# My first muzzleloader.. Which one?



## Trigabby (Mar 24, 2005)

Ok... I'm moving forward to go on a Colorado elk hunt this fall.. And I'm going to try to take an elk with a muzzleloader..

I need a .50 caliber....

Which ones do you consider the best and why?  I know about zip about them even though I've shot one or two... I want to be able to use the big shot gun primer, as well...  Was thinking of a TC, because it looks to be easy to clean..

Any other opinions?


----------



## Buford_Dawg (Mar 24, 2005)

*Love my TC*

I have the standard TC Black Diamond and it is extremely accurate and has never failed ignition with the 209 primer.  I have taken several deer with it and they have all fallen in their tracks.  All shote have been within 70 yards.


----------



## duckbill (Mar 24, 2005)

If I was going to spend the money on an Elk hunt, I'd take the best ML I could buy.  I'd go with Thompson Center or Knight.  Also, shoot all you can between now and then.


----------



## tony2001577 (Mar 24, 2005)

WINCHESTER APEX !!!!great guns ,very eazy to clean and very accurate


----------



## ryano (Mar 24, 2005)

well I happen to like the CVA Optima Pro myself.......It breaks down like a single shot shotgun making it VERY VERY easy to clean. Very accurate too right out of the box.

It also comes with holes pre drilled for mounting scope rings............

Im sure there are much better out there but Im very happy with my CVA Optima


----------



## Trigabby (Mar 24, 2005)

Thanks everyone for your input so far... 

Duck - Yeah.. I'm going to get the best that I can, I just need to narrow it down first..   And after I get it, I'm going to shoot, shoot, clean, shoot and repeat.. lol...


----------



## PWalls (Mar 24, 2005)

3and8fan4ever said:
			
		

> well I happen to like the CVA Optima Pro myself.......It breaks down like a single shot shotgun making it VERY VERY easy to clean. Very accurate too right out of the box.
> 
> It also comes with holes pre drilled for mounting scope rings............
> 
> Im sure there are much better out there but Im very happy with my CVA Optima



What he said.


----------



## HT2 (Mar 24, 2005)

*Trig.......*

Yeah Andy is right..........

(Oh my God!!!!!!!!!!  Did I really say that???????   )............

Knight is a good gun..........But I like my T/C Encore with the .50 caliber barrel on it......

Either way you can't go wrong..........IMO..........And, Andy's too!!!!!!!


----------



## Buzz (Mar 24, 2005)

ShinyHead bought one of the Savage 10 ML rifles last year - and it's probably about the strongest ML made.   It's the only one I am aware of that can be loaded with smokeless or black powder.    

Also one of the most accurate muzzleloaders you can buy.  Now that they come with the Accutrigger, certainly one to consider.


----------



## Schulze (Mar 24, 2005)

what ever you do make sure you clean it. Fired 1 shot out of mine and forgot to clean it. Can no longer shoot it due to rust.


----------



## leoparddog (Mar 25, 2005)

Schulze said:
			
		

> what ever you do make sure you clean it. Fired 1 shot out of mine and forgot to clean it. Can no longer shoot it due to rust.



Try KROIL - "the oil that creeps"

My buddy Bill (y'all have heard some Bill stories in the past here) didn't clean his after he shot it and left it in his deer cabin for a year.  When we looked at it last fall that 50cal tube only had about 36cal left.  The rust and corrosion had grown and almost filled the barrel.  You could not see the rifling at all until it had been scrubbed for about 30 minutes.

After showing it around camp and all of us getting a good laugh, we cleaned and cleaned it with Kroil and AeroKroil and eventually got it clean enough to shove a saboted bullet down the hole.  It was stilll rusty as heck, but still put the bullet on the target and was about as accurate as Bill could be with any firearm.


----------



## SakoL61R (Mar 25, 2005)

Trigabby,
Check the Colorado DNR regs @
http://wildlife.state.co.us/hunt/ for rules on muzzleloaders.  If I remember correctly, they don't allow sabots and only iron sights.  
  My home state of Oregon is really anal on muzzleloaders- no scopes, no 209 primers, no sabots (or any plastic attached to the bullet!), no fiber optic sights and (heaven forbid!) no scopes.  Prolly hafta wear moccasins and a coonskin cap to hunt next year..... 

Words of Advice:
Choose your bullets very carefully as elk are tough critters.  Below are a couple sites to get you started.
www.prbullet.com/index.htm
http://members.aol.com/nebullets/index.html
Test drive several different brands/weights to see what your gun likes and then practice, practice, practice.  FWIW, a shot through both lungs has never failed me.   Keep your powder dry and your gun clean.  Fire it off at the end of each hunting day, clean it, then load the next morning after popping a few caps through it.

