I could not agree more with this post! 110% Hunters need to stick togeather, not hate one another! Saying one type of hunting is better than another simply divides us into smaller groups that the anti hunters can stomp on. As an example; they pick up on an article about percussion caps being unfair and then try to get a law inacted to outlaw percussion cap guns! Don't think it can't happen. Divide & conquer is their main tactics.

United we stand, divided we fall.

 

In my home state of Kentucky, the over-bearing Gestapo tactics of the State Dept. of Fish and Wildlife game wardens have driven more people from hunting, than all the anti-whatevers out there.

They will fall in on some poor old working guy and his son, like something you would see on one of those staged COPS shows.

I got stopped on the road and treated like a criminal so often, that, several years ago, I completely stopped buying tags, licenses, anything that supports these creeps.

Also, several years ago, within five miles driving of my home, in any direction, there was thousands of acres of US ARMY CORPS of ENGINEERS land that was open to the public, to hunt, fish, camp-out, horse-back ride, whatever.

No special permission or permits were required.

Anyone, without a cent to there name, was welcome to hunt, fish, whatever.

A few years ago, the US ARMY C of E leased all this land to the highly powerful Dept. of Fish and Wildlife.

Now, they have designated all of it as "WILDLIFE MANAGEMENT AREA".

To hunt there, you have to apply for special permits.

Non-refundable money must be sent in, months ahead, for the chance to be drawn for a small chance of hunting for a short period of time in these so-called management areas; if you don't get drawn, your money is history.

Certain ones, that are properly connected, i.e. rich, have no problem hunting any time they please.

Now, we are surrounded by thousands of acres of so called "public land", with no where to horse-back ride, no where to hunt, no where to fish, and no where to camp.

 

I feel your pain there Bearkiller. A lot of the lost hunters in Ohio have been because of the loss of good places to hunt. Mead Paper used to own a ton of land that was open to hunting. In the past year, much of it has been sold off and a bunch of the land isn't open to hunting anymore except by lease from the new landowner.

A lot of Ohio's public hunting areas are also intertwined with private land. The Wayne National forest is a prime example. You can be on public land and easily walk into a tract that is surrounded by public land, but is private property. Trespassing fines in Ohio are very steep also.

I guess that is why I always take the notion that I don't care what legal form of hunting implement that you choose to use, as long as you get out there and hunt and support the organizations fighting to keep your rights. Like Ted Nugget said about Elvis, if Elvis had just once gotten his arms bloody up to his elbows in a gut pile, he would still be with us today (I paraphrased that some).

 

Forgot to mention, but is very important. GET THE STAINLESS! I've had a blued inline BP rifle become a solid lump of rust inspite of cleaning and greasing. Not the outside, but the bore. Will make you crazy trying to fix it after it starts. The stainless is much easier to care for. Worth every penny of the extra cost. And give triple seven powder a try, it's really clean shooting and easy to clean up. I've learned this stuff the hard way. Bore butter smells nice but doesn't work, use a good synthetic gun oil inside the barrel before you put it up for the year. A fair amount of it. And you'll like the 209 shotshell primers you can shoot thru the omega, give you plenty of spark.

 

I have a knight elite. I owned a thompson black diamond. Knight is by far the best muzzleloader on the market. The knight is the most accurate and reliable. I do not like the design of the revolution however. The only thing I would recommend from thompson is the encore.

 

Thanks Timberman. I will have to reconsider the stainless. I would hate to put that much money into a gun and have it rusting all the time. I am **** about taking care of firearms (something about a drill sergeant hammering it into my head), but rust can still appear on bare metal in no time.

SSweeney - Thanks for the input. I really thought that I would like the Knight Revolution until I picked one up. Couldn't get over that stupid button right in my hand. Unfortunately, I am limited to the firearms that Cabelas carries and they only carry the Revolution II. I have too many points and gift certificates there to buy the gun anywhere else. I have become a slave too their endless marketing schemes. ha.

 

I have no trouble with the nail polish trick, but the state police and the division of fish and game do, once it is capped it is a loaded firearm, illegal to transport, albeit in a case, trunk of the car , within 450 fet of an occupied dwelling, .... if they find it capped you are guilty , plain and simple. From a safety standpoint, I guess you stand around with your buddies and talk, with it capped, you only need one time that you slip, drop the gun just wrong, and there you are, standing over your best friends 6 year old, who is bleeding to death, because you kept a cap on, with nail polish, so it wouldn't get wet...... explain that to the judge.......... As responsible hunters we should all know that the antis are out there, just waiting for us to mess up, so they can have a field day and give them one more reason to try to pry another gun form our hands......... Please, for the future of our sport, think safety before conveinience. Not tryin to rant, but having been an instructor for ten years, I can not emphasise enough how easy it is to prevent 90% of the accidents in the field.

 

Just an update, I ended up getting the TC Omega with the stainless barrel and the thumbhole stock. I am going to put a 3x9 Bushnell scope on it and get it to the range this weekend (weather permitting). I am going to site it in the powerbelt bullets and Pyrodex pellets that I have at home, but I am definetly going to give the 777 pellets a try and the TC shockwaves also. Every gun seems to like a slightly different bullet for some reason.

 

Well, I think you made an excellent choice, and I hope the gun gives you many years of happy, accurate and reliable service.

If the bullets you are planning on trying don't perform to your liking, give the Lee Real a shot...

 

Good deal, I'm sure you'll like it. Give yourself plenty of eye relief. I found when shooting at deer right up close under the stand, like 10 yards or less, the scope will hit my eyebrow just enough to make me think about it. The pyrodex pellets are good, just give it a little extra scrubbing down near the breech plug, you get a ring of heavier fouling there from the layer of black powder they put on those pellets to aid in ignition.