Which muzzle loader?

well for the money the cva wolf will shot nice groups at 100 yards for a couple hundred dollars you can have a modern black powder gun a scope bullets and powder and be ready to make smoke .thia has been a great learnig cure for me and i am glad i went with the wolf at first i was at drooing for th TC triumph at just over 500$ plus scope and gear .as it turned out i only used it three out of our six day season the other raindays i took my sluggun which is scoped as well so unless i shoot yotes with it and mayby a bear hunt it will stay in th safe more then anyother gun .and at 150$ thaats okay it is fun to shoot it is not always about having the most or the best it workes just fine my 2 cents DUTCH
 
I like the Thompson Center Hawken, .50 cal., precussion, using Pyrodex and a conical. T/C has amazing customer service too.

Deer.jpg

I have the same in .54 caliber... awesome gun!
TCHawkendroit.jpg
 
I personally like the White. It is a classy functional riflem and the only gripe I could see would be that it isn't really "modern". If it wasn't that I would probably go with the one above, but for a modern heavy boomer, probably a Encore.
 
I have a .54 cal Lyman Great Plains flintlock. The cleaning thing is not that bad - you just have to know it's coming and accept it.

Personally I don't get the whole modern muzzleloader thing- If you're gonna shoot a muzzleloader, shoot a real one with all the idiosyncrasies and (occasional!) uncertainty.

But no muzzleloading season in BC so I'm no expert.:cool:
 
I have a .54 cal Lyman Great Plains flintlock. The cleaning thing is not that bad - you just have to know it's coming and accept it.

Personally I don't get the whole modern muzzleloader thing- If you're gonna shoot a muzzleloader, shoot a real one with all the idiosyncrasies and (occasional!) uncertainty.
A properly prepped and loaded percussion front stuffer has little uncertainty about it. Flintlocks I have no experience with.

I shoot a TC .54 Hawken (yes, I know it's configuration does not emulate a TRUE Hawken), and with conicals I have not had a problem knocking over anything from whitetails to elk to the one bull moose I took with it. I acknowledge that the speed and power of modern inlines dazzles many, and they want every advantage technology can give them rather than tradition and the added challenge. But frankly, even with a traditional smoke pole in the .54 variant, I don't think you're giving up much at all.

I personally agree with the idea that modern inline muzzleloaders are much closer to being single shot centerfire rifles than a black powder firearm and hold little in common with the idea of a traditional black powder hunt. However, if that's what people want to hunt with, that's there decision and I don't have a problem with that. And inlines do make sense to me if local restrictions say shotgun or muzzleloader, and longer ranges are a common occurance.

But no muzzleloading season in BC so I'm no expert.:cool:
Assuming what we were told by MOE while pushing for a muzzleloader season is true, that's where the fun begins.

We advocated for a muzzleloader season, just like the late archery season. The wildlife managers told us that, unlike the additional archery seasons, the capabilities of modern inline muzzleloaders would result in success ratios pretty much the same as general open seasons, and so no muzzleloader season. In other words, because of inlines, no muzzleloader season.

Some suggested we advocate for a ML season that had equipment limitations of iron sights only and no sabots, but it became quickly obvious that would become more of a battle over divisiveness than anything else, and so we just gave up on it. Given the installed base of inline muzzleloaders we now have, if equipment limitations (or lack thereof) are uppermost in the minds of people like Ethier when considering seasons and expected harvest, we never will see a muzzleloader-only season. They will never cut back the GOS to give time and harvest to muzzleloaders, and they won't add to the overall season to provide a muzzleloader season. And NOBODY is going to stick there neck out and say there will be a muzzleloader season, but all the guys with inlines can't play.

I just have a few areas that I hunt with my muzzlestuffer - or my grandfather's old 1895 Winchester in .30 US with cast bullets - rather than a centerfire rifle when I'm in the mood. Given that few opportunities in those river bottoms would be over 125 yards, I have my traditional fun and it's all about chance and skill rather than the sophistication of the rifle in hand.
 
Flintlocks are not too bad if they're properly taken care of, but even so you get the occasional 'flash in the pan' and they can be a ##### to keep dry in this area!! The Lyman locks suck - you have to upgrade them.

I've heard (wishful) talk of a primitive weapons season too, to avoid the inline question, but I agree it's unlikely.

I never see inlines here though - and almost never see other muzzleloaders (I also only drag mine out occasionally), how about the rest of BC?
 
I cannot justify paying a lot of $$$$ for a black powder on my budget, and since I only go one week end a yr.and thats only if I have not shot my buck in regular rifle season. If I was allowed to get another deer after taking one in rifle then I would invest in a nice muzzle loader.

So, I use my buddies old $150 Traditions, I pour the powder in, slide in a sabot, put on a cap, hopefully get to pull the trigger, poof, lots of smoke, and a dead deer. All that for under $200 :D
 
ML's

My house has 2 Traditions Pursuit XLT's ($300) and my T/C Omega ($500)...both Traditions shoot as good if not better than my T/C...no worries about Traditions...

I have heard that Savage was having some issues with something called a vent liner. Someone had a gun blow up or something...and you are continually replacing them like the red primer holders for Knight...

I am not looking for a fight just remember somewhere the Savage had some concerns...

Cheers
 
My savage ( other than a powder issue not the guns fault) has been awesome. The vent liner could be changed after 100 shots but mine has shown no wear at all and even if it did they are cheap and very easy to change.
 
