ORIGINAL: bsteve
My guess is that they have more than one barrel boring set up. Other than the loading difficulty everything else has been A O.K. The rifle is very accurate.
Because the gun-making laws are not as stringent with muzzleloaders, the tools are allowed to get duller - diameter specs are allowed more variance in width -- groove dimensions/number of groovesare allowed to vary.
Sometimes, it ain't the barrel's fault. Stock-to-barrel fit may be slightly off -- stock screw holes can be off by an inch-or-so -- trigger pull variances... etc.
It all goes with a product thaty sells on average for $225 versus your centerfire that sells on average for double-that.