The best inline muzzleloader!!

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That stock is unique to the GMB rifle. As fas as i know there were only 500 total (250 in SS and 250 in blued) made and im pretty sure not all sold. The grip is quite thin and the forearm checkering is on the bottom instead of the sides. Its just a little short for the DISC 45 barrel. Should feel better with the 24" Ulite barrel. Ive kept that stock in mint condition so im not super hip to inletting it for a forked lug but......................
 
An open grip stock such as that, allows me to pull a rifle with some heavy recoil into my body I do not like a thumb hole or a pistol grip McMillan A5 type stock,, I don't mind the thumb hole or the McMillan if I'm target shooting but if I'm hunting I would rather have an open grip. It is easier for me to keep true through The recoil signature.
 
Excellent point, both!,, I'm looking for bench rest / Target accuracy in a hunting, working rifle, I'm placing that template on rifle twist, and bullet selection, even finished scope mounted and practical carrying weight. I'm also looking for priming systems that work from the factory,, I know they all go bang. Since this thread is dealing somewhat in a hypothetical manner we're talking about a dream rifle a little bit some of us already have our dream rifle in our hands I respect that,, the best inline muzzleloader to me again is a 45 Cal probably a bolt action open grip, scoped weighs around 8 and 1/2 lb, it has a fast twist barrel preferably 18 for me,, the priming system is adjustable for my 209s,, brass module would be fine also with large rifle Magnum primers. Adjustable trigger and I want nitride,,, nothing but nitride!! It rules the gun finish category to me. I have a couple of rifles that fit this description,, but I had to put them together myself. The most accurate rifle in America today is a 45 Cal smokeless / Black Horn muzzleloader. What other rifle can I just put a barrel on without blueprinting,, in just four or five shots have the rifle shooting a quarter inch or less.!!!
 
Aside from a few PACNW states for elk and moose, the 45cal fast twist is ideal. It can shoot from 200gr to 500gr+ bullets no problem. So the same rifle can be a brush busting monster if needed. People figured this out years ago with the MLII conversions to 45cal. While the twist was a tiny bit slow with the Pacnor/McGowan 45 prefits it worked. They were just terribly heavy rifles to carry all day. I bought a NULA 50cal just because i hated the weight of the MLII.

I still think the NULA was one of the best ever made. It checked all the boxes for a hunting rifle. The way mine is setup now its 7.65lbs ready to go. It can shoot a 275gr Parker at 2400fps or about 2100fps with BH209. Razor LH HD glass that is light and bright. 209s seal up perfectly and never stick but they are a pain to load without a tool......The only thing that would make it better......It could be a 45cal :D

Other than sending it off to someone like Bestill for a Douglas 45 1-20 my only real option is a Ulite 45 barrel kit and use parts i already have. I dont need a 2800fps monster for smacking deer out to 200 yards. Especially if that requires a ton of cash and/or a 10pound+ rifle. Ive got a couple of those already. With a Ulite barrel i can swap back and forth for range/carry/stand rifle and never even need to move a scope. Ive got plenty of them now.

Guys that dont want to spend much might want to wait for reviews to come in on that new Traditions 45 1-20 Pursuit. It has a chance to check all those boxes but honestly, Traditions quality and CS has never impressed me much. CVA needs to get on the damn ball and offer a Optima V2 45 even if its a 1-22. I know for sure that twist shoots upto a 465gr conical with ease and can shoot sabot loads very well.
 
Im not a big fan of break actions but for the money the Optima V2 does exactly what its made to do. Plus it dont break the bank. I would consider buying one if they offered it in a 45 and didnt charge a huge premium for the privilege. :p Charge too much and i might as well convert a new Scout 45-70 and gain more performance, better powder selection and the faster twist.
 
