Heat

Just ordered the 300 grain XTP in 44 cal and some green Crush Ribs to try. Deepcurls have been MIA for a long while.

Thompson Center is basically defunct. They are no longer making guns. Big pass on that one for me with no parts and no after product support if you get a lemon or bad part. Trust me I thought long and hard about buying a Pro Hunter FX which is the non removable barrel version. The one you are thinking of is the Encore I think.

When Blackhorn was $40 for a 10 oz. container it was a no brainer. Definitely the best powder without question. At $70 plus for 8 oz., they can keep it. I'll swab. I've got a few pounds of Blackhorn but I'm probably not buying anymore. Fricken' ridiculous since Hodgman bought it. People keep hoarding it so the price keeps going up. I bought a few cans here and there over the past year, but I'm done. Unreal. Be aware that CVA just came out with a brand new Paramount Pro V2. Some guys love the Paramount and others have been having nothing but problems with the barrels. A lot of reports of the 45 cal rifles being overbored or choked. Same with the Accura V2 series I guess. Lots of guys unhappy about not being able to shoot bullet to bore without having to get custom bullets. For me I'm trying to keep it simple with stuff I can buy around town or easily online. Not knocking CVA just letting you know what I've heard. Other guys are shooting way out there with their Paramounts and loving them. If you really want to drop some coin on a long range muzzleloader, have Arrowhead (AZ company) or Gunwerks build you one. Look at Knight too, lots of guys LOVE them. On the flipside just read a report yesterday about a guy that fired one shot from his new Mountaineer and the primer got jammed up and he was done. Be aware that if you go that route you might need to invest in a new aftermarket breech plug right away. They are super proud of their stuff. If you want a Nitride version got to order directly from them and pay the ridiculous 11% Federal Excise tax that only they assess, plus a hefty shipping fee. Get out your wallet. Their barrels do seem top notch however and you are getting a 100% Made in USA rifle. Woodman Arms has a gun called Patriot that is also a great gun. Break action with a unique cocking mechanism, no hammer. Also 100% Made in USA with a few choices in barrels and stocks. Big thing with them is you have to order and wait who knows how long. They say up to 20 weeks on the website but I think they might be even longer than that, like 6-9 months maybe. I thought seriously about getting one but without even being able to hold it and see how it feels before spending my money and waiting all that time, I passed. When I ordered my Optima recently, I got 10% off, no tax, no shipping ordering directly from them.

This is a great site for a lot of stuff but the Muzzleloader section is a little quiet. I have also started with a muzzleloader fairly recently and I have learned a lot from the guys on: Modern Muzzleloader Muzzleloading Forum I just recently got a CVA Optima V2 LR with the thumbhole stock and nitride and I love it. I looked at all the options and for ME the CVA was the way to go for now. We also have a stainless CVA Wolf. I thought a lot about the Knight Ultra-Lite and the Woodman Arms Patriot, but at the end of the day I decided on the Optima. I am primarily a bowhunter. I also occasionally hunt with a rifle. I am not into the Long-range thing. That being said for a Muzzleloader and what I'm trying to do, 150-200 yards is long enough. Seen plenty of review with guys shooting off the shelf bullets with inch to inch and a half groups at 100 yards. That is not bad! With that in mind the CVA Optima is a very easy to use, easy to clean, reasonably priced rifle. It's not very heavy at around 7 pounds. I put an older Redfield Tracker 3-9x40 scope on it and it weighs just a bit over 8 pounds. Options for 26 or 28 inch barrel. With the Optima you will be limited to 150 grains max of something like Triple Se7en pellets. You can find tune your load with loose powder a bit better and I believe it is generally considered a bit more consistent than the pellets grain for grain and maybe a little hotter. Blackhorn 209 is even hotter yet but quadruple the price of the Triple Se7en but cleaner by A LOT and the most consistent shot for shot. Remington UML is going to be able to shoot more powder (up to 200 grains) I believe but also it is a heavier gun. Needs special primers. Made in USA vs Spain for the CVA. It's also easily double if not triple the price of an Optima. More on the lines of a CVA Paramount. Personally I really like a break open design for something as simple as a muzzleloader. To me its overkill to have something like a bolt to put a tiny little primer forward. A solution to a problem that isn't there kind of thing. I get it if you are so used to your bolt action that you want to stay with the same form factor. For me I shoot all kinds of crap and never have a problem switching back and forth so to ME a bolt is overkill on muzzleloader. Just my opinion and others may love it. If you need to shoot 3 or 4 hundred yards I guess a bolt action might be the way to go for that kind of thing. Not in my wheelhouse. Good luck deciding. There is a lot of good information out there and a lot of opinions that's for sure! Shooting a muzzleloader is a lot of fun though!

Obviously the zoom wins for convenience and variety but for overall image quality, depth of field, and "sweet spot" fixed eyepiece wins. That's a reason why the high quality telescope stuff is all fixed eyepieces and not zoom.

Congratulations on your buck and pig!

I guess I didn't directly answer your question. If you are going with the Kowa, get one with the Flourite glass! I suspect the 880 series is really the one you want if you don't mind a bigger spotter. It is arguably one of the best spotters you can buy. There is a Kowa in the classifieds that is a great spotter if you are OK with a fixed eyepiece and not stuck on the flourite glass.

I'm kind of a tight wad but I like good stuff when I know I am getting my money's worth. I bought the Kowa 554 before my wife's Kaibab late hunt this past fall. No regrets whatsoever. I know I will have that on me from here out. The bigger ones, maybe not. Simply incredible at 2#.

Good glass right here!

This thread definitely got derailed. If TC hadn't shut down I probably would have gone that route. I can still find a TC Pro Hunter FX but with no factory support and now no parts availability, no way. I decided not to wait more than half a year for the Woodman or pay more than triple the cost of this one for a Knight. This CVA Optima V2 LR looks and feels great. Can't wait to shoot it!

I would get a new breech plug or some Triple7. The pellets will sit on a big gap with the 209 plug. No bueno!

Legendary!

Recently discovered the Woodman Arms Patriot. That one is in the mix now. Anybody on here have one of those?

Very nice, congrats to you guys!

I'm in, good luck!

We got a Franchi Affinity for our son when he was shooting trap and skeet. Ran like a champ and he shot a lot!

We like venison!

We gave one a ride to Yuma from the Kaibab. My wife peeled her first tag ever.

I read a review of the Knight that highlighted a few things about that gun that I was concerned with. First is stock fit and ergonomics. I would prefer the stock from the UL and the barrel from the Mountaineer. Also not real impressed with the utility of a bolt action for a primer. Seems overkill and makes the rifle unneccesarily longer and heavier. Seems like the break open makes more sense when loading and cleaning. Not sold yet. Need to handle one before I buy. I have handled the CVA. Felt VERY nice!

I didn't realize T/C is basically out of business. Thats not exactly comforting either. Knight is looking better and better!

You must hunt elsewhere. I thought only black or synthetic black powder was legal?

Tom is with AZ Elk Society - Heroes Rising Outdoors

I have a basic 12" model from Cabelas. Works fine for my occassional use. I keep it super clean and use good bags and have had zero issues.

Heck ya, nice buck!

Nice buck man, thanks for sharing!