Though some will point out the cheaper quality of a Traditions, you get what you pay for, and it is a $300 gun. In my case thats all I wanted. I bought a 209 E-bolt as a cheap way to get started into muzzle guns. It goes booom everytime I stuff powder in it, and shoots fairly accurate. Last week I shot two bucks, last year a buck and a doe and the year before a calf moose, all with my $300 gun. Someday maybe I'll get a more expensive one or even go to a cap or flintlock but for now the Traditions is a good way to get out and shoot some animals.
 
I also support the vote for the Savage 10MLII. I shot two deer with it this season, the second one because my hunting partner said, "You shoot it, I don't want to have to clean my rifle if I don't have to". The clean burning nature of the smokeless powder and the lower associated maintenance is a real plus at the end of the day.

I weigh charges and pour them into film canisters or used cartridges (thanks Bwanna) for storage prior to the hunt. I've also found that using a Lee Scoop with IMR4759 will produce fairly consistent loads and none that come anywhere close to excessive. A 3.7cc gives me 41 grains and a 4.0cc gives me 43 gr. The manual says you can shoot up to 45 grains of SR4759. The slight variation would be fine for some general plinking at the range. The fact this gun doesn't need cleaning between shots makes it fun to shoot and a gun you can actually enjoy at the range.
 
We advocated for a muzzleloader season, just like the late archery season. The wildlife managers told us that, unlike the additional archery seasons, the capabilities of modern inline muzzleloaders would result in success ratios pretty much the same as general open seasons, and so no muzzleloader season. In other words, because of inlines, no muzzleloader season.

Some suggested we advocate for a ML season that had equipment limitations of iron sights only and no sabots, but it became quickly obvious that would become more of a battle over divisiveness than anything else, and so we just gave up on it. Given the installed base of inline muzzleloaders we now have, if equipment limitations (or lack thereof) are uppermost in the minds of people like Ethier when considering seasons and expected harvest, we never will see a muzzleloader-only season. They will never cut back the GOS to give time and harvest to muzzleloaders, and they won't add to the overall season to provide a muzzleloader season. And NOBODY is going to stick there neck out and say there will be a muzzleloader season, but all the guys with inlines can't play.

I wish someone would stick their neck out. There are regulations on draw weights for archery, broadhead diameter, shotgun gauge for big game, restrictions on big game hunting with shotguns and energy/bullet weight minimums for Bison.

Those regulations are there for a reason. I whole-heartedly would support a traditional blackpowder season if it were between that and no BP season at all!

I have to chuckle when people say that natives shouldn't hunt with center-fire rifles, or that they shouldn't use quads or whatever, but then get rabid in saying that advances in technology like inlines should be permitted in muzzleloading season.

Choice:

1. Extra muzzle loading season, traditional equipment only (no inlines, sabot or scopes)

OR

2. No extra hunting opportunities.

It's pretty easy to answer that one, imo.
 
The Savage is great if you want to sit on stand all day. If you like walk around I would not recommend this gun. It is very heavy and thus does not make a good gun for still hunting etc. The one I had was very accurate and a dream to shoot at the range. I also appreciated the accu trigger which made this muzzleloader almost as accurate as my centerfire.
The things i disliked were the cheap synthetic stock( for the price it should have been much better), the weight, and also issues with removing primers once the gun had been fired.
Since i like to still hunt I decided to get rid of this gun for something lighter and more compact.

Billy
 
I wish someone would stick their neck out.

Choice:

1. Extra muzzle loading season, traditional equipment only (no inlines, sabot or scopes)

OR

2. No extra hunting opportunities.

It's pretty easy to answer that one, imo.
Well, the Fed simply wasn't going to go there. Anything where there is divisiveness between clubs or groups, the Fed runs away. Done the same thing with the issue of regulating ATV use.

That might change someday. But I wouldn't be holding my breath in the meantime.
 
Inlines first surfaced in the 1600's so they are not modern.Primative brass scopes in the 1800's.I scoped my .54 TC Renegade this fall due to failing eyesight and wacked a meat mulie buck with a homecast ball at 50 yards.Big hole lots of smoke [100gr FFG] Green Mt custom ball barrel........This was during the regular rifle season.........there's pics in the blackpowder section...............puts the fun back in hunting..Harold
The scopes and inlines of the 1800's are NOWHERE near the modern ones.
The inlines also died out pretty quick due to newer rifle development.
Scoping a front stuffer due to failing eyesight is one thing, but to put a 209 primer behind a boltaction with a charge of "smokeless black" powder and call it "primitive" is just not the same thing, IMO.
Cat
 
I wish someone would stick their neck out. There are regulations on draw weights for archery, broadhead diameter, shotgun gauge for big game, restrictions on big game hunting with shotguns and energy/bullet weight minimums for Bison.

These restrictions are all in place to avoid wounding game animals, not to limit the success of hunters. Using your theory, the traditional BP guns would not be permitted, and only in-lines would be.

Personally, I just want to shoot a deer or two and our season here is 6 days. The easiest and cheapest way for me to do that is to use my in-line. I find traditional BP interesting, I just don't have the time...
 
Last edited:
The scopes and inlines of the 1800's are NOWHERE near the modern ones.
The inlines also died out pretty quick due to newer rifle development.
Scoping a front stuffer due to failing eyesight is one thing, but to put a 209 primer behind a boltaction with a charge of "smokeless black" powder and call it "primitive" is just not the same thing, IMO.
Cat

And a compound bow, shooting carbon arrows, with expanding broadheads, fibre optic sights, and laser range-finders, while using a release aid is PRIMITIVE???:confused:
I have no problem with new bows, or new muzzleloaders. I wish other sportsmen could just accept the differences, and STOP the in-fighting.:mad:
Once the anti's start picking on your chosen firearm, then you will realize the can of worms that you have opened. :(
 
Back
Top Bottom