Teach me about inline muzzle loaders

[SCREAMINREELS]

Need to buy a budget friendly muzzleloader. Seems i can get a pretty decent one for $500 or under. I have wiggle room on the price and can go up but I honesty dont want the best out there but want to find somehting that will serve me well. Kinda like an entry level savage or tikka compared to rimfire. There are alot of better and prettier guns out there but they will definitely shoot well enough to hunt with just may not be competition ready out of the box. After this hunt it will probably sit in the safe for years until i draw another if ever tag. I am looking for accurate at 100 yards to be a kill shot. If i can get further thats awesome.

My background is pretty decent with centerfire as ive shot pistol and rifle competitions and Im conformable reloading/developing loads for a centerfire rifle gun. I know very little about muzzleloader and have never shot one.

What gun would you buy? im leaning towards a CVA optima in my limited research. Good all around powder and bullet to start with? I know cleaning is key as theyyl rust easy. whats your favorite cleaning product.

[Walker]

I shoot 777 powder and clean with pure ammonia. Take the action out of the stock, remove bolt and breechplug. Stick the end of the barrel in a bucked with ammonia and start swabbing. Once the swab get wet it will suck the cleaner up into the barrel. When finished rinse with hot water, let dry then oil inside and out. Clean the bolt and breechplug wit a toothbrush

[Drycreek3189]

CVA Optima is a great gun. Nice trigger, accurate, easy removeable breach plug. You can’t go wrong with that choice. I used to shoot an Encore, now have an Optima, and I would not go back. I use White Hots and Powerbelts, but there are plenty of good powders and bullets to try.

[dustoffer]

CVA Optima is a great gun. Nice trigger, accurate, easy removeable breach plug. You can’t go wrong with that choice. I used to shoot an Encore, now have an Optima, and I would not go back. I use White Hots and Powerbelts, but there are plenty of good powders and bullets to try.

This is what I went to after last season--and put a 2.5x scope on it with a post and crosshair reticle. Shoots very well, but it kicks like a mule with 3 powerbelts. Gonna go with two if it still shoots accurately.

[Drycreek3189]

This is what I went to after last season--and put a 2.5x scope on it with a post and crosshair reticle. Shoots very well, but it kicks like a mule with 3 powerbelts. Gonna go with two if it still shoots accurately.

Mine does real well with two. Doesn’t kick so much and still stout enough to deer hunt with.

[jdavidson]

Screeminreels what’s your location ?
I may have something for you
361-550-3883

[MetalMan2004]

+1 for the Optima. Have not shot the Accura but most everything I’ve read on it is the price jumps up way more than the quality.

Whatever you get, get it now along with powder, primers and bullets. Come December everything seems to disappear.

[Chase4556]

I’ve got a CVA wolf. Bought it years ago when I was stationed at a base that didn’t allow rifle hunting on post, only shotgun/muzzleloader. Paid $169 for it and it was shipped to my door. Decent scope on top and I was in business. Played around with powder/projectile combinations and finally found one that it would put 3 just about touching at 100yds. 2 777 50gr pellets under a 240gr Hornady XTP sabot($12 for 20) with 777 primers. Killed a pile of deer with it. Furthest shot was 174 yards and the doe ran about 30yds.

Muzzleloaders are finicky, or at least they can be. Sometimes it takes a little playing with them to get it dialed and know what it likes. When sighting mine in, I thoroughly cleaned it between each shot. Means a little tool bag full of different cleaning goodies went with me to the range. Foam bore cleaner, pre soaked patches, small drill bits and a pick with some carb and choke cleaner to clean the breech plug. You get my drift and will find what tools you need to do the job. Like you said, you have to clean the barrel REALLY REALLY well before storing it as black powder is corrosive. Means your first shot on an animal will be on a squeaky clean bore. Sight it in that way and find what it likes that way. Squeaky clean.

[SCREAMINREELS]

Thanks for the Info. I drove all over town today trying to find someone that could teach me something about them…. Carters country had one muzzleloader and it was a stainless wolf set up with a Konus scope. It was $350

I’ve got a CVA wolf. Bought it years ago when I was stationed at a base that didn’t allow rifle hunting on post, only shotgun/muzzleloader. Paid $169 for it and it was shipped to my door. Decent scope on top and I was in business. Played around with powder/projectile combinations and finally found one that it would put 3 just about touching at 100yds. 2 777 50gr pellets under a 240gr Hornady XTP sabot($12 for 20) with 777 primers. Killed a pile of deer with it. Furthest shot was 174 yards and the doe ran about 30yds.

Muzzleloaders are finicky, or at least they can be. Sometimes it takes a little playing with them to get it dialed and know what it likes. When sighting mine in, I thoroughly cleaned it between each shot. Means a little tool bag full of different cleaning goodies went with me to the range. Foam bore cleaner, pre soaked patches, small drill bits and a pick with some carb and choke cleaner to clean the breech plug. You get my drift and will find what tools you need to do the job. Like you said, you have to clean the barrel REALLY REALLY well before storing it as black powder is corrosive. Means your first shot on an animal will be on a squeaky clean bore. Sight it in that way and find what it likes that way. Squeaky clean.

[SCREAMINREELS]

No gun yet but I bought 2 boxes of triple 7 primers today. Carters didn’t have any and said they don’t get them often. I went to my reloading shop and he had a bunch of stuff.

+1 for the Optima. Have not shot the Accura but most everything I’ve read on it is the price jumps up way more than the quality.

Whatever you get, get it now along with powder, primers and bullets. Come December everything seems to disappear.

[Chase4556]

Thanks for the Info. I drove all over town today trying to find someone that could teach me something about them…. Carters country had one muzzleloader and it was a stainless wolf set up with a Konus scope. It was $350

Went and looked online, and yeah they have gone up since 2014 time frame. Midway has the Wolf with the scope mount for $233. Seems the Optima’s are around $400. Where will you be hunting? Do they allow scopes? Believe I read some states require iron sights only.

Remember they ship to your door when you order online, so short of wanting to handle one, your best bet might be to just go online for it. Not too many places around here have muzzleloaders.

[ohuett]

Powerbelt bullets are accurate but don’t have the terminal performance that I hoped for. They never made a complete pass through so I never had much of a blood trail. If you’re hunting in thick woods like I am, that’s a big deal.

Last year I switched to Thor bullets and shot 3 deer with them. Each one had a clean pass through and left a great blood trail…think murder scene type blood trail. I won’t go back to the PowerBelts.

I have a CVA Wolf and I’ve shot deer between 40yds and 125yds. It’s been great.

[Killer]

With open sights can you shoot out to 100 yards if your eyes will let you?

[Drycreek3189]

I bought mine from Buds. Delivered to my door in a few days. They have about as good of a selection as I’ve seen and prices are ok too.

[SCREAMINREELS]

thank you for the info on the bullet, this is great stuff and id prefer to use the best round i can. I did see Thor when researching. Ill give them a try and see how they group. The wolf has pretty good reviews. That may be the way I go and save $100 over the omega but was hoping to handle both first and see what felt ore conformable. I do know now i want the removable breech plug for ease of everything and they both have it.

Powerbelt bullets are accurate but don’t have the terminal performance that I hoped for. They never made a complete pass through so I never had much of a blood trail. If you’re hunting in thick woods like I am, that’s a big deal.

Last year I switched to Thor bullets and shot 3 deer with them. Each one had a clean pass through and left a great blood trail…think murder scene type blood trail. I won’t go back to the PowerBelts.

I have a CVA Wolf and I’ve shot deer between 40yds and 125yds. It’s been great.