muzzle loading for Antelope

[ENCORE]

Let's just make it an archery season and a rifle season. You can use crossbows, compounds and recurves in archery. And you can use any kind of muzzleloader, handgun or rifle with any kind of sights for rifle. Problem solved.

The whole intention of developing muzzleloader seasons was for people to use 16x power scopes with 300 grain bullets going 2900 fps and killing velvet mule deer at 600 yards. Right?

So your last paragraph, that would apply to the "rifle" season. And we can all hunt with what we choose if we go that route. I'll ditch my Hawkens and go back to my 800 yard rigs happily then.

Yup, open it up and problems all solved.

Muzzleloader seasons were developed WHEN the only muzzleloaders available were percussion or flint. Problem is, you want traditional, yet use a muzzleloader that was likely made well after the 1800's. You can still use your TC Hawken rifle, while Billy uses his modern inline muzzleloader. BOTH load from the muzzle. The ONLY problem with that is, Billy isn't meeting YOUR expectations.
Sorry friend, but that mentality isn't going to help the sport one single bit. The only one it satisfies is you.

The largest muzzleloading organization in America, the NMLRA, had a bunch of "my way only" guys, that about ruined new memberships. They had the same mentality of blackpowder and sidehammer/flints, or force the new guys into it. It FAILED and they lost a ton of shooters. Now, they're trying to bring them back and I have confidence they will now that they learned.

 

[KurtB]

I live and hunt in Colorado only. I follow our regs and like our regs for blackpowder. I am quite successful at it. My kids were and are quite successful at it. If they make it flintlock only, I'll buy a flintlock. If they make it smokeless and allow scopes, I'll go back to rifle only hunting. No big deal to me.

I hope the OP jumps in and finds what he likes to do and follows the regs of his state. Its a great way to get more hunting opportunities and is typically a little less crowded than a rifle hunting season. Best of luck and hope you give it a try.

 

[cohunt]

Lots more people in CO are applying for ml tags, easier to get with less points than rifle tags, and usually during the rut (unlike rifle tags) --- every time I ask someone what tag they got, I hear more and more "I bought a new ml this year so I can hunt before all those rifle tag guys scare the elk off the mountain"

 

[Mark Hilburger]

I had one made by Smokeless Muzzle Loaders in Indiana and would highly recommend it. I have done a 5 round 7/8" group at 100 yards with it. I have also shot a woodchuck at 200 yards with it --he was standing up daring me so I had to. You send him a H&R or Thompson lower half, and he sends it back with a great ML for about $400.

 

[ENCORE]

I had one made by Smokeless Muzzle Loaders in Indiana and would highly recommend it. I have done a 5 round 7/8" group at 100 yards with it. I have also shot a woodchuck at 200 yards with it --he was standing up daring me so I had to. You send him a H&R or Thompson lower half, and he sends it back with a great ML for about $400.

Someone or someplace, it may have been reported that their web site is down and thus it was asked if they had gone out of business???

 

[Mark Hilburger]

I don't know. I tried calling it just rang. He has done that before. He has done a number of trigger jobs for me in the past, I will be bummed if he closed his shop.

 

[22250imp]

I had some correspondence with a fellow hunter in NM some years ago. He had used a muzzleloader from a blind to take some impressive Antelope. I am finding that the archery season here, in a very good area is set way in advance of the rut, as opposed to all other western states I am aware of.
So, I am considering acquiring a muzzleloading firearm. Knowing nothing about ML and its capabilities with regard to accuracy, I would appreciate your insights as to: firearms and loads specifically tailored to longer distance shooting.
thank you,
WW

Blackhorn powder and Thor bullets are the only way to go. Thor has sizing bullets so you can get bore specific size. More spendy but they are accurate and perform very well. Have shot deer, antelope, and elk with nothing but great results. Also seen one perform on moose. Bullet was just under the skin on opposite shoulder. 129 yds

 

[cohunt]

Blackhorn powder and Thor bullets are the only way to go. Thor has sizing bullets so you can get bore specific size. More spendy but they are accurate and perform very well. Have shot deer, antelope, and elk with nothing but great results. Also seen one perform on moose. Bullet was just under the skin on opposite shoulder. 129 yds

Dont need to buy size specific anymore, they now have a "self adjusting split skirt" in limited quantities on their web page ...my cva needed a .5005" so either the .5001 was pretty tight, or i had to "upsize" the .500's with a socket ..next time I'll try the split skirt, it should load easier yet expand to seal better

 

[ENCORE]

You guys shooting land riders, should check out the Fury Star Tip2 line of bullets. They also provide a sizing pack for those who don't want to size their own bullets. Sizing your own is the absolute best way to achieve the utmost accuracy, especially at distance.
Outstanding on game.

Fury star tip2

Accuracy of 3 rounds at 200yds

 

[cohunt]

you use wads with those?
just saw they are lead core, thought they were solid copper with alum tip

 

[jshepherd61]

I had some correspondence with a fellow hunter in NM some years ago. He had used a muzzleloader from a blind to take some impressive Antelope. I am finding that the archery season here, in a very good area is set way in advance of the rut, as opposed to all other western states I am aware of.
So, I am considering acquiring a muzzleloading firearm. Knowing nothing about ML and its capabilities with regard to accuracy, I would appreciate your insights as to: firearms and loads specifically tailored to longer distance shooting.
thank you,
WW

Not sure what state you are in! But some states do not allow muzzle loaders during archery season and make you hunt during rifle season!

 

[ENCORE]

you use wads with those?
just saw they are lead core, thought they were solid copper with alum tip

I used a .518" - .060" veggie wad when shooting them in the .50cal.
I use a .060" veggie wad also in the .45cal custom.
Fury is making bullets just as fast as they can. Many shooters wanting to use land riding bullets have switched to the ST2. Fury makes them for the .50cal rifles and also a .452" bullet for the .45's. I currently size and shoot the .452" from my custom. Both the 275gr and 300gr bullets are excellent.

My custom has a T-Rex CSTM muzzle brake. I was only able to send a couple of the 275's at 500 before the range started filling up. A guy with a couple youngsters took the bench next to me and I knew my brake would bother them, so I packed it in.

 

[wv270wsm]

Try the black horn powder for sure just remember it measures by volume not weight .
My tc encore shoots a very healthy volume weight of it and a sst into quarter size groups at 150 yards . I bought it last summer and that's the only load I got to try out to that range.
My cva wolf shoots triple 7 pellets and shockwaves very well I've poked paper with it out to 200 and would not be afraid to plug a deer with it at that range. But it never fails muzzleloader season come in and the deer walk out at 50 yards it seems like.
Muzzleloader and our early doe season I'm filling freezer space so generally it's yearling does

 

[Ron Milby]

I just got back from a muzzleloader hunt in New Mexico. Just north of Taos, NM. You can only use black powder or black powder substitutes. I have a modified Bad Bull Muzzleloader and I used 110 grains by weight Buckhorn 209, Fed 215M primer, and a swedged Pittman 300 grain Aeromax bullet. Clean bore load was 2400 fps. I took the antelope at just shy of 400 yards standing off of sticks. I like the high performance muzzleloaders. They are very accurate and very efficient.