Thanks for the replys. Anyone have any words on the Winchester APEX?

Yes,

Buy Stainless Steel Only!

Or better yet, get the Kodiak Pro SS with the Bergara Barrel stamp. This has a superior barrel, compared to the old Apex's and Kodiaks

I honestly don't believe there are any pros when you are deer hunting with one or the other. I have killed deer with both and dead is dead in this situation. My 45 with the load I am currently using is my personal most accurate ML ever but basically if is sparks your interest give it a try. If not, buy the 50!

45's are fun my 209x45 Encore is setup for the brush with a 1 1/2x4 1/2 X scope , where I hunt you cann't see more than 50 to 100 yards . My load is 100grs. fff 777 and 200gr. SST (shockwave) .
Charlie

My first M. L. was a CVA Hunterbolt it came with 2 barrels 45 & 50 cal.
I started out with the 45 cal. barrel. The biggest disadvantage was finding 45 cal bullets in my area very few places carry them If they did have them the only choice was PowerBelts. They are a very easy loading & accurate bullet.I didn't know of the down falls of a PowerBelt then. I admit I over powered them using 100 gr. of 777. Needless to say I lost my first M.L. deer. If you read this forum very much you probably know about Powerbelts. Some people love them. Some people hate them. I now only shoot 50 cal. There is a endless choice of 50 cal. bullets.

45 cal i prefeer but it took me a while to find the right bullet load comboi mean i shot all of them i was getting ready to switch to 50 cal but i found that 150grains pyrodex and 195 grain hollow point powerbelt works very well i dosent leave the best blood trail but if hit in the chest i havent had a deer go more than 70 yards it works i took the top five buck taken with a muzzleloader in new york this year grossed 174 5/8 huge bannana beams and points