The few people I know that own Remington rifles claim they are very good shooters. What the rifle and scope is worth is up to how bad you want it, how bad the rifle is worn, and the scope. There are scopes that are 3-9x40 but they only cost $65.00 new. As for the Remington not being able to take magnum powder charges, I would not let that scare me off.

I have no problem with used rifles as long as there is a grace period where I can inspect them and if not satisfied, get my money back. What one person calls "in good shape," I might call in only good condition.

Check some of the auction sites as well. There are some nice Knight MK-85's, Wolverines, and other rifles that are reasonable.

As for what kind of projectile, it will depend on the rifle you decide on. There are tons of little tips that can be offered to help make your muzzleloading experience exceptional.

There are a lot of good rifles out there, some of the best like the Z5 Omega are a long way from the most expensive.
BUT be sure you know and understand the laws every where you want to hunt they vary widely if you have trouble with the terminology post the law and the state and one of the regulars here will explane it for you. Lee

Well fellas, I didnt go look at that used Muzzleloader. I thought about what you guys said, I am new to this and decided for the price I could get a new CVA. I called the local sporting goods store and ended up making a trip and picked up and Optima today. I also checked out my state game laws, My only restriction is I cant have electronic sights, which is fine with me. Thanks for all your help fellas....

Congratulations on your selection. I am sure the rifle will serve you well for many years to come.

a friend of mine has the CVA Optima he loves it.

Good choiceand you can now put together the perfect rifle for your hunting needs.
Chap Gleason Va

Well got to shoot my new gun today, I loaded it with 100 grains triple 7 pellets and 295 power belt hollowpoint. I started out at 50 yards and worked my way to 100 where I ended up with about a 4 inch group outta four shots..Maybe a lil closer to hunting season i can really fine tune it, but It was a blast and it is a great rifle..

4" isnt bad at all for the first outing. After using a few diff types of primers i gotta ask, what primers did you use? 295 grain powerbelts should be nice but dont fear the 348 grain powerbelts with your 100 grain load, its as smooth as butter and the recoil isnt bad at all. You should give those a great or the tc maxi hunters in 350 grain.

If you're talking a 4" group first time out with open sights at 100 yards??? That would be an excellent first trip out. You need to understand you still have to get used to the trigger, the feel of the stock, the settle into the rifle, and a lot of other things.

Did you swab the bore of the rifle between shots? Keep us the good work. I'm glad to see the rifle is behaving so well for you..

I was shooting the CCI 209 primers. I kinda set a budget for myself so I didnt get a very expensive scope, so I ended up with a tasco 3x9x40. It worked well for me. But that optima sure is a sweet shooting gun, course I had it in a vise and really didnt get all the recoil, but it didnt feel like it had a alot. Yea I was swabbing in between shots, also after every third shot I would remove my breech plug and run a lil soft bristle brush in the beech area. Also I would clean the breech plug, a couple a times the bullet would be hard to seat, It would be smooth until about and inch above the powder, but I would eventually get it seated..