Which muzzle loader?

mrefaat

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i never handled a muzzle loader before and was look for advice on what to buy for deer hunting.
can you please share you expertise and recommendation on a muzzle loader?
what to look for, what to avoid?

thnx, Mo
 
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depending on your budget will say a lot on what you want to get out of your muzzleloader. Savage MLII SS laminate is a great gun. allows you to use either 150 gr of pyrodex equivalent, or smokeless powder, 209 primer system, bolt action and accutrigger just like the rest of the guns you want to own. plus it looks damn pretty and shoots to boot.
 
I have a pro-hunter but think the savage is an excellent choice. You just have to more precise with the powder, as though you were reloading (when using smokeless) weigh every load. You can get small plastic tubes to hold your pre-measured powders so you can poor into the barrel and not loose powder in the wind.

Good luck and have fun.
 
Ive shot all types/makes of Muzzleloaders and in my opinion the Savage is best. Im the proud owner of an ML II stainless/laminate and its downed many great deer and has never let me down. I don't have to wait for a big cloud of smoke to clear, I never have to swab the barrrel before loading a sabot and only clean it after each season closes. You also get better velocity with the smokless powder and quite a selection of powder to work up the perfect load.

Cheers!!
 
I like the Thompson Center Hawken, .50 cal., precussion, using Pyrodex and a conical. T/C has amazing customer service too.

Deer.jpg
 
I'll vote Savage as well, though my experience is limited to a few hundred shots and only 3 deer. Not having to clean constantly is all the reason I'd need, even if there were no performance advantages. I started muzzleloading 25 years with a .45 cal Italian Hawkin and round balls, and have no trouble admitting that my only interest now is the special season and the best performance I can get.
My Savage is the Thumbhole laminate, which weighs about 2 pounds more than it needs to. As much as I hate to admit it, one of the Tupperware ones would be easier to carry.
 
how would you put the powder in the muzzle?

Oh... the temptation for a burn is.... taking... hold.... must resist.....


Ah... that's better.

The Savage is a very nice unit, if you can afford it. They are expensive compared to some of the other models available. Its loaded the same as all the others but weigh your powder before you hit the field and pack it in tubes that are available. The bolt is just a nice feature to secure the primer and to make it more "familiar" for new users.

Its very nice because you don't have to clean in between shots, which can be handy if you miss... :redface:

Cleaning a regular bp is not difficult.. but it must be done.
 
I like the Thompson Center Hawken, .50 cal., precussion, using Pyrodex and a conical. T/C has amazing customer service too.

Deer.jpg

Classy! I have the same rifle. almost never comes out of the safe though. no ML season in BC.


modern muzzle loaders are one of the greatest tragedies of the hunting world. Stainless? Scopes? inline? just go out and buy a .30-06.
 
I love my TC Encore...great gun. But I also love my A&H flintlock, and my TC Treehawk (perc)
I will use any one of them depending on weather conditions, and the type of hunting I'm doing (treestand, swamp, field-edge)
Unless you are experienced in reloading, I would hesitate in getting a Savage (unless you still use BP).
You should know how to drive a Lada, before you hop behind the wheel of a Ferrari. :D
 
Muzzle Loader

I prefer traditional muzzle loaders over modern inlines but it's up to you. I use a Peterosoli Tryon 50, and my Parker-Hale 577's and 451 Volinteer.
I peobably have about 12 or 14 black powder firearms but no modern guns like TC.
 
modern muzzle loaders are one of the greatest tragedies of the hunting world. Stainless? Scopes? inline? just go out and buy a .30-06.

for the poor suckers like me, we arent allowed to use rifles for deer in this area so its either a shotgun or muzzleloader for the 2, 5 day gun seasons each year.

what kind of groups should be expected from the savage line?
 
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
 
Know it all, ignorant, a-hole hunters are the greatest tragedies of the hunting world not modern inlines....poachers are in that mix too

and one day you'll be able to buy a heat-seaking-lazerbeam-rifle with auto gut feature.

ah yes. it will be a great day for hunting!
 
If I had to do it again, I'd go Savage too for the smokeless save on cleaning feature.

I have a Lyman Trade Rifle in .54 for that traditional appeal and a Traditions Tracker 209 in line. Both are fun in their own ways. Inlines are by far more popular, but the traditional ones are a hoot to shoot with patches and round balls and give you that historic feeling of long ago.

Personally, I don't give a rats butt if it's scoped or not, if it's round ball, conical, or sabots, if it uses caps, flint lock, or 209 primers, or smokeless powder, etc.

We shouldn't knock other people's personal choices in the weapons they choose to hunt with. Our only concern should be a quick and humane kill. To each their own choice.
 
and one day you'll be able to buy a heat-seaking-lazerbeam-rifle with auto gut feature.

ah yes. it will be a great day for hunting!


:feedTroll:

Any-who......:rolleyes:

Savage are nice, especially that whole "no cleaning" thing. Do your self a favor and stay away from Traditions or CVA. They are tempting as they are less expensive than Knight, TC, etc. I owned one for years, but recently upgraded. NOT due to safty issues:

(*Insert overly stated "Chuck Hawks" article here),

but largely due to the fit and finished of them. No comparison.
 
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