I have used my Savage ML 10 II for three seasons of deer hunting.
It is by far the most effective, user friendly muzzleloader I have ever had the pleasure to lay my hands on.
When I first purchased mine, I jumped on this forum to engage in some discussion about the hunting tool that had so impressed me. I was amazed at how little acceptance it seems to have received. I was astounded that the smokeless muzzleloader hadn't already made the blackpowder rifle a forgotten relic. (just threw that in there to work a few people up!
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I have been criticized by family members I have hunted with and by fellow shooters at the range I built up my loads at. Cries of "it's not fair to hunt with", "it's against the intention of the muzzleloader season" and "I've seen them blown up all over the internet" came at me from all directions.
My own dad called me on the phone warning me not to hunt around a couple cousins and uncles because of the sore feelings I would elicit.
The real truth of matter is this.
The rifle has many features that put it in a class of it's own, but as with many firearm related areas, the user must be informed, responsible and capable. This, I fear, is why the rifle has insurers on their tippy toes.
The rifle does not need to be cleaned. Nearly ever. Serious.
This will get a few folks upset at me, I'm sure, but it's the truth.
Diligent owners may clean it as often as they like, but it's not REQUIRED to function. That is a serious advantage when hunting away from home.
After a few shots with a blackpowder rifle, some form of cleaning is demanded by the difficulty in seating bullets.
The "vent liner" is a the rifle component that seals the 209 primer between itself and the bolt. The part is essentially a small screw with a hole drilled through its center. This hole is where the primer flash travels to ignite the powder. The vent liner has a wear life, recommended to be changed every 100 shots. Most reports of rifle failure are due to faulty vent liners which have not received the necessary maintenance. I change mine once a year, when I clean my rifle to put it away at the end of muzzleloader season. My lgs supplies them at 3 for $6.
Contrary to popular misconception, the rifle does not endow the hunter with some unfair advantage afield that other muzzleloaders do not with respect to lethal range.
On par with other modern frontstuffers, my Savage throws a 250gr SST at approximately 2100-2200 fps. Zeroed at 200 yards, it hits 2 1/2" high at 100 yards. I have no idea what it does after 200 yards, as I have never fired it at an animal past that.
I think this is right in the same ballpark as the TC Prohunters my buddies use.
My understanding is that each rifle is proof tested with a double charge, so it would be hard to blow up. Especially when utilizing a witness mark on the ram rod(which is a good practice anyway) contrary to much internet chatter. My charges so far have been forgiving with respect to load density. I try to use the same force to seat the bullet and sabot on the charge, but without a witness mark it is susceptible to interpretation. Even considering this inconsistency, accuracy does not seem to suffer. The charges need to be weighed, which might inconvenience non hand loaders, but my shop is outfitted with scales, so I pre measure about two dozen loads in little tubes and am usually set for the season.
It is not a magic muzzleloader. If you shoot at animals that are too far away, you are in no way going to be more successful than if you shoot at something with a 300 wsm that's too far away. My Savage will consitently group about 2-3 inches at 200 yards. I find that to be amazing.
The slow moving big ole SST ML really drifts in wind when slinging them out there a long ways, but that would be the case with any .45 caliber bullet moving at similar velocity.
Now that I have ranted, I will step down from the podium and let anyone else tell me why their experience has be unlike my own.
Show the Savage ML-10 II some love! After all it's Valentines day!
