Ok, I am hooked! Now I need my own rifle. 300 yard western states.

[Wickedwagens]

Ok, as the title states, I am hooked. I borrowed my neighbors T/C Encore Pro Hunter and was able to harvest my first elk in Nevada. Now I am looking for my own rifle. I would like something that will be accurate to 300 yards as I can't imagine going too much further with a peep sight. .45 minimum, but I'll probably stay .50, It would be nice if it could do both 209 primers and percussion caps, and use black powder or black powder substitutes. This will be mostly for mule deer and pronghorn antelope, but maybe another Elk if I go to a different state.
He has an mk85 that he said he would sell, but will the shorter barrel on that still provide the performance and accuracy I am looking for? Or should I look for an Omega, Knight, another Encore, etc, with a longer barrel? Thank you guys for the help this year, it made the jump into muzzleloading a lot easier of a journey.

 

[illinoishunter]

Congrats on the successful hunt. You'll have to share the story and pictures with us. Sounds like it's a great story..

What's your budget? Iron sights only?

 

[Wickedwagens]

It was a great hunt, but hard. Each bull had between 10-30 cows with them and that was a lot of eyes and noses to get through to muzzleloader distance. After a few blown stalks, one finally worked out. 1st shot was 190 yards, quartering to. He went another 40 yards and started stumbling. I put a second Barnes 290 tmz right through both shoulders at 230 yards and he went right down.

Yes, must be open sights, probably a peep setup.
Budget it sub $750-$1000. I figure start with a $3-500 used rifle and the upgrades needed to make it do what I need.

 

[brownisdown]

Congrats,great elk.

 

[michiganmuzzy]

It was a great hunt, but hard. Each bull had between 10-30 cows with them and that was a lot of eyes and noses to get through to muzzleloader distance. After a few blown stalks, one finally worked out. 1st shot was 190 yards, quartering to. He went another 40 yards and started stumbling. I put a second Barnes 290 tmz right through both shoulders at 230 yards and he went right down.

Yes, must be open sights, probably a peep setup.
Budget it sub $750-$1000. I figure start with a $3-500 used rifle and the upgrades needed to make it do what I need.

Sounds like you might want a Knight Mountaineer.

 

[Wickedwagens]

Well, I was playing around on gunbroker and ended up buying a T/C Omega for $200. It's just too darn easy with no FFL to pass up a cheap muzzy. I guess we will see how it shoots and start playing with this one. Custom barrel, breech plug, stock etc in the future? I guess we will see where this rabbit hole leads to.

 

[MrTom]

Custom barrel, breech plug, stock etc in the future? I guess we will see where this rabbit hole leads to.

Careful now..... that hole is way deeper than most think.

 

[bronko220002]

Beautiful bull...congratulations. The Omega isn't a bad muzzy. You could do worse. I have Encores in both 45 and 50 and usually always take the .45. I was always a .50 cal fan until I started shooting the .45. I can shoot the same bullet out of my 45 without the sabot that I can out of my .50 and with better accuracy. My .45 Moutaineer can put 3 holes touching at 100 yards with a 300 gr bullet.
BTW that Barnes TMZ is good medicine for just about anything.
Being that you're hooked be careful. This sport can drain your wallet pretty quickly!

 

[Blueridgeguy]

Congratulations great bull!

 

[BadgerRidge]

Congrats on the nice harvest.

A word of caution on used 209 in line muzzleloaders:

Frequently guys dump them when they start to not group well. They speculate and fiddle with lots of things.. But typically it's the flash hole of the breech plug burning out and enlarging.

There are two ways to fix it:

1: buy a replacement breech plug

2: retrofit a vent liner into the burnt out breech plug (one of the services I offer). It's typically cheaper in the long run and let's you stay ahead of flash hole erosion.

You will find lots of opinions here.

You will also find lots of good advice on loads bullets etc here. I prefer Blackhorn209 with quality saboted 451/452 jacketed handgun bullets around 300gr. In some western states your not allowed to used sabots.. There are lots of bullet options for those states, but the new Hornady bullets with plastic skirts seem to be good with Blackhorn209.

I'd play with Blackhorn209 and the factory barrel at the ranges you intend to hunt before I ever messed with new barrels and smokeless powder. I'd bet you find that with 300gr or heavier bullets, the factory barrel, and some practice you can have the range you desire to hunt.

