Muzzle Loader Choices Rifle or Smoothbore.

as long as your ammunition lasts.

 

I have found that I can carry a lot of gunpowder due to its light weight compared to lead, & the lead I retrieve from shot game I remould & use again. Depending on what type & caliber you are using, certain nuts & seeds can also be used at reduced ranges. Obviously the larger the animal, the more meat, the longer it lasts. Trapping also relieves the need to use the gun. Using a bow where you can also saves on ammunition. I find that using a muzzle-loading gun is as much a mind set & lifestyle as it is a preference for this type of gun. Even so, this gun's versatility in using different loads, various ammo, its ability to make fire without using gunpowder, the fact that it does not require caps or primers & is easy to repair if required, still makes it a good choice in my book.
There is something to be said for using the .22 rimfire, but having used .22 handguns & rifles for 50 years I know that this caliber has its limitations. I have two good makes of .22 rifle, on one the firing pin jammed one winter & it took me ages to get it working again. On the other the firing pin had to be replaced. For these rifles one problem in almost 50 years is pretty good, but had I been using a flintlock, I would not have been without the use of a gun. I have also experience dud ammo on many occasions.

I used to hunt professionally in the Territory, & used a Marlin model 1895 in .45/70. The shells were very expensive, so I used to load my own. But when I hunted meat for myself, I used a .50 caliber muzzle-loading rifle. In the wet season we were constantly cut off for 6 months or more at a time. I could probably of got out on one of my horses, but I had no need & it was simply not worth the trouble of a long journey on horseback.

Personal choices based on personal experience. I still favour a modern gun for use in a fire fight against numbers.
Keith.

 

my reference to ammunition was in relation to those keeping modern weapons. I think carrying powder and recasting one's own shot probably has an advantage to keeping and using modern ammunition.
I live in a country where the use of firearms is frowned upon by the general public and hunting is seen as anti social. and in most cases is also illegal.
so my own plans focus more on the use of quieter type weapons which at least at the moment don't need licencing and don't involve being on a Police firearms list.

 

As a matter of interest, what are the laws like in the UK in relation to traditional bows & crossbows ?
Keith.

 

you can own them but its illegal to hunt with any kind of bow.
carrying any kind of weapon in public is an arrestable offence.

 

We are allowed to hunt with a traditional bow, but crossbows are banned in NSW! A great pitty. I like crossbows

18th century crossbow, second quarter.
18th century bullet crossbow.
Keith.