xrayer98
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Post by xrayer98 on Jun 3, 2006 11:18:53 GMT -5
I am looking at getting back into hunting (big game) again, and here in IL rifles are not aloud. I know a lot about rifles however...muzzleloaders??? I am clueless. I need to find a muzzle-loader in the 50 cal range but what makes a good gun? I have been looking on the internet for help and have learned some, but it usually what someone is pushing. So I come to you guys, HELP! can you please give me some advice on what to get/look for in a muzzle-loader. I can't afford to sell one of my kids. Although it might make it more peaceful here. So a good muzzle-loader with a decent price please. Thanks Chris
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Randy Wakeman
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Post by Randy Wakeman on Jun 3, 2006 17:55:55 GMT -5
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roundball
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Post by roundball on Jun 3, 2006 21:22:05 GMT -5
I am looking at getting back into hunting (big game) again, and here in IL rifles are not aloud. I know a lot about rifles however...muzzleloaders??? I am clueless. I need to find a muzzle-loader in the 50 cal range but what makes a good gun? I have been looking on the internet for help and have learned some, but it usually what someone is pushing. So I come to you guys, HELP! can you please give me some advice on what to get/look for in a muzzle-loader. I can't afford to sell one of my kids. Although it might make it more peaceful here. So a good muzzle-loader with a decent price please. Thanks Chris It mainly depends on what you're interested in getting into muzzleloading for in the first place. If you're interested in learning about and experiencing muzzleloading in the spirit for which the term muzzleloading really stands.....ie: the early American traditional muzzleloading era.....then a Thompson Center Hawken, Lyman, etc, style of muzzleloader are excellent, good quality rifles that will get you started and let you experience / learn about / and appreciate what muzzleloading was all about...here's a nice looking .50cal TC Hawken I used during the rut one morning, with Goex and Hornady patched balls. (DOUBLE CLICK photo to enlarge it) On the other hand, if the interest is to attempt to duplicate the look and feel and some of the performance of a modern centerfire rifle wearing a big scope, that simply happens to load from the muzzle, then any of the modern "inlines" will do.
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xrayer98
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Post by xrayer98 on Jun 3, 2006 22:32:16 GMT -5
hey, thanks a lot I am mainly looking into muzzleloading because of the state laws here in IL. We have a Bow, pistal, shotgun and muzzleloading season. I know the other three weapons pretty well, but I have a plethera of ignorence when it comes to these. I started looking at Randy's articles before posting this question. Very informative and helpful. I am also seeking more advice too. Great web site Randy. Thank you for the feed back roundball and Randy Wakeman
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Randy Wakeman
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Post by Randy Wakeman on Jun 4, 2006 6:20:11 GMT -5
The NEF / H & R "Sidekick" is an inexpensive , but competent inline-- as is the Knight Wolverine. Thompson dropped the price on their Omega in the form of the "Omega Z5." So, there are three solid inlines with low price points.
The best inline made is the Savage 10ML-II, while not the cheapest-- it is also not a cheap rifle to make. For Illinois, it is the most effective deer hunting firearm you can possibly own. Cheap to shoot, no immediate cleaning, and it negates the need for a slug gun as well.
There's four possibilities for you right there.
There never has been an "early" or 'traditional' muzzleloading season in Illinois and there are even less folks that like to play dress-up or pretend they are somehow 'buckskinners'. or 'mountain men.' Maybe it is the lack of mountains?
But, Illinois has been the #1 B & C whitetail state for the last decade.
