Help! Which Modern Muzzleloader to Buy

kidbear68

kidbear68

Member
Rating - 100%
19   0   0
Location
Southern Ontario
Alright Experts, I think I've finally convinced myself to dive into the muzzleloading world. I'm just looking for advice on which muzzleloader to buy. What caliber to look for and what are the features that I should be looking for on my new deer gun. What kind of accuracy should I expect out of the different models?

Thanks,

K
 
I've owned a ML for the past few years, shot it very little, may perhaps qualify as Greenhorn at this point in time.....

The efficiency levels of the modern 209 in-line Muzzleloading Rifle have progressed quite far to date. Presently, there are quite a few brands available in the market and the majority deliver excellent performance.

Simply put, should your preference be for a .50 calibre in-line ML rifle at this time (and not something more traditonal), it would be beneficial to look at a rifle that feature a break action with hand removable breech plug as that would highly facilitate ease of operation/maintenance chores both at the range and field. The main challenge and an interesting one at that is to go through the process of determining the appropriate powder, primer, sabot/bullet (including bullet type/weight) combo that will produce the best result out of a specific rifle. As such, obtaining 1in groups @ 100 yards with an in-line ML has become quite the norm.

To start with, some brands (i.e. more commonly available in this market) for consideration - Thompson Center, CVA, Traditions. There are also a few others such as Knight, Remington etc.
 
Last edited:
for a first timer I would say look at the CVA WOLF IN 50 cal thy are not very much money and shoot very well .for under 4oo$ you can get a gun with a good scope and all the stuff you need to get started .I had one as my first and really enjoyed it.i was out with a buddy that just got a prohunter and in no time I was out shooting him with my cheap wolf haha t thought that was pretty good .Dutch
 
+1 on the CVA, I have the accura and it is nice. A recent pick up, I swapped the scope out for my mark AR firedot off my crossbow and have been shooting it every weekend for 3 weeks. I am doing a late season muzzle loader hunt in January. I've owned cheap CVA and a savage smokeless that was fantastic, but the quick breech plug is great as mentioned above. I had a couple hang fires with Blackhorn 209 powder and switched to the specific breech plug for this made by CVA. Below are my first 3 shots at 100y from Saturday, overlapping holes. My gun, and a buddies wolf, seem to like a reduced charge of 90 grains (with Barnes T-EZ bullets 250gr). The gun is rated for 120, but groups were 3-4 MOA. 3 more weekends to shoot before the hunt! I will test my drop at 200 this weekend.




 
Last edited:
There is something alot more fun and rewarding about hunting with a traditional gun. A hawken in .50 would be great for deer.

not to mention all the other things you can get into and make to go along with it.

Make your own powder horn, measures, possibles bag.

A big boom and cloud of smoke. I took a nice mule deer a couple years back with my flintlock longrifle. 70 yards one shot.

I just feel if you are going to shoot a muzzleloader why get one with a scope and all the fancy attachments. Atleast try a real traditional one first.
 
I decided this year to dive in to the modern inline pool.Didn't want to break the bank so i opted for the T/C impact weathershield. A lot of rifle for the money. I love it. I am getting amazing accuracy with hornady low drag 250 gr sst's over 95gr of blackhorn 209 and cci 209m primers.Only load combo i've tried so far.
 
Last edited:
I'm with Mrclean on this one. Take a look at a side lock rife. I have a few different ones, but a real nice entry level rifle is a Lyman Great Plains rifle. They come in a variety of configurations, mine is a .50 cal., with 1/68 twist, which makes it a patched round ball shooter. It is simple, and while it will not shoot to the same level of accuracy as the ones mentioned above, it is (in my mind) a nice change from just having another scoped rifle. 100 yards is about the max range you can expect decent accuracy, but so what? Getting within 100 yards is pretty easy. Go one step further, and build a kit. It is fun, and you end up with a personal connection with your new rifle that you are not going to get with an inline. There is great satisfaction in bagging a buck with a rifle that you built yourself, and learned how to shoot.
 
The cva barrels seem to be more accurate. What do you guys recommend for a cleaning kit? Especially for the soaking of the breach plug?
 
I own a TC Encore it will shoot very good groups ,, plus you can add a center fire or shotgun barrel .. yes the are a lot of money but you get what you pay for like shooting any powder you want without buying a new breachplug ,,, be prepared to buy many different bullets and sabots until you find one that shoots those tiny groups ,, not for everyone as you need to spend some time shooting them to get the top performance from one ,, but once you do you will leave the smokeless rifle at home and hunt with the front stuffer ,,
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top Bottom