muzzleloaders

[flyfisher66048]

Looks like I'm going to be getting a CVA Apex 50 cal muzzleloader. I'm starting to ponder which bullets/sabots to use for deer hunting. What do you guys use?

How about putting some of the hardcast 45 colt bullets into a MMP sabot? 285 gr wide flat nose a muzzleloader velocity should kill pretty well. Maybe Hornady 300 gr FPB, TC Shockwave...

More stuff to play with:-)

[agrizz]

Jonathan Browning Mountain Rifle, .50 bore, 385 Buffalo Bullet with 90 grains of GOEX 2ff.

[wickerbill]

Custom built 54 cal Tennessee caplock with patched round ball with 110 grains of 2fg Goex black powder.

I don't feel the need to use the new fangled stuff when the old stuff still works real good.

This loading will shoot clean threw a whitetail from stim to stern with no problems.
Bill

[Shakey]

I used 370 gr maxiballs in various .50 Cal muzzleloaders on whitetails for years with generally good results. Tissue destruction was not very great (good/bad?) but there was ALWAYS an exit hole. That was usually fine but sometimes left a sparse blood trail.

After losing a deer that was hit double lung (found it later) but left NO blood trail, I switched to TC sabots with 240 Gr XTPs. I am sure these will not give the extreme penetration that the maxi does but, with broadside shots, I have always gotten an exit hole, plenty of blood, and a SHORT trail. Actually, almost all have fallen in sight.

I have several other bullets that I thought I might try (like the Barnes) but as long as the XTPs keep working like they have, I'll stick with them.

[WingMaster]

I use a TC Encore with 300 grain bonded ShokWaves over 2 777 pellets (100 grains).

I used 250 grain ShokWaves over the same powder charge the past few years but never got good penetration.

One year I tried the XTP 350 grainers with the same powder charge but accuracy wasn't as good for me. Penetration was good though.

[zeus]

I have to say that my FAVORITE ml bullet is the 285 grain Barnes spitzer boattail. With 150 grains of that Pioneer powder or whatever Shockey's name is on, it does a little over 2200 out of my Knight disc elite and puts small groups in the paper at 100 yards. Penetration is amazing. Went through 5 of the kansas city phone books and then so deep in the clay berm that we never found it at 60 yards. I used it a couple of weeks ago on a 200 pound mule deer doe at 115 yards and it worked flawlessly as usual. in the front of the right shoulder, out the left shoulder. There was just over an inch of meat/bone missing from the middle of the offside shoulder. Hard to beat that bullet in my opinion! I've tried them all and always come back to this one.

[17tombstone]

Thompson .58 cal Big Boar with 600 grain maxiball for me.

[derekr]

Dec 24, 2010 7:24:06 GMT -5 17tombstone said:

Thompson .58 cal Big Boar with 600 grain maxiball for me.

Wow....makes my shoulder hurt just thinkin about that! My T/C Hawken .50 hurts me as it is.

[robl]

"Jonathan Browning Mountain Rifle, .50 bore, 385 Buffalo Bullet with 90 grains of GOEX 2ff. "
Very Nice!

Currently, I use a plain Jane .54 Renegade with whatever rb I can find using up Pyrodex right now started with Goex years ago.

[riddleofsteel]

I guess I am the odd man out here.

I use a Savage ML II with a 3x9 40mm Leupold Vari X III. Time tested load is a MMP short black sabot and 300 grain XTP hollow point over 41 grains of AA5744. I usually can reach just over 2100 FPS with this load. It is deadly accurate and will let the air out of anything you care to shoot with it.

[waterboy]

MY 1:72" twist barrel Kit Carson replica .54 by John Bannermann just won't tolerate that kind of stuff. But I'm sure the RB performance would satisfy. Run what you brung. I'm not turning my nose up at what anyone wants to tote ML shooting. But I do lean toward the more primitive. Looking at Charlivilles and Bess's right now.

This is a friend's .75 Bess slinging a 535 gr. Rb w. 85 gr. FFG. I thought it was so cool. They don't even have ANY SIGHTS! Did ya know that?

[majorKAP]

Dec 31, 2010 21:21:26 GMT -5 riddleofsteel said:

I guess I am the odd man out here.

I use a Savage ML II with a 3x9 40mm Leupold Vari X III. Time tested load is a MMP short black sabot and 300 grain XTP hollow point over 41 grains of AA5744. I usually can reach just over 2100 FPS with this load. It is deadly accurate and will let the air out of anything you care to shoot with it.

I wasn't aware Leupold ever made a 3-9 in the Vari X III.

2.5-8, 3.5-10, yes. 3-9, nope.

[thomasmblack]

.530" home cast ball, 80 grs. FFFG Goex, patch lubed with pure bear oil, 3 F in the pan. At 60 yds the ball passed completely through the lungs leaving a massive blood trail. He made it 35 yards before going down, field dressed 183 pounds. Don't want to start a riot but these inlines just aren't a primitive weapon no more than an ALD is a bow.
Tom Black
Cantucky

[majorKAP]

Jan 7, 2011 13:37:59 GMT -5 thomasmblack said:

.530" home cast ball, 80 grs. FFFG Goex, patch lubed with pure bear oil, 3 F in the pan. At 60 yds the ball passed completely through the lungs leaving a massive blood trail. He made it 35 yards before going down, field dressed 183 pounds. Don't want to start a riot but these inlines just aren't a primitive weapon no more than an ALD is a bow.
Tom Black
Cantucky

Great deer, Tom. Where in Kaintuck was it taken?

Oh, and by the way, is that pic oil on canvas or is it from your digital camera?

[thomasmblack]

Major,
Thank you sir. I live near Marion which is in Crittenden Co. which in turn is in western KY, the western most boundry of the Transylvania Colony. My little wife took my Canon digital and made the picture. Where are you located?
Tom Black
Cantucky