Entry level in-line muzzleloader for deer hunting

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Which of these models would you buy in my shoes?

  • T/C Impact

    Votes: 5 14.3%
  • Traditions Buckstalker

    Votes: 3 8.6%
  • CVA Wolf

    Votes: 16 45.7%
  • Something Else?

    Votes: 11 31.4%

  • Total voters
    35
Could somebody perhaps point me in the direction of a source for 209 primers? Every site I check is sold out
Maybe see if someone around you reloads shotshells. Or someone who used to and now has an inventory not being used. Ask around, someone will say so and so loads or used to load. If you get 100 you have at least a nice start.
 
quick check powder valley has them. By the time you pay hazmat and shipping they are about twice the price. But they are not cheap at any store because they know you will have to pay the hazmat and shipping cost.

You can save a little money on cheap deer killing bullets. I use lead from GT Bullets. with a sabot. about $.30/shot. Look up GT bullets on rons bullet tests. They kill deer just fine.
 
Long time Hawken user. When I looked at the inlines my son gave me a TC. It works OK but I am not a fan of some features. After looking around for a couple years I got a Wolf. Nicer lines and easier to handle. For a cheap gun it shoots well. Loads are now coming up to the 'magnum' range and it will be a stopper for sure. Shooting 501" 320 g lead and also sabot .452 (252) at over 2200 fps. lighter loads in the TC put mulys on their backs. Will try bears this fall. look at muzzle loaders,com Good folks and fast delivery.
 
MidwayUSA has 209 primers and is currently running a free shipping promo with $49+ orders. They have Winchester @ $32.99, Fiocchi @ $26.99, Federal @$35.99, CCI @$34.99, Remington STS @$54.99. $11.99 HAZMAT.

I've never shot any of the rifles you've mentioned (except Buckstalker) so I'll defer to the rest of the group for their recommendations on which primers would be best with which breech plug in which rifle. I can only say that the Winchester 209 standard primers work great in my H&R Sidekick with Metrics breech plug; I haven't used any of the others in an inline muzzleloader.

(I've used all of them in shotshells - that ain't today's topic, but I can tell you the Fiocchis I've used are a wee bit fatter & longer than the American brands. I used them in stretched-out 28 gauge hulls a lot in my skeet days, after several reloadings when Winchesters fit too loosely.)

By the way, welcome to the forum! Some of the folks you're hearing from above are the same ones who helped me get my rig running right with minimal trial-and-error within a very short time after I joined the site 12 years ago. I won't play favorites or risk publicly fattening anyone's head, but even though some of them are often more right than others, few of them have ever been wrong - and then only rarely and slightly, in ways easily explained by unforeseen and/or uncontrollable variations created by third parties. They've saved me untold hundreds/thousands of dollars over time, as well as what would likely have been many fruitless and frustrating range trips. If I'm totally honest, they're probably indirectly responsible for a number of good holiday family meals at my table, with whitetail-sourced entrees, too.
 
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I have a cva wolf stainless that I love. I have made kills at 162, 187, and a bunch between 80 and 140 yds with it. It does good with the triple seven pellets at 100 gr. and a 295 powderbelt hollow point, winchester 209 primers. I wanted to use blackhorn with it but for some reason the T7 did a tad better. the break actions cva guns are real easy to clean too. CVA has come a long way in quality too.
 
I have a cva wolf stainless that I love. I have made kills at 162, 187, and a bunch between 80 and 140 yds with it. It does good with the triple seven pellets at 100 gr. and a 295 powderbelt hollow point, winchester 209 primers. I wanted to use blackhorn with it but for some reason the T7 did a tad better. the break actions cva guns are real easy to clean too. CVA has come a long way in quality too.

Interesting that the T7 performed better for you, that's not typical of the vast majority of info I've read. Just out of curiosity, what kinds of variations did you experience?
 
I have to say that I only hunt fields because I'm disabled and can't walk in the woods without falling down so I need 150 yd accuracy or further. I bought the blackhorn breech plug and 300 dollars worth of different bullets and sabots. I was doing pretty good with the blackhorn but would get a flier here and there. I just think it was my particular gun and I have to say if I was a woods hunter I woulda used the blackhorn. I realize most guns will shoot the blackhorn better and I do like blackhorn due to less or no barrel swabbing. I love my stainless wolf with the one piece dnz scope mount and nikon inline xr scope. great triggers on these guns too. bergara makes a good barrel for them too. I don't care for power belts too much because they are too soft but at 180 yds that bullet drops alot but was always right down the middle. this year dad will use it and I'm trying a cva scout conversion SML. don't shy away from the wolf or cva becuase mine did slightly better with t7, all guns are different regardless of brand. CVA best value out there. I bought a cva hunter 20ga slug gun the same day as the wolf and I love that gun too, and have made several 140-150 yd kills with that gun using winchester partition gold 3" slugs. paid 300+ for the wolf and 249 for the hunter. the barrels are like mirrors inside, clean up very easy.
 
