T/C BLACK DIAMOND .50 XR?

[MULEYSTALKER]

I WAS JUST WONDERING WHAT YOU GUYS THINK OF THIS MUZZLE LOADER I WAS THINKING OF BUYING ONE AND I JUST WANTED TO KNOW HOW IT PERFORMS OR IF IT IS WORTH $289.00? I'M SHOPPING FOR MY FIRST MUZZLE LOADER AND I WAS JUST CURIOUS WHAT YOU GUYS THINK

 

[OSOK]

The Black Diamond is a pretty descent muzz. Will shoot well enough that's fore sure. The action is kind of a pain in the butt to deal w/ though. I'd spend the extra 100 or a lil more and go w/ the Omega. Twice the rifle for a lil more money, IMO..

 

[TripleSe7en]

LAST EDITED ON Dec-09-03 AT 04:57PM (MST)[p]T/C Omega for $70 more is a better buy.

Knight Wolverine II 26" for $279 at Cabelas is a much better powder ignitor than the Diamond XR. Next time you shoulder the BD, notice how the action front does not cover the primer area. The little red discs on the Knight make the primer almost 100% waterproof. That red disc will also provide less blowback than the XR. Your scope will thank you. I like the way the XR shoots & it's easy cleaning, but the Wolverine is a better buy for $10 less & shoots just as well.

If you have $70 more, the T/C Omega is a no-brainer. The only negative I can find with it are it's hollow synthetic stocks. But five bucks for a spray can of Great Stuff poly foam will fix the noisy stock syndrome when tree branches smack into the stock.

"Sometimes we're the dog -- sometimes we're the fire hydrant"

 

[monroemtnshedfreak]

I bought myne this last spring, and have loved it. I only paik like $225 for myne though. this year I have shot two deer with it and 1 coyote. The one deer was a doe, and I hit her at about 150 yards during a rainstorm. I only had it out in the rain for about 20 min. though. I like myne

 

[bigbull1]

My brother in law bought one last year, and wishes he would have got the Omega. He constantly fought keeping the primer in during cold weather. Santa is bringing me an Omega this year, yee-haw!!

 

[Fire_Hawk]

FWIW here is my take on the Black Diamond rifles:

I have hunted with a TC Fire Hawk for about 6 years now. I have NEVER had a misfire EVER! I have hunted in rain and snow with NO PROBLEMS. The only problems I ever noticed with mine were the following:

1. Non removable breech plug (Black Diamond's is)
2. Not a fast enough rate of twist (1:38 for the Firehawk, Black Diamond is a 1:28" twist)
3. I bought a .54 caliber which has been a little harder to find loads for. (Black Diamond not offered in .54)

The Black Diamond uses the exact same action as the Firehawk did. The Black Diamond is essentially the newest version with the above mentioned changes as well as allowing you to shoot either no.11 caps, Musket Caps, or the 209 primers. Firehawk was limited to no. 11 caps (again, I NEVER had a problem with mine igniting). The action was very simple to take down for cleaning and is very straight forward to work on. The trigger was easily adjusted and the TC manual actually described how to adjust the trigger if you wanted. The Knight says it is adjustable, but doesn't want you to adjust it. That said, it is very easy to adjust too, but I knew what to look for thanks to my TC Firehawk.

I have just bought a Knight Wolverine 209 in Stainless with a composite stock and I like it alot. Is the quality any better than the Thompson Rifles? NO, other than the stock. I like the composite stock that the Knights come with, they have a nice solid feel to them.

I would have bought another TC in a second if I hadn't gotten such a good price on the Wolverine 209. I am still not sold on the Extreme Discs yet. They are quite cumbersome to deal with. I am sure that they will offer the most water tightness of any of them. Again though, I never had a problem with the number 11 caps and the stiker on the TC.

My friend has the BD and he has thoroughly enjoyed it. He has taken several animals with it and he actually prefers shooting the number 11 caps with his.

The omega seems to be well built as well. I would assume it is equal to the quality that all Thompson Center rifles have. They make nice rifles and shoot very well. With either the Knight or the TC you'll be getting an American made firearm that carries a SOLID warranty.

Now if you want a nice rifle for a low price, Check out walmart with the Remington Model 700ML. I have heard that they are selling them with an accessory kit for about $229. That seems to be a solid deal to me too. I don't know how their quality compares to the Knights and TC but I don't imagine it being a bad rifle. I have never shot one, but know of several people that have and they liked them. FWIW Firehawk

 

[OSOK]

Buy an Omega, and never look back. I've heard that Knight did a test to see which of the muzz'z, were actually the most water proof. The Omega dominated the disc rifle. This is why everybodies (manufacturers) are going to have this rolling block type of action in their line of new rifles. Mark my words. Knight will be coming out w/ an Omega clone, soon enough...

 

[Fire_Hawk]

That new rifle from Knight is called the "Revolution". It has already been seen in some advertising. I think they are trying to release it the first half of 2004.

That said, there was a test done independently by a writer in Deer & Big game rifle's 2004 magazine on the waterproofness of muzzleloaders. I will try and find the article to refer you to the author. In this test, all of the American made muzzleloaders faired very well. The Knight Wolverine 209 was submerged in a livestock trough for 60 minutes without failing to fire. The disc rifles did almost as well and I believe that the Omega faired about the same. All of the American made rifles still fired after being submerged for at least 20 minutes. None of the European rifles lasted that long.

Off the top of my head I know that they tested the Knight Disc Extreme, Knight Wolverine 209, TC Omega, TC Black Diamond for American made and then several European rifles (ie CVA, Traditions etc).

I think you can find a better deal than $289 for a TC Black Diamond depending on what type of barrel (stainless vs blued) and the type of stock found on it. Just look around and see what you can find. It is a nice rifle, but there are "better" rifles available too. That said, I think you have been given good advice regarding what rifles to consider. Knight or Thompson Center are definitely worth the money and built very well. Good Luck! FH

 

[desertbull]

Make sure you check your local game laws. Some states require that the cap be fully exposed to the elements.

 

[Sportfury]

Desertbull is right. Here in WA you have to have an ignition that is open to the weather if you are using it for hunting which rules out the Knight discs and T/C Omega. You can buy a cover made by T/C that fits over the open action on the Black Diamond and velcros underneath for $6.99. I don't know if this goes against the game laws since it is an accessory you have added to a muzzleloader that is already in compliance with the law when it was built.

Anyways Santa was good to me and brought me a T/C Black Diamond XR .50 with the stainless barrel. Can't wait to get out and try it. Happy new year everyone and hope you got what you wanted for Christmas.

Sportfury

 

[sampson]

I got a Black Diamopnd xr last year for x-mas. I was limited because Idaho is restrictive about primers and sealed breeches, but all in all I am very happy with the rifle.

If Idaho does decide to go to 209 primers, I am already set up, because the bdxr comes with nipples for musket caps, no.11, and 209s.