M.A.X. Review: the Thompson Center Triumph

We have completed our latest M.A.X. Load Data Book: the Thompson Center Triumph.  I said I'd be sure to let everyone know when it would be available by posting on the MAX Muzzleloader Blog and MAX Facebook page.  Well, we've got it up on our MAX Website as of today!  Here's a copy of my rifle review page:

Most of the time when I test a new rifle, I go the “plain Jane” route. So not being one to break a tradition on something that works, that’s what I purchased when I decided to take the TC Triumph for a test drive. The only thing that is an extra on my Triumph is the Weather Shield finish, and it’s worth it. This finish will not peel or chip away like the finish on the some of the lower end muzzleloaders I’ve tested.

I worked with this rifle 9 months before starting the data book and video and enjoyed every day I took it to the woods or range. I’ve got to admit that I’ve gotten awful use to, and fond, of the TC Encore and thumbhole style stocks, but the Triumph is a great feeling rifle. It has nice lines, points well and is a well-balanced rifle. The Triumph is a light rifle, I’m really more prone to favor a heavy rifle but I’m more than certain most people will agree with TC on this feature.

The Triumph did better right out-of-the-box than I ever expected. When I got the rifle, I was working on an article using a tool that helps one zero a rifle; my new Triumph was the only rifle I owned that needed zeroed. The tool worked great and as expected, the Triumph however was the surprise. Three shots and the rifle was shooting where I wanted, two more shots and I had a sub-one-inch group.

I hunted with the rifle the rest of the year. I’m sure the rifle would have done great without a new fire lapping process I do on new rifles, but I did it anyway. The ability of this rifle to group has not been disappointing, in fact shooting a rifle like this is nice for a change. A little inexpensive and easy smoothing of the barrel up front goes along way and you won’t believe what this rifle is capable of.

The Triumph is a fairly simple design, I believe it only has three moving parts.

I don’t much care for the little tiny Allen screw that we have to loosened to take it down, but it’s still simple. The rifle has outstanding lock-up and it’s hard to find one trace of blow back. The trigger is as good as can be expected from a mechanism like this one but, with a little shooting, it kind of grows on you.

The Speed Breech XT ignited both Hodgdon's T7 and Western Powders BlackHorn 209 flawlessly.  And the Speed Breech XT is truly a hand-removable plug, even after 40 plus shots. I hate it that the design needed a rubber “O” ring and steel gas rings, both are possible trouble areas if not maintained, but it is what it is, I had no trouble with this one.  With a little prep work, good cleaning and loading techniques, and good load components, you will be more than happy with a new TC Triumph.

Thompson Center has done it again with the Triumph, it’s a great rifle at a more than fair and reasonable price. If you have money to blow and want all the bells and whistles that comes with a Bone Collector go for it, but it won’t be necessary to have a deadly accurate hunting rifle in the Triumph.

All my Data Books are rifle-specific, but I've had a few questions asking if the load data from the Omega will work for the Triumph or Encore, and the other way around. Well, some of the data is within a few FPS of each other, from book to book as some of the rifles have  28" TC barrels. 

But each book has different loads that I developed when testing that rifle. So from book to book (rifle to rifle) there are loads using different bullets and primers but all use either T-7 or BH209 as powders.  There are however two things every load in every book have in common

      1) each is a good accurate load
      2) they all use quality bullets that are deadly on the big game they are intended for 

I want you to know that I do whatever I want when I get to the range. 

Meaning, for that trip to the range I just dig down in my bullet tub and pick a bullet to work with and start shooting it with different powders, primers and with powder charges from 90 to 120 grains. I write everything down so I keep up with the loads that worked and the ones that didn't so I'm not wasting time and money repeating my efforts. I don't have a script when I do this stuff, I just get in a zone and shoot, most days it comes pretty easy and some days I struggle. Most of the time when I'm having a hard time getting good shots down range and I know I'm the problem, I just pack it up and come back another day. But, on a good day is when I find the loads that just won't shoot,(and there are a lot of those), they're not included in the book. And that's how it works, along with a lot of cleaning.

