Hello all,

I just finished my late season muzzleloader season yesterday and started thinking that I carry my muzzleloader more than any other gun I own and have put less thought into it than any other gun I own.

I am wondering what are people favorite muzzleloader? Right now I am using an Omega with a 3x9 Leupy. Looking for suggestions or conformation on a high quality, very reliable, and easy to clean muzzleloader.

Thanks in advance,


ddj

I like old school looks with high tech guts and dependability
This first one is a TC Renegade with a 32” 45 cal Green Mountain barrel, 1-18 twist. It has a Lyman 57 SML peep, a Lee Shavers globe front sight with a level. The load for this gun is 80 gr of Pyrodex P with a Paper patched 459-405-HB, and an overpowder wad.


This one is a TC Renegade with a Stainless Steel 50 cal Green Mountain barrel, 1-28 twist. It has a Lyman 57 SML peep, a Lyman 17 AML globe front sight with Lee Shavers inserts. The load for this rifle is a Hornady 410 gr with 100 gr of pyrodex select RS


This one is also a TC Renegade with a Stainless Steel 50 cal Green Mountain barrel, 1-28 twist. It has a Lyman 57 SML peep, a Lyman 17 AML globe front sight with Lee Shavers inserts. This is my Son’s rifle. The load for this rifle is a paper patched 500 S&W bullet by my Lee 501-440-RF Mould, and it weighs 460 gr. It uses 80 gr of Pyrodex P with an over powder wad. Ron

Nice stuff Ron, really handsome rigs....I have to admit I use an Encore and a Savage, but i would like to put the Savage into a nice piece of wood....a rig more like yours would be nice too, alhtough I'd use some saboted bullets I must admit as well....i really like the octagonal barrels....

My Encore with 3 50 gr pellets of triple 7 and a barnes 250 gr saboted 45 caliber bullet is DAMN accurate.

For the time being my favorite is my 50 SxS, it has fast twist barrels and shoots 500gr cast WW pre-rifled bullets over 90gr FFg.All it's taken so far is does, but I'm hoping to change that.

There are more detailed pictures of it on my website if you are interested.

Colin

Very interesting rifle, Colin. Just picked up a Kodiak myself, in .58, and did some work on it to remedy some of it's failings like nipple/hammer/fence relationship, finish and breech shape. I do prefer traditional guns, that's for sure. My favourite is my 14 bore English Sporting Rifle, built by my brother in 1986. I guess I should have kept it's targets but they were lost when it changed hands for a few years. I have it back now. Last summer for the 200 yard postion competition at ALR, I managed a 6 shot group at 200 yards off the bench of 1 1/4" wide by 3 1/4" high. The load was a 484gr. round ball and 140gr. 2F. That's just over 1/2 MOA wide by 1 1/2MOA tall. The rifle normally prints in 1" to 1 1/2" at 100 meters off bags. It staggers moose and literally sacks bears.


This is the Kodiak - wrong shaped cheek piece removed. Breechs filed to proper shape, nipples reduced in height so hammers curl fence properly, chromy finish lock plates, hammers and tang blued to match barrel.

Mine would be my baby. Handmade .62 cal steutzen ("jaeger") flinter, circa 1770's. Ruined the day for a lot of venison, including an "Ohio
Big Bucks" 10-pointer.

Tom

I've had three muzzleloaders and they have each had their turn at being my favorite. They were all 50 caliber. I started with a used TC Renegade Hunter. Seeing Idaho Ron's nice setups makes me wish I still had that one. Those peep sights and front glode setups look fantastic. Next I got a Knight MK-85 in stainless with a laminated stock. I put a scope on it and was so excited that I could shoot longer distances than before. The first year I hunted with it I shot a doe 10 feet off the end of the barrel. Guess I didn't need the scope that year. It originally used percussion caps, but I bought a conversion kit to use 209 x 50 primers. It is a very accurate gun, just an inconvenience having the primers in the plastic adaptors. Currently I have a TC Encore. I've had the quick load accurizer cut off the end of the barrel, the breach plug converted to 25 acp brass with small rifle primers and a Belm oversize hinge pin installed. It is a very nice muzzleloader and I really enjoy it. If I were going to get another muzzleloader I would go to PRBullets.com and have them build me one from a Remington 700 or Ruger 77 bolt action. However, I think I will keep hunting with the Encore a long time. I'd also love to have a TC Scout pistol, but can't say that I really need one. The TC Scout rifle always appealed to me as well. Muzzleloaders are all fun. I've come to the conclusion that using a muzzleloader has made me a better hunter because I know I can only count on one shot so I've learned to wait for the optimum time to make the shot count.

I am pretty much a traditionalist, flintlocks and genuine black powder. I have a Center Mark kit built by Mike Sullivan. It's a Fusil de Chasse, 20 gauge smoothbore. Replica of the French 1660-1780 era assault rifle. I have killed about everything from Rockchuck to Coyote, to all three kinds of deer here in Idaho to two Elk. All sorts of ducks, and several Canadian Geese. It just sparks fine and ignition is that! fast. I got a .40 caliber Early Lancaster coming from TVM in two weeks.

Too old fashioned to change what works for something new.

Rich

Tom - I really like your Jaeger. The walnut is very nice and warm. This Jaeger, Steutzen is my bro's favourite hutinng rifle, made with a rather exquisite chunk of maple.




For shooting trail walk competition, these are my favourites. The top, a Tennesee .32 with 38" bl. and the bottom, a 20 bore, smooth English Fowler 1/2 stock.

