Need some advise for buying first ML. Rifle hunting for 20+ yrs but would love to get into ML. Thanks and Happy Holidays to all.

Your going to get a bunch of different answers on this one, it's like asking what make and model of a Truck to buy. We all have our personal preferences, what one likes might not be what the other does.
If I were you I'd check out some different brands if you can and see how they shoulder to you and how they feel in your hand. Do you like a lighter MLer or a Heavier one. a Synthetic Stock or Wood, Thumbhole or Regular, a Stainless Steel Barrel or Regular Blued? A Bolt Action or Break Open? What type of Ammo are you allowed to shoot during Hunting Season, Sabots, Conicals ect? Can you use a Scope while Hunting?
Then there's so many different Powders to use along with Sabots and Bullet selections, and agin you'll get many different answers.
I personally shoot a CVA ACCURA, all the advice I can give you is to answer what you need to hunt with first then chose among what you like amongst your choices of what you looked at.
Top choices
TC
Knight
CVA
Good Luck and Welcome to the Forum, you'll find all the answers you need and more on here. MLing is a Great Sport and lots of Fun, you made a wise decesion
(BP)

This wood stocked Omega on sale, may be just what you are looking for.

best advise I can give is shoulder as many ml as you can. don't over look lower cost ml like the cva wolf.and the what is considered an odd calibers like the 45cal. check your state regs. that can as be an big part of what you buy.

Down to 9 in stock. Did you buy one Ron?

Schikster,

Definitely look at all of them. I like Knights and Thompson Center, but others are good to. Do you have anyone you know who shoots ML a lot? If someone local it willing to take you under their wing, you may want to consider what they shoot. They will be very familiar with that brand/type and will be able to work with you to learn to shoot and maintain it.

You really need to examine your wants, desires, and budget. For instance..

if this is going to be a rifle you hunt with for two weeks out of the year
your shots are under 100 yards
can you use optics
can you shoot sabots or are you a pure lead State
How much are you willing to spend
or are you going to do a lot of hunting
target shooting
long range shooting
good optics


all of these take into consideration. Shoulder as many rifles as you can. Do you want modern style or perhaps go traditional and really have some fun. All of these to consider. Wait a while and I think you might find some after Christmas sales. Although that Omega link (darn your eyes for posting that) is a great rifle and a great deal.

Everyone will have a different opinion on this. Mine is a Knight. You will need to see what fits you best all the way around. I love the bolt action type of the Knight. I like a stainless barrel and both laminated and synthetic stocks. Oh and I'm more of an inline guy but love to play with the traditional type muzzle loaders. Just look for what you like and go from there.

Above advice is all good. Only thing I would recommend is you find a gun that shoots Blackhorn 209 powder well, right out of the box (or with minimal tweaking.). Since you have been hunting quite a while, I'll take a chance and assume you have centerfire rifles. BH209 cleans with the same stuff you clean you other firearms, making the transition easier. Then if you want to try the other powders you certainly can.

Do a search on this board to find out more about the different powders you can use with a ML.

CVA Optima is my choice or wait for the new cva Accura mountain rifle.