Muzzleloaders what do I stay away from and what do I buy?
 

What brand do I stay away from and what do I buy? I am allowed to scope it. .45 or .50 whichever shoots flatter.

RE: Muzzleloaders what do I stay away from and what do I buy?
 

oldelk,

I like Knight or T/C, you are going to get alot of opinions.
All the rest are good, just go with the up-dated models.

RE: Muzzleloaders what do I stay away from and what do I buy?
 

Do yourself a favor and by a TC product. Their quality and customer service are top notch all the way.I prefer the Omega.I would suggest a .50 cal judging from your handle.As far as a scope that depends what state you are hunting in.;)

RE: Muzzleloaders what do I stay away from and what do I buy?
 

There is a lot of talk about spanish made rifles due to questions about how the barrels are proofed. I think it is mostly just talk although I do not load my spanish made rifle as heavy as I do my T/C Omega. American made rifles generally have better overall quality control and most of the triggers are usable as received. Some of the Spanish rifles (Traditions, CVA in particular tend to vary a lot in quality and trigger pull weights). My Traditions Pursuit was absolute unusable as received. T/C and Knight have real good warantee with T/C probably the best as they warantee the rifle for life regardless of where you got it. If you buy a used one they still stand behind it. As for .45 vs .50 I would not buy a .45 as the .50 is more popular and bullets etc. are easier to find. If you want to shoot flatter with the .50 all you have to do is buy the sabots that take .44 caliber bullets instead of the ones that take .45 caliber and you have almost the same thing as a .45 muzzleloader. If you want to hunt elk you then have a rifle OK to do that with too by just using the heavier .50 cal conicals or .45cal bullets in sabots. Depends on how much you want or can afford to spend. There are quality american made rifles from NEF, Marlin etc. for the same price as the cheaper CVA or Traditions rifles. If you can spend the money the T/C rifles or Knight are great. I never had a Knight but the talk is they are good. They use a primer carrier which I do not care for but that is a personal thing. Good luck and welcome to the muzzleloading group.

RE: Muzzleloaders what do I stay away from and what do I buy?
 

If you were going to a Traditional style rifle like a cap or flint lock then I would suggest a .54 caliber or bigger. The 1:48 twist would be fine, but depending on what you want to shoot or what your State insists you shoot that twist rate might change.

If you're considering an inline like a great majority of the new shooters that kind depends on how deep your pockets are. Muzzleloaders are all good these days and most any off the shelf muzzleloader depending on the make or model will shoot out to 100 yards. I would also take the .50 caliber model. You will have a better selection of projectiles and a heavier selection of projectiles. Depending on where or what your hunting that weight of projectile can make a big difference.

Many people will tell you to stay away from CVA, Traditions, Beartooth, and any other rifle that sports a BPI or spanish made barrel. This is because of some barrel pressure testing issues. I personally will not do that. I will leave that decision up to you. If it bothers you that their testing is only at minumum standards and many loads can exceed those standards, then you be the judge. Buy it or don't buy one. Many people have them and have used them for years with excellent results. Most of them are fine shooting rifles also and are much more cost effective then some of the name brands. I think if you use and load the rifle according to the recommendations of the maker you should have a safe experience.

Some of the more respected names in muzzleloaders, and I hate to put it that way because I mean nothing against the other makes out there, Knight, Thompson Center, A&H, White, Savage, NEF, H&R, and others are considered the better of the rifles out there. There are also some excellent models on specials out there. All you need do is look for them.

You also have to consider the kind of action you want. Break open, block, bolt, slide striker, all of them are out there. Some are easier to clean then others and some take special gadgets to hold the 209 primers.

I would personally recommend a Knight, T/C or NEF only because they make an excellent rifle and there are some good deals on them out there. There are as many opinions on the best rifle out there, as there are makes of rifles....

Look at the Knight Wolverines or the Thompson Center Black Diamond if money is an issue. If money is not all that serious then look at the Omega, Knight Disc, or any other the others that strike your fancy. Start looking over the different makers sights and see which rifles appeal to you. Then ask about the rifle you like the most......

RE: Muzzleloaders what do I stay away from and what do I buy?
 

TC and Knight would have to be consider the out and out leaders in ML seqment as they are proven, reliable and continue to evolve. I personally would look hard at a Savage ML 10II but I can use smokeless in ML season, so I would be able to harness this benefit/quality. If you can only use BP or subs I would stick with the first 2 mentioned. In inlines I have owned a Gonic, Knight and my current Rem 700 MLS, all had quirks and advantages to each in their time but in all honesty they also all worked quite well once I learned their habits.

I would suggest a 50 cal, as it is the most popular which means you have more accessories, bullet choices, etc. It will also handle bigger game like elk, etc in the future if required.

Consider a SS model in whichever you chose, with BP cleaning is essential and SS is easier to determine when it is cleaned properly. Even for an experience firearm user, such as yourself;)!

RE: Muzzleloaders what do I stay away from and what do I buy?
 

oldelk, proud to see ya come over to this side of the fence if you wasnt' over here. I suggest the Knight Disc Elite or the T/C Encore. I got both and really like them.

They make alot of fancy ML these days for looks and some say to control blowback like the Omega and Revolution.

I don't see you as a CVA or traditions feller. I can get some great deals on the CVA firebolts and optima pro if you are interested. One has both .45 and .50 barrels Same place I got the lot of the other guns for a great deal. Bet I can get it for under 150 if you are interested.

RE: Muzzleloaders what do I stay away from and what do I buy?
 

I'm an on and off blackpowder kinda guy.. I am a proponent of the huge bullet at slow speed school of thought. My last rifle which I should have never sold but only did because the Colorado div of wildflife couldn't make up their dumba@@ mind about whether it was legal or not was the White Super 91. I have taken Both Whitetail,Mule deer and a Bull Elk with that white. I want something that will be similiar to it and be a consistent performer,ultra reliable and stout and shoot huge bullets at 1200 fps.:D:D

RE: Muzzleloaders what do I stay away from and what do I buy?
 

Now I own a NEF rifle .. I can buy the barrel and foreend for it and convert it to a Muzzleoader. Does anyone have one and how do they like them. Better said how good do they shoot:D

RE: Muzzleloaders what do I stay away from and what do I buy?
 

Oldelk,
I don't know about NEF,but if you have a Moss 500 12ga 3" six shot you can order a Muzzle barrel
for it. 24"-.50cal.....$103