Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Muzzleloaders Your Recommendation for a Whitetail Muzzleloader

Hello all,

I am thinking it is time for a new muzzleloader for Whitetails and am wondering what are the best lately. I have hunted with an Omega for the past several years and would like to upgrade.

Thanks all

ddj

one word

triumph

Tricked out Knight.

I'd probably get a Triumph. There just isn't much available right now.

Thanks all. I started with a Knight almost 20 years ago. It was OK but pulling back on the knob was a pain for me with gloves and getting a cap on the nipple in -20 weather was close to futile. I then bought and hunted with a Remington 700 ML for 5 or 6 seasons but was hard to dump loads and even tougher to clean. The Omega has been a great gun and accurate but I have been intrigued by the speed breach and would like a gun that breaks open for the ease of putting on the cap or primer with gloves in cold weather.

Can anyone give any opinions on the Triumph vs the Encore?

Thanks Again,


ddj

Well if your wanting an Encore and only want it as a Muzzleloader then you should be looking at the new TC FX muzzleloader. It is basically a Pro Hunter without the ability to change barrels but it has the Speedbreech plug.

Since you already have a very good high quality in-line with the Omega, I would recommend you try old school with a TC Hawken or Renegade, or a Lyman Great Plains or Trade Rifle. I think you would find hunting with one of those very satisfying.

If you can find one nothing short of custom out shoots a Savage 10ml-II and has no clean up or smoke to look through when using it with smokeless powder.

Hammer style all the way

Friend of mine bought a Pedersoli flintlock last fall. Makes a nice change from the .300 WM he uses during the firearms season.

Find yourself a good flint lock, .45 cal or larger. Learn to enjoy shooting and hunting as you never have.



7# 4 oz, handles like a wand. Shoots fair offhand as well, at least out to 50 yards.

DD,

I think you and that old rifle need to retire from hunting. Nice firewood though.

Stainless plastic inline ... all the way. Forget that old skool stuff.

Knight KP1 best of both worlds!

Hell i would stay with the Omega , they are about as good as they get.

A best quality Jaeger in 54 to 62 cal. is never wrong.










Or a nice custom Hawken in 54 cal.

'Dis Bud is fer you FH


50 cal Lancaster flinter. Shoots REAL good

if you are in to sidelocks,i have 5 rifles in the classifieds.

if i was going modern inline i'd

triumph
accura
optima

easy to load,easy to clean.all killin machines.

There's enough wood, wool and leather there to start a pretty good blaze.

All kidding aside, those tiger striped full length flinters are works of art. I'd be proud to own one.

Yer a funny guy. Next time the hair on the back of your neck stands up rejoice! Think about smokin' them turds in Hell....for eternity.

Funny story from the range today. Old couple sets up next to me, mid 70s probably. Old fella hauls out one of those SS scoped inline things, loads it up and lets rip. The Missus is spottin' for him. 2 shots and he is dead on. Puts his away then pulls a really nice caplock out , .54 cal.. Same drill, 2 shots and it's zeroed. With iron sights.

He smiled and said "this is my wife's new gun. First time we've shot it."

Behind me I hear one of the range staff telling' the ol' gal that They're a lot of work! Do you hunt?"

She weighs about 85 # if she just got out of the rain and looks up. At him and replied "I shot a Ruger 77 in .270 for a long time. It's a great rifle but I don't need to shoot that far and I only shoot once. "

Had to smile a little. No, actually I smiled a lot. Bless her. Iron sights and almost 80 before she takes up muzzleloading...

