Price all depends on priorities. I notice that some guys have several production rifles in their collections.....added together they might cost the same as one really nice period fancy flintlock or cap gun. I could own more guns, but I can only shoot one at a time. When I used to teach the muzzleloading section of hunter's ed in Colorado, I used to ask what the ultimate desire was for a gun of a newly introduced hunter to muzzleloading. If they had interest in history and hunting, then I would direct them to the guns that fit that era. If hunting only, then I'd direct them to cheaper mass produced cap guns. Most of the time the historian shoots a lot more than the big game hunter who usually hauls out his modern muzzleloader and runs a few rounds just before hunting season. Now by those sharing their recent targets, there's lot of guys here who, though own modern muzzleloaders, they obviously shoot a lot and are greatly concerned with accuracy. I own a couple of nice custom muzzleloaders that I had to sell a few guns to be able to afford.........My personal priority is for traditional hunting with authentic period pieces. No superiority in that, just a different philosophy. I once had a buddy tell me it was better to have one gun that you shot a lot and knew it well than to have several that you only shot occasionally and couldn't hit the broadside of a barn........part of the reason that I finally arrived at a "smooth rifle" which allows me to hunt anything in North American from small game/upland game waterfowl to big game up to and including moose. :thumbs up:
