[ARCHIVED THREAD] - Do you own a muzzle loader? (Page 1 of 3)
Posted: 12/4/2009 7:20:44 AM EDT
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If you've got lots of modern guns and looking for something different to play with, they're pretty neat.
I picked up a modern inline .50 cal CVA for $99 on a whim to get me through muzzleloader deer season and I wish I'd have gotten into it a long time ago. I forgot why I avoided and never raised an eyebrow to them for so long. |
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ball or mini ball? It's very modernized these days. You can use pistol bullets in sabots. For example, I used a sabotted 240 gr. .45 cal. Hornady XTP to kill a deer recently. Did a nice job on it. Shoots about 1.5" MOA. With two Pyrodex pellets, it throws them about 1,800 - 2,000 fps. |
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ball or mini ball? It's very modernized these days. You can use pistol bullets in sabots. For example, I used a sabotted 240 gr. .45 cal. Hornady XTP to kill a deer recently. Did a nice job on it. Shoots about 1.5" MOA. lol ive muzzleloader hunted elk since 94. will not do general season.. and since I cannot use sabot rnds in Oregon during season is cast TC mini balls for me.. TC hawkins 50 cal.. with musket nipple. |
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I used to really enjoy it - but, really, if not for blackpwoder-only deer seasons, I'd have -0- interest in muzzleloaders. (I did shoot a doe with my savage 10MLII a few weeks ago, fwiw) Yeah, the swabbing every 5 or 6 shots can be a pain when sighting in, but there is a new powder on the market called "Blackhorn 209" that's supposed to be as clean as smokeless. But you need a fully enclosed breech plug for the 209 caps. Mine doesn't have the right breech plug, so I get a hangfire occassionally. Thus I stick with the pellets in my gun. But I think your's should work great with it. I think that 10ML is the only ML that can handle smokeless too. Quoted:
Yes, I do. ETA: IBTP? or Poll Fail? Eh, poll fail. 
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I think they are neat. Lots of smoke, extended hunting season, and its something that a lot of people have never tried before, so you can have someone scratch more guns off their list. I bought a used, VGC TC Renegade .50 for $120 with a big box of supplies. It was hard not to pass up. |
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ball or mini ball? It's very modernized these days. You can use pistol bullets in sabots. For example, I used a sabotted 240 gr. .45 cal. Hornady XTP to kill a deer recently. Did a nice job on it. Shoots about 1.5" MOA. With two Pyrodex pellets, it throws them about 1,800 - 2,000 fps. Sabots for modern pistol bullets have been around for quite awhile; I can recall using them at least 15 years ago. The Hornady .45 XTP is indeed a very effective deer round. Will turn a chest cavity into 'jelly'! |
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Quoted: Blackhorn 209 and Hodges Triple Seven, shotgun primers, inline muzzleloaders... I'm not necessarily nostalgic for real black powder, but its funny how MLing technology has progressed to the point where I would not be surprised to see a VFG or ACOG sitting on top of one in the near future. Quoted: I used to really enjoy it - but, really, if not for blackpwoder-only deer seasons, I'd have -0- interest in muzzleloaders. (I did shoot a doe with my savage 10MLII a few weeks ago, fwiw) Yeah, the swabbing every 5 or 6 shots can be a pain when sighting in, but there is a new powder on the market called "Blackhorn 209" that's supposed to be as clean as smokeless. But you need a fully enclosed breech plug for the 209 caps. Mine doesn't have the right breech plug, so I get a hangfire occassionally. Thus I stick with the pellets in my gun. But I think your's should work great with it. I think that 10ML is the only ML that can handle smokeless too. Quoted: Yes, I do. ETA: IBTP? or Poll Fail? Eh, poll fail. |
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I used to really enjoy it - but, really, if not for blackpwoder-only deer seasons, I'd have -0- interest in muzzleloaders. (I did shoot a doe with my savage 10MLII a few weeks ago, fwiw) Yeah, the swabbing every 5 or 6 shots can be a pain when sighting in, but there is a new powder on the market called "Blackhorn 209" that's supposed to be as clean as smokeless. But you need a fully enclosed breech plug for the 209 caps. Mine doesn't have the right breech plug, so I get a hangfire occassionally. Thus I stick with the pellets in my gun. But I think your's should work great with it. I think that 10ML is the only ML that can handle smokeless too. My Savage has never seen a drop of black powder or substitutes. I only use AA5744 in it now - no smoke, very clean, deer fall down dead with it, but still, it's a muzzleloader. I have managed to kill 2 at a time with it (shoot, reload, shoot again before the deer figure out what's up) and have had the chance to kill 3 with it - so, really, speed isn't an issue - I just don't like hauling around my ammo in little plastic tubes. I much prefer a magazine-fed rifle. Having said that, lots of guys are now using smokeless muzzleloaders to cleanly kill stuff at 300 yards and beyond - It's just not my thing. |
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I do not currently own any but they are definitely on my list.
