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I need to buy a muzzleloader and time is getting short. So I have a couple of questions.
1. Where is the best place (best prices) to buy one in SL or UT county. I figured I would go to cabelas and Sportsmans Warehouse to look at the different kinds and decide what to buy but they tend to be more expensive on most items.
2. I assume I want a .50 cal for deer and elk hunting. Can anyone give me a good reason to not get the .50 cal?
3. Seems as thought the TC Omega is the most favored brand. Reliable, good shooter, and easy to clean, but a little pricey. The Winchester APEX seems to be a very similar gun that is reliable, good shooter, easy to clean, and quite a bit cheeper than the TC. Can anyone give me any info on either of these either pro's or con's. Any other brands I should look at that are reliable and easy to clean???
Thanks in advance!
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I bought an apex last year and i love it. No complaints and it shoots great and easy to clean.
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LH2,
Does the APEX clean the same way as the Omega? I have seen a video of how to clean the Omega but can't find anything on the APEX. On the Omega you lever the trigger housing down which drops the hammer out of the way and then you unscrew something (breach plug maybe??) and then you clean...??????
Is yours the 50 cal?
Did you experiment much with rounds and have you found something that works really well????
Thanks!
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I also bought the apex. I cleans the same as the omega, swing the trigger housing down and uscrew the breech plug.
I have the 45 cal., my brother has the 50. We really only see a difference after 200 yards. It's all balistics. The 45 shoots a little faster but the 50 is a heavier bullet so at 100-150 yards the kenetic energy is really about the same. I don't think the deer noticed much. In fact they didn't notice anything at all after the bang.
I have been shooting the Powerbelts but I really don't like them. They are accurate and don't have much drop but they don't expand like I want. You have to hit a bone to get them to expand. I'm thinking about getting the Barnes Expander MZ.
The reason I went with the 45 is I have to shoot left handed (blind in my right eye) and I couldn't find a 50 that felt comfortable. Thompson's new rifles look like something I might want and my trade up in a year or so.
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Litewieght pretty much nailed it except for the PowerBelt bullets.
I have only shot the Aero-tip PB bullets in the 295 gr. and 345 gr. I shot a deer last year and thought it was a good vital hit but ended up not being so. I found him 3 days later with a superficial hit to the right thigh but it caused major damage to the area it hit. I shot a 6-point bull last year with a 345 gr. Aero-tip at less than 20 yards and he only took maybe 10 steps before piling up stone dead. I found the bullet in the offside shoulder skin totally mushroomed without hitting any major bones and it wieghed out at 339 gr after the impact. I shot paper and water jugs for a month to sight it in and practice and when i used a deadrest, i could achieve 3 moa groups at 140 yards. After that it was up to the wind and other stuff to determine flight path. I never shot farther than that because i didn't feel secure in my abilities yet. It was my first year with a smoke pole. I will never look back now. It is exhilirating with the cloud of smoke and all. I hope you got some good help and you enjoy whatever you buy.
P.S. There is a scope at Sportsmans called a Millet. It is a 2 moa red dot that sells for $100 and worth $500 in my opinion. At 100 yards, the dot only covers 2" and has about 10 brightness settings for all light conditions. It is well worth the money if you go that route.[cool] Good luck..
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That's encouraging on the powerbelts. The .45s don't come as heavy but the results should be the same. I love the accuracy so maybe I'll have to try a few different weight/powder combinations before I give up on them. Have you shot any of the hollow points or the new platinum series?
[url "http://www.powerbeltbullets.com"]http://www.powerbeltbullets.com[/url]
I've been looking for a red dot scope so I may have to check that one out.
Again, thanks.
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I shot the aero tips and my buddy shot the hollow points with deadly results. He hit his deer just in front of the tail at about a 45 degree angle forward and it destroyed everything in it's path. It passed completely through and we never found it. Just a small fragment of the jacket. I have never seen the platinum series. Have you shot them? BTW: mine is the 50 cal.
As for powder, i shoot 100 grains of 777 pellets for deer and 150 for elk. I visited with my uncle a few weeks ago and i might try granulated powder based on his experience and some info he gave me. He thought i was using too much powder and said i need to use granulated and start with about 70 grains with the 295 gr bullet. Work my way up until i loose a good pattern at 200 yards. I think my results from last year were ok but he said i can do better. Haven't decided yet.
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No, I haven't shot them yet. They seem a bit pricey for me right now, especially after hearing your results from the copper series.
I haven't tried granualated yet either. That sounds like another possibility. We'll have to see what happens and post the results.
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Everyone,
Thanks for the info and keep it coming. I still can't decide between the APEX and Omega....
I have been told that red dot scopes are a good way to go so thanks for the tip on the Millet. I will check it out.
Gonna go shopping the next few days and get my hands on a few different models and see how they feel. Then I'll be asking a whole lot of bullet/powder/load questions!!!! LOL
Right now I can get the black stock/ blued barrel APEX for $100+ less than the similar model of Omega. Or I can get the camo stock / camo barrel APEX for $30+ less than the black stock/ blued barrel Omega. At this point seems like the APEX is a no brainer. Can anyone give me a reason to think I have flawed thinking.
Thanks again!
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