Inline suggestions

[SeabeeMan]

I'm looking at picking up an inline muzzleloader in the near future and am hoping you guys might have some input. I'd like to keep the price under $500 with a scope and from everything I've read, the gold standard seems to be pretty much anything by T/C. I'm also like the CVA Accura V2 and Traditions Ultra Light Thumbhole. Do any of you guys have any experience with these? Obviously I'd like to shoot cast through it but I can't imagine that will be an issue with any of these. Thanks.

[smoked turkey]

Like you said, TC does make a good product. The Encore muzzleloader is a nice one. Very accurate and fairly easy to clean. As a bonus, once you get the frame, you can purchase smokeless barrels in almost any caliber. This gives you lots of flexibility to add calibers without spending as much as you would on a new rifle for each new caliber. I will warn you though, if you go this way, the barrels have a bad habit of multiplying on you. Before you know it you will be asking how to store the extra barrels. I will put in a plug here for the TC side locks such as the Renegade or New Englander. These are way more fun to shoot and easier to clean than in-lines in my opinion.

[Crawdaddy]

I own the Traditions Ultra light rifle and pistol. The accuracy is superb. I took two mulies with the rifle last year.

Combined with Blackhorn 209 powder it is one of the best inlines out there.


Cast will not be an issue. I use boolits ranging from 350 to 463 grains with excellent results.

Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk HD

[tacklebury]

I really like the more compact Buckstalker personally. I wish I'd waited 'til they started adding accelerator breech plugs to them, but It's still not too bad. ;) I also got my Kentucky pistol and Hawken rifles from them and have had great luck with everything. Only thing I do is immediately replace the junk plastic sights with Tru-Glo. ;)

https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/-Ktc42b3KAkY/TsRBP59BFQI/AAAAAAAAAIo/6TlE6k7VHsU/s800/Traditions_Buckstalker_50cal_Right.jpg

https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-mfnuF_opR3E/TsRBY4mXJdI/AAAAAAAAAJk/vHpN175TEBw/s800/Traditions_Woodsman_Rifle%2526Buckskinner_Pistol.j pg

They have some good deals right now on the new evolution also, which allows use of all 3 ignition types: #11 percussion, Musket caps and 209 Shotgun primers. I've been looking at possibly upgrading my buckstalker to this.

http://www.traditionsfirearms.com/product_info.php?products_id=1038&osCsid=756de8d53686f648debaf9dd0edd30b4

These are decent also:
http://www.traditionsfirearms.com/product_info.php?products_id=1040&osCsid=756de8d53686f648debaf9dd0edd30b4
http://www.traditionsfirearms.com/product_info.php?products_id=854&osCsid=756de8d53686f648debaf9dd0edd30b4

[DCM]

I loved my TC sidelock till I wore it out, i wouldn't hesitate to buy another one of their products.

I think I would go with an encore type for versatility.

I have shot the Savage 10MLII with BP substitute and was VERY impressed.

[frontier gander]

CVA Accura V2 blows the other muzzys mentioned right out of the water. One sweet rifle with a sweet trigger to match.

[newton]

I'll second the fact that a side-lock is pretty easy to clean compared to some in-lines. But I have limited experience with in-lines.

I have a VERY cheap CVA buckhorn. Actually, I only paid $100 for it. I saw one the other day in walmart for $149. If I get the money, I'll buy it. It is a pain in the rear to clean, but the set up of it is very nice. I do like the easy start muzzle feature they put in. I know TC did something similar, but my gun is nice with this feature. One thing I like about it is the fact that I can swap between 209 and #11 if I want. Right now I only use #11 but I got some knight primer adapters that allow me to use large rifle primers. Never had a hang fire yet with those things.

As far as cast read the thread I have going. I'll be adding more to it in the coming weeks but I'll tell you one thing I'll never go back to sabots again. I am now casting bullets as accurate as any sabot on the market, and more than some, for less than a nickle. I was spending at least $8 for the cheap walmart sabots and only getting 20 bullets to shoot. Now for that $8 I can shoot over 150 boolits, and be as accurate.

The 1:28 twist was designed for a sabot. However, if you want to forgo a few inches of trajectory for terminal ballistics, then you can have a real shooter on your hands with cast boolits.

[OnHoPr]

If you stayed in the $250 range and got a decent leopold rifleman 3x9 scope and then scope mounts and sling, you could stay in that budget range. Then you would have to add another $100 for possibles and testing consumables. Whatever you decide, CLEAN the barrel after shooting. Hey Crawdaddy, you still nawing on that three point you got last year. The first time I smelled that Buckhorn 209 at the range I thought they should make that a spice for biscuits and gravy.:bigsmyl2:

[10 ga]

For a NIB factory gun the Savage is about a versatile as a straight ML gets. shoots BP and subs very well. TC Encore and Contender excellent. However these guns are far out of your price range to start much less with glass on them. Personally I'd look at the CVA products or look for a used Ml in good condition and a good barrel. 10 ga





x

[SeabeeMan]

Tackle, thanks for the links. I like that stealth and also found this one:

http://www.traditionsfirearms.com/product_info.php?products_id=914&osCsid=9e9a16e2fd44f06f88eab08ce2a719a3

A camo gun isn't a huge concern when I'm covered in blaze orange.

