ORIGINAL: sabotloader

frontier gander

I guess I was hoping that nobody or at least few would read your orginal postor even read your follow-ups if pglasgow and I pretty much ignored the subject and carried on another conversation.

On this forum I would like to and it has been in the past say we (I believe it is we) try very hard not to bash someone else's choice in guns. This has been a great open forum we are able to discuss old guns, new guns, good guns - not so good guns, but we try not to drag any through the trash.

Inner City Geezer




Non Typical


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Posts: 581
Joined: 7/10/2006
Status: online
well like i said, i picked up a Winchester X150 and an APEX today! I went to the store and asked to see theX150 first. The first thing i noticed was that it didnt balance out well and when holding it to my shoulder, the rear was very light in my shoulder and liked to tip toward. Could use some weight in the rear. When putting it into the shooting posistion, the stock didnt have enough drop to suit me and had a hard time getting the sights into my eye. Drop breech was great and slick with a reassuring click when i pushed it back into place. Hammer was smooth but i felt it would be better off with a larger hammer to insure a safe pull back with gloves or cold hands. Trigger guard was to small for any kind of gloves, needs bigger trigger guard for us who hunt in the cold.Never dry fired it due to me not wanting to upset the employee. But i did lower the hammer a few times and seemed like this one had a good trigger. The stock for this gun wasnt very appealing, hollow and loud when tapping on it. Had a cheapietexture to it, like holding a plastic cup. It would need more drop in the stock to shoulder up to me and the trigger guard would have to be over sized for me to consider buying it. It also needs a pound or 2 in the rear of the stock to eliminate the issue with the rifle wanting to fall forward when its shouldered.

APEX:Right away i noticed was that it had a very very well balanced feel,the stock had a new and fun look to it. Barrel/ sights were the ones i like, nice and bright. Right as i shouldered it i knew there was a big problem. The stock was to short for me and did not offer a comfortable hold and was unable to line up the sights. Needs more drop to the stock and maybe 2" added to fit me right. The balance and weight was just right. The palm grip also wasnt comfortable and liked to bend my wrist at an odd angle. Again, hollow stock and noisey with a cheapie plastic feel. Break open action was as smooth as a prom queens inner thigh "shivers"and snapped shut tightly. I could not test the hammer or trigger due to it having a lock on it " like anyone would be dumb enough to rob a store with a ML'er"
The rifle would just not fit me at all. Which is why everyone looking into buying a muzzleloader needs to see the rifle in person and make sure it fits properly before buying. The cva optima also did not fit me due to the stock design.
Just because these3 rifles did not fit me, doesnt mean they will not fit you, Its very important that your shoulderany rifle in person in all hunting/shooting posistions and make sure it will fit your body and needs. But most importantly, the 2 things they could improve on the Omega for it to be a solid shooter is to add some weight to the rear of the stock so it balances out better and to add some drop to the stock. The prohunter for me would need a new design in the composit stock for it to fit me. Keep this in mind before purchasing any muzzleloader. Its worth a couple hour drive to a store that does carry the rifle to make sure the rifle actually fits you and that you like the balance of the rifle.