Originally Posted By: JTBOriginally Posted By: VAhuntrOriginally Posted By: Bernie P.IMO Price is what hurt sales.I love the idea of using smokeless powder but with so many fine shooting guns at far lower prices it's hard to justify the cost to save some cleaning time.
The cleaning aspect is what I don't understand either. I can probably clean my Omega in less than 20 minutes. Does anyone think it could have been a liability issue?
But take that Omega on a several day hunting trip. If you end up with a shot the first day, you'll need some heavy duty cleaning out in the field to prevent rust issues. I'm a cleaning fanatic and would still end up with small rust problems with my old TC Black Diamond.
I agree both liability and price were probably part of the problem. A lot guys pay $150 for a muzzle loader and take it hunting, many aren't willing to pay several times that for a rifle they might only use one or two weeks a year at most.
The Savage has a super strong action. I saw one fired with a 240 grain bullet and magnum load of 2400 powder OVER another 240 grain bullet and 2400 load. The shooter ended up with a bad scope cut to his forehead and a slight ring in the barrel, but other than that the rifle was fine. I believe he still hunts with it. Of course he's a little more careful with his loading procedure!
I can completely clean the Omega in 20 minutes or less. I have found that using 777 and making sure my barrel is completely free of oil before loading seems to reduce fouling. Been doing it that way since I bought it in 2003 and do not have any rust issues.
I will admit that smokeless powder would be nice and the Savage looks to be a well built muzzleloader.
The cleaning aspect is what I don't understand either. I can probably clean my Omega in less than 20 minutes. Does anyone think it could have been a liability issue?
But take that Omega on a several day hunting trip. If you end up with a shot the first day, you'll need some heavy duty cleaning out in the field to prevent rust issues. I'm a cleaning fanatic and would still end up with small rust problems with my old TC Black Diamond.
I agree both liability and price were probably part of the problem. A lot guys pay $150 for a muzzle loader and take it hunting, many aren't willing to pay several times that for a rifle they might only use one or two weeks a year at most.
The Savage has a super strong action. I saw one fired with a 240 grain bullet and magnum load of 2400 powder OVER another 240 grain bullet and 2400 load. The shooter ended up with a bad scope cut to his forehead and a slight ring in the barrel, but other than that the rifle was fine. I believe he still hunts with it. Of course he's a little more careful with his loading procedure!
I can completely clean the Omega in 20 minutes or less. I have found that using 777 and making sure my barrel is completely free of oil before loading seems to reduce fouling. Been doing it that way since I bought it in 2003 and do not have any rust issues.
I will admit that smokeless powder would be nice and the Savage looks to be a well built muzzleloader.