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A friend wants to get a Muzzleloader. Longer Barrel, stainless and wood stock.
Inline. A few that we have found are no longer produced. Does anybody have any idea of websites we can search for new ones we have not found or used ones that might be available?
Several things to keep in mind:
You can't go wrong with T/C, Knight, or Savage. Knight is out of business but you might still find a deal on one from someplace like www.sportsmansguide.com
If you are looking at used m/l's, the smartest move you can make is to get a really bright bore light. The biggest porential problem is that they have either not been cleaned, or not been properly cleaned right after use. A "really good deal" on one often indicates a destroyed barrel that might not be easy to spot from the muzzle, but sometimes whoever bought it thought it was too much hassle to load, etc., and you can get a new one for next to nothing.
Fo inlines, some have special breech plug wrenches that you need to remove the plug and give it a good inspection. If the wrench isn't with it, that's a red flag, especially if they are offering other accessories with it.
For traditionals, they have neat little LED's that you drop down the bore to have a good look. It is reasonably easy to fit a new barrel on a traditional, especially a T/C, as Green Mountain makes drop-in's and kit barrels. GM and Knight were owned by the same company, that' why Knights are/were so accurate. T/C parts can be had at T/C's custom shop. You can get to them, Fox Ridge, through a link on T/C's website www.tcarms.com www.gmriflebarrel.com
TC has been at it for years.
You can't go wrong with one of their rifles.
My 2 cents Ken
thanx guys, I didnt think about bore wear on a used one. Thats always been the first thing I look at if I can with any gun though. But M/L's are alot different than modern firearm and Im still new to it. I found a CVA but my friend doesnt like synthetic stocks and he wants a stainless barrel. So trying to find the right combo without spending alot is getting tough.
The Savage is cool. WA has some really stupid laws on M/L that make what we can use more restrictive. inlines have to be the exposed primer type like my T/C thunderhawk. can't be a break action which really piss's me off. I could have a T/C single shot with several barrels for whatever occassion.
The liberal leadership in my state would rather hug a cougar and get disemboweled by it than blow its F*****g head off.
Hey, buy a .54 TC Renegade and cast up some 420 grain Minié balls! With about 100 grains of FFg it'll take out anything you're likely to find in WA.
And you'll feel better doing it the way Jeremiah Johnson did in the "good old days.":fighting58:
Being a traditionalist I don't know anything about the inlines. Told him I don't know why you can't except the twist might be alittle too fast but a 50 cal. should be able to handle 50 to80 gr. of 2FF and not shred the patch.....Anyone have any round ball experiences with In Line (his uses a 209 primer)afish4570:animal38::animal38:
The twist in modern inlines is designed for long sabots and slugs. Most inlines will not stabilize a PRB well enough for decent accuracy. That does not mean it is not worth experimenting however. Rifles can't read, and sometimes despite what logic would have those of us who can read believe, on occasion you will get an inline that will stabilize them to "minute of deer" within 100yds despite its fast twist. Why? I have no idea, but it is not unusual for you to find rifle barrels that will, contrary to logic, stabilize a bullet much shorter or longer than its twist would have you believe. I have watched AR's with 1/7" twists shoot 45gr bullets into 1/2" group after group, and I have a .54 GM barrel on my Renegade with a 1/72" twist that shoots MaxiBalls and sabots into less than an inch at 100yds. No experiment is wasted time, even if you only learn what won't work in your barrel. Sometimes you get very lucky. I would try some in it and see what happens.
I have an Omega and shoot patched balls in it quite often and I don't find any problem. I only load 55 Grns of ffg when shooting balls but it sure does shoot nice and groups under 2" at 100 yards.
Ken.
Since you're in a state that restricts your primitive arms season, I'd at least consider going traditional. Either way though, IMHO, you simply can't beat a TC. I've got several different Muzzleloaders. I've got two Traditions pistol (Anniversary edition Trapper) because it's the only one I could find, in traditional round-ball style with double set triggers & I gotta admit, for the money, I really like it. The other is a 44 cal Navy Colt reproduction which I've barely shot. I also shoot a stainless Ruger Old Army with a 7 1/2 inch barrel. Those things are wonderful, but with them going out of production recently, they are hard and expensive to find. But, depending on the rules of the state, always carry a sidearm as this will give you a quick second shot. My favorite in-line, hands down, is my stainless Omega. It's got a thumbhole rosewood laminate stock & a 3X9 Leopould Rifleman w/Butler Creek flip-ups. They guys I hunt with threatened to ban me from it 'cause my first year out with it I got five deer (two yearlings, two does and a six point buck). I've also got a 25th Anniversary TC Hawkin, a Pedersoli Kodiak Express in a .72cal and a Pedersoli Tiger Maple "Deluxe" Frontier in a .50. The Pedersoli's are wonderful & I love 'em, but the TC Hawkin will definately shoot with them, all day long, hole for hole, for half the price! Oh, I almost forgot, I've also got a Duckfoot and a Ethan Allen Pepperbox that I built from kits (never fired 'em, but built 'em for kicks).
Problem being, you can't use an inline for hunting in Washington State. Traditional only
My Knight wolverine 50 cal shoots sabots / patched round balls to same point of aim at 50 yds. using 90 gr pyrodex and #11 caps. both work well on Vt deer