Question - anyone using the Talley one-piece aluminum mount on an Omega or Encore????? I called them this morning and talked to Dave Talley. The tapped holes for scope mountingon the Omega seem incredibly close together on the rear of the barrel. I asked him about that and he agreed,sayingThompsontold himthat the barrel tapers too much to spread them out further. Anyway he assured me that the mount was strong and would hold up well.

I have hunted deer for 20+ years and finally decided to jump seriously into muzzleloading this year. The terrain I hunt here in West Tennessee is thick cut-over Mississippi River bottomland so shots are rarely beyond 100-150 yards (much closer typically).

I walked into Bass Pro Shops the other day and asked the guy "what is the best value you have inan in-line muzzleloader that shoots 209 primers?" Without hesitation he handed me a TC Omega Z5, black synthetic stock and blued finish ($299.00). Best advice I ever got as I love the simplicity and accuracy. I took a large spike the first time I took it out at about 90 yards with open sights (OK, I admit that I should have passed on it but we needed some freezer meatASAP and I was dying to take something with the gun). The 250 gr. Hornady SST and 100 gr of 777 did the trick.

I ordered the one piece Talley mounts and got a Nikon Buckmaster 3x9 on ebay. Once mounted and set I think that I'll use this gun throughout the entire season (ML and rifle) here in Tennessee.

Thanks for all the great information on the site and I look forward to participating.