Same for me I've never been a big fan of a break action something about a bolt,,, cut my teeth as a Young Man learning to build rifles on Mauser 98 once you get used to the slap of a 98 bolt you'll be hooked for life,, I have a 7 1/2 lb mini Howa 1 and 20 twist Douglas shoots everything I put in it,, and I had a 6 and 1/2 lb defiance with a graphite wrapped Wilson, took the barrel off of the time being and mothball it and see if the blackhorn situation changes, for the time being I'm going to try Patriot valley 16 twists lothar Walter barrel and keep shooting heavier bullets. I'm addicted to trying to constantly develop tweak and improve things,, when I get a gun that seems like it's close to Nirvana I usually sell it and start the next project sometimes yes it's a mad scientist one!!
 
Bolt, break, whatever......I just wish a gun would come AFFORDABLY in the caliber I wanted and not having to spend another small fortune on add-on crap just to get rid of blowby or gas cutting. These are after all, just single-shot guns. If someone would make a smooth bolt action in either .45 or .50 having a 26" barrel at a twist rate of 1:20, 1:22 that had a simple but effectively sealing plug for BH209, for $400.00 they'd have the world with a fence around it. Buy a Knight, you have to dink with another $200.00 to get the thing set up to shoot clean like you want/need and THEN you get to play with the optics. Buy an upper level CVA and you may or may not get one that shoots your choice of bullets let alone shoot clean.

Both of these companies need to stand up and make a gun ready for the range right from the box that doesn't cost a fortune. I could care if both of these companies ran their butts in the mud playing these aftermarket games with consumers. If people want fancy wood or hi tech barrels, let them chase these down in the after-market world. But from the get go, these guns should come ready to load and shoot without having to plunk a pile of cash down to get them to do so.

I have an Accura V2 that's about as slick a hunting gun as one can get and off the bench will do 3/4" five shot groups consistently at 100 yards using my hunting load. I have a CVA Kodiak .45 cal who's plug has been converted to using BH209 and I get the same groups at 100 yards with it. This is a sweet shooting rifle.

I have a couple Optima V2 pistols, one new in box never fired, both have bh 209 converted plugs and the one I hunt with will make 1" holes all day long with my hunting loads at 50 yards.

I have several TC Renegades in .45, 50 and 54 that I only plink with at the range.
 
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Douglas shoots everything I put in it
Mine is pretty much the same but the slower twist limits bullet length. As long as i shoot a 225gr to 275gr Parker it shoots just fine with a variety of bullets. Well within minute of deer even with the worst of them. This is a light contour 26" Prem XX barrel and it flat out shoots sabots like mad.
 
Bolt, break, whatever......I just wish a gun would come AFFORDABLY in the caliber I wanted and not having to spend another small fortune on add-on crap just to get rid of blowby or gas cutting. These are after all, just single-shot guns. If someone would make a smooth bolt action in either .45 or .50 having a 26" barrel at a twist rate of 1:20, 1:22 that had a simple but effectively sealing plug, at both ends, for $400.00 they'd have the world with a fence around it. Buy a Knight, you have to dink with another $200.00 to get the thing set up to shoot clean like you want/need and THEN you get to play with the optics. Buy an upper level CVA and you may or may not get one that shoots let alone shoot clean.
I think Woodman may be working on something like that…..
 
It's really a matter of personal preference but...IMHO...

The best plunger action was probably the White UltraMag.

The best break open - either the CVA Apex or the CVA Accura MR (NOT X)
The best bolt rifle - beats me, I haven't owned that many. Just a Remington, a Knight or six, an Austin & Halleck, and a White Blunderblot. :roll:
 
Catamount rob,, I agree Woodman arms is unique,, but there are a lot of other rifles that are kind of in the same price points between $600 to $1,500,,, I will buy $200 wolf perhaps or something similar but there's no way I'm buying any more of those mid-range rifles or higher priced rifles that I have to buy parts for,, it just shouldn't be that way if I keep buying them I'm condoning that.

between the woodman patriot with a P1 rail and knight UL bare primer with a EGW rail what extra parts are needed for them other than possibly a breech plug with a vent liner or an adjustable BP after a few hundred shots .... and of course rings and a scope ?

is there a better easily obtainable ML as good or better than them for that 900 to 1K price ?
 
