I finally ordered a new one yesterday!
I had planned to buy one some time ago and kept stalling till they were no longer produced...
Well, They are back! at least as long as there is sufficient demand.
The current prices vary considerably so shopping around for the best prices is important.
I hope to be out for some testing this weekend but I'll need to order some Thor's asap to compare too.
I'll let you know how it goes!

Congrats! I shot 4 or 5 different muzzleloaders till I got mine. They are heavy but they are awesome!


ddj

i would like to one in stainless but cant find it. heard alot of good things about them

I did not think you could shoot conicals in the Savage(thors)?

Keep us posted. I keep thinking I want one. I know a few guys that have them and none of them would go back. Ever.

Smokeless isn't for everyone, but it's definitely superior to other MZ's for a variety of reasons.

I sell a lot of bullets & sabots for smokeless guns. Hands down the best bullet/sabot combo for these guns is the 458 Cal 300gr Barnes Original SSP. Not that others won't work, but this is by far the most consistent across dozens of guns. I also sell sample packs.

Good luck!

I don't plan on letting go of the other muzzleloaders i already have but this one has been calling me for a long time.

I'm sure I'll play with sabot loads but conical are all that's allowed for hunting in Co. so that's the primary goal.

I like to work with numerous cartridges and loads for center-fire rifles.
Muzzloaders were the original handloaders so it seems a natural growth, for me anyway.
It's due in tomorrow. I'll be in touch!

thor bullets .com

I'll be trying these among others.

Well, as you know, you can't use smokeless powder in Colorado for ML season. So, you'd need to hunt the rifle seasons to take full advantage of the Savage. Then you can use sabots and smokeless.

Mine is currently at McMillan getting a Savage Hunter stock. Hope to have it back soon to start working up a load and get it ready for the season.

Does the McMillan stock save you any weight? And what do theses guns weight out of the box, no scope?

It all depends on what fill you go with. I went with a Game Scout with "Edge" fill for my 700ML smokeless conversion. The stock weighs 25.5oz which is close to a pound of savings over their standard fill or an HS Precision.

Tell us about your gun. I have never seen an ML look like that.

It's a 700ML action with a modified bolt nose to take a 209 Primer like the Savage.

The barrel is an after market 458cal Pac-Nor that's chambered for the Savage BP. It's got interrupted fluting from TwistedBarrel.

The brake is a Harrell's tactical.

I will be shooting full-bore 45 cal bullets out of it. Most likely the 275gr Parker Match Hunter (advertised BC of .384). Probably around 2700FPS. We'll see how bad recoil is as the hole thing as shown (with Murphy Ti Base and TPS aluminum rings) is only 7# 6oz.

http://smokelessmz.com/700ml.html

Let us know how it how it shoots please. That is really cool. Can you switch out triggers?

I forgot to mention it's got a Jewell trigger in it!

Here's a group I shot @ 100 yards with the unbedded (no pillars even) and not free floated factory stock before the McMillan showed up.

Unfortunately, I had to send it right back to McMillan because the action was rotating in the stock when I tightened the screws down.



The Parkers really are exceptional bullets. Here's a five shot group out of a different gun with the 300gr bullet @ 200 yards. 1.75". I shot this one back when it was really hot out...not the best weather for concentrating. Best 4 are <1".

Too bad I'm tapped with a custom 204 and 25-06 in the works right now. Maybe after December I can take a breather and consider working on a project like this. Truth is, I hunt almost exclusively with a muzzleloader. It's definitely the tool that gets used.

I have a NULA 209 but found two new, but old stock Savage ML-II at a local gunshop I rarely visit. They are pre-Accutrigger and have the old style flat rear bridge. Both are blue on black models. The asking price is $439.

Knowing this guy I think he probably has them marked up 30% which means he probably has $340 or so in them. Knowing they need new triggers and stocks (at a minimum but I'll rebarrel them and make a BP that crush fits a primer for a sealed system) do you think $375 is too much if I can talk him down?

Hawkeye, these really are the best thing out there for deer hunting in Iowa... I went crazy on the one above, but it's for myself. Depending on if you do the work yourself, etc, you can get into one of these that will perform real well for around $1K.

7mmfreak
Buy them both for $375ea. and I'll buy the second if you would ship one out here.
With an appropriate finders fee for you of course!

I'll let you know how negotiations go. I planned on buying both but only need one. I'm gonna gut it anyhow and rebuild it the way Luke and some of the guys do.

I did a rebuild on a Savage on an NIB, old stock Savage 210F and it turned out pretty nice. I think he has to have had these guns in stock for half a decade. Hopefully, he wants to make some money and move stock that hasn't budged.

Homeboy said no to the offer. Apparently all NIB are sold as is, no discounts.

Sorry I'm so slow to get back and post results of the first session with this rifle.

I used the only appropriate powder I had in the house, 777.
Yes, I know it's not recommended for the Savage.
I've mounted a Weaver Nitrex 3-9 for load development.
My best results were a tie with 100gr 777 and either Power Belt 348gr lead flat-point or 285gr RCBS cast lead in MMP Black sabot. Sabots aren't legal here for ML season but they are for Nebraska Deer season!
Both of those loads were 3/4" outside to outside for 4 shots at 100yds!
WooHoo! I'm impressed.
I also noticed that I need to hold this rifle tight to get it to shoot, first shot on both groups was 1" left and 2" high, well duh, Next 4 were on top of each other.
I need to get some BH209 powder and see what this rifle can do for me.
I'll be working with Thor bullets on the next trip too.
I didn't get an Elk this year but I like the consolation prize!

If you use BH209, be sure to use magnum primers! I know of
more than one who had no misfires during warmer months when
they were zeroing in with regular primers, only to have that
one misfire when aiming at Mr. Buckie during the cold of
hunting season.

Mine works just fine. I bought it several years ago. Pre accue-trigger. It shoots 47 grains of IMR 4227 with a Hornady 250 grain HP XTP. MMP black sabot and a Winchester 209 primer. One of the most accurate rifles I own. Veteran's Day 2012.

Just ordered my Dad a blue/black model. I think it will be the last muzzleloader he needs to own.

I was surprised by the weight difference in the blue/black model vs. the stainless/laminate model.


ddj