Over 50 years of owning, shooting and hunting a wide variety of game with replica and modern muzzleloading guns of all types has provided author Wm. Hovey Smith with a unique body of experiences to used in evaluating muzzleloading rifles, hanguns and smoothbores. These guns have been pushed to unusual levels as he has taken swan with flintlock muskets, Cape buffalo with double barreled in-line rifles, hogs with double-barreled pistols with no rear sights, turkey with a blunderbuss and deer with muzzleloading revolvers, smoothbores, single-shot pistols as well as traditional and original rifles. Using these experiences he offers candid comments about the values of these guns for display, recreational or hunting purposes. With no ties to any manufacturer, he gives each gun "a fair shake" and with equal candor discusses the guns' positive and negative attributes.