You did very well both hunting and with your great write up on the hunt.
I have not taken my Optima hunting so far. It is very capable, I just have way to many handgun choices, and so little freezer space.
So far I have not taken game with my 260 Remington Encore, my 357 Maximum Contender, 357 Maximum V2, or the Optima. I have the CVA V2 in 357 Maximum loaned out to my next door neighbor. Hopefully he will score with it this season.
Looks like you have a Carbine Forend on the barrel. In my opinion the handgun barrels should all come with the carbine forend. The only down side is it would cost Tony some business. I believe I have five of his forends at the moment, and need to order another one. I have a fourth Encore Pistol Action on it's way.
I had not heard about the muzzle brake for the muzzle loader. I presume it works well. Do you have 357 Sabots? I can probably fix you up with some bullets.
Bob R
It's a 12 gauge forend, actually. I found out when ordering my 460 barrel that if you want a full bull barrel, only the 12 gauge forends will fit by default. Figured I'd go with the bull profile to help mitigate the substantial recoil, and it does help in that regard at the cost of being very unwieldy. Of course, if I need to make a quick offhand shot, that's what the smaller Optima is for.
The smoke brake works great, although I've only used it with full bore projectiles. Between it and the Pachmayr grip, it's definitely more comfortable to shoot than the Optima. I have no idea how it'll handle saboted bullets, but just in case it interferes with them, I had the brake threaded on so it's removable.
Appreciate the offer, but I'm going to put away the muzzleloaders for a bit since gun season is right around the corner. I'll start experimenting with different bullets and sabots after the season ends. That'll give me some time to find some bullets to test.
