The Bottom Line
Pros
- The ONLY mass-produced rifle that will safely shoot smokeless powder.
- Accutrigger is easily adjustable and extremely safe.
- Easy to load, easy to clean.
- 209 primers provide hot, reliable ignition.
- Load primer into bolt, rather than fumbling to cram it into breech.
Cons
- Requires unique breech plug wrench (included) rather than a socket wrench.
Description
- Savage Model 10ML-II inline bolt-action muzzleloading rifle, capable of shooting smokeless powder.
- Easy to use; bolt-action with big ambidextrous thumb safety means it's familiar to most hunters.
- Bears a strong resemblance to Savage 110 centerfire rifles, of which I am a fan.
- Accutrigger is easy to adjust and is extremely safe.
- Ramrod is good and stout, not limber like others I've seen on inline rifles.
- Drilled and tapped for scope mounting; some models come with scopes.
- Fiber-optic sights are of high quality and are very easy to use.
- Barrel length is 24"; overall length 44"; rifling twist 1 in 24". 50 caliber.
- Weight without scope: 7.75 lbs with synthetic stock; 8.75 with laminated wood.
- Most models come with sling swivels (at press time, only one model out of seven lacked them).
Guide Review - Savage Model 10ML-II Smokeless-Capable Muzzleloading Rifle
When I got mine, I headed to the woods for a quick test with black powder and home-cast Maxi-Hunter bullets. I was very impressed right from the start. I started low with 55 grains of FFg and worked up to 75 grains. Accuracy was excellent with each of the loads, using the nice fiber-optic sights.
At the range, I tried 2400, IMR-4198, and Accurate Arms 2015. Brief results are below. All bullets are Hornady 45-caliber XTPs in 50-cal sabots. Dry-patched bore between shots. All powder charges weighed on a scale.
2400 - Accuracy not bad; hottest load 37 gr; MV 2100 fps w/240 gr bullet; most accurate 35 gr 2400 with 300 gr bullet (MV 2000 fps).
AA2015 - Capable of good accuracy; hottest load 60 gr with 300 gr bullet (MV 1880, poor accuracy). Most accurate 57 gr 2015 with 300 grain bullet (MV 1770 fps).
IMR 4198 - Most consistent for accuracy; hottest load 51 gr with 240 & 300 gr bullet (poor accuracy with 240; MV 2000 fps). Most accurate 50 gr 2015 with 300 gr bullet (MV 1960 fps).
For hunting, I chose 50 gr IMR 4198 with a Hornady 45-300 50-cal sabot. 1960 fps with a 45-caliber 300-grain slug is fast enough for me, especially since I have taken many deer with 240-grain 44-cal bullets traveling around 1700-1800 fps.
When I zeroed the gun with this load, I fired one shot and adjusted the scope. The next two shots cut one hole about 70-caliber wide. Range was about 90-100 yards, shooting over the hood of my truck.
- Russ Chastain