Just as a "heads up", the books that are still coming in 2011 are: the Encore with the original breech plug & 26" barrel and the Pro Hunter with the Speed Breech XT with a 28" barrel. The loads for each have long been done and we're now at the mercy of the publisher/printer. But they're coming very soon!

Till then, thanks for your comments and questions, your thoughts and ideas, and your continued support of M.A.X. Muzzleloader Accuracy Xperts!

MAX Rifle-Specific Load Data Books

For the past four years while testing rifles, I’ve written down and recorded everything I’ve done and every shot I’ve fired from my rifles. Collecting the information I need for one of my videos requires me shooting 800 plus shots from each rifle. The result of all my testing and logging all this information down is DATA. Lots and lots of data.

At the end of each video I give the customer 6 to 8 loads for the rifle featured in that video.  I have to limit it to that bcause there’s only so much room on a video. But each rifle tested yields between 35 and 40 loads unique to that rifle. So for the past 4 years, there’s been A LOT of unused data just sitting around in my office gathering dust.


Until now.

As I test each rifle, the load data is recorded on a MAX Data Sheet and kept in a three ring binder, with the data sheet on one side and one of the MAX Targets for that load on the other. That book is then hauled back and forth to the range for several months and along the way becomes worn and collects dirt, Diet Coke, Grizzly Winter Green stains and even a little blood at times. But the data is still some the best in the country.


So in order to pass it on to you in a form that's much easier to use than my sloppy hand-written notes (and a whole lot cleaner), I’ve had it put into a nice, clean, user-friendly booklet.

The new M.A.X. Load Data Books are a nice spiral-bound design that make them user-friendly on the bench, where you need it to be, and are a nice 8 ¼ X 5 ½ size to fit easily in your muzzleloading stuff box. The data tables are easy to read and have all the data a modern muzzleloading hunter needs to set up a rifle for the upcoming hunt.

In the data tables, you will find recommended loads for big game and the max range at which that load is recommended. The loads will also show bullet drop out to 250 yards. As with all MAX recommendations, If it don't pass my test, I don't pass it on to you!  And believe me, my tests are harder than Chinese Arithmetic. So every component of every load in these books are the real deal, MAX approved stuff.


I’ve worked on these books for over the past year to insure you were getting your money's worth and I’ll assure you, you will be.


No other company in the world offers this kind of data, no one. This is rifle-specific data, meaning that the data in each booklet was shot, from my shoulder, out of the rifle for which ever data book you purchased. This data was not shot from a test barrel in some ballistic lab. And every load in these books provided sub one-inch accuracy, from an out-of-the-box factory rifle.


I’m certain that these books will help increase your modern muzzleloading big game experience.  So for DATA that is "on target" every time, check out my new M.A.X. Load Data Books!


NOTE:  As of the posting of this article, the CVA Accura & Accura V2 Load Data Book is available and for sale on our website.  The Thompson Center Omega Load Data Book is at the printer!!  Watch for the announcement here and on Facebook for the release of the Omega Book and others which are still coming!!  Thanks for your business

Muzzleloading Load Data: CVA Accura & Accura V2

The process I use to test a muzzleloader for a possible MAX video is lengthy.   And complete, to say the least.  Accuracy, with a wide selection of quality components, is a must and a really big part of the bottom line.

Everything I do with a rifle is written down and documented on one of our MAX Data Sheets (get one with the button in the right sidebar) so I can review it all at the end of the process.   I also save each and every load as shot on it's own MAX Target (also available on the right sidebar). Then I sum it all up and decide what makes the cut and what won't - what I liked, what I didn't - what worked, what didn't.  (accuracy & big game performance!!)

One of the by-products of the whole testing process is load data, lots and lots of load data.  I can't stop myself, I just keep shooting different combinations to see for myself what works with each rifle (and what doesn't)!  I end up with a lot more loads than we could ever possibly have room to put into my 2-hour videos!!  So the loads that are shown on the video are just a very random selection of what really exists.  I try to show a wide variety of loads to give you a choice of bullets, primers, powders, etc.

