I have about talked myself into getting this 50 cal muzzleloader. A friend of mine shoots a T/C encore and has a 50 cal blackpowder barrell for it. He is impressed with the accuracy and ease of cleaning. I started looking through Cabelas at the different break open ML's and had almost decided on the cheaper CVA Optima. Then I got on the forums and started reading about CVA problems (don't want) and noticed that most everyone was recomending the T/C Omega.

My questions are this:

Will the Omega be as easy to clean as the Encore is?

Also, in regards to the "loud" click when cocking this gun; is this really an issue?

Anything else I should be aware of or is there another gun I should give serious consideration to?

I was thinking the black/blued version, but part of me thinks stainless may be better/easier to clean (?). Who has the best deal on the Omega?

Thank ya'll for your help.

NitroSteel

i owen and shoot a stainless laminate omega and love it for deer and hogs.

the click isnt that loud

iv owend every modle of the omega and out of all of them prefer the stainless laminate

the load i use is 3 tripple seven 50 grain pellets a winchester 209 primer ans 300 grain hornady sst or xtp mag. this load always shoots 1"-1.250" at 100 yards for me

to date i have taken 3 deer and 10 boar and 25 coyotes with the omega and these loads.

ps it takes about ten minutes to clean the omega if you cant spare 10-15 minutes to clean your gun stay with smokeless or take up knitting.

I have a stainless synthetic stock Omega and it is a great gun. It is a little picky as to what bullet/sabot combinations will go down the barrel. Many of the Omega barrels are a little tight and there are now some thinner sabots available to fix that situation. Personally mine will not shoot Tripple Seven without a crud ring that is terrible. I have excellent results with Black Mag'3 and Hornady bullets in Harvester sabots. Have taken elk at 100 yards with 300gr. bullets over 90gr. Black Mag'3. There were some killer deals at some of the Walmart stores at the end of last year. Now you will likely have to search Midsouth, Midway, or some of the other mail order stores. Usually the shipping comes out to about what the local sales tax is so it is a wash.

The Omega is a good choice. The stainless is more weather resistant, but you still have to keep them clean, and it takes just as long to do a stainless barrel as it does a blued one. (You don't let any muzzle loader sit uncleaned overnight no matter what kind of steel it's made from if you want it to stay accurate.) I think the Encore is a little easier to clean, but it's only a saving of two minutes out of twenty, not enough difference to matter. Pick the one that fits you better. The main advantage of the Encore is the versatility of it's frame with all the different pistol, ml, rifle, and shotgun barrels you can mount on it.

A win94 or a traditional caplock make loud cocking sounds, too, until you learn how to do it quietly. The Omega is the same way, a little practice will do wonders.

I have killed deer with both the Omega and Encore. Both are fine guns, well made with great backup from TC. I too was leaning toward the Omega, but purchased an Encore, 209x50, walnut-blue instead. My reason, it is many guns, not just one. I have a .50 cal muzzleloader barrel which shoots 1 1/8" groups at 100 yds, and a .25-06 barrel that shoots 5/16" 100 yd groups with my reloads.

The only drawback is.........there are LOT$ of barrel choices!!!

Either way you will not be dissapointed.

Not an expert, just what works for me.

After shooting my Encore now for about 5 plus years, I could not buy any other ML.

I took the first step into muzzle loading last year and purchased a TC Omega. handles well, Nice fit and finish, shoots well, cleans up nicely, and reasonably priced.

I have not used it very much yet, but so far I give it a high rating

I have a stainless laminate thumbhole stock O mega. It is as accurate as most of my centerfires if you load it correctly and do your part when shooting. I am a traditionalist at heart but this rifle is the cats meow in every way. If you buy one and don't like it I think you will not like any muzzleloader. I sell T/C guns and they are priced cheap for what you are getting (high quality & they are far from the most expensive guns on the market.

Well Nitro....

... did you purchase it yet?

If not, may be better-off to wait until August & September when nice sales occur - prior to most ML hunting seasons.