Thompson Center rifles are without doubt in almost all cases excellent shooting rifles. Their customer service and warranty is second to none. The Omega has rated very high for years in customer satisfaction. It has also been on the market for many years. All the bugs are therefore worked out of it.
A few of the bad points I have read on the Omega is the size of the trigger guard. I still can not understand why T/C has never addressed that issue and made it bigger. Another issue is the dreaded crud ring. The Omega does seem to be prone to that crud ring although I personally feel that is because of their choice of powder and projectile. This new Black Mag3 powder has my interest because they report no crud ring...
The Omega is an excellent selection for an inline black powder rifle. That is not to say other brands also do not have great shooting guns, just that you asked about the Omega.
One poster made an excellent point, he purchased an Omega because he had all the centerfire rifles covered and did not need the Encore. I could not agree more. I purchased a Black Diamond XR because I liked the style of the rifle and the price more then the Omega... I personally love the rifle.
As for the kind of accuracy you can expect? As any of the old shooter will tell you.. that is related to how much work you put into knowing your rifle whether it is a T/C, Knight, even a CVA or any other brand. Also the load you work up and the amount of practice you put into it. For instance I have an old Traditions sidelock rifle that with roundball I could make you really wonder whether or not you would want a roundball rifle instead of an inline after you see it shoot. It took me countless hours of range time and load work to reach that point.
I have read posts that people with Omega Rifles have shot deer at over 300 yards. That is not to say I am telling everyone to shoot that far, but it does go to show that if you work the load up and practice, the rifle is able to do that. So if your a good shot (which you probably are since you are considering a muzzleloader in the first place) and you get hooked in this sport like many of us, you will probably be telling us of 200+ yard shots you are making.
One thing I have always noted about muzzleloader shooters, whether they shoot inlines, sidelocks or even flintlocks... they make their one shot count. Not just once as a lucky person might, but over and over time and time again. That's because we took up this sport for the challenge as well as the fun of these rifles...
You're going to like your rifle and be hooked like the rest of us soot burners...
