timlacetia

im wanting to buy a ml for hunting season this year and for target shooting at the range. so im looking for something thats accurate, easy to clean, and easy on the pocket book to shoot. ive narrowed my choices down to three guns. the t/c encore or omega and the savage 10ml II. i would be getting 50 cal versions. but which one should i buy? ive been doing alot of reading and all three guns are excellent choices. the savage can shoot smokelees powder which is a nice benefit. can anyone help me with my decision?? thanks...tim

skeeter 7MM

All 3 are good choices and get excellent reviews. Like a CF it boils down to feel and preference. Cleaning has gotten easier by way of manufacturers developments and newer product offerings. If you can use smokeless in BP/ML season than the Savage is a good choice. I have seen what they can do loaded with both but the smokeless version is unbelievable and a snap to care for...just like a CF really. Since I can use smokeless during Ml season it would get my vote, if not than the encore based on flexibilty if for no other reason.

Accuracy just like CF is based on load development for each gun and usage. Some will shoot brand x loaded with so many grains and others will be brand y different grains or powder. You'll be able to find it but it won't come just by looking on the internet, reading reviews, etc but by shooting it and T&E.

Best of luck and have fun!

herman

I have 6 muzzleloaders which 2 are savages,and I take at least one of them about everytime I go to the range which is one to three times a week,they are really fun to shoot and accurate,easy to clean,took one to the range 7 trips to see how it preformed with out cleaning (except checking the breech plug and vent liner to clean the threads and put on new greese to make sure it didn't stick)and still had very good accuracy after the 7 trips.You can shoot either powder in the savage.
Have a encore too and it really shoots to,so all the ones you mentioned are very good rifles and which ever one you choose should do fine.

timlacetia

guys- one problem, my wife told me last night that i have to buy my first ml on a budget the first year, then i can get what i want if i use it enough this hunting season. so which ml would you buy if youre on a budget? lets say under $250. beartooth? cva? traditions? etc.... which model would you choose and from which company thats easy to clean and pretty accurate out to 150yds??? thanks for all of the healp...tim

skeeter 7MM

Tim, tell the wife it is much cheaper to buy and outfit one than two. As far as use it.....YOU'LL LOVE IT! Truly is an addicting passtime and hunting with a smokepole is plain awesome.

The encore is versatile by way of swapping out barrels(shotgun, rifle) and the Savage you could potentially use in lieu of a CF. In fact one guy I know this fall isn't planning to dust off his CF the savage with different loads will be used for lopes, deer and elk.

If push comes to shove then having one is better than not. I am not sure which would represent the best choice in value packages, probably like anything else feel and personal preference. Heard decent feedback about both models mentioned, hopefully some one has played with them can chime in for ya!

Can I make a comment though expect to shoot 50-100 yards, as many will attest it can take a fair bit of range time and experience to get all the kinks ironed out with load combos, etc. My hunting max is 150 yards with a inline and have never I required it in number of years using BP rifles.

cayugad

You might want to look into a NEF Huntsman in blue barrel. They can be had for around $150.00 and are easy to clean and care for, also from all the posts I have read they are accurate. People are getting good results with them.

Also the CVA line has some reasonable rifles for under $250.00 What you might want to do is look at some of the different sites and see what kind of rifle appeals to you. Since your looking for ease of cleaning then you would want a break open so look at the CVA Optima, NEF Huntsman, and Tradition's Persuit. All of them would fit the bill for you. Depending on what you get there might be enough left over out of the 250 to get some supplies also....