Deer hunting in MN with Muzzleloader the 1st time this year... bullet questions

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Magnum Wheel Man

New member
so I shot at MRS cousins traditional Muzzleloader shoot this last spring ( 1st time in many years ) a couple years ago I bought a Knight Rolling block in line... stainless / camo dipped...

I'm curious what you guys would recommend for bullet selection??? last time I had it out, I bought either 44 or 45 caliber bullets & sabots ( there are a lot of choices here ) if I had more cold weather expirience, I might not be afraid of just shooting lead round ball... I did alright at the shoot, but those were with traditional percussion guns... I'm both concerned about black powder ignition profile when it's cold, verses what I shot in May, & concered with my moose milk ( I actually have my own formula called monkey milk :) ) freezing, & causing ignition issues or flouling issues using a traditional moose milk type formula & a patch, as opposed to a sabot...

anyway curious what you guys use for bullets & why???
 
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Doyle

New member
When I hunted with a ML, my favorite combination was a Hornady 250gr SST in the low-drag sabot propelled by 100gr of loose 777 powder with a 777 primer. I was getting 3-shot groups almost touching in my T/C Omega and a little larger in my current Encore.
 
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Sure Shot Mc Gee

New member
I use these. (link) The PR bullet I use has a rebated boat tail profile and that alone is a major design improvement over the typical flat bottomed projectiles seen. I know first hand the PR Polymer Tip gives superb down range accuracy when compared to the other brands and far & away any PRbullet is easier reload in a fouled barrel than any of the other brands also. I have tried Harvester Hornady MMP T/Cs & powerbelts none measured up to PR's performance when shot out of my rifles barrel. "Just pass'in along some info I found to be."

https://www.prbullet.com/
 
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rodwhaincamo

New member
I noticed most of their loads were on the higher side more typical of inlines. Do these bullets work as designed at the lower velocities a sidelock would create with something more like a 70 grn 3F charge?

Looking over various Hornady aerodynamic bullets I noticed many were designed to perform at a minimum of 1600 fps which would make them useless to me beyond 50-75 yds.
 
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mehavey

New member
if I had more cold weather experience, I might not be afraid of just shooting
lead round ball... I did alright at the shoot, but those were with traditional percussion guns... concerned about black powder ignition profile when it's cold.
Click to expand...
Black powder doesn't care if it's cold. In fact we regularly have BPML silhouette shoots where a spit patch
will freeze on it's way from mouth to muzzle if you get distracted -- and everything works just fine.
No effect at all.

So if you've already calibrated on BP & roundball, stay with BP & roundball. ;)

Ditto a moosemilk-dampened patch - don't worry about it.




~~~~~~~~ BREAK BREAK ~~~~~~~~~

I assume you clean out the nipple/flash channel and fire a few caps ahead of time before loading for real.
HINT: Spray one short squirt of brake cleaner (not carb spray) down through the nipple/flash channel,
using the little tube that comes with the spray can. Dry the bore out w/ a dry patch and then snap caps as usual.
Ignition on that first for-the-record shot will be absolutely instantaneous.
 
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Magnum Wheel Man

New member
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mehavey

New member
my traditional percussion rifle...
Click to expand...
By any chance is have you tried installing a tang sight/aperture?
Like you, my eyes require those on ALL my iron-sighted rifles now,
smokeless & BP alike.

http://www.trackofthewolf.com/Categories/PartDetail.aspx/883/1/RS-57-SML

As to the use of what appears to be an engraving conical bullet for the in-line,
I know a lot of silhouette shooters who use them -- and do quite well.
They are casting them bore diameter, using very soft lead (30:1 at most)
and relying on bump-up to fill the grooves. It works
 
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Magnum Wheel Man

New member
the 50 has a tall tang sight, that's a cheaper ( reads wobbily ) sight... works ok for the shoot, as long as I remember to push it to the same side after each shot...

I've since removed it, & was thinking about adding one of the sights you linked, after the shoot last spring... would like to get it on, before next springs muzzle loader shoot...
 
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mehavey

New member
The only tall/vernier sights that have been rock solid for me are those made
by MVA. (I've got them on several high-end BPCRs and a Pedersoli Missouri
River Hawken but they are expensive)

On the other hand, I've got the Lyman 57s on several Lyman/T-C Hawkens.
They are not only rock solid, but unobtrusive as well.
 
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Magnum Wheel Man

New member
I'm sure those are the ones I was looking at 6 months ago... trouble is, fixing the traditional 50 gets me set for next spring, but doesn't have me using my inline for hunting :)

however I was accurate enough with a patch & ball, that I wouldn't have any issues with hunting with it at normal ranges...

maybe time to send the inline down the road & develope better the traditional guns...

we have a 54 that was FIL's that had a bulge ahead of the charge, & had the barrel shortened & refit to cut it out... 4" shorter, might make a decent deer rifle also???
 
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BirchOrr

New member
In-lines are a completely different animal compared to a traditional BP patched ball rifle. Knight suggests and packages Barnes solid copper sabots for their in-lines and for darned good reasons. Their rifles like them! I also use and swear by them IF... your brand of rifle likes them. I believe it's usually a good idea to start out with what the manufacturer recommends. The performance of the Barnes sabots on game (or paper) is superb. At 100 yds. if I can't get three shots touching each other, I have a bit more work to do. (adjusting powder charge). Moisture is not our friend.

Living and hunting in Michigan, I know all about hunting in horrid wet and cold weather. All we are after is for the rifle to go boom when we pull the trigger and get a clean merciful kill. (A bullet is much more merciful than a car or a coyote).

For the record, during rifle season here, I use an in-line during regular season (I hunt in the shotgun only zone) but in-lines/traditional BP rifles/pistols are legal. During the BP season I switch to my trusty old 50 cal. brown barrel CVA Hawken cap & ball rifle. I always carry a BP six shooter just in case. I've never had to use one except to blast a coyote who was screwing up my hunt.

You can go with T7 pellets for simplicity and quick loading in the field. (If so, I would get the magnums 60 gr. each and use 2 of them). If you want to really perfect it, use loose powder. T7, real BP (with a T7 209 primer), or if you really want to split hairs use Blackhorn 209. BUT you need a hotter 209 than T7. Follow their recommendations! WARNING: Blackhorn needs to be measured and cleaned differently than BP or substitutes. In a magnum rifle, (which can handle 150 gr of powder), BH 209 is more precisely measured by weight rather than volume. Again, a completely different animal than BP or substitutes. I would not use more than 100 gr. by weight. Lethal!

In the field, I keep a plastic Skoal can in my pocket with pre soaked patches & also dry patches. For real BP and substitutes, I like Butch's BP Bore Shine. Less patches, quicker cleaning and Simple. For BH 209, I use Montana Extreme cleaning solvent. Any type smokeless cleaning solvent works well.

I swab and clean between every shot even in the field. I want every shot as consistent as humanly possible. Also if I take a shot, I don't have to unload and clean my rifle when I get home. It's good to go. After loading, I run a patch of Ballistol down the barrel for further protection.

Just my extreme weather 2 cents.

All the best and good luck!

Birch
 
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Old Stony

New member
I doubt you will have any real accuracy from a round ball in your inline. The faster twist just isn't compatible. For hunting purposes, I like to use a round ball, and lube the patch with bore butter. I put a thin wad over the powder to keep it from soaking up the lube and it seems to work well for me.
I refuse to use an inline, so I just work with the traditional types of rifles.
 
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