Give me a hammer style gun any time and show me just what the difference is in the hammer to inlines . Just try a green mountain barrel LRH hawkens TC an my inlines or yours You use a 209 I use a 209 big deal

Pick one that: fits you, shoots "good enough", has good quality accesories, cleans easily, and always goes "bang" when you pull the trigger. Use a quality bullet, a good powder, and the correct primer/cap combination and go to work. The rest is internet arguement material.
I like T.C.'s because they and the company have done very well for me. I have owned and shot them for thiry years and several different models and have never had cause to look elsewhere. I hunt in several States where I can hunt with a muzzleloader more than any other firearm type so put in some pretty long hours shooting/hunting with them. I still have my T.C. Hawken .50 that I was given for Christmas as a kit at 13. It has taken more game than everything but my shotguns and .22's and still is shooting just as well now as it did when I got it. My T.C. Omega has been a very reliable accurate hunting rifle. It has never failed me. This is why I like T.C.'s.
Others like Knights, Savages, CVA's, Remingtons, Traditions etc. pick the one that you like and learn to use it properly and have at it. Let others tell you they suck all they want.....Just keep smiling over the deer, hog, bear or small game you keep taking with it. The rest really does not matter.

Thanks guys. I am looking because the Omega is moving down the road literally and my Dad is going to shoot it.

Has anyone used the Savage Smokeless muzzleloaders or have any opinions?


ddj

Smokeless MLs are not legal for hunting in all states. They don't smell right when you shoot either.

There's some real good info about the Savage 10ML-II at http://dougsmessageboards.proboards.com/index.cgi

Thanks for the link to Doug's message board. I have read varying opinions on the saftey of the Savage. But I guess any gun becomes unsafe with to much pressure and experimentation.


ddj

KP-1 rolling block knight.Green mountain barrels are super accurate!!I use triple seven powder with hornady xtp's.Dropped a nice buck last year late season.Knight has always been known for being a great accurate guns.

Omega is hard to beat for a BP sub rig. Savage is a beast for smokeless.

Yap.

They have Omegas at Walmart for $277.00.

the new knights are pretty nice.i use a cva,t/c bone collector, a knight ,a t/c renegade i like them all but the easiest to load shoot clean is my cva optima elite.

is there a consolidated list of what states allow usage of different option in ML hunting i.e. Smokeless vs BP, inline vs Traditional, cabot versus ball, scope versus open sight? Some sort of spreadsheet would be very cool.

I have a triumph for sale in the classifieds, with a Nikon 3-9x40 BDC scope...tackdriver!

Savage. There is no other gun that compares in cost and effiency. 45grs of smokeless powder gets you 180+ loads out of a pound of powder and NO MESS to clean. Compare that to a smokey load.

Thats what I have decided!! I am shooting a friends for a couple weeks and have my own Stainless Laminate on the way.


ddj

Hey guys...I think EvilTwin wins the prize for the one that best represents the tradition and spirit of the primitive weapons portion of the season.

Many years ago I spent about 3 summers fooling around with muzzle loaders. I bought a Great Plains 50, and a guy at the range sold me a Traditions Mountain Rifle kit in 54 with a beautiful birds-eye maple stock...turned out pretty nice and shot very well. I went to many memorable small shoots in the area and always had a great time.

This year I was lucky to draw a managed deer hunt permit here in Missouri for the "primitive" portion. So, thanks, ET, for bringing me back to the old ways...and I'll be out there with my side lock.

Actually it will get you 155 loads, same as my .45 flint lock. I don't buy primers and round balls are an awful lot cheaper than sabots and sub-caliber bullets. Half dozen patches do the clean up...so what's messy about that?

For heaven's sake don't buy a Pro Hunter!!! I can throw stones and get a better group than this POS !!! We're still at it mixin/matchin components will keep ya updated

Your 45caliber flintlock isn't pushing a 250gr bullet at over 2100fps and giving 200yd groups like this.



I also don't have to clean my gun until I want to. It can sit all year if I want it to without becoming a rusty tent stake.

If it ain't broke don't fix it lol.

Had a Knight KRB7 rolling block and an Omega both shot extremely well....still have the Omega and sent the KRB7 down the road....the Omega is an accurate beast with BH 209 and the KRB7 had a slight hang fire with it due to the breach plug design
I'd grab another Omega in a heart beat

I feel your pain...I had the same exact problem with my Encore and it was the same with both muzzleloader and the 270. barrel. My Encore had an excellent trigger and I switched bases and rings and three different scopes and even changed from wood stock/forearm to synthetic and nothing changed but the looks.

