Unfired .45
I have the long model with the threaded muzzle brake added in .45 caliber, blued with wood grip. It can be fired without the brake and has a protective thread cover that screws on to replace it. Unfortunately, I haven't fired it yet. The grip fits my med/small hand really well and the trigger pull is just a very little bit gritty, but not too bad at all.
The "stainless" models are nickel plated though. And if they are like the Traditions Deerhunter rifles, the nickel plating goes all of the way down the bore. IMHO, I think the plating may have some affect on performance. I don't want to theorize and erroneously conclude that plating would have a negative effect on ball accuracy. However, the chrome lined barrels of some CF rifles are known to not be quite as accurate as unlined barrels, not that it would even be noticiable out of a pistol.
But I did notice that my son's Deerhunter rifle barrel is easier to clean since the powder residue doesn't seem to adhere to it as much. And with the nickel being more slippery, it might actually be beneficial to sabot accuracy. But I haven't tried those in his Deerhunter yet either though, and even if I did I wouldn't have a very sound basis for making a comparison.
The nickel barrel also might not be as affected as much by powder fouling build up after taking many shots without swabbing.
The barrels are rated for an 80 grain max. powder load but probably couldn't actually utilize that much.
Wwalstrom, what caliber are you interested in? Since I was more interested in target shooting than hunting, I was happy to find a .45 model.
Chawbaccer, did you ever try shooting any conicals or sabots out of it?
