Rifles

Muzzleloading rifles cover two quite different buyers. One wants a traditional side-lock and a period-correct experience. The other wants an in-line ignition rifle to hunt a muzzleloader-only season, which in many states opens before the general rifle season and is considerably less crowded.

The practical differences are ignition and propellant. In-line actions use a shotgun primer or a modern ignition module and are far more reliable in wet weather than a percussion cap on an exposed nipple. Substitute propellants are less corrosive than true black powder and easier to buy, but no muzzleloader tolerates being put away dirty.