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roundball
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Post by roundball on Jun 4, 2006 6:49:42 GMT -5
hey, thanks a lot I am mainly looking into muzzleloading because of the state laws here in IL. We have a Bow, pistal, shotgun and muzzleloading season. I know the other three weapons pretty well, but I have a plethera of ignorence when it comes to these. I started looking at Randy's articles before posting this question. Very informative and helpful. I am also seeking more advice too. Great web site Randy. Thank you for the feed back roundball and Randy Wakeman Just be aware that some of the states are finally beginning to recognize and react to the fact that the modern high tech inlines which load from the muzzle present some of the very same distance/range safety concerns that centerfire rifles do, which were banned for obvious reasons in populated areas. Some states have already tightened up their regulations banning the use of many components normally associated with modern inlines which give them their purported advantage, and others are in the process of looking at it...state governments are very predictable in following one another, so it's not a question "if" other states who have banned centerfires will ban or restrict modern inlines, it's simply a question of "how quickly"...so you might want to think long and hard about what you invest in for the state you hunt in. In the same vein, modern rifled slug barreled, big scoped shotguns, using sabot/projectile technology themselves are coming under growing scruitiny for the same logic that was used to ban centerfires...their range is right back up into the realm of many centerfires rifles. If you're already an accomplished bowhunter, you'd probably like learning another means of hunting like our ancestors did. I've spent almost two decades moving through inlines, then sidelock percussions, to Flintlocks, and from the perspective of a significant accomplishment, taking good bucks with traditionally styled muzzleloaders like our forefathers did just to survive is a real sense of satisfaction, a real connection to the past. This 10 pointer dropped where he was walking, .58cal patched ball. PS: I wear the finest quality moden thinsulate & goretex hunting clothes available...don't know anybody who goes around pretending to be something...I guess with the Internet being public we will always see questionable comments from others and I can only assume they have personal agendas...otherwise, there's no rationale for the comments. I'm just a hunter who has spent his life taking on more and more of a challenge in pursuit of game...bowhunting, handgun hunting, etc...and overlooking a cornfield with a big scoped Knight inline was no challenge to me so I got rid of it after a couple years...have been delving deeper into real muzzleloading ever since...it's the real deal.
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xrayer98
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Post by xrayer98 on Jun 4, 2006 9:38:13 GMT -5
Thanks again. Your input is very much appreciated and helpful Nice buck P.S. Man Randy what a lot if info you have on your site, spent a couple of hours reading again last night. Great videos too. Would make Gunny Hathcock proud. P.S.S. Randy do you own a shop in Plainfield? My wife is from there and we are constantly out in Joliet/Plainfield area.
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Randy Wakeman
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Post by Randy Wakeman on Jun 4, 2006 13:53:54 GMT -5
Just be aware that some of the states are finally beginning to recognize and react to the fact that the modern high tech inlines which load from the muzzle present some of the very same distance/range safety concerns that centerfire rifles do, which were banned for obvious reasons in populated areas. Nothing could possibly be further from the truth. The notion that muzzleloaders are remotely comparable to centerfire rifles ballistically is false on its face. There is no muzzleloader made that compares with a .30-30, much less a .270 Winchester-- and there are far higher performance cartridges out there than either one. Quite to the contrary, sidelock sales drop year after year with no end in sight. CVA threw up their hands and sells none at all anymore. The only American maker of sidelocks left of any size is Thompson-- and they sell more and more Omega's and Encores every year, less of their sidelocks. States are loudly embracing both inlines and smokeless muzzleloading, more than ever before: Pennsylvania, Illinois, Virginia. Most people want to use scopes so they can see what they are shooting at-- inlines grow more dominate every year, as does smokeless muzzleloading. They remain short range firearms, and slow to reload firearms at that.
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slickheadhunter
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Post by slickheadhunter on Jun 4, 2006 21:05:54 GMT -5
Or you could use a modern in line with open sights or even a peep sight,they are the same as the hawken style other than the look.Oh and they always go off when you pull the trigger.You still have to load them from the muzzle,you still only get one shot and you are still limited in the range that you can shoot.When I spend my time and money and finally get a deer in my sights I want it to go off when I pull the trigger.The older muzzleloaders are absolutely beautiful pieces of art and craftsmanship but im a deer hunter not a collector.
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xrayer98
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Post by xrayer98 on Jun 5, 2006 8:26:40 GMT -5
Thanks for the input slickheadhunter
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