  Back in the mid-90's we almost had to commit a long time rifle hunter friend to the insane asylum during his first Oregon muzzleloader elk season.  On day 4 he stalks up to a standing, broadside 30 yd shot at a big 6x6.  Snow on the ground and we're all watching from across the canyon.    Gun's up and pointed right at the elk, he's leaning into it and we're all thinking "Yeah man, meat goin' to the cooler!"  .  We wait for the cloud of smoke and the boom and......nothing.  Saw our buddy fiddle with his gun and throw it back up for "another" shot......and......  nothing.....    Elk trots off over the hill. 
He "forgot" to shoot and clean his gun at the end of the previous two hunting days.    Man he was fit to be tied that day and still hears about it when we feel like telling it  .   Good thing was he dropped a nice cow the next day shooting a very clean gun with dry powder.   

Lotsa great guns on the market these days.  I've taken 5 elk  since '94 with my 1991 .54 Knight using a variety of projectiles.  I'll get a .50 if I ever get another.   Precision Rifle Bullets (prbullet) are awesome.  Buffalo bullets were not that good.   I might try the (nebullets) "no excuse" bullets just as an excuse to shoot more this summer  .  Here's hoping I draw an elk muzzleloader tag this year!
Good luck,
Sako
BTW, I'm an addicted Ga. whitetail hunter much to the amusement of my longtime friends in Oregon.  Climbing treestands in Oregon are like snowplows in the Low Country.  "You sit in one of those how long?"


----------



## Trigabby (Mar 26, 2005)

Sako,

Thanks for all the sage advice!  Yep, Colorado requires .50 minimum and no sabots and no scope.. (I can use truglo, I believe)...

I'm hoping for a tag draw, too!  If not, I'll be buying over the counter and going after 'em with a bow.. Which we be another story all together!  LOL...

I'm addicted to deer, also.. But, I gotta try elk at least once...  or twice if the wife let's me..   

So far, my choice is the TC Omega, stainless.... Still looking and researching though...


----------



## SakoL61R (Mar 27, 2005)

Sent my permit application in awhile back and will know around mid-June.  When do you find out for Colorado?


----------



## bevills1 (Mar 27, 2005)

The CVA or Traditions are likely your least expensive options, but I prefer Thompson Center.  I have a 50 cal. stainless, synthetic TC Black Diamond I'd sell for $250 as I'm now interested in getting a muzzle loader barrel for my TC Encore I bought not long ago.  My Black Diamond is very accurate and drops deer in their tracks with Remington Core Lokt in 44 caliber sabots.  I suggest trying the Core Lokt sabots which ever your final choice of rifle is.


----------



## 69*camaro (Mar 29, 2005)

A long time muzzleloader and have shot most of them.  Many of the new ones shoot very well. I am not particularly fond of gadgets or extra things to carry, so I want a gun without something that is proprietary to be able to fire it.  The 2 best accuracy guns I have shot are the Austin & Halleck and the Markesberry.  The Markesberry is quick to shoulder, has Williams fire sights and a Green Mountain barrel standard and when appropriately loaded accurate to 200 yards.  As one of the previous persons noted, you MUST work up a load for whatever rifle you choose.  A heavy bullet (either cast lead or solid copper Barnes) will produce more than satisfactory results within reasonable distances.

Happy Hunting!!!!


----------



## Ga boy bowhunter (Apr 4, 2005)

encore is the only way to go


----------



## Ga-Spur (Apr 4, 2005)

Knight .5o Cal. with SS barrel with the thumbhole stock.


----------



## gordylew (Apr 4, 2005)

I have an Encore for that very reason. If I ever go out west I can use my 50cal. barrel but until then I put my 223 barrel on and snipe feral dogs , crows and vermin at a long distance. why spend $250 on a muzzle loader you,ll use once or twice a year when for that price you can buy a new barrel and hunt year round.  just my 2 cents


----------



## Bowhunter24 (Apr 4, 2005)

I love my cva optima pro, i have killed 4 deer with it in the past 2 seasons, very accuate. So i would deffitly have to recomend that one, although i bought a t/c encore .270 last year and will probably end up with a .50 cal barrel with it this year, from what i hear its on the money also, and both are very easy to clean. Good luck with what ever u buy and good luck elk hunting


----------



## deerhunter401 (Apr 5, 2005)

i would get the best you can afford. if you can afford a night GET IT  or a thompson center or the new savage. i personaly use a knight origanall DISC and i love it i shoots great and you can't beat the performance of the green mountain barrel


----------

