I tried to do a lot of research before I purchased my 1st muzzle-loader. Unfortunately, I allowed myself to be influenced by Randy Wakeman And he scared me out of buying a CVA Wolf, or ANY Spanish-made rifle- CVA's, Traditions', etc... That was BEFORE I read that he works for Savage Arms and a lot of muzzle-loaders think he is full of $#!+. Long story short- I spent $50 more for a TC Impact. Does anyone feel I made a mistake, or is the Impact a better piece?

One thing that did catch my eye is that CVA and Traditions recommend a maximum charge of 150 gr.'s while TC only recommends 120 gr.'s for their piece. The reason I bring this up is because I'm looking at a CVA Buckhorn for its open-breech. My buddy, the MAIN reason I chose to learn about muzzle-loading, lives in Washington and they require open-breeches. Would you guys trust 150 gr.'s in a Buckhorn? If not, is 100 gr.'s powerful enough to humanely kill a white-tail? Is there another open-breech muzzle-loader for under $300 (I'm on a REALLY tight budget.)

I notice 90% of muzzle-loaders are .50 caliber and they all SEEM to hold the same charge. Is the difference in price REALLY a matter of fit-and-finish? I wish to teach my 16 year old daughter about muzzle-loading, but the few rifles I AM able to find under .50 caliber are out of my price-range. I was thinking of using a 50 gr. charge to let her practice. But I get conflicting answers, half the respondents say 50 gr.'s should be fine. The other half say it is NOT enough to push the projectile to satisfactory speed. I don't want to hand her something dangerous. Does anyone have any ideas on what a safe load would be that won't scare her away before she even goes on her 1st hunt?

I apologize if these are silly questions, I truly am a nube and am very excited to have my daughter and I join the ranks of a modern muzzle-loading hunter. Thank you for your time and consideration.