o/t looking for info on muzzleloaders

[wabi]

Personly I would suggest the Savage model 10 ml-11(2)
This ml uses smokeless powder and is a very accurate rifle once you find the right load...................

I recently read Savage is dropping the muzzleloader from their line. Can't swear to it, but I'd research it before I bought one.

Forgot to mention that T/Cs customer service is like Excalibur's. I've had a few dealings with them and never was disappointed. For example, I called T/C to ask if I could buy a wood replacement stock for a NewEnglander with a synthetic stock. They told me just mail the synthetic stock back to them with a note saying I didn't like it and prefer wood, and they sent me a new wood stock!
Called another time trying to buy 2 "plug screws" to fill the holes when I removed a back sight. They sent me 6 screws at no charge!
T/C has a new owner now, but if their customer service is still that good it's worth spending a few dollars more for their products. I look at it as buying insurance against a product failure.

[RANGER94]

I have a Thompson Center Encore muzzle-loader. At 100 yards - it is the most accurate rifle I own at that yardage. From a bench - three shots will touch. I am extremely happy with it.
For a more traditional approach I own a Lyman Great Plains Rifle .50 cal Flintlock - I have owned that one for around 20 years or so and also very happy with it.

Muzzle-loaders will last forever - as long as - You Clean It immediately after you shot it.

[Hoss]

I have a T/C Encore as well.. I stack shots at hundred too.. 1 inch high... useing 100grns of 777 and a 245 grn Hornady stx sabot with 25acp converted breech plug that my good friend Saxman gave me. Im telling you this thing is very accurate and always fires even in the rain. BUT I do tape the tip.

[masboy]

thompson center only way to go around here super acc, barrels don,t rust inside like cheap metals in cva,trad,

[mikej]

now looking for information on what accessories i need to start hunting with a muzzleloader as well as a decent scope for a muzzleloader

[Dereck]

No personal experience but was talking to a member on another forum and he said to stay with some form of break action the inlines tend to freeze up.

[wabi]

If this is your first muzzleloader and you buy an inline you can start out with just a few basic accessories.

Use powder in pellet form and you can get by without a powder flask & measure, but the cost of pellets is higher per shot than loose powder. The pellets are still a good choice for a beginner to use to "get their feet wet".

Bullets for an inline usually mean sabots & bullets, and I'd start with some of the pre-packaged (bullets & sabots together in the same package) ones until you find what your gun likes.
Most of my .50s like bullets in the 250 - 300 grain range.

Caps or primers to fit your gun's ignition system.

A cleaning jag will probably come with the gun, and should work satisfactorily.

A possibles bag or shooting pouch to carry bullets, powder, caps (or primers), etc. is nice to keep things together, but not really a necessity.

As for cleaning, you can buy a lot of solvents. I have found plain old water works just fine with every powder I've used. (black powder, pyrodex, american pioneer, triple seven, clean shot, clear shot, and a few more obsolete ones ) Never used BH209, but I believe regular smokeless gun cleaning solvents work for it.

The most important thing is to always clean your gun the same day you shoot it with any of the powders I listed that I've used. (there again, I haven't used BH209, but I understand you can wait a day or two with it) Depending on humidity levels a barrel can rust quickly with real BP or most of the substitutes!

Muzzleloading isn't all that complicated, but a few basics must be remembered.
Rules like always seating the bullet firmly against the powder charge must be carefully adhered to or you can get in big trouble quickly.
If at all possible get someone with a good bit of muzzleloading experience to coach (and observe your loading routine) your first few shooting sessions.

[RyanB]

I picked up a TC Pro-Hunder XT this year (formerly the Endeavor) and am shooting 300gr Hornady's with 100 grains of Blackhord 209... I only got around to sighting it in this week. My first few shots where great doing a 25yard sight it but when I moved back to 100 yards something funny started or at least I started to notice it anyway. When I would pull the trigger I could actually hear the hamer fall, primer go off and then the powder ignite with a bang. Fired a few shots and thought maybe it was a clogged breach plug...fired 2 more shots and the same thing...decieded to try some IMR white hots that my father shoots in his CVA and all there was when pulling the trigger was one BIG BANG! I figured it may be my powder (moisture???) called up Blackhorn and they asked if I was using a muzzleloader 209 primer...Said ya...the remington's! Turns out that was what my problem was. With blackhorn they need a standard 209 shotgun primer and preferably something hot like the winchesters. I then went and picked some up and sure enough...all better! Now I have it sighted in and it is just amazing. Cleaning is breeze with standard Hoppes and the loose Blackhorn is great compared to the pellets if you want to customize your loads or work up a load!

Good luck...RyanB

[Farmer]

I have been using my Traditiond ML for 3 seasons now It has been fired 6 times at deer and has killed 6 deer. I do my part the gun does the rest.I am shooting a package gun that I picked up from SIR / Cabelas.

I shot a number of loads / types and weights of bullets thru the gun before I found the accuracy that I wanted . My rifle will deliver 3 shot clover leaf groups at 100 yards using 80 grains of FFg Goex black powder topped with a harvester sabot and a 44 cal. 300 grain Horandy XTP pistol bullet.

It is what I have called my Bang / Flop combination. The gun goes Bang , the deer goes Flop.

Have not had a lot of luck with pyro pellets or triple 7 in any of my ML's . Here is a link to the rifle combination that I am using.


http://www.cabelas.ca/index.cfm?pageID= ... n=&ID=9116

If you were close enough you could come down to the farm and try it out if you liked.

[DuckHunt]

Any chance you can shoot it before sealing the deal? About 10 years ago I bought a Traditions Lightning LD. It was supposed to be a .45 caliber long distance model. It was pretty. It had a long fluted stainless barrel with a muzzle brake. With a 40 cal sabot it was supposed to be able to reach out to 200 yards, or so the advertising would lead you to believe.

I put almost a hundred shots through it using a half dozen types of bullets, two powders, two scopes and various loadings. I finally came to the conclusion that I had a lemon. Nothing would keep inside of a foot circle at 100 yards. Any good ML will keep it inside of 4" at 100 yards with the right load. There was no 'right load' for that gun. To their credit, Traditions customer support was good. I shipped it in and they checked it out and sent my a brand new one for my trouble.

I traded the new one, unfired, for a CVA Optima Pro Magnum in .50 cal and have never looked back.

I had a lemon. I'm sure it was an exception, but I won't be dropping my $$$ on another Traditions rifle.

DuckHunt