I certainly didn't mean to knock it; :)I'd just never heard of it. My dad never carried a drop tube when muzzleloader hunting, so I haven't either. Nor have I ever used one for target shooting, but then I've never been to a muzzleloader competition. For precision shooting, it seems like it would have all the advantages of a drop tube for cartridges, with the additional benefits you mentioned about keeping the powder off the rifling. As they say, you learn something old every day!