driftrider.. I believe you have mistaken my intentions. I am not saying that Savage Muzzleloaders or Winchester for that matter are unsafe. I am saying there are barrels and components out there that under certain circumstances will fail. Whether the failure is caused by operator error or just structural defect. The reason for my posting of the Savage link was to only confirm the idea of people being careful in their loading procedures.

I own a CVA Staghorn Magnum. Although this Winchester incident is upsetting it has not changed my views on shooting my Staghorn in the least. After all both of the rifles are made by BPI. I am very careful with all loading procedures as I am sure you are. The fact the BPI rifle blew will be in the back of my mind. I would hope that BPI could find the real reason for the problem and post the facts, no matter who or whats to blame.

In the matter of your Savage. I am sure it is an excellent well made shooting rifle, and a pleasure to own. I see no reason why you would not trust the rifle. Do you have to weigh your charges to get them that exact?

I personally am not a person who believes that smokeless powders have a place in the muzzleloading world only because I have seen too many mistakes over the years with powder amounts being loaded. Even responsible people make errors. I guess that is why the Savage never appealed to me.

I was not aware of the other three experiences you mentioned with the Savage. I guess things happen. We can only be glad that no one was killed.....

Be safe out there.....