Question - anyone using the Talley one-piece aluminum mount on an Omega or Encore????? I called them this morning and talked to Dave Talley. The tapped holes for scope mountingon the Omega seem incredibly close together on the rear of the barrel. I asked him about that and he agreed,sayingThompsontold himthat the barrel tapers too much to spread them out further. Anyway he assured me that the mount was strong and would hold up well.

I have hunted deer for 20+ years and finally decided to jump seriously into muzzleloading this year. The terrain I hunt here in West Tennessee is thick cut-over Mississippi River bottomland so shots are rarely beyond 100-150 yards (much closer typically).

I walked into Bass Pro Shops the other day and asked the guy "what is the best value you have inan in-line muzzleloader that shoots 209 primers?" Without hesitation he handed me a TC Omega Z5, black synthetic stock and blued finish ($299.00). Best advice I ever got as I love the simplicity and accuracy. I took a large spike the first time I took it out at about 90 yards with open sights (OK, I admit that I should have passed on it but we needed some freezer meatASAP and I was dying to take something with the gun). The 250 gr. Hornady SST and 100 gr of 777 did the trick.

I ordered the one piece Talley mounts and got a Nikon Buckmaster 3x9 on ebay. Once mounted and set I think that I'll use this gun throughout the entire season (ML and rifle) here in Tennessee.

Thanks for all the great information on the site and I look forward to participating.

Congratulations on taking the spike.. say what they will but horns never tasted as good as the tender loins.

You picked a great rifle and I am sure it is going to give you years of service. It also sounds like the black powder bug is under your skin. Like many of us, we use them even in the modern season. I really see no disadvantage since one shot is usually all I ever get and I work to make that good...

Good luck with the rifle and scope...

I've been lurking around here for a couple of weeks and read many of your posts - you know your stuff. Thanks for the well-wishes all the good advice you offer on this board.

mouthcaller,
Recently picked up the same gun after talking to the great folks on this site.
I've been shooting it for a few weeks now. I've already run 60 shots through it. I'm practicing hard with it for ML season that opens up Dec 12 here in WV.

I figure unless I've put 100 plus shots (my self imposed mimimum) through a rifle and have become very accurate and familiar with it's safe usage I wont hunt with it. I'm very new to hunting (1 year) so for now this is my rule. i'm sure as my hunting experience grows I will let up a bit on this one

I'll be ready.

Congrats on the deer and keep us updated on loads and experiences with the Z5