For instance, in my last video, MAXimize Your CVA Accura & Accura V2, there were a total of 41 loads developed through the process of testing the rifle, but only 8 ended up on the actual video, everything else is in my Data Book.

Now, the bulk of my data was shot with the CVA Accura before the V2 was even on the market.  But after getting my hands on the new V2, I re-shot (a lot!) most of the loads to verify accuracy and I can tell you that my testing showed me that both of these rifles are very capable of sub 1 inch groups at 100 yards.


(**Note:  Several weeks after my video hit the market, many of you began calling and emailing me because you were experiencing ignition problems with your new Accura V2 when using Blackhorn 209 Powder.  Since I had not had any issues, I went back to the range to see if I could re-create the problem and come up with a resolution for you.  I've got to say that at the time of this post, I've got it figured out and it is not any fault of the Blackhorn Powder.  It is obvious that some V2's, like mine have no problems whatsoever with Blackhorn.  But some of the newer V2's, (as some of you have already experienced), DO have an ignition issue when using Blackhorn 209 Powder.  And might even further down the road with other modern powders.  With that said, make sure you check all Blackhorn loads on the bench to insure your rifle will ignite it-every time.  I want to be clear that I do no believe there is any problem with Blackhorn 209 Powder, it is an excellent product that will be around for a long time.  And I'll assure you, there will be more about how to address this ignition issue with the V-2 later.  I've worked a great deal with this problem and there IS A SOLUTION. I can't publish my results just yet, but watch here for a future blog where I will publish that data. Soon...)

Below are the loads that are in the video, but complete with ALL the ballistic data.  We are in the process of getting a complete Data Booklet published with all the loads developed during the testing process of the CVA Accura.  This booklet will be available very soon; we're working out the printing details, etc.  But you can be sure that it will be in a form that will be user-friendly at the bench!  (Then we'll get Data Booklets published with the data from our other DVD's also!)

For now, here are the loads from the MAXimize Your CVA Accura & Accura V2 DVD:


Barnes Spit-Fire TMZ










Hornady SST-ML

Parker Ballistic Extreme

Parker HydraCon

Powerbelt AeroTip

Powerbelt Platinum

Thompson Center Shockwave

If you'd like a printout of this data, we've posted it on our website at http://www.maxmuzzleloader.com/ (see the links button) or you can open it from right here: MAX's CVA Accura & Accura V2 Load Data.

I hope this helps all of you to get MAXimum performance from your modern muzzleloader!



Your Muzzleloader Accuracy Will Improve with this New Cleaner & Conditioner

Ya know, in order for M.A.X. to grow and keep up with the ever-changing muzzleloader industry, we got to keep shooting, keep testing, keep researching and keep telling you our results.

More shooting (which can hardly be considered "work" since I love to shoot!) means more cleaning, which isn't fun and IS tedious work, especially as much shooting as we do here.  Cleaning, cleaning, cleaning, a lot of cleaning.  Cause you all know by now that I constantly preach:  a consistently clean muzzleloader is the very basis of consistent accuracy! 

So naturally, I'm always on the lookout for something to do a great job AND cut down my work load...always looking for a "better mousetrap" in the cleaning and care products area. 

When we found what we thought was good, we kept looking for better.  When we found better, we continued looking for best.  We looked within the industry, and then began searching outside the normal muzzleloading cleaning product lines.  The hunt for better cleaning and care products for modern muzzleloaders became like a quest!

During our search, what I discovered was that two things are needed to make the care and cleaning process easier and more effective:

     1.  A treatment product that could be used prior to shooting to prevent build-up of powder and primer residue would make clean up much easier.

     2.  A cleaning product that would remove dirty powder reside from the metal, not just quicker, but better.

The search started in November 2009 and when we couldn't find anything within the hunting industry, we started thinking outside-the-box, and are now proud to announce that WE FOUND IT!! 

We are very excited to be able to offer you our new line of care and cleaning products designed specifically for the needs of today's modern muzzleloading hunter and shooter:  M.A.X. Dead On.

I can't promise that using MAX's Dead On will make cleaning your muzzleloader fun, but I will tell you that you will notice that it makes cleaning easier and quicker.

