LR Muzzle Loaders

liltank

liltank

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Nov 3, 2008
Messages
4,211
Location
Central Pennsylvania
Anybody ever try shooting a conventional or inlive muzzle loader long range... say 400+ yrds. Just curious. Post with any stories. Farthest I have hit anything with open sights was a two liter bottle of water at 100yrds. That is a pretty simple shot I know!

Sound Off,
Tank
 
Last edited:
liltank said:
Farthest I have hit anything with open sights was a two liter bottle of water at 100yrds. That is a pretty simple shot I know!

Sound Off,
Tank
Click to expand...


Tank I wouldn't call that simple. I don't think I could do that at fifty with my "flinch lock". I can't seem to get used to the poof in my face before the bang. I had to sight it in using a vise and don't hunt with it because I can't shoot it. In short it makes a better bat or spear for my use.:D
 
jmason said:
Tank I wouldn't call that simple. I don't think I could do that at fifty with my "flinch lock". I can't seem to get used to the poof in my face before the bang. I had to sight it in using a vise and don't hunt with it because I can't shoot it. In short it makes a better bat or spear for my use.:D
Click to expand...


LOL! I know what you mean. I shot that with a percussion rifle. I shoot in the spring and fall at a Muzzle Loader Rondevue. It is a lot of fun. I have seen some pretty good shots over the years. I have been shooting the old smoke poles since 1989. I think they are a lot of fun.

We just had our spring shoot this weekend. Dad and I cleaned house this year. We had a rare good day. I won't be able to shoot worth a darn for another couple of years. It just seems to work that way. :rolleyes: I was using a flint lock this spring. It is a frontier. Had some flint issues. Luckily the rain held out.
 
I've been getting 2" groups @ 200yds and would be confident out to 250yds or so. Terminal energy may be a big problem @ 400 yds even if you could reliably hit your target.

Assuming a high BC bullet in a thick sabot AND an accurate load, I guess it's possible. I'd like to see something like a 208gr A-Max (.308) in a sabot at good initial velocity. If you could get that combo to shoot accurately then you'd be good to go.
 
liltank said:
Anybody ever try shooting a conventional or inlive muzzle loader long range... say 400+ yrds. Just curious. Post with any stories. Farthest I have hit anything with open sights was a two liter bottle of water at 100yrds. That is a pretty simple shot I know!

Sound Off,
Tank
Click to expand...

Tank.

The best I ever shot my Muzzel loader was a 5" 5 shot group @ 300yrds ,Using a 620gr cast
postnell bullet in front of 150grs of xx black powder (This load is a bear and should only be
used in a modern rifle).

The trajactory is kind of like a mortar but it does hit with authority.

I did not try beyond 300 because a 5 inch groups are my comfort zone on deer.

I did not try the BP substitutes ether but they might do better.

Also I like the sabots out to 150yrds but beyond that they were just not as accurate in
my rifle.

J E CUSTOM
 
Unfortunately there is only so much you can do with a muzzleloader. Our season in Nebraska is the entire month of December with unlimited statewide tags. A person can have 2 tags that allow a buck to be harvested and as many antlerless tags as there are available in an area. I continue to push my ML hunts but there aren't that many people interested in them even though it can be an excellent time of year to hunt deer.

I've seen just as many bad shots with a muzzleloader as I have with archery hunts. Alot of it is the smoke and boom but some credit goes to the guys on TV blasting away at 300 yards.
 
I've shot regularly to 400yds and occasionally to 500yds. Running a 250gr bonded shockwave at 2880fps. The come ups are spot on day in and day out, the wind is another story.
 
distantfoe said:
I've shot regularly to 400yds and occasionally to 500yds. Running a 250gr bonded shockwave at 2880fps. The come ups are spot on day in and day out, the wind is another story.
Click to expand...

Sounds like you are using smokeless powder, if not please share your load.

I think Liltank was talking about black powder .

If not sorry !!!!!

J E CUSTOM
 
Distantfoe,
Do you get consistent accuracy at these velocities? Kirby and I had a discussion about trying to get a ML built to shoot as far as possible and from other people's experiences the sabots available get inconsistent accuracy at the speeds you are talking about. However, I have no personal experience and an ML that could consistently take deer at 400+ yards would deffinately interest me.
 
Aren't we all. I have a T/C encore and would like it a lot more if I could pull that off. What powder & how much? What M/L are you using?
 
I don't know about all these "wanta-be muzzleloaders" but my flintlock works just fine to about 100 yards, after that it's anyone's guess. I shoot a flintlock I built myself. It has a 1:22 twist so I can shoot the TC hunter type bullet. The lock is a timed Siler lock with Davis set triggers. It's a .50 cal. so I shoot the TC maxi-hunter with 100 grains of 3F. I know the book says 2F but this rifle likes the 3. It has iron sights and drops about four inches at 100 yards. I must admit that I have not had the occasion to actually shoot a deer at this distance most are between 50 and 75 yards. With the tuned lock there is no discernible difference between a caplock and my flinter provided the flint is sharp and not too much priming power. Just thought I'd but my two cents in. Now I guess I'll go back and introduce myself to the group since I just signed on.
 

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