I sure have a serious love affair with my Woodman Patriot and I haven't even shot it yet. I get it out just to handle it. When I do shoot it, I'll be going the way of smokeless. This Patriot I have is a used gun. But I'd be that if you ordered a Patriot, they'd walk you thru the ordering process, so you know exactly what to expect when you receive it and that would include shooting clean.

I looked at Knights and decided against one because I didn't want to have to dink around with plastic primer holders or the near $200.00 to get rid of the plastic stuff. Damn, for the price they get for Knights they should come ready to shoot clean and people should NOT have to be hunting down after-market crap to shoot clean. As much crap that CVA takes on shooting dirty a simple rubber o-ring is a miracle worker and you get 100 for $5.00. That's exactly what it took for my Accura and my Kodiak to shoot clean, and they both will get just as good of mid-range [2003-300 yard] accuracy as any of the Knights shooting identical loads and bullets.

Of late, CVA seems to have stubbed it's toe with the "X" guns and the Paramount. Too bad too because all of those guns could have been contenders to the Knight group had greed not slid into the play plan of CVA. This twist has put more lkight on Knight, but they've still done zip to get a gun in shooter's hands that doesn't require a major after-purchase expense to get what the shooters should get from the get go when one considers the premium price the guns command.

I try not to be brand specific but CVAs have done me no harm whatever. I own a bunch of TC sidelocks along with a couple TC inlines: all of which have served me well right out of the box. It just pinches my sphincter when I look at a Knight and then consider the after-market stuff to make it a complete gun. BUY a WOODMAN.
 
I sure have a serious love affair with my Woodman Patriot and I haven't even shot it yet. I get it out just to handle it. When I do shoot it, I'll be going the way of smokeless. This Patriot I have is a used gun. But I'd be that if you ordered a Patriot, they'd walk you thru the ordering process, so you know exactly what to expect when you receive it and that would include shooting clean.

I looked at Knights and decided against one because I didn't want to have to dink around with plastic primer holders or the near $200.00 to get rid of the plastic stuff. Damn, for the price they get for Knights they should come ready to shoot clean and people should NOT have to be hunting down after-market crap to shoot clean. As much crap that CVA takes on shooting dirty a simple rubber o-ring is a miracle worker and you get 100 for $5.00. That's exactly what it took for my Accura and my Kodiak to shoot clean, and they both will get just as good of mid-range [2003-300 yard] accuracy as any of the Knights shooting identical loads and bullets.

Of late, CVA seems to have stubbed it's toe with the "X" guns and the Paramount. Too bad too because all of those guns could have been contenders to the Knight group had greed not slid into the play plan of CVA. This twist has put more lkight on Knight, but they've still done zip to get a gun in shooter's hands that doesn't require a major after-purchase expense to get what the shooters should get from the get go when one considers the premium price the guns command.

I try not to be brand specific but CVAs have done me no harm whatever. I own a bunch of TC sidelocks along with a couple TC inlines: all of which have served me well right out of the box. It just pinches my sphincter when I look at a Knight and then consider the after-market stuff to make it a complete gun. BUY a WOODMAN.
Truth be told Tom,I own a bunch of knights and I only buy the Lehigh adapter and plug and a cheap shim from McMaster carr , and my guns shoot crazy accurate and clean, under 50 bucks.the woodman does interest me, I have one of his omega barrels on order
 
I like my fixed plug, aperture sighted .50 caliber, 1-38 twist, 24 inch, stainless/ walnut, open ignition,lit by #11s T/C Firehawk.
Does all I need and is legal anywhere I'd ever need to do something.
 
Wow. You almost have me convinced to get in line. Gotta sell my paramount first. May help it still has the tags on it.
 
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