Proper care and cleaning is a huge step in having a rifle that is accurate and is reliable and won't let you down at the "moment of truth"!!!

MAX's Dead On Condition is a very advanced lubricant and protectant.

Of all the gun lubricants I've used on both hunting and competition rifles over the years, this one really impressed me.   When applied, Dead On Condition hides in your rifle's metal and provides protection against rust, corrosion and mother nature herself! 

It penetrates deep in the metal, but doesn't leave your rifle sticky or oily feeling!   Another great feature to this product is that it does not allow the base layer of powder residue to adhere to the rifle barrel as well, making clean up a lot quicker!  The first stop in the process to easier cleaning!

MAX's Dead On Clean is the most advanced modern muzzleloading cleaner on the market, period.  Dead On Clean will clean your muzzleloader quicker, deeper, with less effort and in less time than ever before!  You'll even use fewer patches - bonus! 

Dead On Clean was developed on out test ranges where hundreds of rounds are fired though our riles every year.  We worked with it, tweaked it and tested and re-tested until it became the perfect product for cleaning the residue left behind by today's modern powders and primers.   

We look at Dead On Clean as being a commercial cleaner that we are making available to the everyday shooter.

A big plus to Dead On Clean is that it is safe to the user and environment.  It is biodegradable and has almost no odor.  Course, you still want to keep it away from children, they don't have a need for it anyway.  And don't drink it!  I'm not sure what it tastes like, but there are certainly better things to drink after a day at that range! 

We look forward to getting some feedback from you all as you try these two new products, email us any time at sales@maxmuzzleloader.com! 

You can find both of these great products for sale on our M.A.X. Muzzleloader website!! 

MAX Muzzleloader Announces the CVA V2 Rifle Giveaway WINNER!

MAX is pleased and excited to announce the winner of the CVA Accura V2 Giveaway: Greg Billing of Maryland!!  Congratulations Greg!!

We will be emailing Greg to get contact information as we will need to verify a few things so we can get his new rifle on the way!  (What I'd really like to know is if Greg is lucky all the time, winning every free rifle contest or drawing he enters, or if this V2 is his first rifle ever won?!?!).

In any case, this one is HIS!

Greg's Accura V2 will be shipped directly from CVA, brand new in the box.  This contest was for a camo, thumbhole stocked, stainless steel CVA V2 in .50 cal.

This was a successful giveaway for us.  No matter what anyone thinks my motive was for giving away this rifle, the most important reason was for us to build trust with our customers.  As you all know, the Internet is a fascinating place to go to and is overflowing with information.  It's also a place with a lot of scams and tricks.

Businesses will get folks to sign up for a contest so they can use your email and contact information for other reasons, or sell!  And it ends up with you getting a ton of junk mail from everyone in the world!  But not with MAX.

Regardless of what kind of business you are doing with MAX, if you choose to trust us with personal information, this is where it stays, between you and MAX.  No junk mail; just articles about muzzleloading and related topics.

I want your experience with MAX to be a positive one, whether or not you ever buy a single product from us.  So, if you join my blog, and I hope you do, you decide when and if you ever get my articles again by becoming an email subscriber to our MAX Muzzleloader blog.  You do this by using the box below, we'll email you whenever we have a new blog post, and that's all:

Enter your email address:

During the year 2011, I will put into play some great programs that will not just help MAX grow, but the sport of modern, inline muzzleloading as a whole.  I will be asking for our customers, the end-user, to participate in various ways as well. 

Just imagine something different if you will:  A hunting related company where the Xperts are everyday men and women.  They're Xperts because they've been drug through hunting stores, many times by the "other" so-called experts to buy this and that, only to find out the better mouse trap didn't work any better than the last mouse trap. (the only thing it "trapped" was their money!)

I want the Real Xperts (MAX's customers, the end users), along with Me and my Xpertise to show the muzzleloading hunter the best of the best in the industry; products that will work as advertised, are useful and worth the money (so much so, that if you loose it, you'll buy another!).  I'm pretty creative with these types of programs and I believe all of you will be interested in what I've got planned!

