My friend’s been after me for a year now to get a muzzle loader to join him to go deer hunting. I haven’t told him yet but I’m looking at getting into it ,so what should I look for. I was looking at what they offer in the catalogue and they have such a selection, I’m not sure were to start. Would a stainless steel barrel be a better choice and how do the Savage rifles rate? Any suggestions? ...

trailer - what gun does your friend hunt with? Scoped in-line?

If the Savage smokless ML-10II is legal in your area, that is without a doubt a great muzzleloader. Be sure and check your laws where you live and where you might intend to hunt in the future. The accuracy they get with different sabots out of that rifle and the velocity the smokeless powders can produce are impressive to say the least. Plus clean up is much easier. I don't own one, but have read a lot of reports on this forum from posters I sincerely trust their opinions.. the rifles are great.

If this is going to be your #1 go to rifle, get the best. Get the stainless barrel and the kind of stock YOU want. If the black composte does not appeal to you, spend the extra and get the laminate or wood. Down the road for years to come you will still have a rifle you love to shoot, works perfect, and is all the muzzleloader you need.

First welcome to the Forum. I have 4 ML rifles, the last one of which I bought was the Savage 10ML2. I can recommend that rifle with no reservations, cost is about $550 for a black synthetic stock and a stainless barrel. They shoot with great accuracy (they make an average shooter a great shoot--I am living proof of that), there are other MLer that are cheaper, but since you mentioned Savage, buy that if it is legal in your state (MB is that a State?). You will NOT find the Savage in Cabelas or Bass Pro or other catalog sales, you will find them online. PM me and I will give you a PDF of the best prices online fromDoug's Savage Forum---where Smokeless powder Savage users hang out to discussthings.Chap Gleason

As I said, I’m new to the sport so I’m not even sure what in-line really means but I know it’s an older muzzle loader and he did have problems with it last year.

I will check into the Savage models and would like to get the S/S with the laminated stock, if it’s aloud in this area. I’m pretty sure it is or they wouldn’t offer it. I do however have a scope sitting at home just waiting to be used...

gleason, I’m situated north of the border so MB is Manitoba ( Canada )

Thanks for all the info so far and sounds like the Savage is the way to go...

A stainless barrel is superior in that it is more impervious to rust, so may not have to be cleaned quite as soon after firing as a blued steel barrel. But it WILL rust, it just takes a little longer! ANY gun fired with black powder or a BP substitute has to be cleaned as soon as feasible after being fired. This of course does NOT apply to a smokeless powder ML such as the Savage (which, BTW, can be used with BP or a BP substitute in states where smokeless powder is prohibited in ML rifles, such as Colorado).

IMO, any time a ML rifle in good operating condition fails to fire in the field when hunting, it is the shooter's fault! He did something wrong while loading, or did not take adequate precautions to prevent the problem, such as putting plastic wrap around the lock, a piece of electrician's tape over the muzzle to keep out water, etc. Properly prepped, even a flintlock will fire in wet weather.

Eldequello: Where you been? Haven't heard from you for a while. Not sure if smokeless is allowed in Canada, maybe some of the Canadians can answer. I have heard that black powder is difficult to get in Canada so the smokeless would be good in that case. If we could use it in Arizona I would probably have a Savage. Found one on the used gun rack but managed to pass it up which was a good thing as I later found a White and spent the money there.

Great. I have the following on my Savage:

Warne Rings
Weaver Bases
Bushnell Elite 3200 3x4 Firefly Scope with rainguard
Savage Sling


You can see what I have here: http://www.the-gleasons.com/Parts_before_install_05-11-07_0953.jpg

For bullets I tried 9 different bullets in my gun, two shot very tight groups, the TC SW 300g and the Parker Ballistic Extreme 275g, see this for details of each bullet shot.

http://www.the-gleasons.com/this_is_my_savage_10_ml_page.htm

If I were you, since there is not much time to hunting season, this year I would use the Hornady XTP Mag 300g with 44g of 5744, they are a book load (i.e in the manual). Hope that helps get you where you wanna be.

Chap Gleason

I had a look at the hunting guide and I didn’t see any restrictions other then nothing less then .44 caliber for deer and .50 caliber for moose,elk and black bear. Muzzle loader is starting on Oct. 22 so I better get going.

Chap, you sure had a go at different bullets. Some groups looked nice and tight as you mentioned. Thanks for the info. I saw that Savage offers a kit that includes XTP bullets for the 10MLII ML. I’m probably going to try them out.

Thanks again guys for all the info. I’m sure I’ll have more questions in the very near future...

You should look for a good shrink! RUN! Run, before it gets into your blood.