H & R muzzleloaders

Solid guns. Super accurate, light & pointable. I had one of the originals (1970s) in #11/.45.

However, I am less likely to get one of the non-NFA "sidekicks" now than I am to get one of the centerfire combos & add a ML barrel. Much more useful.

Still, I'd buy one before I bought a CVA, Knight or even White.

I like the H&Rs, mostly in "exchange-a-barrel" form. Same with TCs. In general I'm not a fan of inlines. They are excellent guns, but IMO they are really caseless ammunition centerfire rifles, not true muzzleloaders. Fast twist, spitzers, 200+yd ranges and centerfire ignition (not to mention smokeless powders) just bends the rules of the game too far IMO.

As an adjunct barrel to a Handirifle or Contender/Encore I think they are great - especially for gun season, but I personally can't see buying a dedicated inline rifle. But that's just me. I won't tell someone they shouldn't buy one.

I've had an old H&R Huntsman,.45 cal for over 20 years.
Don't use it much anymore, but it has accounted for it's share of venison.
Only downside to that one was that it was not tapped or prepped for a scope. I always just used the open sights.

Still have my old .58 H&R Huntsman that I've used for about thirty years. It still is very accurate with suitable ammo. Likes heavy bullets like the Buffalo Bullet, or the heavy skirt 505 grain minie hollow base, and shoots patched round balls very well. In sabots, it shot very good groups with the 240 grain Hornady .44 caliber, but wouldn't shoot the 300 grain version worth a darn. Think maybe the inertia required to spin the heavier bullet caused it to "skid" in the barrel without starting out being turned by the rifling. In any case, the 300 gr. Hornady tumbled badly, often hitting the target sideways at 30 yards!

The original telescoping ramrod bit the dust long ago, and I've used a piece of hardwood dowel for many years now. Works fine if you use the long starter with it to furnish the extra length needed to ram the load all the way down.

My aging eyes need glass these days to be effective in the woods, so I mounted a scope with good results. Only drawback is that when the barrel is off for a thorough cleaning, the scope sticks out past the breech end, and requires some extra care in handling it when cleaning, but it's a minor problem.

The last few years, the main spring has weakened. I took it out and reshaped it to bring back some power to the hammer, but it quickly lost strength again. Needs replaced. Don't know for sure if the new ones will fit. Looks like they should, but I haven't bought one to try it yet.

This year, I finally joined the modern crowd when I spotted a CVA Thunderbolt .50 in a pawn shop and got a decent price on it. I had been very impressed with the one just like it my brother bought a couple years ago. Great shooter with Powerbelts and 100 grains of FF. Not quite as good a trigger as the old H&R, but not bad at all.

Very good buy for the money -- if you can get over the crappy telescopic ramrod and those required red primer discs.