Originally Posted by
mule_hunter
i have been looking for a muzzloader and have narowed it down to the T/C omega the knight wolverine and the CVA optima but i am not sure which is the best if anyone has had any expirience with any of these i would like to know if they are worth getting
All three of the guns you mention are really decent guns, 2 of them are considered more modern than the other as they are basically 209 ignition with the the Oemga being a type of rolling or drop down breech and the the Optima being a break open open action akin to break open shot gun.
The Wolverine that you mention is what is called a plunger gun, with the ability to use 3 different ignition systems. It is considered to be an open breech type gun and meets the rules of the Pacific Northwest for ML hunting. It is the oldest mechanism of the three you have mentioned.
Dutch has mentioned the Big Horn which is the most recent Knight offering in the plunger style gun. Wolverines are still available from Knight also. I have a MK-85 one of the predessors to the Wolverine. It is an excellent gun and if this type of gun will serve your purpose the Wolverine or the newer Big Horn will certainly work and work very well.
This is a picture of the MK which looks a lot like a Wolverine.
The Omega brings you into the more modern family of muzzleloaders even though today it is an older ML. Various model uprades of the original Omega are available today. The Omega family of riffles will allow you to shoot the more modern powder such as BH and will be a cleaner and easier to clean muzzleloader. I owned a couple for several years and the gun proved to be very reliable and a really good shooter.
The Optima by all acounts fits in the same category as does the Omega, except that is still being produced and refined by CVA.
I think your decision really should be based on what type of hunting you plan to do with the gun and what you are going to require it to do for you. All of them are accurate with may different projectiles. I say that knowing that a lot of folks have problems with the TC shooting full bore conicals well, I am fortunate both my Omega and my Triumph will shoot conicals.
One thing I forgot to mention and this really just me... both the Omega and the Optima are hammer guns... I just hate pulling back a hammer to take a shot and I was was brought up with amodel 94 30-30 - I much prefer a simple thumb safety - quicker, quiet, and positive...
I hope you are able to find the gun that works best for you.
If it comes down to 'expense' what the gun will cost, most CVA products will sell for less money than either the Knight or the TC.