I' m interested in muzzleloading, would like information on low maintenance firearm. Would like to buy an in-line, how involved are these guns in terms of cleaning, loading etc. How much are they in general. Thank you

GO C.V.A ALL THE WAY

Great number to choose from and many good ones at that. I would say yourt looking at 280-500 depending on make, model and features. I have been using the rem 700 mls for 6 years and never had a problem, it gets great accuracy and easy to clean. Speaking of cleaning it isn' t as bad as one thinks, as long as you can take the breech out of an inline, it as simple as flushing with hot/soapy water and then running some clean patches through till they come clean. You' ll find more time is spent cleaning the rest of the gun. But from dirty to spick and span no more than 15 minutes. The key is doing it as soon as possible, as the powder sits it becomes hard to remove and after long periods can cause pitting and damage. I would suggest that you look at a SS barrel vs blue and synthetic stock vs wood. They just seem to with stand the BP and subs better and are much easier to determine when clean.

Loading is a snap and you have your choice of powders in loose or pellet forms for subs (such as 777 or pyrodex). Drop in your powder, use the ramrod to seat the bullet, put on a cap or 209 and pow. Accuracy when using the new inlines is very good and many shoot excellent groups for even CF' s with todays offerings in guns, primer, powder and bullets. Finding a load that is best suited for your particular gun and needs is a little tougher than a CF but the same princples hold true...trial and error are the words of the day with MLing and load combo' s.

They truly are a blast to shoot/tinker with and I have yet to run into many who didn' t become hooked on the sport. Highly reccomended and some patience is required with learning, shooting and cleaning but well worth it.

I' m in the very same boat as you, but I' m holding off until next year before getting mine!! I' m going with the new Savage 10MLBSS-II for my in-line gun!!
This model shoots " smokeless" powder, and is rated for it!! I was just at the range the other day and my Nephew was trying to sight in his brand new T/C Omega with a new Leupold 2X7 shotgun scope on it!! After watching him trying to clean that thing every few shots, and getting the darn ram rod/patch stuck almost every single time while using Triple-7 powder, I knew right then and there I made the right decison to go with the Savage!! Smokeles powder won' t give you one bit of trouble as far as cleaning your gun and it' s the most powerful in-line out there!! Here' s a pic of the very model that I will be getting!!

I have a tompson Encore 209 x 50cal. It is the most versitile gun on the market. You can change barrels and you now will have a hot single shot rifle. The cleaning is an issue but that' s what it' s all about is Black Powder! I have a 1x scope on it and I can usually shoot 2" groups at 100 with 3 pellets (150gr) and a powerbelt bullet.

I had a Knight before but my encore shoots tighter groups and I like the versitility. The new knight extreem is also a great gun. My dad has that one and he really likes the new disc system and the water tight features.

good shoot' n

Ditto on the T/C Encore[:-]

http://www.chuckhawks.com/recommended_muzzleloaders.htm

I am in the same situation. I have a conversion barrel. It is no fun to clean.
I want to buy something nice but I dont need something high end.

Has anyone have any experience with the CVA Optima Pro 209 Magnum Break-Action?

Two other questions:

What is the difference between the PRO and the standard Optima 209?

Does the barrel break have advantage?

Knight came out with it first and they havent let me down yet.

KNIGHT BABY KNIGHT!!!!!!!