Reliability? Check. Style? You bet. Performance? You better believe it. You are probably asking yourself, "What is this man talking about?" Well ladies and gentlemen; let me introduce to you the Traditions Pursuit II XLT, Traditions newest and finest inline muzzleloader.

Tommy Nunley, a member of the Mossy Oak Pro Staff from Wytheville Virginia also expresses his satisfaction he receives from his Pursuit II, "In my opinion, Traditions really made a winner the Pursuit II." What separates the Pursuit II from other inline muzzleloaders is the new accelerator breech plug. In just three revolutions the breech plug is removed and the gun is ready to clean, with no tools needed. "It is so extremely easy to clean that I felt like I was cheating," said Nunley. This new feature from Traditions allows more shots at the range thus increasing your familiarity and confidence with the gun.

While the new accelerator breech plug is raises the bar for inline muzzleloaders, I was equally impressed with the dual safety on the Pursuit II. This feature is great for young hunters or beginner hunters. The hunter must first click of the initial safety on the trigger guard then cock the hammer before the weapon is ready to fire. For a hunter who had safety drilled into my head as a youngster, this is a welcome sight in a world where hunting accidents occur more frequently than they should.

The specifications of the Pursuit II are what enable this gun to shoot, shoulder and handle well. The Soft-Touch rubberized stock allows the hunter to hunt in any weather and still maintain a firm grip. During a recent Muzzleloading hunt while braving the elements during a downpour, the stock on my new favorite weapon stuck to me like superglue. Available in traditional and thumbhole models, the Soft-Touch rubberized stock will change the way you think about shouldering and handling firearms, I guarantee it. A 28-inch fluted, ported and nickel coated barrel along with a Quick Relief Recoil Pad makes the Pursuit II the finest shooting muzzleloader available.

The Pursuit II XLT by Traditions outperforms other inline muzzleloaders both in the field and in the range. While I have only been afield with my Pursuit II a half of dozen times, I am confident in its performance and ability to make lethal shots out to 200 yards. In fact, it was named the 2008 Best of the Best for muzzleloaders in Field and Stream's annual Best of the Best issue. Following Traditions motto of "Easy to shoot, load and clean," when asked to describe the Pursuit II in one sentence Nunley said, "Easy to load, easy to clean and easy everything in between!" I think that about covers it.

Note: The author has fully customized his Pursuit II to the effect of a Mossy Oak Treestand camo finish with the thumbhole stock and a 3-9x40 Traditions Scope also in Mossy Oak Treestand. He shoots 125 grains of Jim Shockey's FFG powder and Supreme Hunter .50 cal bullets by Traditions.