say about that.

This post started clear back in 2006, and prior to Muldoon's post, the last one was in 2007. The one after that referenced using a sidelock, just like you. Where is this "deterioration" you speak of? If anyone has gotten defensive here, it's been you.

Just to clarify, I know there was some disagreement up above. ^^^ But that was over 10 years ago, if you hadn't noticed.