Black Powder Rifles

Though the muzzleloading rifle market has quite a bit to offer, if this style of rifle isn’t your primary hunting tool a large investment may not make a lot of sense. For the hunter looking to extend their season, especially the later deer seasons, I personally feel the T/C Impact represents a good balance of useable features and affordability.

Thompson/Center has long been synonymous with muzzle loading firearms. Last month at a Smith and Wesson event, we got to go hands-on with all the new options from Thompson/Center. In fact, I pulled the trigger on my first ever muzzleloader at that event. At SHOT Show 2017, we got chance to spend some more time with them and get the latest scoop. Some of the big stories this year are the Strike, the Impact, and the T/C color scheme updates.

It might be mid July and it is for sure hotter than a 2 dollar pistol here in The South, but it is not too early to start thinking about the fall hunts. If you are in the market for a new inline Traditions rifles are a great place to look, they are well made and equipped rifles for a good price.

I’ve just come back from my first black powder hunt and I’ve learned a few valuable life lessons that I’d like to pass on. Learn from my mistakes and my successes, and you may have a much more productive hunt–even if the only thing you bag is a big fat rat.

The Traditions Vortek striker- fired in-line muzzleloader shoots more like a GLOCK than it does your average flintlock, yet the high-tech rifle can still be used during those extra days of hunting season when the center-fire rifles and shotguns are forbidden. But once you have the gun loaded and ready, you may not be able to tell the difference.

Traditions is well known in the black powder community as a manufacturer of superior firearms. The company produces old-fashioned-style flintlocks, but it also makes some of the most advanced black powder muzzle loaders available. The Strikefire rifles use a primer to ignite the main charge. The primers are ignited by an internal hammer. A simple slide of the lock button is all that’s needed to cock the hammer. Should you wish to de-cock it without firing, simply move the same lock switch to the rear, or break the action. You can see it more clearly in the video. A two-stage competition-style trigger with a break force of two pounds means that when you’re on target, you won’t upset your sight picture by firing the gun. The Strikefire system also improves lock time further improving accuracy. Safety wasn’t an afterthought, either. The Vortex Strikefire rifles incorporate not only a trigger block safety but are also equipped with an internal striker block safety. An alloy frame reduces weight, and a Ceracoat finish ensures corrosion resistance. The Ceracoat also makes cleaning a lot easier. To facilitate cleaning the barrel, simply remove the screw-in breech plug, giving you unobstructed access. The end result of the application of modern technology is a fast-loading, consistent-firing and accurate shooting rifle. With an MSRP in the mid $500s, it won’t break the bank either.

Many of us long for the days when technology didn’t rule our lives, yet we love the convenience of it. It’s the same thing with special muzzleloader seasons for whitetail. The antiquity of the technology is romantic, but better ballistics, better sights, and easier and more consistent components can make a hunt more likely to put a rack on the wall and fill a freezer with meat. The precious time we manage to actually get out into the woods in our busy lives is valuable, and going into the woods with a better gun during muzzleloader season has become the norm instead of the exception.
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