This new BO muzzleloader season has got me thinking about getting a new primitive loader.

What do you guys shoot? Suggestions? Costs? Loads?It has been many a year since I hunted with one. It will be hard to put my Encore down but I just have the itch to try something different.

Bean, Ive got two T/C Hawkens, .45 and a .54 I bought off this site. Both have a 1-48 twist barrel which is standard. Both will shoot conicals or patched roundball but I like patched roundball best. Im shooting 60 grains of 3F out of the .45 and 70 grains of 3F out of the .54. With open sites I can get 3-4" groups @ 75 yards with the .54 and slighly smaller with the .45. I use Goex or Goex's new powder Olde Eynsford. OE is comparable to Swiss. I put in for the BO hunt and will limit my range too 100 yards max.

There are a lot of used side hammer guns around and I suggest if you buy one take a oiled felt patch with you and run it down the barrel to make sure the barrel isnt rusted real bad. If there is a lot of rust the patch will tell.

T/C quit making the Hawkens except .50 caliber. CVA and Traditions are about the only guns being made new. A used Hawken will go for $200-400.00, new $350-700.00.

I suggest you read on here http://www.muzzleloadingforum.com/fusionbb/index.php? for some valuable info. h.h.

TC Hawken in an incredible gun.

Lots of fun to shoot and very well made.

If I were to purchase another ML'er specifically for roundball..I'd look very hard at the Lyman Great Plains rifle. I wish I had never sold mine.

I shot Buffalo Bullets out of my old Renegade....about 90grs loose pyrodex, killed quite a few deer with that thing.... out to 60 yds or so it was a deer killin' machine with iron sights.... I just hated cleaning the thing....the inlines are so much easier to clean esp. using triple 7 pellets ....

Round ball and spit patch for me.. works every time.. that is if you put your shot where you are supposed to..

I have a .54 cal TC Renegade. I love it. Probably my favorite gun.

But it's kinda difficult to find bullets for it because .50 is the chosen load these days. So I have high regard for anything Thompson Center but I would get a .50 cal so every store you walk in to will have what you need.

I will say the renegade with 110 grains of pyrodex and a maxi hunter will put a hole in a deer you can put a beer can in and not get blood on the can. I'm talkin bout deer that are dead before they hit the GROUND

"Aim small, miss small"

Thanks guys. Figured you would give me some good info.

One more question: Any of you ever buy one of the kits and use it? Looks fun.

I built two from parts..
The only kit I every did was a pistol

I have 2 that I built from CVA kits back in the early 80s. One is a .45 KY long rifle, the other is a .50 Hawken carbine. They both are good shooters, but strictly round ball guns.

Bean,

The kits are inlaid and minor fitting is usually require for final assembly. You have to blue or brown the barrel, lock plate and some minor parts. I re-blue the .45 Hawken I own and used Laural Mountain bluing made up by Hammond. It really wasn't hard but two a few days. The bluing turn out very nice.

Kit guns can be just as accurate as a store bought gun and most kit gun serial numbers begin with a letter "K".

Lots of options out there for side hammer muzzleloaders. Good luck, h.h.

the cool thing is you always have the option to add a green mountain 1:28" twist barrel to shoot sabots or powerbelts if you chose to

Unless you are going to use it in the regular ML season, you may want to hold off purchase as the primitive ML season has been squashed...it is a no go ......

So if I put in for it did I simply waste a gun draw opportunity?

Who is saying that????

It is my understanding that military hunts for firearms (including muzzle loaders) can start as early as October 1. And I believe they can put more restrictive rules on the weapon types allowed. For example, I believe some military firearm hunts currently prohibit handguns. Some may now, or in the past, prohibit the so-called PCR center-fire rifles. I did not look up all the details, so I am not 100% sure of all this.

While on the subject of the BO ML hunts in October, I have not yet heard how they define "primitive" ML firearms. And, how they define them could be more or less restrictive that the definition in the recently proposed "primitive" ML firearm season for statewide ML hunting (withdrawn by NRC on July 16).

Please post details of BO's definition if you know for sure. However they define it, there will likely be some ML hunting for deer at BO in October.

Thought Jeff was referring to the early primitive big oaks hunt. I see now he meant the primitive statewide season.

My mistake.

I actually went primitive last yr for the heck of it in late season ML. Prob stick w the renegade for couple yrs and leave the Encore in the safe.

Yea, I was talking about the state wide season....