 

[michiganmuzzy]

I refit almost all my inlines to take vent liners. After seeing Black Diamond and now Omega/Encore plug prices skyrocketing, it’s almost a no-brainer.

 

[user 31751]

Ok, as the title states, I am hooked. I borrowed my neighbors T/C Encore Pro Hunter and was able to harvest my first elk in Nevada. Now I am looking for my own rifle. I would like something that will be accurate to 300 yards as I can't imagine going too much further with a peep sight. .45 minimum, but I'll probably stay .50, It would be nice if it could do both 209 primers and percussion caps, and use black powder or black powder substitutes. This will be mostly for mule deer and pronghorn antelope, but maybe another Elk if I go to a different state.
He has an mk85 that he said he would sell, but will the shorter barrel on that still provide the performance and accuracy I am looking for? Or should I look for an Omega, Knight, another Encore, etc, with a longer barrel? Thank you guys for the help this year, it made the jump into muzzleloading a lot easier of a journey.

Woodman Arms Patriot

 

[ElDiablo]

Congrats on the bull and the Omega. Reread what @BadgerRidge wrote - great advice. I’ve bought a bunch of used muzzies. Some with crappy looking barrels and some with great barrels.

I’d borescope the bore to see what it looks like then clean it well and shoot it with Bh209 and a 300 gr bullet and see what happens. Odds are, if it’s been shot much, the factory plug’s flash hole is eroded. There’s a seller on eBay that has aftermarket Omega plugs for $34 if you want a cheap replacement. But the Woodman adjustable plug would be the first upgrade I’d make then a Woodman barrel down the road.

 

[Wickedwagens]

Congrats on the bull and the Omega. Reread what @BadgerRidge wrote - great advice. I’ve bought a bunch of used muzzies. Some with crappy looking barrels and some with great barrels.

I’d borescope the bore to see what it looks like then clean it well and shoot it with Bh209 and a 300 gr bullet and see what happens. Odds are, if it’s been shot much, the factory plug’s flash hole is eroded. There’s a seller on eBay that has aftermarket Omega plugs for $34 if you want a cheap replacement. But the Woodman adjustable plug would be the first upgrade I’d make then a Woodman barrel down the road.

Definitely, I’ll be playing with the factory setup first, but the woodsman breech plug looks like a must to seal up the 209 with proper crush.
I don’t think I’ll go smokeless, none of the western states I will be hunting in allows it, so 209 or 777 it will be.
I’ve heard they don’t like sabots unless you cut the end of the barrel off (qla)?

Btw love your omega builds!

 

[ElDiablo]

I’ve heard they don’t like sabots unless you cut the end of the barrel off (qla)?

Some of the TCs won’t shoot conicals (not sabots) very well - you won’t know until you try a conical. Fix is to cut off the QLA or use a sub-base under the bullet. Sabots should be no problem even if your QLA is slightly out of alignment.

 

[Wickedwagens]

Oh ok, I had it backwards, Thanks. I have some of the 290 Barnes left and some 340 Hornady eld-x. I guess I'll start with those and see how it shoots.

 

[white eagle]

nice bull, congrats

 

[Wickedwagens]

Well that escalated quickly. The Omega showed up and the bore looks like new. I’ll still probably order the woodsman breech. I’m also looking at ordering the peep-rib rear sight. Then we can hit the desert and try it out.
My kids also got a Optima v2 LR thanks to 280Bravo, so we can all shoot now. The Encore still has to go back to the neighbor when he gets back from his hunting trip.

 

[bronko220002]

View attachment 39307Well that escalated quickly. The Omega showed up and the bore looks like new. I’ll still probably order the woodsman breech. I’m also looking at ordering the peep-rib rear sight. Then we can hit the desert and try it out.
My kids also got a Optima v2 LR thanks to 280Bravo, so we can all shoot now. The Encore still has to go back to the neighbor when he gets back from his hunting trip.

WHAT ENCORE? I DON'T SEEN AN ENCORE! LOL
The advice you got above about using a sub base is a good idea. I've cut off the petals of a sabot and used the base as a makeshift sub base and it worked really well.

 

[Wickedwagens]

Getting it all fixed up now. I like the Williams target peep with adjustable knobs. I can’t wait to start shooting and see how it does.