Do You Hunt With A Muzzleloader?

[TheHardWay]

The town itself is growing like crazy. Traffic is getting congested.
Missionary is really starting to grow back. I know a few guys who hunt up there and they said the aspens are thicker than snot.
This year is pretty dry again, even though we had a lot of snow over the winter, but the spring time wind combined with the dust storms made for a rapid melt. Keeping our fingers crossed that the lightning doesn't get too bad.

 

[MrMajestic]

T/C Encore, 100 gr. equivalent of Blackhorn 209, W-W #209 primer, and a Barnes Saboted bullet. 1 1/2 MOA accuracy however haven't had a PA Whitetail dumb enough to act as a target. Killed one a while back with a Flintlock though. Took two tries at getting it to ignite and that's a little unnerving! Thought about duck taping a Bic lighter on the pan as an assist!

 

[Gary22-250]

just started last year , bought a traditions pursuit pro in .45 . use buckhorn 209 powder with power belts . its a dern good shooter for a lower end gun

 

[ouhunter2506]

I've been hunting with a Blackpowder guns for over 30 yrs. I still have 3 of my older Thompson and Knight rifles, .54 cal., .45 cal., & .50 cal. but now I have 5 in-line muzzleloaders Thompson Center Encore .45 28" prohunter barrel, two Knight Blk Diamonds .50 cal., Traditions Deer Hunter realtree camo .50 cal, and Thompson Center 50 cal. Triumph. I use from 85 grs to 100 grs of 777 and the 200 gr. Shock Wave groups really good for me in most of the rifles and the 240 gr. groups better in the others. I hunt deer, hogs and coyotes and I built a 100 yrd range just 50 yrds from my house so I'm always out shooting my guns. I have a 1000 yrd open hay medow in front of my house and my cousin and I will set up targets at every 100 yrds out to 800 yrds and will compete freehand then off the bench but we use our other rifles for that. It's a blast!

 

[Martinbow]

Blackhorn 209 only comes as a loose powder. you can shoot several times without cleaning-after you finish shooting you do need to clean-over time it will cause some pitting

 

[Buano]

I have to admit I have little if any knowledge about muzzleloaders so can anyone tell me with a good quality muzzleloader and in the right hands, generally speaking how far out can one shoot with reasonable accuracy? Also in terms of cost what is one looking at in order to be setup properly-what components/cost. Thanks.

If you want a good muzzle-loader, look at a stainless Thompson-Center Triumph. (The T-C Encore is the same gun with switch-barrel capabilities.) It's reliable and accurate to 250+ yards. Go with the Blackhorn 209 powder (Blackhorn 209 :: High performance muzzleloading propellant). Most gun shops now cary it. (Haz-Mat fees make mail-ordering it expensive.) Follow the directions that come with the muzzle-loader. Most accurate loads are normally about 90% of maximum recommended but you need to practice enough to figure out what your gun likes.

For best accuracy I still swab between every shot when practicing although this is not required when using this powder in the field. With my gun I've found I can load about 4 shots before I NEED to swab the barrel because loading has become too difficult.

Both Leupold & Nikon (and Cabelas) make muzzle-loader scopes with drop marked off to be quite accurate with this type of gun. If scopes are allowed in your area, I suggest you get one. (I use the Leupold version.)

 

[MHO]

777 is very easy to clean. Every 2 or 3 shots just run a wet patch down and run an dry one behind it. Ive always been very happy with it. 150 Grains 777, 270 Grain Power belt. 50 cal CVA Accura. Deadly accurate.

 

[sofalyr]

I hunt with a muzzle loader.
favorite is a Lyman Great Plains 50 cal. Have killed deer and elk with it. I shoot a hand cast .497" round ball, mattress ticking, crisco lubed patch ahead of 100 grains of Pyrodex R or Pyrodex select and cci #11 caps. Use 90gr Pyrodex P if very damp out. I have hunted with 50 cal inline and 45cal maxi, but really prefer the 50cal GP.

 

[varminthunter]

I LOVE to hunt with the smoke pole.

I purchased a new TC Encore Pro Hunter this spring, 50 cal. Topped it off with a Nikon 250 Omega BDC scope. This gun is the BEST ML I have ever owned. I use 100 grains of Pyrodex, 250 grain TC Shockwave bullet. At a 100 yards will shoot 3/4" moa, 1" moa at 200 yards.

Opening weekend of M/L season, I shoot a doe at 40 yards at 8:15 am and a 9-pointer at 50 yards at 10:00 am. Best opening morning EVERY, thanks to my TC Encore.

Nothing like the smell of sulfur in the morning!!!!!

 

[ouhunter2506]

That sulphur smell in the morning gives ya that good warm feeling. I really like my TC encore but since I have several .50 cal I bought the .45 cal pro hunter barrel and love it!!

 

[Ft. Churchill]

Yes I do because the muzzle loader tags are better odds to draw to here in Nevada, isn't it funny that you play the odds to get a tag in Nevada?

 

[chowder]

Yes! As a passionate bowhunter I also really like snow covered close action black powder hunting for white tails here in NY. I finished up the 2010 black powder season with a 137 yard instant kill shot on a mature doe the last afternoon of the season w/ my Optima Accura 50 cal w/ a compact Bushnell scope. I took a nice 8 pt while stalking in deep snow a week earlier with my Pursuit 50 cal w/ open sights. I jumped the buck and had a doable but tight shot at the running buck as he bolted through a small birch grove. I use the triple x Hogdon and the Aerotip bullets.

 

[BigSkyGP]

No, but I would, no muzzeloader season in MT.

I have played with the B H 209 in the Super Black Hawk, (use FB cast) what a hoot! I'd say it's clean.

I'm leaning more towards metalic black powder/BH209. Have to get 45 cal Sharps, that'll shoot a ways.

 

[Super 91]

Yes, indeed I do. I hunted for years with a White Super 91 in .451 caliber. It would lob large (490 grain SuperSlugs) chunks of lead with extreme accuracy and you could load all day and never have to swab between shots. I shot over 50 times one day and never cleaned the bore, and my last group was as tight as any of the them.

The company folded a number of times and I got my hands on some old actions and barrels and parts, and put together a number of the guns myself. I made three carbon fiber barreled guns before it was all done. Gave one to my wife, one to my best bud, and kept one for me.

But what I really want to hunt with, and what I use 100% of the time these days is my custom barrel I made to fit the Encore Pro Hunter. It is a .451 diameter bore, just like the White's. But I shoot smokeless in it with stellar results.

The barrel is 410 stainless, as is the breech plug, so it will take the smokeless loads just fine. I am shooting a Hornaday 300 grain XTP Mag right at 2500 fps. That is 57.7 grains of IMR 4198 and a standard Winchester 209 primer. It will do 3/4" groups at 100 all day long.

I did a lot of long range practicing with the gun (I also built one for my best bud so we could shoot together) and we have Kahles scopes with the TDS reticle in them. This gave us the multiple aiming points needed so we marked our drop and knew what distance each crosshair signified.

I made a 240 yards neck shot on a nice doe right at the end of season, and my best bud made a 300 yard shot on a medium sized doe. Both of these shots were laser confirmed, using Leica Geovids 10 x 42 laser binos.

Neither deer took a step. We have many kills under our belts with these guns now, and the furthest any has ever run was one buck at 30 yards,and he was falling down the steep banks for most of that, already dead on his feet. 99% of the time they hit the ground right there, as that 300 bullet imparts so much hydrostatic shock to the deers system, they just die right there.