ORIGINAL: Doegirl75
I'm a newbie to all this, but common sense is telling me to spend my hard earned pennies on a rifle BUILT to shoot smokeless, than to try altering a weapon to use smokeless powder safely.
What do you think an Encore is? Last I checked most of the barrels available are for smokeless powder, you just load em with a cartridge. The SMI barrel is another smokeless barrel option, just one not made by the gun maker.
The rest of this isn't directed at you, it's just easier than making 2 posts.
From the SMI website:
Since 1984 Smokeless Muzzleloading Has been making replacement muzzleloading barrels for New England Firearms and H&R single shot actions.
If true, and I have no reason to believe it isn't, SMI has been making since before Tony Knight "reinvented" the inline muzzleloader and far longer than Savage has been making muzzleloaders. They've just not been noticed much until lately.
As far asI knowthere are 5 types of muzzleloaders capable of shooting smokeless powders. Savage 10 ML I+II, SMI Barrel options for the NEF, H+R (and others), NULA 209 (the ones designated for smokeless), the Bad Bull ML (don't know much about this one), and Customs designated for smokeless such as the ones made by Bill & Henry Ball. This list will probably continue to grow.
Someone brought up safety of Smokeless in ML's. They are perfectly safe when used following approved loads. SMI has a page of loads (
http://www.smokelessmuzzleloading.com/loadingchart.html) and Savage hasloads listed in their manual. It's not that much different than reloading cartridges except there's no cartridge. Just as much care need to be excercised reloading as muzzleloading. In fact one fellow I know is fond of saying that "if you are a muzzleloader, you are a reloader".