The Savage Cost of Muzzleloading-or, is It?
Enough people seem concerned about the operating cost of an in-line muzzleloader to the point where price-related issues take up a very large portion of my phone calls and e-mails. The Savage 10ML-II addresses that concern directly; the more you shoot per year, the more you can save.
Cost of 1 ea. 300 gr. 452 Hornady XTP = approx. 16 cents
Cost of 44 gr. Accurate Arms 5744 = approx. 10 cents
Cost of MMP short black sabot = approx. 9.5 cents
209 primer = approx 2.5 cents
Grand total = thirty-eight cents per shot.
The savings from NOT using such black powder consumables such as wonder wads, Bore Butter, blackpowder only solvents, and piles of spit-patches naturally vary by shooter's preferences-and, are not included.
No muzzleloader available today can be operated this economically, at this level of high performance. It doesn't take much looking around to see that just two Triple Seven pellets cost more than that alone, and just one Powerbelt bullet (and many others) costs more than that. Three pellet fans take a bigger nip in the buttocks with every puff of synthetic smoke. The Savage 10ML-II costs about ONE THIRD as much to operate as today's most popular muzzleloaders-you can save a buck a shot with every pull of the trigger, or much more-and, if you can hit it, you can eat it. This soft shooting load nets you around 2100 fps at the muzzle, developing just under 3000 foot pounds of energy. At 200 yards, you still have over 1250 foot pounds of energy left-generous for most antlered deer-family game.
It is one more tool in the arsenal to let your honey know that you are doing your part to save up for her "next" new pair of shoes-that one has actually worked. It is nice to know that you can do your range work for less than the cost of "fine dining" for two at your local White Castle, isn't it? You can rapidly fill the meat locker with the very same load, humanely, and expeditiously.
© 2005 by Randy Wakeman
