Muzzleloader help

[mdmayo]

Any quality muzzleloader will do just fine. Every muzzleloader is a wee bit different, even the same brand/caliber/model have definite "preferences." Took me about a month to finally find the right combo of bullet/powder/primer load. Once you have her preferences dialed in keep practicing, It'll pay off in time. My Austin & Halleck 420m .50 with 300gr Powerbelts and 150gr of 777 (I use the .32 H&R small rifle primed brass plug) is just plain sweet out to 200yds.

 

[Hookeye]

Colonial riflemen took British officers out at up to 400 yards with flintlock long rifles 240 years ago. You will do fine with whatever gun you choose. A patched round ball and a traditional muzzleloader will do every thing you ask of it with the right load.

Taking somebody out of the fight and putting a game animal down humanely might be very different things.

 

[inlineman]

The powerbelts are only a couple thousandths less than the bore and have no sabot.All they have is a gas seal on the bottom of bullet,thet make several different eights per caliber,in my fifty it shoots the platinum a little better than the copper,also the coating is supposed to keep the barrel from leading up and robbing accuracy.If I shoot hornady xtp or sst bullets and sabots about all I can shoot is 5 before the barrel is fouled with powder and plastic residue that accuracy suffers and you cant hardly load them.When I went to the powerbelts I got 13 shots before accuracy suffered and they was still easy to load and I shoot 100 grains of triple 7 powder no matter what bullet for 100 yards with excellent accuracy by all of the 50 caliber inlines with 1 in 28 twist.

 

[inlineman]

My better half has a youth model rossi 45 1 in 20 twist with a 20 inch barrel that you can barely keep in a pie pan at 100 yards,with the powerbelts,so we shoot hornady sst in it and it is a tackdriver at 100 yards with 50 grains of powder. I sometimes hunt with it when I hunt out of a climber because its only 35 or 36 inches total in length.Feels like a toy but great for a treestand.

 

[Leo]

The powerbelts are only a couple thousandths less than the bore and have no sabot.All they have is a gas seal on the bottom of bullet,thet make several different eights per caliber,in my fifty it shoots the platinum a little better than the copper,also the coating is supposed to keep the barrel from leading up and robbing accuracy.If I shoot hornady xtp or sst bullets and sabots about all I can shoot is 5 before the barrel is fouled with powder and plastic residue that accuracy suffers and you cant hardly load them.When I went to the powerbelts I got 13 shots before accuracy suffered and they was still easy to load and I shoot 100 grains of triple 7 powder no matter what bullet for 100 yards with excellent accuracy by all of the 50 caliber inlines with 1 in 28 twist.

+1

I was a roundball or minnie ball traditionalist for years. I bought a more modern inline Muzzleloader just recently and have been playing with The Powerbelt bullets.
These bullets just plain work. I am very pleased with the accuracy, and a 295 grain bullet that hits exactly where I aim is a lot of down range energy to get the job done.

Old habits die hard, I grease them with wonderlube just like a patched ball.

 

[Classic]

Traditionalist

I like the rules in your state around black powder hunting. I am a traditionalist when it comes to muzzle loaders and have built a number of front stuffers that are reliable and accurate. IMO the modern looking, inline, scoped, fake black powder burning weapons are just a way for some to carve out extra days to hunt and if I had anything to say about it the muzzle loader season would be about traditional arms using black powder.

 

[inlineman]

I agree totally with the powerbelts being a superb product,I found some on clearance at rural king for 9 bucks a pack and since then have been paying regular price. But to the argument that classic has brought up I hunt with inlines and percussion guns but in my opinion as long as you stuff it from the end its a muzzleloader and the only reason he says otherwise is because he must need to be in the woods with less people for an advantage.But if he sharpens his skills he will not need it.

 

[tallpaulr]

yeah I have heard plenty form both sides here in the state

 

[tallpaulr]

For the first few years of the season when they opended it up to bucks instead of just the doe only season. The rules said only open sights, then last year it was changed to scope with no magnification or peep sights. I do not know about all of you but i had considered the peep as a open site

 

[tallpaulr]

with all this in mind what are your thoughts as to where i should be going? just get a muzzloader that feels good adn try to make it shoot or look into something that is built for for the long ranges and work with it? I just don't want to get somthing and then really feel like i should have went a different way. I guess my biggest consern is getting a set of quality sights that will help me reach out and touch.