I went down to the local shop and they have a mint CVA Electra for $300, as well as a few bolts styles with full kits for around $200...which begs the next question.

Is bolt vs break a matter of preference and what are your thoughts on the Electra? Seems like a neat gadget, but also one that could die/get wet/etc at the moment of truth. There is also no legal unloading without pulling the battery.

[tacklebury]

I found that the Electra could have been well made with less plastic, I might trust it more. I was going to buy one until I actually held it and played with the system. It might work good, but I was fearful of exactly the issues you stated. I actually started building my own and was going to put a small solar panel on it, so it would always trickle charge the batteries though. I have stuck with my standard ignitions though for now. They do have the electra on sale at the Sportsmans guide right now for a decent price:

http://www.sportsmansguide.com/net/cb/cva-electra-50-cal-black-powder-rifle-realtree-hd-camo-stainless.aspx?a=787289

[izzyjoe]

the cva wolf, or optima are really great rifles for the price. a buddy has one, and he likes it. i gave him a couple dozen Real boolits, it's good nuff for deer around here.

[Whiterabbit]

If I knew everything I know now (which isnt much, admittedly) when I bought my inline to compliment a flint lock....

I would have bought a cap lock.

The inlines just feel so...... modern. I'd rather have taken a percussion gun to shoot the sabots and conicals and modern stuff, and shot prb's in the flinter.

I paid $150 for my inline so I don't feel so bad. If you own a handi rifle already I recommend this route. Cheaper than buying a 209, and it scratches the inline itch just fine (IMO)

[JRD]

Take a look at the T/C Impact rifle which they introduced a couple years ago. It retails for around $250 which will still allow you to get a decent scope and meet your budget. It will shoot just as well as the more expensive T/C in-lines but is a basic no frills break open and is 100% made in the USA.

PS, Yes I am a T/C fan.

[Lonegun1894]

To be fair, I do not own an inline, but have shot several, and helped clean them afterwards, to include cleaning them side by side with my side locks. I have yet to see an inline take less than twice the time to clean as any sidelock gun. I understand the advantage IF you insist on using optics, just because the inlines are made to mount optics easily, but anything and everything else seems to me that the more traditional sidelocks have all the advantages. These are cleaning, cheaper on powder (since most people dont insist on using as heavy charges in sidelocks as they do in inlines), much cheaper projectiles ( cast your own ball or conical vs. pay an arm and a leg for sabots), and (my personal favorite) they're just more fun and more traditional. I have always seen inlines as an attempt to use a modern rifle in a primitive season, since almost no one bothers using them when they can use a modern rifle. I hope I am wrong, but I personally think they are more fussy, less accurate, and just a lot more trouble than either a traditional sidelock or a modern rifle. I am not trying to be argumentative, but do have to ask one question. Have you had some experience with a sidelock that made you choose an inline, or is this just a stepping stone for you? If this is due to some bad past experience, I think that this is a perfect opportunity to get a proper rifle that will be fun enough to shoot all year instead of just something that comes out of the closet a week before deer season and then goes back in the day modern guns become legal in your state. And You can get some very good sidelocks that are in your price range.

[frontier gander]

sidelocks have no advantage to cleaning. Fussy? Maybe if the load you are using is not the one for the inline, same for ANY firearm. Less accurate? Yeah...no. More trouble? No.

This inline is normally cleaned out with 3 solvent patches after shooting. Its as easy as breaking the gun open as shown, remove breech plug with forefinger and thumb, clean from breech end.
http://i293.photobucket.com/albums/mm53/thepowerbeltforum/CVA%20Gun%20Pics%20and%20Reviews/100_1100_zpsa0dbc7ff.jpg

[troy_mclure]

I'll go a bit different.
Knight wolverine. You can get a used stainless one for $100, and they are great.
My father and I have one each. They shoot great and have killed many deer and a bear with no issues.

[RhodeHunter]

Between the break-action CVA Optima, and the Lyman Deerstalker sidelock, I much prefer to clean the Lyman. It is only because of the Optima's breech plug. It contains that black anti-seize grease that needs to be cleaned out with que tips, small circular wire brush etc. an it's just so messy to work with. I just went through this last weekend and the breech plug already has some surface corrosion around the sides near the front of it. The fit must not be tight enough to keep the Pyrodex RS from getting in there.

The Lyman, using a five gallon bucket with hot, sometimes mildly soapy water, followed up with boiling water is just a lot less messy of a cleanup. I just need to build some kind of rack to fit over the bucket that will hold the barrel straight so I don't get boiling water on my oven mits and hands when I pour it in the barrel. That will be a really simple fix.

On the plus side for the inline, it was cheap and has a plastic stock, so I don't mind if hunting gets it beat up a bit, though of course I'm very careful anyway.

[frontier gander]

Rhode, replace the grease with white plumbers tape. One wrap around the threads does it all.

[troy_mclure]

Rhode, replace the grease with white plumbers tape. One wrap around the threads does it all.

Ptfe thread tape. Gotta be carefull with it if doing lots of shooting, it'll harden into the threads and be a bear to remove the plug.
I buy the quality T/C breach plug grease. A $7 tube lasts years.