I am a retired civil servant from Michigan now living in the wonderful State Of Idaho. I started muzzle loading in 1967 and cast ball on the second date I had with my current wife of 40 years. I stuck to percussion until 1988 when I became enamored for the Brown Bess Musket, still my favorite flinter. When I moved to the Golden West in 2003 I reverted to percussion for hunting due to the wind.
After an hour on this site it looks like an excellent source of information on topics I have never thought about.