my first muzzleloader!

[robin_du_bois]

After thinking about this for years and gathering much information from the posts on this forum I at long last bought a gun.  I found a flintlock at Track of the Wolf (thanks for the direction filmokentucky); a beautifully plain john Gillespie style with a rice barrel, chambers lock and davis triggers.

I have to relate the good fortunes this rifle and I began upon:  I ordered the gun online, called Track of the Wolf and requested that they hold off shipping until I retuned from a canoe trip I was taking.  As I live in Arizona opportunities for canoeing, you can imagine, are rather limited.  I was off with a mate to the Boundary Waters in Minnesota.  My buddy suggested, as we were driving across country and that as I had just spent $1200 on a rifle, I might call and see if we were passing anywhere near the shop (reasoning that if we were travelling 4000 miles to canoe a few hundred more to get a gun wouldn’t matter).  It turns out, as many of you know, Track of the Wolf is just off the Interstate going to the Boundary Waters in Minnesota.

Now, you must understand that the closest I’ve come to a flintlock, despite 30 years hunting and shooting avidly, has been what I’ve seen in the movies.  So there I was, standing next to a canoe, on the edge of a massive watery wilderness, packed for a week-long trip with a dog and a non-shooting buddy, holding a 62” gun and a bag of things supposed to make it go BOOM!  To be more brief, the gun did go boom deep in the wilderness in a small wooded draw and I stood there with my dog and a smile as big as Texas.  This is the coolest thing I’ve ever had and those of you who read this forum know exactly what I mean when I say that I have found a passion for life.

Thanks to all of you for the excellent information and the great help.  I’ll be asking for more of each in the coming months.

[lostid]

Well you should have said something sooner,,I live but 30 miles from track. And I have in-laws/out-laws(sorta) in Ely.
 Hope you enjoyed the Arrowhead region,,beautiful country ain't it?

 Sure seems like a "dinky""little" shop they got in Elk River huh? Don't you fret,,them guys cater too "buckskinners" and stand behind their product 100%. I'd be willing to bet when you showed-up you had three fellers behind the counter come forth just for your service. And they weren't tryin ta sell ya either,,just help.
 
 Anyway's, luck too ya,beware the "fever"!

[filmokentucky]

Robin-Sounds like a fine rifle. Muzzleloading is the one addiction that I'm
always happy to see folks enter into. As for  Track, I can't say enough good about these guys. As lostid says, they are first rate. And so are the products they sell.
  Welcome to the world of the Holy Black.

[Ramrod]

robin_du_bois, I hope you know what you are doing. You could have bought an inline, a whole bunch of sabots and pistol bullets, and a pound or two of compressed powder pellets! Other hunters will think you're nuts. You might be treading down a dangerous path. The smell of blackpowder is quite addicting!
And I'll second that vote for those Track folks, good service, good advice. Hard to beat folks that like and belive in what they do.