 

[inlineman]

Anytime the discussion of muzzleloader hunting comes up you seem to get the same argument,I think all of them load the same.The same with bowhunting they want to exclude the crossbow.My opinion is anytime you put only on the end of a season you are cutting somebody out.I think there is room for everybody.

 

[ru44mag]

Taking somebody out of the fight and putting a game animal down humanely might be very different things.

Not might. They are.

+1

I was a roundball or minnie ball traditionalist for years. I bought a more modern inline Muzzleloader just recently and have been playing with The Powerbelt bullets.
These bullets just plain work. I am very pleased with the accuracy, and a 295 grain bullet that hits exactly where I aim is a lot of down range energy to get the job done.
The powerbelt bullets are by far might favorite, but they are over $1 a round. That's without powder or cap. That's been making me think about going back to the patched round ball. Shooting black powder shouldn't cost so much.

Old habits die hard, I grease them with wonderlube just like a patched ball.

The powerbelt bullets are by far my favorite, but at over $1 a round I'm thinking about going back to a patched round ball. Black powder should not cost so much to shoot.

 

[Cerberus]

Side note on the flintlocks and long range i am not an expert but i am pretty darn sure they where not using 50 cals to do such things, they liked their smaller squirrel guns and the like

50 cal and up were quite popular in the flintlock era. Most popular were probably between 40-50 cal, but the bigger bore originals make a good showing for themselves. The smaller sub 40 cals start showing up in the later flintlock era when the areas became more settled and smaller game became the table fair.

Another historical tidbit to keep in mind was, the further west the settlers went the bigger the bores started getting again. Heavier bullets tend to buck wind better over distance, and until the conicals started becoming popular again the easiest way to get heavier balls was to go up in size.

 

[tallpaulr]

hmm, was not thinking the revolution would have been that 50 stage in rifles not military arms, i realize those where large up into like 72

 

[Cerberus]

hmm, was not thinking the revolution would have been that 50 stage in rifles not military arms, i realize those where large up into like 72

Yes, muskets tended to be in the .69-.75 cal range. Rilfes could be anything. Smoothbores were all over thye place as well. Some were smaller some were bigger. Historically speaking most firearms during the settlement of this country were smoothbore, they simply covered more bases for a generally frugal public. Their range for larger game hunting is limited though.

 

[Bill B]

A couple of links that may help
https://www.indianagunowners.com/forums/long_guns/64594-cva_wolf_muzzle_loader_bullet_drop_fyi.html

and
http://www.hornady.com/assets/files/ballistics/2013-Standard-Ballistics.pdf
the last page has the muzzleloader ballistics. At 200 yards you're looking at anywhere from 1100 to 1600 lb/ft of energy and anywhere from a 1 to 10 inch drop.
Personally, I cannot see a deer well enough @ 200 yards to even think about a shot w/o a scope, but I hunt in Michigan where the terrain is likely very different from where you are.

 

[mdmayo]

IMO the modern looking, inline, scoped, fake black powder burning weapons are just a way for some to carve out extra days to hunt and if I had anything to say about it the muzzle loader season would be about traditional arms using black powder.

Hey now! I still love my .50 cal Hawken, I still shoot black powder and minnie ball on hogs with it as well. It just doesn't have the "reach out and touch it" effect the inline has. And my little Traditions .32 is a squirrel taking machine with a patched .315 ball, no inline deviancy there. :P

I could go either way on the traditional vs. modern discussion, to me even the worst day in the woods with a smokepole is better than my best day at work. Kind of like fishing in that respect...

 

[inlineman]

A buddy of mine works at a local gunshop and says you can still get a cva 45 cal. rifle and they are the ones marketing the powerbelt bullets,therefore that will probably be the most affordable long range option. I also watched a Thom.center long range shooting video on youtube,they zeroed at 100 yds and and had 8.5 inch drop at 200 yds and 10 inches of drift with 10mph wind and went from 100 to 150 grains of powder so it must be a magnum rifle to handle the powder charge.But also the 45 cal should outperform the 50 with bullets and sabots.