I am sooo impressed by the impeccable taste shown here. Very nice guns, fellas! And Ron, those mulies are gorgeous. Daryl, you have had me drooling over your 14-bore before over at NitroExpress.com. It's just bloody lovely in every way.

I always heard that "nipples belong on a woman's chest, not on a man's rifle...".

Fine looking rifles them flinters are.

Rich

Idaho - I agree, that most nipples look good there - but as with rifles, some just seem too big or out of place! HA!
I do like shooting the flintlocks - however, there is no flintlock stock design that matches the mid 1800's English Sporting Rifle's ergonomics. The fit and lively feel can be approached by an early flint English gun, or a Jaeger, but never equaled. The same designs proven in the game fields of Africa and India in the 1850's on, were held pretty much identically until the ML was replaced by the ctg. gun completely.

They mount, swing and point like a good field shotgun - close in, say 50 yards and closer, the sights need not be used, the fit is so good. Look at the spot to hit, mount the gun and pull the trigger soon as the stock's into the shoudler pocket and the ball hits the spot. The sights are automatically aligned. It is a wonderful thing to have such a terrific 'fitting' and shooting weapon.

I do like shooting my flintlocks, in fact do so most days as the 3 cappers are all of larger bore and carry heavier charges then needed on the trail walk, which we shoot every Sunday and holidays. New Years day found 11 of us shooting together, even though it was a cool -14. Rum'd coffee with hotdogs roasted in the Black Powder Club's wood stove (doors open) finished off a terrific day.

Daryl: I once handled an 1850s English sporting rifle and can vouch for what you are saying: Everything was in harmony and the gun seemed to point itself.
That's a mighty cozy-sounding BP club you have there!

A stainless syt stocked savage.

quote:

Originally posted by Daryl S.:
Tom - I really like your Jaeger. The walnut is very nice and warm. This Jaeger, Steutzen is my bro's favourite hutinng rifle, made with a rather exquisite chunk of maple.

That is a fine looking rifle there Daryl very nice.

Nothin fancy here



.50cal Knight Tbolt



used a saboted Knight 260gr lead bullet on this one.

This one's fun to shoot with patched round ball as well- 20 bore smoothie.


17th century German Dag is another fun gun to shoot - even seems faster than a caplock.


I've run 10 for 10 on trap with this 11 bore H. Wahl ball and shot gun built for Africa, as well as a 3rd in a round ball smoothbore event at the 10 day long "BC Rendezvous".


Flint pistol I use for the muzzleloading pistol event. - .54 barrel on it right now, also has a .45 target barrel replacement.


My .40 Squirrel rifle along English lines - sort of.

Daryl: Thanks for posting photos of more of your beautiful guns! Did your brother also build that drop-dead lovely 20-bore smoothie? Love that big English scroll trigger guard.

Yes, Bill - that's one of Taylors. The English guard is the same one as on my 14 bore moose killer.

Wow, I am jealous of the many fine weapons I have seen here. However, I did okay for a number of years with a plain old Lyman Great Plains rifle in .50 caliber. I had many adventures with that rifle but then with the help of Dave Dolliver I built a Lancaster Rifle in .54 cal. I have no photos to post at this time but it is a beauty and superbly accurate. So far, with it, I have only taken a head-shot grouse, a possum and one deer. Been shooting smokepoles since '76 and love it. Best times were rabbit hunting with a .45 Yorkshire rifle.
I now have this wild idea that I need a .36. Can somebody talk me out of it?

I can try, Al. A .36 is fun to shoot, but a .32 is WAYYYYY better. How's that?

I will add my favorite.....it is nothing to look at, many of the above rifles are beautiful.

Knight Disc Elite .45 cal 4X Nikon Monarch Scope mounted in Leupold QR rings/bases

The go-to load I like the most for it is a 200 grn. Hornady SST over 125 grns. H777 and a 209 primer.

Savage ML2, Burris 1.5-6 sig.
.45 cal pacnor 21" barrel
"Shortie" points and carries well and gets the job done without complaints.

TVM just delivered my soon-to-be new favorite, an Early Lancaster .40 cal, flinter of course. It has a ways to go to pass my old Do-it-all Centermark Fusil Fin. That old smoothbore .62 has killed nearly a hundred Canadian Geese the past twenty year, eleven or twelve Turkeys, two Black Bear, and one Muley Buck that let me injun up to within twenty yards of him with a Buck-n-Ball load. My brother has an original Bess, and we now reserve our waterfowl hunting to the two flinters. I'll figure out this posting thing and show them one of these days.

Rich

That would be my one and only, Jonathan Browning Mountain Rifle, 45 cal. Nice tight groups with either round ball or REAL bullets over 80 grains pyrodex. Deer just don't seem to like me when I am carrying it. Fire up the grill!

[QUOTE]Originally posted by Daryl S.:
I do prefer traditional guns, that's for sure. My favourite is my 14 bore English Sporting Rifle, built by my brother in 1986. I guess I should have kept it's targets but they were lost when it changed hands for a few years. I have it back now. Last summer for the 200 yard postion competition at ALR, I managed a 6 shot group at 200 yards off the bench of 1 1/4" wide by 3 1/4" high. The load was a 484gr. round ball and 140gr. 2F. That's just over 1/2 MOA wide by 1 1/2MOA tall. The rifle normally prints in 1" to 1 1/2" at 100 meters off bags. It staggers moose and literally sacks bears.
[QUOTE]

I'm just getting into the charcoal burners and went with a 14bore English Sporting Rifle kit from Track of the Wolf. A friend of mine put it together this winter. I might be bugging you old hands for advice on getting top performance.

Here's a "meatloaf" muskox bull my wife took with it last month.