[.22guy]

Hello all,

I'm looking into buying a muzzleloading rifle. I don't know much about them, and am looking for a decent one in the 175-275 dollar range. Any suggestions on caliber, brand, stainless/blued, etc?

Any words of wisdom will be appreciated. Thanks,

Russ

[jerry]

Holy cow!
Thats like saying I need a car. Just kidding. I'm a dinasaour of sorts, I use an old TC Hawken percussion .50 cal designed for round ball.

Here is a cool site w/ lots of info
MUZZLELOADER INFORMATION PAGE

For the price range your talking about and being new to it. I'd start (but not end with) one of the CVA models.
CVA | BuckHorn 209 Magnum

I'd go inline for ease of use and reliability. SST will be a bit more corrosion resistant. Check local laws if your hunting with it, some states are specific on the primer qualifications.

IMO stay with .50 and above unless your using it for squirell hunting.

[.22guy]

Thanks, Jerry I'll look into that stuff. There is an interesting article about the CVA rifles blowing up on that first page you listed though!

[.22guy]

Cabela's -- New England Firearms Sidekick Rifle - Blue/Wood

What do you think about this one?

[jerry]

That's nice. Those NEF's are bank vaults. I think I remember hearing a few years ago about CVA having some quality issues. I think they have them resolved. That NEF is nice though, priced right too.

[jerry]

They are fun. Shooti'n the Hawken last winter :right:

[killer]

I have the modern in line Knight Wolverine (stainless) and the Lyman Great Plains (blued).

Neither seem any better in cleaning.

The Lyman looks like a black powder with the side hammer and makes the hunt more memorable for me. At this point I want to feel like I'm using a primitive weapon and the Lyman does that for me. The Knight is stripped down, oiled and sitting in the safe. It doesn't even make the trip up as a spare anymore.

I would stay with .50 cal whatever you get, seems to be more options of bullets with them.

That's my advice. Go for the nostalgia. I've hunted in the rain for 3 days with the primitive Lyman and it fired instantly when the hammer dropped. There's little tricks I guess to make them go boom. That's part of the fun. Figuring them out and beating nature.

[Paper]

Killer,
I'm hoping that you were OK after taking that picture. I can't believe the size of the bloody deer that's about to attack you from the side!!! It's huge, and airborne!!!
I hope you were OK after the attack!!
I hope you were able to stop the attack, and give that attacking deer what it deserved.. To be eaten..
I like venison jerky, by the way..

[.22guy]

Holy crap, I never realized the deer was about to attack. That thing has blood from it's last victim all over it. One more reason to hunt these brutal creatures.