Real, vintage-style firearms. I'm not into the modern guns that are technically muzzle loaders just so you can hunt during the special season. I just don't see a point. (But if that's what you're into, by all means, enjoy.  )
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I used to really enjoy it - but, really, if not for blackpwoder-only deer seasons, I'd have -0- interest in muzzleloaders. (I did shoot a doe with my savage 10MLII a few weeks ago, fwiw) Yeah, the swabbing every 5 or 6 shots can be a pain when sighting in, but there is a new powder on the market called "Blackhorn 209" that's supposed to be as clean as smokeless. But you need a fully enclosed breech plug for the 209 caps. Mine doesn't have the right breech plug, so I get a hangfire occassionally. Thus I stick with the pellets in my gun. But I think your's should work great with it. I think that 10ML is the only ML that can handle smokeless too. My Savage has never seen a drop of black powder or substitutes. I only use AA5744 in it now - no smoke, very clean, deer fall down dead with it, but still, it's a muzzleloader. I have managed to kill 2 at a time with it (shoot, reload, shoot again before the deer figure out what's up) and have had the chance to kill 3 with it - so, really, speed isn't an issue - I just don't like hauling around my ammo in little plastic tubes. I much prefer a magazine-fed rifle. Having said that, lots of guys are now using smokeless muzzleloaders to cleanly kill stuff at 300 yards and beyond - It's just not my thing. Same here, but using VV N110 and 250 gr Hornady FTX bullets (.452)...got this with it 2 weeks ago today 
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Yeah, I got a .50 cal rifle I built from a kit. Also a .50 cal miniature bronze cannon that I built. Don't know if that counts, but it's pretty cool. I scratch-built it with a naval style carriage and built a complete set-up for it that looks like a gun position on a 17th century ship, complete with ropes, blocks, everything. That little booger not only looks cool, but will throw a .50 cal round ball just shy of 1,000fps with 50 grains of FFFg behind it. 
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I have three, A .54 Cal Hawken, a .50 Cal in line and an 1851 Colt Navy replica .36 Cal. They are a fun change of pace. I want more. I need a nice Pennsylvania Flintlock. A Charleville musket would be fun too.
Edit; My Hawken is a deer slaying machine. I've got 11 ticks on the stock. |
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Flintlock FTW!
T/C Pennsylvania Hunter .50... 90grains of FF Goex & a 240gr. .44cal XTP in .50 cal sabot My favorite hunting season. Never quite sure that it's going to go off or that you're going to hit your quarry. I've killed two deer with mine and have missed about 15. 
The deer seem to know you cant hit them and they get closer. It's crazy how if you fire at one, it confuses the shit out of them and they will stand there and watch you reload. They just stand there like, "WTF is this shit?" Then just as you start priming the flash pan they take off. We put together some big time deer drives and often one of the shooters will have two guns at their post. New York reload in the woods. I have fired(and missed) enough on a single drive that I had to beat the ram-rod against a tree to load the damn thing. Great fun. |