another thing about the cva break actions is if you are getting carbon blowback leakage around the primer and are already using the longer winchester primer you can get those very thin shims to go behind the firing pin bushing and it will seal right up then. I dont think traditions has the bushing to let you do that. I know TC has been a good gun for many years but they are owned by smith and wesson now and they aren't standing behind the TC's or the smiths like they should. back in the day TC would bend over backwards for you.
 
On my wolf I did spray paint camo the gun so it wouldn't shine in the sun, because I did get spotted a few times before that hunting fields. In the woods it wouldnt have mattered.
 
I would jump on an optima v2 for 247 if I could find that deal for sure, thats a step up from the wolf and a couple inches of barrel too I think, both great guns.
 
Lehigh also has a BH209 plug for CVA that looks promising. A couple guys here tried them if i recall. Price is pretty good too. At the price you can get a Optima V2 i just dont see the Wolf as appealing. The savings is minor. The weight difference is small and the slightly longer barrel is worth the small increase in weight.

Vent liner (flash hole) is replaceable. So only $5-6ish when it wears out vs a whole new breach plug
https://sskfirearms.lehighdefense.com/index.php?route=product/product&product_id=308
 
Lehigh also has a BH209 plug for CVA that looks promising. A couple guys here tried them if i recall. Price is pretty good too. At the price you can get a Optima V2 i just dont see the Wolf as appealing. The savings is minor. The weight difference is small and the slightly longer barrel is worth the small increase in weight.

Vent liner (flash hole) is replaceable. So only $5-6ish when it wears out vs a whole new breach plug
https://sskfirearms.lehighdefense.com/index.php?route=product/product&product_id=308

I was looking at those breech plugs, but only after I had already ordered a normal blackhorn plug. So when the one I bought wears out, I'll get the kind with the liners.
 
Hey guys. I'm in the market for an entry-level muzzleloader for deer hunting.

It's been several years since I hunted deer. I've been mostly hunting rabbit and squirrel, but recently I've been itching to get back into big game. I no longer havde a deer rifle, and I've decided to get a muzzleloader, both for the challenge and for the extra time to hunt.

However, the last time I used a muzzleloader was at least 15 years ago. Things have changed. The market is dominated by inlines, which I have only recently become familiar with, thanks to Google and Youtube lol. Previously, the only muzzleloaders I've fired have been sidelock percussion and flintlocks. I'm very intrigued by the modern break barrel inlines, and plan on getting an entry-level one to see if I like the platform without breaking the bank. I've narrowed it down to three models, but am leaning more toward two of them. The three guns I'm considering are:

Traditions Buckstalker
Thompson Center (T/C) Impact
CVA Wolf

And I am leaning more toward the Buckstalker or the T/C Impact. As these are all fairly inexpensive models, their trivial price differences aren't much of a concern to me. I'd like some feedback from anyone who's owned or fired one of these guns, what you liked and disliked about them, recommendations, concerns, etc. Would love it if someone has fired more than one and can offer firsthand comparisons. I'm also open to other suggestions if anyone has any... break-barrel models under $350, preferably.

I don't intend to make any shots beyond 150 yards with it, which (as I understand) is well within the effective range of a .50 smokepole.

I appreciate any input you may have!
do yourself a favor and buy a nice used omega, i see them on gun broker for under 300 all the time , every once in a while around 200. you wont be sorry.someone mentioned a used knight disc, another wise choice.
 
Bobby44 “ Shooting 501" 320 g lead and also sabot .452 (252) at over 2200 fps.”
2200fps????
Your on to something new there friend.
 
I was looking at those breech plugs, but only after I had already ordered a normal blackhorn plug. So when the one I bought wears out, I'll get the kind with the liners.

The standard plug that ships with CVAs can be modified to take a vent liner and possibly even a TC bushing. The bushings though are quite expensive. The OEM plug channel is drilled out to 5/32. Then the powder side is recessed and tapped for the vent liner. IMO its pretty hard to beat that converted plug. Its relatively cheap to do and the flash channel is larger ID than any of them.
 

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