I am new to muzzleloading. I own tons of rifles but this will be my first muzzleloader hunt. I have asked everyone I know to ask on which muzzleloader to buy. I am leaning towards the Thompson Encore with the muzzleloader barrel. I just want your guys opinions and insight. Thanks in advance. Ease of use is very important to me.

If you will be hunting something bigger than deer, look at the Zephyr, a true Kick A$$ muzzleloader!

http://www.pacificrifle.com/intro.htm

Don't buy an Encore !to many reasons to put here ! just don't !

I have a T/C Omega and am happy with it. I chose it for ease of cleaning, sealed breech, and plenty accurate, and handles loads to 150 grains.

On the down side, it is a little tough to load sometimes when dirty due to a tight bore but I get the best accuracy if I swab between shots anyway.

The Encore was my second choice but I had enough rifles in other calibers, I couldn't justify the extra expense.

My 2 cents.

There are so many good MLers out today.

If you wanty a heck of a MLer for a great price, check out the H&R Sidekick and Huntsman, Everyone I've heard of that owns one says they are accurate.

You can't go wrong w/ a Savage ML10II, a Knight Disc Extreme, or a TC Omega.

I'm partial to the Savage because of the smokeless powder advantage. Cleaning is not neccesary until you've shot about 30-40 rounds through them w/ smokeless heck, some guys go for seasons w/o cleaning them. Now, if you use a BP sub you'll have to clean it after every shooting session just like any other MLer.

The easiest to clean are going to be the break open type.

I'd also suggest Triple Seven if you are going to use subs due to it's good velocity and ease of cleaning.

the 250 grn TC Shockwave sabots or Hdy SST sabots are very accurate out of most of the Modern Inlines.

Win 209 primers are great as well.

Go check out a few at the gun shop and see what feels the best to ya.

Good Luck!

Reloader

I have both the Encore 209x50 and the Savage 10ML.
Unless you plan on adding additional barrels to
the Encore, I would go with the Savage.

If you do go with the Encore, pitch the primer
extractor. It isn't needed and gets in the way
for easy plug removal for cleaning. Couldn't get
mine to shoot tight groups 'til I got a .25 APC
converted plug for it.

I am new to muzzleloading also. I bought mine last year but did not get to use it as we are only allowed one deer up here in Maine And I was done by rifle season.

I bought the Thompson Center Encore Katadhin.
I love the thing!!! It shoots 2 inch groups at 100 yards with the peep sights on it. I shoot 3 - 50 grain pyrodex pellets behind a 300 grain Barnes X 50 call bullet. I bought it first so I could have a TC to buy other barells for but I would reccomend it highly to anyone even if you have no desire to pick up other barells.
It is light and easy to move through the woods with (18 " barell) and the trigger is great and ther is no stupid second saftey like others.

The only negative is the barell is tight so loading certain bullets is hard and you have to clean it after every 3 shots. Also the stock extractor is a pain, I replaced it with the easier tip over type for $14.00 so I can take out the breech plug without taking off the forend. go to http://www.tcarms.com

Savage offers the best bang for the buck,and a hell of a customer service dept.

concho,can you tell us why not to buy an encore?All I have heard were good things about them and since I have one think they shoot too.

Yeah, my TC Encore shoots better than most 30-06. And it goes off every time I pull the trigger.

Is the smokeless feature the main advantage to the Savage?

for modern muzzle loaders i currently have an encore with a smokeless barrel, a smokeless savage and an austin halleck in the maple stock. i haven't a chance to shoot the encore yet but the other two shoot well. i have sold knights,h&r, remingtons and cva. none of my customers have complained about how they shoot or function. they all work as they are designed to do. some of the cheaper ones shoot better than the owners imagined were possible. the modern muzzle loader is evolving rapidly. i can carry mine during our shotgun deer season and do. mine shoots better with greater range than any shotgun i have tried. i d/t and mount scopes on several shotguns a year and sight them in so i am aware of the possibilities.

Also what about stainless barrels vs. blued barrles. I heard that the blued barrels rust more that on a muzzleloader than a normal rifle and you want to stay with a stainless barrel. I am clueless!

Lightning,

The Smokeless is probably the best feature of the Savage, However they are tack drivers w/ all sorts of powders. The only down side To the Savage is it is Heavy. At least when you Buy the Savage you can be certain that you are getting the Strongest MLer in Production.

I can't tell you if stainless is better on a MLer. All 4 of the MLer's I've owned were Blued. As long as you clean them after every shooting seesion when using Black Powder or BP Subs, they will last you just like any other modern rifle.

The corrosion people speak of in MLing rifles is due to folks not cleaning after shooting them.


I shoot my regular MLers several times at a range session to be sure the scope is on often runing a damp spit patch down the barrel in between shots to ease loading and mimic a clean barrel because after all, when your out hunting the barrel is clean.

Be sure to let the barrel thoroughly cool in between shots at the range. Bbl cooling is more important in MLers than Center Fires.

I usually run a couple of dry patches down the barrel and often fire a primer to clear the nipple and breach plug of oil before I load it to go hunting. Then I load it the morning of the first hunt and I keep mine loaded until I shoot a deer. I can see where safety issue would prevent that, but, I usually keep mine in the truck throughout MLer season. Just remember to clean it after you shoot a BP sub and be consistent in your techniques of loading and cleaning.

Good Luck!

Reloader

I have 4 Knight Muzzleloaders 1 Lyman Great Plaines and 1 TC Encore. I like all of them but I like to use 209 primers and the Encore is easier to get the primers out. Most of my Muzzleloaders are stainless. One of the Knights is blue and the Lyman Great Planes. If you use black powder or a black powder substitute you will have to clean that evening so it doesn’t rust. If you have a Savage and shoot smokeless powder in it you don't have to clean it to keep it from rusting. But you still have to clean the plastic out that the sabot's you shoot will leave, but this is true any time you use sabots. Good news is they don't make it rust just make it harder to load and less accurate as the plastic builds up.

If I get some extra money I plan on getting a Savage to add to my collection of muzzleloaders.

Good luck and have fun shooting.

Thanks for all the help! I need all the info I can get. I going to check out the Savages. Are they easy to use as the Encore or Omega?

I don't think you'll find any muzzleloader that is easier to clean than an Encore or Omega. Possibly the H&R is about as easy.

I think the Savage is great but I passed on one since they are so heavy and somewhat more difficult to clean. Correct me if I'm wrong, but I believe with the Savage you have to remove the rear action screw to get the bolt out to clean from the breech end. This can't be good for holding a zero taking it out all the time.

This is a muzzle loader:


This is something else:


One belongs in the hands of a hunter...

DD, with all due respect, just because a rifle is an in-line doeasn't make it a non-muzzleloader. Check out when the Pauley was originally designed and developed... It is FAR from being a new design.

[QUOTE]Originally posted by max(hm2):
for modern muzzle loaders i currently have an encore with a smokeless barrel,QUOTE]

Where do you get a smokeless barrel for an Encore?! I was going to buy a stainless Encore thise weekend with an M/L barrel, but if I can get a smokeless barrel I might just buy the frame!

Rich,

SMI

here's the link:

http://www.smokelessmuzzleloading.com/

Good Luck

Reloader