Help me pic a New Muzzleloader

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nmhuntr

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Hello

I am new to muzzleloading (I have a CVA Blackhorn I used a couple of times long ago) and I am going to buy a new one in the near future. I believe I want a break action with the removable breach plug for ease of unloading and cleaning. I want a .50 cal (my old one was .54) because I believe there are far more accessories etc for them than a .54. I plan on hunting deer and elk (assuming I draw out). I have a couple of questions which I know will be more or less subjective:

1. Best barrel to resist corrosion

2. Best Buy for under $500

3. Main feature to look for in my purchase

Thanks in advance and I look forward to getting involved in the forum and sharing my experience as I go along.
 
Best handling muzzleloader that I have shot, most enjoyable to carry all day, if they made it in 1-20 twist 45 Cal I think I would buy a closet full of them
 
If your new to muzzleloading, an inline rifle would be the easiest to learn with. CVA makes some good models. Traditions muzzleloaders offers some decent guns as well, their Pursuit is OK and probably within your budget.
 
so The plug that comes standard with a CVA is designed more for shooting pellets not lose powder? Is that the reason for the black horn plug?

thanks
 
so The plug that comes standard with a CVA is designed more for shooting pellets not lose powder? Is that the reason for the black horn plug?

thanks
Yes. The blackhorn plug is dished or concave at the powder end getting the powder closer to the primer. Gets more, hotter flame onto the powder making powder ignite more reliably/consistently.
 
the replacement plug is inexpensive relatively, easy to install, just slow down and read the instructions if you have any questions there's videos online how to do it,, I kind of owe where I am today with muzzleloaders to blackhorn powder indirectly, if I hadn't learned about it and the ease of using it and the performance of using it I would have never picked up a muzzleloader, for me personally shooting black powder or tablets shooting once or twice swabbing in between and then breaking the whole gun down to clean ,,I'm sorry I would have no part of that, no offense to you that shoot it,, there's a lot of information on black horn powder read and then keep reading,,and I know you can talk to a lot of people here that have shot a lot more pounds of blackhorn than me, good luck, learn to shoot the recoil of your rifle when you get it also, and be patient with that aspect,I've seen a lot of people that had an accurate muzzleloader inline CVA traditions etc,, they quite honestly just couldn't shoot the gun,, there's a lot I could say about the different recoil signatures of different muzzleloaders, I'll just say this today ,the recoil signature of the light weight in line 50 cal as experienced by the shooter is longer than the sharp crisp recoil of a centerfire rifle, instead of recoil straight back in a sharp line they jump and come back, stay tight shoulder and follow through,,,, maybe that's a topic for another time but for me being a little man how I manage recoil is very important but I've seen a lot of big man that couldn't handle it too.
 
When I first got my Accura V2 pistol, I couldn't find any Blackhorn but I could get Pyrodex RS. The standard breech plug that comes with CVA guns ignited the charge with no problems. Loose powder is what I'm talking about, not the pellets.
I finally found some blackhorn and have the 209 breech plug. I'm still shooting the pyrodex for now. I think that no matter which propellant you choose, make sure you get good quality primers. I personally prefer CCI 209M.
 
Thanks to everyone.

odd no one mentioned any other brand.

I have a fairly old CVA Hunter bolt. The one thing I did. It like about it was that the rifling went all the way to the end of the barrel making it a little difficult to stay the sabot only the barrel. I think those type barrels are a thing of the past now.
 
Looks like CVA has a trade in deal going and will give 35% off regular priced rifles if you have an old CVA. I sent in the serial number on my old HUNTERBOLT and will wait and see what they say.
 
Looks like CVA has a trade in deal going and will give 35% off regular priced rifles if you have an old CVA. I sent in the serial number on my old HUNTERBOLT and will wait and see what they say.
That might be motivation for a new rifle
 

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