Back to our winner: Greg.  His rifle will also be shipped with his choice of any of my videos, an AccuScope, a MAX blaze orange hat and a combo set of our new MAX firearm conditioner & new MAX bore cleaner.  (huh?  what?  you want to know more about our new conditioner and cleaner?  watch here for future blog posts!)

Another giveaway is around the corner, so tell your muzzleloading friends.  Maybe something to do with a scope and rings....

Thanks again to everyone for entering our CVA Accura V2 Rifle Giveaway, and most of all, thanks for your continued trust in our business and what we at MAX are trying to accomplish for you, the muzzleloading shooter & hunter.

Congratulations again to Greg.  We hope you enjoy your new CVA Accura V2 as much as I enjoy mine!

CVA Muzzleloader Discount Coupon Code

About 2 weeks ago I had the opportunity to hunt with Dudley McGarity, CEO of BPI (CVA) at his farm in Georgia.  The Farm is a beautiful piece of property and is covered with deer!

I've been to the Farm several other times, but this is the first time I've had the chance to hunt there.  As with my past trips, I had a great time!

Dudley, his wife Stephanie, and their friends are always fun folks to be around and you can always count on plenty of pure-dee southern hospitality there (I think I gained 5 pounds!). 

Conversations revolved around hunting and shooting, which is always a pleasure with such a knowledgeable crowd.   Another big topic this particular fall weekend was SEC Football, and being as I am a Razorback and Gamecock fan, I got beat up a little seeing as I was in Bulldog country.   All in all it was a great time with Dudley, Stephanie and Terry Eby (CVA National Sales Rep).

Even though several deer were taken over the weekend, I was unsuccessful in getting a deer.  But I didn't come away empty-handed, luckily for all you MAX Customers!

Dudley offered a great deal to us all: 15% off anything from the CVA website from now until 15 December 2010!  Yeah, you heard me right!  15% off EVERYTHING!  Wow!  Thanks CVA!!

CVA for MAX Coupon Code: MAX29374

This is straight up, nothing to join, no rebate to fill out, just use the code at checkout!  We'll post the code on our Facebook page too, so tell your friends and neighbors that MAX Muzzleloader is always working for YOU!   

CVA Muzzleloader Giveaway & DVD Release!

Our latest video project "MAXimizin' Your Muzzleloader: the CVA Accura & Accura V2" is now for sale and ready to ship!

This is our first video project produced on any CVA rifle and we have been truly impressed with the capabilities of this affordable, yet quality, modern inline muzzleloader.  The original Accura rifle purchased for this video project was upgraded by CVA during testing/filming and is now called the Accura V2.  Both riles and all upgrades are covered in this DVD.

"I've gone over both rifles with a fine-toothed comb and you can expect to find a wealth of information in this 2-1/2 hour video!  I promise you, you'll get your moneys worth!"  

This video will show you why we at MAX believe that CVA has truly lived up to their new tagline:  "It's just a better gun".

So here's the big news:  to kick off the release of this new video, we are giving away a brand new CVA Accura V2 Rifle!!  This Accura V2 will be a new in-the-box, un-shot rifle in stainless steel with a Realtree camo thumbhole stock.  It features the upgraded quick-release breach plug and rubber injected checkering on the forearm and pistol grip of the stock.

Here's how you Enter:

1.  Buy the Video.  We will automatically enter everyone who buys the new "MAXimize Your Muzzleloader: the CVA Accura & Accura V2" video starting October 1st, 2010 into the contest.

2.  Become an Email Subscriber to this MAX Muzzleloader blog.  You do this by using the box below:

Enter your email address:

If you already subscribe to this blog by email, you are already entered!

Here's how someone wins:  We will draw a name as soon as we hit 700 entries.  The faster we get to 700 entries, the sooner the rifle will be given away - so tell all your friends!

You can keep up with our current number of entries on MAX's Facebook page! 

DETAILS:  This contest is only open to U.S. residents.  Must be 18 years of age to enter, verification of proof of age will be required.  This rifle will be shipped in accordance with all state laws governing muzzleloaders in the state of the winner.  All entries must be a verified email address.  Limit one entry per email address, two entries per person.