Traditions Vortek StrikerFire LDR Northwest Magnum Muzzleloader .50 Cal

I purchased this gun a year ago, hunted one season, and have put close to 100 rounds through it. I do really like this gun, but there are some things that I was not aware of when I purchased it. First the good. The gun is accurate and well balanced. I shoot fairly heavy sabots (350-385 grain) for elk and deer. Lock time is very fast which I always felt was an issue with my Thompson Black Diamonds when unable to use a rest. The other issue I had with the Black Diamonds is that they were too front heavy on the sling. This gun does not have that issue. I also really like the break open feature, and the easy to remove breech plug. This makes a quick range swab very simple. Things I wasn't expecting. This gun uses musket caps. You must use the higher powered German ones. RWS work well. The CCI replica caps that worked fine in my Black Diamond have a 50 % misfire rate in this gun. No biggie once you know, but one worried day at the range. Also, you must fully disassemble this gun down to taking apart the action every time you shoot more than a few shots. The blowback into the striker mechanism fouls it up and makes it unusable after 10-15 shots. Fortunately this did not cost me an animal, but it would have if I had a shot that day. You will need a long handled (10") 6mm Allen wrench to get to the action. The not so good. The ramrod on this gun is too short. I like the fact that it has a build in seating jag, but it is too short to push a rag through the barrel. Just long enough to seat a sabot with 100 grains of powder, barely. Also, the Quick-T ramrod handle that comes with it rides on the ramrod when stowed. Almost impossible for it not to fall to the ground when you pull the ramrod out. Very likely that it will get lost on any follow up shots on game in the heat of the moment. I will be ordering a backup to carry in the buttstock storage compartment. Back to the cleaning procedure where you must disassemble the action. This is not trivial and there is one spring that you will likely damage over time as I have. I'm trying to get them to send my 6 replacements as I haven't yet mastered the art of disassembling and reassembling it. I also worry about the safety button getting worn after repeated removal, but time will tell. Again, I do like this gun so far, but I would hesitate to recommend it to anyone who is new to muzzleloading, or working on guns in general.