"Aren't all muzzleloaders the same?"

[Adam Helmer]

At my local gun club meeting recently, this question was posed. A few old guys bantered about why this and that are legal in the PA muzzleloader season (In October for a week) versus the Traditional (Flintlock) deer season after Christmas for about three weeks. In October "Any Muzzleloader", including inlines, are legal.

A fellow stated that since his inline loaded from the muzzle it is the SAME as a Flintlock. No other club member agreed. An old member correctly pointed out that the DIFFERENCE was the Ignition System. An inline with a 209 shotgun primer in a bolt gun is NO WAY the SAME as a flintlock on stand in the rain in terms of sure-fire reliability.

As a historian, I understand flintlocks were state-of-the art for about 200 years until the percussion cap was invented about 1815. Our Civil War was fought by both sides using caplock rifled muskets. I never read where any Civil War Regiment turned in their caplocks for flintlocks. They are Different muzzleloaders with different levels of reliability. Each step up is to a higher level of reliability. In 1825, the British Army had a test of flintlock Brown Bess muskets versus caplock Brown Bess muskets at Aldershot. The flinters had a 67% fire rate out of 100 attempts versus 98% for the percussion cap arms. The result: The British went with percussion arms.

The 209 Shotgun Primer is a higher step of sure-fire reliability. If it were not so, everyone would tote a flintlock afield.

The similarity of loading from the muzzle STOPS when it comes to IGNITION. Hunt with a flinter for a few seasons and see what I mean.

Adam