After living, breathing and working in the business with my brothers stores and others for 20 years I can say the Savage ML is THE best muzzleloader I have EVER had experience with. I owned a Knight for nearly 15 years before I bought the Savage last year.
How does it shoot? I can put 3 shots inside an inch and a half at 100yds and can hold it too a 5" group @ 300yds (you get about 20" of drop at 300 but with a mildot scope hits at 300 are childsplay and the gun has PLENTY of power for kills that far). Cleaning is simply a matter of throwing it in the closet/safe when you get home. Savage says you don't have to clean/relube the breechplug for 100shots. In my experience I would say you are better off removing it, cleaning it and relubing it about every 20-25 shots or at least before and after season. The ventliner (a small screw in the face of the plug itself) will seizeup and with a simple Allen hole to remove it with, it is easy to round that out with any force when trying to remove it from the plug. The plug also gets a good amount of carbon in it from the 209, I can't imagine how much carbon would be in there FOR GOOD if you didn't remove it until 100shots or so. A 22cal brash brush and some brake cleaner will remove most of the carbon. A pick or screw driver will get the most stubborn out.
I shoot 42.7grns of Vitavhouri(sp) N110 powder with Winchester primers and 250grn Hornady SST bullets. The sabots that come with the SSTs are the heavy magnum versions by MMP of Arkansas and this rifle really requires them when fully charged. Last season I shot 48 grns of N110 under 300SSTs and didn't have a problem, even without sub-bases. When I went to shoot that combo this year in 80+ degree heat the pressures spiked and caused serious problems with the sabots (blew them too pieces) and I had keyholes and tumbles allover my target. So I backed the charge down and went too the 250s for simplicity sake and the gun shoots inside an inch now.
Other than the carbon build up in the plug the only other residue you really get in the gun is plastic fouling in the rifling from the sabots (which you obviously get with ANY muzzleloader using sabots). The fastest, simplest way I have found to clean the fouling out without a major teardown and reassembly is a can of brake cleaner, a brass brush, a cleaning jag and a few dry patches. Couple of passes with each and the gun is clean! It's that simple. Beats the holy crap out of hot water, soap and completely tearing the old guns down and starting over. Nevermind the smelly mess in the kitchen and the rolling eye looks from the old lady! :roll:
I put Leupold QRW rings/bases on my Savage in case I ever needed to take the scope off for proper cleaning (like I did on my Knight and encourage all my customers to do with ANY blackpowder gun they buy) but I realize now it is NOT needed on the Savage. The brake cleaner trick works better than water (just don't get it on the synthetic stock!) and you don't have to worry about getting anything on the scope. I would go with the new 1pc base/ring from Talley for the MLII.
I kept my Knight for out of state hunts that might not allow my smokeless gun. But if I had to get a new blackpowder only gun tomorrow it would be the simple Z5 Omega from T/C. But even it pales in comparison too the convenience of the smokeless Savage. I've even noticed the new Savages this year have an honest, true quality bluing on them. The bluing that was on the first few years of MLs was poor and would easily rust. That is the only complaint I have with my gun, I will probably Tcoat my gun. The new ones I wouldn't do anything but HUNT WITH!!!
Hope that answered your questions, good luck!
RA
