I have been hunting with a muzzleloader for 20 years now. Mostly with an old TC New Englander that I put together from a kit when I was 16 and the last three years with a CVA in line (low dough model). The CVA is a good shooting gun, but it has failed to go off on me twice now due to the primer being exposed. Anyway, I have saved up and in the market for a new gun (because new guns are just fun to buy).

I had narrowed it down to the Knight Revolution II and the TC Omega. After visiting Cabelas last Sunday, I was able to hold and shoulder both of them. After that, it was all the Omega. The Knight isn't a bad firearm, but the lock release button seemed to be in the way on the bottom of the stock and the whole little 209 primer holder didn't impress me anyway. The TC Omega with the thumbhole grip just felt a ton better to hold and shoulder and the action was really smooth.

Does anyone have any experience with the TC Omega? Good, bad, ugly? Are they worth the extra money? I have also been seeing this Remington Genesis muzzleloader. Does anyone have any experience with these? They didn't have any of those out to pick and and try. They are a little cheaper than the TC Omega is, but I don't want to buy one and later find out I don't like it.

 

My draftsman has an Omega and he likes it.

Im still shooting a CVA

 

The whole idea behind a seperate muzzle-loading season was to experience hunting the way our forefathers did, and be able to do it at a time when no other firearms would be in the woods.

All these stainless inline muzzle-loaders, that look more like something off of Star-Trek, than a primitive weapon, have shot that out of the water.

I hunt with an old 45 caliber T C Hawken and love it.

 

in my line of work, a rainy day is my ay off, I have an old cva kentucky mountain rifle, that I built when I was 14, killed a few aniamals with it, My most cherrished gun, that is why it holds a place of honor, above my fireplace...... but whent the weather gets nasty, and I can actually get in the woods, I need a gun that is going to go off, by the time you add up the cost of license, rifle permit, muzlleloader tag all together, that is some expensive meat we are pursuing.... to go with an empty freezer due to a wet missfire is unacceptable..... I like my tcknight, I had the stock glass bedded to the barrel to eliminate the flimsy feal, totally different gun now. I say if you have lots of days off, then you can use the old smokepole, or if you are after a second deer, but if you have that one day, cruddy as it may be, to get out, take a modern example of what fed this country for years.

 

I had one hang-fire, years ago, due to damp sleety conditions.

After that, I swiped a miracle cure from a long forgotten ex-girlfriends medicine cabinet.

Actually, Jeremiah Johnson put me on to this around the campfire one night.

I am not sure of it's intended use; but, it says CLEAR NAIL POLISH on the label.

The night before a hunt, I load the barrel; then, I remove the nipple and drop a few crumbs of powder in the hole under the nipple.

I screw the nipple back in.

Then, I push on a cap and lay a bead of clear nail polish around the perimeter of the cap.

I can drop it in the creek and it will still fire.

Of course, this won't work with the old flint-lock.

 

Dont be ashamed of the clear nail polish.
I have my very own bottle. A quick coat around the bullet and brass and primers on my modern gun ammo I take to the field. a quick coat on the shotgun shells, a quick coat after the muzzle loader is loaded.
If Im carrying different load, I use colors. (Red = #6 or ballistic tips, Clear = #7-1/2 or soft point, Blue = #8, Green = #4, Black = 00) that way if shells get mixed together or dropped in the same pocket, I know what im grabbing.

 

I had a male supervisor in a large company I worked for always had a bottle of clear nail polish on his desk in his office. All the secretaries knew it and when they got a run in their nylons they would go to him prop their legs up on his side chair and ......well you get the picture. He got a little show.

 

yea, there is that benefit too...

but the women in my office all wear pants

 

Here, in-line ignition guns are not legal for muzzle loader season.

I built one of the TC Hawkin .54 rifles from a kit. Though I chose the TC mainly because the kit comes with the metal finished, I have also been impressed with the quality of TC stuff generally. Taking a bit of extra time I ended up with better looking wood than the factory completed guns.

My gun didn't seem to like commercial mini's, sabots, or round ball all that well, then I got a Lee Real mould and it will shoot one hole groups at 50 yards... cast from lead I got from my dentist- the foil backings that are inside the x-ray film packets seem to be about the hardness of pure lead.

It rained like nuts one year during deer season, soaked through gore-tec, and the rifle still always fired without a problem. Remington caps seem to be pretty weather resistant.

Anyhow, TC builds nice stuff, and I'd say that if you like the feel of the Omega, go for it. You will get quality for the money.

 

I've got a .50 cal. TC Omega, has the thumb hole stock and stainless barrel, and a 3-9 scope. I love it. Shot 7 deer with it last year during black powder season. Easy to clean, love the way it shoulders, and it stomps them dead. Shoots one ragged hole at 100 yards with 250 grain TC shockwaves and 100 grains of 777 pellets. Go for it man. I looked at a bunch of them before I bought it, really liked the TC Encore, but it is a couple hundred bucks more. For the money, its a great rifle.

 

I have a Remmington 700ML Stainless. Iron sites (No scopes in NE during ML season) Sweet gun.

Not sure why traditional ML guys get so worked up about new guns, new technology. If you like your gun fine, use it, but don't rag on others for their choice of firearms.

If that puts them in the field longer great. If they take more deer fine. They worked for it, they earned it.

 

The same reason traditional archers get so worked up over compounds.

 

I don't have anything against the "modern" muzzle loaders, but I do like Oregon's law.

They set up bow season so bow hunters would be competing with each other, and not competing with guns that are effective out past 300 yards.

Likewise, they set up muzzle loader season so people who chose to hunt with old technology have a fair playing field.

Here, as far as I know anyway, you can hunt with a modern in-line scoped muzzle loader, but only during the regular, modern rifle season.


Anyhow, I'd have to agree that if modern muzzle loaders get more people into the field, having fun hunting, that's a good thing.

 

Timberman - Thanks for the opinion. I haven't heard of TC Omega owner yet that didn't like their gun. I am leaning toward the TC Omega with black stock (with thumbhole) and blued barrel. Not sure why they want $120 more for the stainless barrel. Your right, those Encores are nice, but not worth the extra money, especially since I only plan on using it for a muzzleloader.

Bearkiller - I have found in my 20 years of hunting that everyone has an opinion. Traditional archers hate compound bows and both of them hate crossbows. Flintlock shooters hate percussion cap shooters who hate in-line shooters. In the state of Ohio, hunting license sales have went down every year for the past 20 years. Every hunter lost makes the anti hunting crowd (and we have a lot of them here in Ohio) just that much stronger. I say, the more people that can find a day to get out, the better. Whether they use a flint lock rifle or a modern in-line. Its still days in the field. My father-inlaw's friend builds custom made flintlock rifles for a living. He thinks that the percussion cap rifles like yours are cheating when it comes to hunting. Here in Ohio, we can only use shotguns with rifled barrels, pistols, and muzzleloaders for hunting, so we look for every advantage that we can get.

Mikmaze - I hear you on keeping the old TC gun that I built as a sacred gun. I still love hunting with that old gun, but the woods and weather were taking a toll on the stock, so I just basically use it now for target shooting.

 

My oldest son uses a TC that works great and I have a CVA myself. Both are very accurate with 100 grains of pryo or triple 7. I've started using the powerbelt bullets in mine. I swear I can hold a tighter group with those but it might be my imagination.