Guess I'm outdated,I'm still hunting with a regular Hawkins .50 caliber muzzle loader instead of a newer version inline model.But I've killed with the original type before and will try again this weekend,usually just looking for freezer meat,but if the right buck comes along you never know.
Thought I'd share a funny that happened a few years back when the Inlines first started getting popular,not that I'm proud of this,but I can look back and laugh at it now.
My cousins have between them about 2000 acres of ground in Southeast Pendleton county that they all practice QDM on,so I invited my old hunting partner along during Black Powder season and he had just bought his first Inline model from Walmart.As we were loading up to head to our stands opening morning he said here don't use your pyrodex try one of these pellets they work better with sabots,well i didn't know any better and pushed the load into my regular muzzleloader,as luck would have it I had a 140 class buck walk under the stand that morning,I took careful aim and snap,cap goes off but not the gun,in all I popped 3 caps at this buck while he stood there looking up at me before he walked away.I eventually had to dump powder down the nipple to get it to go off,I was furious at my friend at the time.Anyway i learned a good lesson.
I still refuse to buy into the modern gear though,I think it takes away from what the season was meant to be.My family is in possession of an original .45 caliber Ky Long rifle that belonged to a great,great,great Grandfather way back when in SW Va,someday it may get passed to me.The old bird it belonged to was supposedly the fellow that killed the renegade Cheif Benge near Big Stone Gap,Virginia.Anyway enough for now.
Good Luck and Be Careful in the field,
Glenn Pennington