Oh. Wow. Sorry. *



*That all ya got?

Nope, but a) I don't need that much bullet, b) I can get closer than that, c) I don't need a bench to rest the gun on, and d) I never met an animal that will pose for three shots.

Not pickin' on ya, just sayin' we have different perspectives. Got any pictures of targets shot offhand with your gun? Figured out yet why you're getting that flyer?

DD,
I've never shot a deer that far away with the gun, but it's nice to know there is that capability if needed. All the deer shot with it so far have been under 75yds.

There are enough trees around my hunting area where I can use them to brace against. But, I have shot a deer with a rifle shooting at 250yds offhand before with a bullet starting out at 2500fps from my 284win. I practice with my 22LR offhand out to 200yds when I get the chance, so offhand shots are not a big deal if needed.

The flyer probably has to do with the seating of the sabot/bullet over the powder. When using smokeless powder, group size can be affected by the pressure that the projectile is seated on the powder. I try to seat them with the same pressure, but I'm not that good yet. LOL.

Not sure about smokeless but BP charge compression is a critical issue. Rough rule of thumb here...put your index finger on the end of the ramrod and pull down on the charge until it's uncomfortable. That will be around 3 # of compression +\-, but regardless of the force it will be consistent. Dunno that will cure your flyers but it will put some consistency into the load cycle.

Go real muzzle loader you will really enjoy it. Here's my homemade 50.
Doc

That's a very nice looking rifle you built there, please show more pics of it if you don't mind.
One of these days I'm going to buy something like that.

You like it more if you build it yourself.

Spend awhile perusing the kits at Track of the Wolf.

www.trackofthewolf.com

IIRC, the recommened seating pressure is more like 15-20pounds with smokeless. They say to practice using a scale, but when you're at the range in in the woods, there are no scales and alot of other things going on.

Smokeless does have it's quirks, but I have never missed and never had a misfire with the gun. That alone makes it worth my while.

Savage 10ML-II Info

Or has comparable locktime, trigger quality, 100% proof testing, etc. It is built like a real rifle, no shortcuts, and has been that way for over eleven consecutive years.

and only 10lbs

?????

Current 10ML-II

The basic Savage 10ML-II is 7-3/4 lbs. unloaded weight.

That's still a half pound heavier than this one...loaded.

7 3/4lbs unscoped and with the cheap flexy tupperware stock that savage owners always throw out.

Just don't buy anything made in Spain.

Randy,

Nice to see you here and thank you for the products and quick ship time.

What is the weight of the stainless laminate ML-II?


ddj

The one piece laminate stock adds about a pound in standard configuration, about three quarters of a pound in thumbhole version. As with any rifle, the heavier they get the more comfortable they are to shoot.

One rifle that you don't hear much about these days in the T/C Contender G2 in .45. For a lightweight carry gun, it is my favorite. .45's in general have continually flopped, but the discontinued .45 Contender G2 is a fun gun to carry to be sure.

I am absolutely enamored with my ML-II.


ddj

X2...

Rick59,
Don't have much for pictures but here's another.I built everything in this photo.
Doc

Hey Doc, is that a genuine left handed powder horn?










Pretty rifle that, I particularly like that faux vertical laminate* look.


Forgive me Lord......


Dat stuff's on my bucket list of things to do BTW.

savage ml + under 300 yards = dead deer!!

That is nice


ddj

thank you!

Still waiting to get first blood with my smokeless build.
Rem 700ML .45 McGowen

love that 700!!

My buddy is building one and it should be ready next week. Its gonna look sweet. I'll send you a picture when its done.

Look forward to seeing it, my 10 year old wants a 700 .45 smokeless to replace his .50 optima, so the fun begins!