I just got my Savage muzzleloader. I can see why people sing it's praises. There really isn't anything odd or mystical about it, other than it's way overbuilt to handle smokeless pressures. You get 150 grain triple 7 pellet load velocities with about half the recoil. That's a big deal for me. The trigger is adjustable-another plus. I don't mind the plastic stock on mine. It's a hunting gun and I won't cry if I put a scratch on it. My only real complaint of the gun is it's overall size. But then again, I'm small person and I don't think it'll bother the average size guy. I have both the Encore and a Savage and I say...get the Savage
