zmason1002

I started by shooting a buddies cheap 2XX cva muzzleloader and then I borrowed my buddies dad's old Knight bighorn with percussion caps and shot my first muzzleloader deer with it 2 years ago and earlier this year I bought a Knight Mountaineer. If you could borrow someone's gun to shoot and try it I think you would be better off. Also handle as many guns as you can. Its similar to Archery, handle as many as you can to get the feel for them. Also I made the mistake of not taking my time and asking people questions. I bought my Mountaineer in a thumbhole stock and when I got it I realized my finger is almost to short. The 3 thumbhole stock knights I handled in store had trigger locks on them and I didn't think about my finger being to short.

BarnesAddict

My BEST day at 200yds...... (full rest)



Yeah, it looks like I'm promoting the Encore platform rifles but, I don't shoot them any more myself. Moved on to something different and more accurate at long range.

An issue that can plague any break open, is the hinge. T/C - S&W has had its share of issues with that, and its not that they haven't known about it. Not doing anything, or much of anything, turned many people away. Others knew the issue/s and for a few bucks completely modified the frame and made top shooting rifles from them. Unfortunately, everyone copied the break open action from T/C and break open rifles are not known for the "top accuracy", yet can be good "hunting rifles".

It appears Remington has finally gotten things under control with their Ultimate. Excellent reports are now showing up. Knight, although still having some problems, is producing accurate muzzleloaders. Many now are modifying their Knight breech plugs or actually completely changing them to eliminate blowback. There are a few builders, building rifles that are very accurate BH209 shooters in .45cal. Ultimate Firearms Inc. builds a top quality .50cal
muzzleloader, although expensive for most hunters.

In reality, there's not to many in-lines made today that can't be MOA shooters at 100yds and even 200yds. Some new owners may get extremely lucky and find a combination that works excellent right out of the box. Others may have to spend considerable time getting the right combination. You can take two of the same model rifles from the same production manufacturer, load it them up and one may shoot excellent, while the other shoots like crap and may take a ton of work. For those in love with muzzleloaders, that's the fun part.

Jenks

I am not a target shooter or gun purist. I do like decent firearms and hunt occasionally. I bought a new stainless CVA Wolf at Wally World about three years ago for less then $170. It is a good gun, certainly accurate enough for it's intended use. Later I bought a used pawn shop stainless CVA Optima with a thumbhole stock for $140. I love that gun, it is also accurate and fits me better then the Wolf. If you do not want to spend a lot you do not have to, but it takes some time and looking. I try not to buy new firearms, there are plenty of good used ones around for half the price. If you want to part with them later you can usually get most, or all of your money back on a resale.

BuckDoeHunter

My 50 cal. CVA Apex and my son's 50 cal. CVA Accura V2 shoot all copper Barnes TEZ 250 grain bullets very well with 110 grains of BlackHorn 209 powder using a Harvester smooth black sabot.

http://www.barnesbullets.com/muzzlel...pit-fire-t-ez/
https://www.harvestermuzzleloading.c...or-less-bullet

If you don't want to spend a lot, a CVA 50 cal. Optima should work well for you, many great reviews on that rifle. It looks like you can only use open sights in CA, I may be wrong though so double check. I believe you can get the Optima with open sights.

http://www.cva.com/Optima-Rifle-from-CVA.php

If you can, go shoulder some muzzleloaders and see how they fit.

One brand I wouldn't buy is Traditions, they are accurate but don't hold up well to range time and hunting.

Grouse45

Dont worry about accuracy in any new Inline ML you choose. Theres not an Inline made today that cant shoot 1.5" groups at 100 yards or better. I dont care if its the cheapest CVA, Knight, T/C etc.

The problem actually lies in the internet. To many people read things instead of doing the work themselves. Its so common to read i couldnt get this ML to shoot. They are junk, i just sent it back. The truth is, those people just did what someone else said and gave up. Its not that they dont know what there doing, they just rely on others to magically have a solution. And if they dont well they just buy a different ML.

Getting a modern inline to shoot is very simple but sometimes costly. Theres only two steps to it, outside of proper maintenance and cleaning.

1- Bullet Diameter, You need to find which works best in your Inline. If talking about 50cal inlines it could be a .451 bullet, or it could be a .452 bullet or even .458 bullet. There are also some .450 bullets out there when you measure them.

2- Sabot diameter, there are so many different size sabots it's usually easier to have several different sizes especially if your set on a particular bullet. The different sabot route is a much cheaper solution to the problem to me anyway. Both MMP and Harvester sabots offer plenty of choices to get todays modern inline shooting the way you want it to.

Things not to do!!

1- Dont listen to people who say you gotta shoot a certain powder. I dont care if you shoot Goex or Pyrodex they will both shoot and shoot acurately. The same goes for 777 or BH209. Here again they both shoot and will shoot accurately. Some of the powders just require some more cleaning and even spit patching between shots. I should mention if you choose to use BH209, New Knights and T/C'S will shoot it reliably with proper care of breech plug right out of the box. factory CVA'S will not, but they offer a BH209 plug if you choose to use BH209.

2- Based on 300grn bullets and less, and your particular load data that comes with your ML dont exceed reccomended loads by the manufacture. Dont listen to people who say start at 80 or 90grns and work your way up. Total waist of time and money. With the exception to women and children or very recoil sensitive adults. Start right at 110grns by volume and work up to 120grns by volume. This gives you three options. 110grns, 115grns, or 120grns. The more powder you use the better most bullets will obturate and shoot more accurately. There are some exceptions but not normally. If you weigh powder it opens up more options but also more time thats not needed for the average hunter.

My opinion on a new ML doesnt really matter. Buy what looks good and feels good to you. I would suggest stainless in whatever you choose. The most accurate group i shot was with a T/C Encore. The best factory Inline made today by a long shot is the 50cal Knight Ultralite. The T/C Triumph and the CVA Accura MR are really good lower cost break opens as well.

bronko22000

Grouse I agree with you almost completely. The only thing I disagree on is the powder charge. If your ML has a really short barrel like a CVA Wolf anything over 100 gr charge is just going to burn up outside the barrel. And is just a waste of powder.
I guess speaking apples and oranges here but with my sidelocks of 50 cal and under I rarely get any better accuracy with charges over 90 - 100 grains. And a couple shoot 80 grains the best.
My Accura V2 shoots BH209 fantastic with only 90 gr charge. Above or below that the groups open up. And that's with a 300 gr XTP and Harvester sabot.

MountainDevil54

Our Strikerfire is going on 3 years old now with zero issues other than a scope pooping out.

I've put my flintlocks and now the sidelock through hell on the range with no issues. I love the sidelocks better to be honest. So nice to feel wood and blued steel.

zmason1002

Also a cheap scope, mounts, or rings can wreak havoc on accuracy if you are going to scope it.

falcon

i have a cheap Traditions Buckhunter gun. The gun is well made and outshoots my Encore. There is absolutely no blowback into the breech.

52bore

Buy yourself a clean used 50cal Knight Disc Extreme - if you're patient and look around they can be found very reasonable (1/3 cost of a new one). Someone said it, put a little more $ into the scope.
Lots of stuff you can shoot out of it.
I don't know CA is on shipping, but almost all ML do NOT require a FFL to ship - any individual can mail to your doorstep.
Good luck.