Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Muzzleloaders T/C Omega wins the 2004 new smoke pole derby

On an earlier thread I discussed my interest in the Austin Halleck 420. I had a chance to spend some time handling a large number of black powder rifles over the weekend and after a good deal of hemming and hawing, I dropped the coin down for a new T/C Omega with stainless barrel and "salt and pepper" laminate stock.

The A&H 420 is very fine rifle, but there were a few things I didn't like. The rifle is very LONG (as noted by my friend on the last thread). The rifle is barrel heavy and the balance is just off enough to bother me a bit. The fancy curly maple stock was a nice piece of wood but I'm not a fan of the glossy finish nor of the monte carlo style that was in stock. The quick release bolt is a nice touch and the action was smooth.

The Omega reminded me a bit of the Ruger No. 1's I have carried... the "drop" action making a long barrel work on an almost carbine length rifle. I'd guess the Omega was good 5 inches shorter than the A&H 420... and I've crawled through enough brush to care about every inch.

I took some time to warm up to Omega, but the more I handled it, the more I liked it. The rifle looks very easy to clean. I like the exposed hammer and the trigger was surprisingly crisp and clean. I was so tickled with the trigger, I asked for the rifle I was handling rather than one out of the back.

Of course, the second phase happens on the range but generally, the reports I have read on the T/C suggest it is accurate enough for hunting. I'll drop back and post my results as I work up a load or two.

I really like what I've read regarding the Omega. The only thing that bugs me is the angle of the trigger. It looks like there's practically no room in the trigger guard for your finger. Are the pictures deceiving??

Nice choice of ML. I just picked up a new ML myself but I chose the Savage 10ML-II <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif" alt="" />. very sweet. Well congrats and you will be very very pleased.


Also, the trigger guard is small but when you pull the hammer back you get enough room for your finger. That is the only thing I didn't like about the omega

Brian

Nice choice! <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/smile.gif" alt="" /> 105-110 grains of loose 777 with a 200 or 250 gr. T/C Shockwave sabot/bullets makes sighting-in real fast AFTER shooting a box or two of full-fledged conicals to smooth things out in the bore & break her in the right way.

Good choice... I think you'll continue to be impressed by it.

I've never had problems with trigger guard clearance if I pull the hammer back before putting my finger in there. Then again, I haven't tried it with gloves yet...

445 Supermag
I'd be interested in hearing about your load developement with your Savage. I have used Barnes and Nosler 250 grain bullets and "The Bullet" in 180, 200 and 250 but now am partial to the lighter offerings Precision bullets make. I am happy with their 180 grain bullet and am trying their duplex sabot 195's. Recently I have tried the sub base and think that is a good idea with smokeless. All my loads have been smokeless and N100 has been my main powder. I am hoping to try Lil Gun a bit more this weekend.

Check out Toby Bridges site, High Power Muzzle Loading http://www.hpmuzzleloading.com/ . He was a Savage fanatic until he blew his up. Now they are junk, per him. I can kind of understand how that would be, your life passing before your eyes and all! I think Toby's gun or guns have experienced more than their fair share of hot loads, actually many more than any guns fair share. I wish he would share that info more completely. Any metal is subject to heat and stress fatique that can wreak havok on it's temper and cause it to fail.

I'm not giving up on my Savage, though. Good luck with yours and let me know what you settle on.

Personally, I keep my finger out of the trigger guard until I'm on target and ready to shoot. As discussed here, once you pull the hammer back, there seems to be plenty of room in front of the Omega trigger. I looked at the Savage briefly, but I really didn't have any interest in shooting anything but Triple 7.

As for Bridges experience, it's hard to know what exactly happened but from what I can tell... his experience is <i>extremely</i> rare and may have something to do with his hot loading the rifle over and over. Again, on a personal note, I'd rather stay with moderate powder loads. It's safer to work harder as a hunter than to ask a rifle to work harder... just my two cents.

Can anyone post a pic of the Omega's trigger with the hammer back??? Thanks.

The trigger housing is small. When you cock the hammer the trigger pulls back ,but do to the small housing I have a problem with gloves fitting too tight. I felt it would be too easy to get a accidental discharge. I went with a CVA kodiak and really like it . Trigger housing is larger and fits my gloves better. Ron

I'm not a pro with a digital camera, but I'll borrow my wife's and take a picture. I may need a little help with posting it. As for the size, I really don't notice that the trigger guard is unusually small. I've spent enough time with exposed hammer lever-action rifle to be pretty comfortable with the Omega hammer. As noted above, I'm a firm believer in keeping my trigger finger out of the housing until "go" time. When it comes to my shooting hand, I usually slit the trigger finger (or cut it off entirely) to allow contact of skin to the trigger. I find it accuracy easier to maintain with the tactile feedback of the bare finger on the trigger.