Thinking about getting into traditional muzzleoading

[Buckmaster 30-30]

Well guys I have beed thinking about this for a long time , I want to get into this traditional muzzleloading. It would help if someone would suggest a suitiable rifle that is around the 350-450 price range. Its going to be used for deer hunting. I perfer carbine rifles because I live way up in the brush. Any help would be appreciated.

[sparsons]

Lymans makes nice rifles. I have a Tradition's Shenandoah .50 cal. with a 1:66 twist and a T/C Hawken  .50 cal. with 1:48 twist.  Have you decided on what caliber  you might want?  If you are thinking deer and such you would want at least a .50 cal.  I am sure others will jump in and add more info.  Once you have in mind what you want to do with it then you can decide which brand and model appeals to your tastes.  Have you thought about going to  muzzleloading store and looking at used rifles?  My first one was a used CVA Hawken .50 cal. cost me $175 and was a great gun. Nice shooter and I wish I had it back.  Just a thought

[Buckmaster 30-30]

Well i was thinking of a 54 caliber , I already have a 50 cal. inline so im kind of leaning toward a 54 since i dont need to 50 cals. I havent had a chance to look at used ones but that is a thought

[Slamfire]

I prefer the shotgun style butt of the Renegade. 

[Snowshoe]

If you don't mind a 9 lb rifle, the Lyman Great Planes in .54 would be a great choice. It is rifled 1 in 66" for patched round balls. I don't care for that much weight or the 32" barrel so I just got a Lyman Trade in .54. It is rifled 1 in 48" to fire both balls and bullets, and weighs in at 8 lbs, and has a 28" barrel. The rifle I have used for the past 14 years is a Lyman Deerstalker in .50 cal. It is a 7 lb rifle with a 24" barrel rifled 1 in 48", and it shoots round balls very good. I was torn between the Trade rifle and the Deerstalker for my new rifle, but decided that I wanted something a little different. The Deerstalker fits like a good shotgun, and the short barrel swings real good in the heavy bush, and it also comes with the best hunting sights that I have seen on any muzzleloader. As soon as my Trade rifle arived I looked it over and ordered for it, the same sights that the Deerstalker has.

[Will Bison]

I'll jump in on a Lyman GPR caplock. All my guns are custom flinters but it sounds like you need/want a good basic caplock. The Lyman is a substantial rifle with either 48 or 66 inch twist.

The .54 is a good caliber, shoots a 220 grain ball that will penetrate both sides of any Deer ever made.

The 32 inch bbl seems long but the OAL is about the same as a Mauser bolt gun with a 24-26 bbl. Subtract the length of the action.

Bill

[sharps4590]

I'll jump on the Lyman GPR wagon also and agree with your preference for the 54 cal.  I had one for years until I upgraded to a custom Hawken.  Of all the produciton rifles in that price range the GPR would be my hands down choice.

Vic

[Black Jaque Janaviac]

The Lyman GPR is mighty good.  And from a traditional muzzle loader perspective it's 32-inch barrel is considered carbine length.  However from a smokeless centerfire perspective you'll find it quite long.  Dont be afraid of it though.  I lug a 42" bbled flintlock through the same brush my brothers carry their centerfires in and I keep up.  The think I notice more than the weight of my gun is the weight of the possibles bag.  This was greatly remedied by putting a 1 1/2" wide shoulder strap on.

Cabela's offers a Hawken Hunter Carbine which is every bit as high quality as the Lyman GPR - it's made by the same company.  It weighs only 5 lbs.  It's got a fast twist though so you'll likely shoot conicals and sabots with it.  Mine shot round balls really well, but not with what I would consider "hunting" charges.

[Landngroove]

 Thompson Center Hawken, Renegade, New Englander, White Mountain Carbine, can all be had in .54 caliber. They will all shoot a patched round ball with accuracy. I own each one in .54, and shoot patched round balls every weekend with one of them. Also the Lyman Deerstalker, is a good roundball shooter in .54 caliber. They are all 1 in 48" twist, allthough some of the Hawkens, and Renegades came with 1 in 66" barrels, but are much less common.