Oooh look, another rabbit hole!!!

[HSmithTX]

Why not go with a traditional muzzleloader? A 54 or 58 cal, TC or Cabela's (Investarms), won't cost a lot and both are good rifles, $400-600 for a nice one shouldn't be too hard to find. A round ball at close range and high velocity is a fast and effective killer, out as far as you should be shooting they are about as effective as an arrow with a broadhead, maybe not quite but still effective killers that if placed well will result in a reasonable blood trail that isn't very long. The TC will have a 48 twist most likely and shoots conical bullets and round balls well. The Investarms could be fast or a slow twist like a 66, you'll have to check it. Round balls patched tight with decent lube shoot well, sub 3" at 100 if you get one with a good bore and crown isn't that unusual, half that is possible. Zero'd at 100 it will be about 3" high at 50, 3" low around 120 with a hunting charge of real black powder and 120 is a long range shot hunting with a round ball. It will be 20-25" low at 200 and it is not that hard to hit a 12" plate at 200 within a couple shots if you can spot the splash. I would not shoot game nearly that far but it's fun to shoot steel out to 200 or a bit past it. Good quality round balls and tight patches make all the difference in accuracy, if you can start the ball without a smack on a short starter it isn't patched tight enough. Weigh the balls and check them for roundness, the less than perfect balls are practice balls. Practice in the wind!!! The BC on a round ball is awful, they make a 22LR look like a laser beam in the wind. They are very predictable but you need to know how much the wind is going to affect it and account for it. For hunting I use mink oil for patch lube, it works well down to sub freezing temps.

 

[LkeAF]

What specific part of the regulations are you confused about?

Idaho's regulations now align with other northwestern states. They previously only permitted solid lead projectiles, but changed that this year.

I'd go with a CVA Accura or Optima northwest legal model with Williams northwest precision sights. 300yd in field conditions is going to be a very tough shot, but 200 should be achievable.

While not expressly prohibited, you won't be able to use Blackhorn 209. It doesn't light well with traditional caps, so the legal prohibition on 209 primers becomes a practical prohibition on 209 powder.

I'm confused by the projectile rules and mostly because I am just not familiar with different ML projectile options. I don't even know what a sabot is. ML technology seems to have evolved quite a bit since I was a kid.

 

[LkeAF]

Why not go with a traditional muzzleloader? A 54 or 58 cal, TC or Cabela's (Investarms), won't cost a lot and both are good rifles, $400-600 for a nice one shouldn't be too hard to find. A round ball at close range and high velocity is a fast and effective killer, out as far as you should be shooting they are about as effective as an arrow with a broadhead, maybe not quite but still effective killers that if placed well will result in a reasonable blood trail that isn't very long. The TC will have a 48 twist most likely and shoots conical bullets and round balls well. The Investarms could be fast or a slow twist like a 66, you'll have to check it. Round balls patched tight with decent lube shoot well, sub 3" at 100 if you get one with a good bore and crown isn't that unusual, half that is possible. Zero'd at 100 it will be about 3" high at 50, 3" low around 120 with a hunting charge of real black powder and 120 is a long range shot hunting with a round ball. It will be 20-25" low at 200 and it is not that hard to hit a 12" plate at 200 within a couple shots if you can spot the splash. I would not shoot game nearly that far but it's fun to shoot steel out to 200 or a bit past it. Good quality round balls and tight patches make all the difference in accuracy, if you can start the ball without a smack on a short starter it isn't patched tight enough. Weigh the balls and check them for roundness, the less than perfect balls are practice balls. Practice in the wind!!! The BC on a round ball is awful, they make a 22LR look like a laser beam in the wind. They are very predictable but you need to know how much the wind is going to affect it and account for it. For hunting I use mink oil for patch lube, it works well down to sub freezing temps.

A lot of good tips in there. Thank you! Speaking of temps, this will be a November hunt @ 7K ft, so it could be in the 40's or in the single digits. Anything I should consider for temps that are most likely well below freezing?

 

[LkeAF]

I read the rules to allow for a bolt action, but it has to allow for you to see the cap when cocked. My old Remington 700 ML would be legal. Open sights, shoots 777 loose powder with #11 cap, and power belt bullets. I had it shooting well to 250 yards before I went smokeless. My old 700 could be for sale if you have interest, but from what I read, it would be legal and a good option. PM me if you need more details. It has a weather shield on the end of the bolt that is plastic, that would have to be removed to shoot in Idaho, but it just pops off the bolt by hand.

Checked with IDF&G and you're correct. Bolt action is okay as long as the cap is visible when ready to fire. PM sent!

 

[HSmithTX]

A lot of good tips in there. Thank you! Speaking of temps, this will be a November hunt @ 7K ft, so it could be in the 40's or in the single digits. Anything I should consider for temps that are most likely well below freezing?

Patch lube when cold is a consideration, good news is mink oil works from well below freezing to 100+ degrees. Other than that real black powder is consistent enough across temp to not matter, it'll shoot fine out as far as you should shoot so long as it's dry. Once the rifle is loaded tape the barrel to seal the muzzle, I use electrical tape. Leave it loaded, if you take your cap off for transport put a piece of tape over the nipple on a caplock or a toothpick in the flash hole on the flintlock. On the flintlock if there is any humidity I will dump the pan a couple times a day and recharge with fresh dry powder. If using a flintlock cover the hammer (the piece the cock with the flint in it hits) with a piece of leather as your safety for transport and rough country, a decent flintlock will fire way more reliably than you would believe without a charge in the pan, lots of people cut the finger off a leather glove and slip that over the hammer. It is called a Stall, tie it to your trigger guard with some good string so you can't lose it. Once the rifle gets cold leave it cold, don't bring in in the house/hotel/hot tent. If I am going to hunt cold I will load it cold. Clean and dry the bore very well before loading, I use 90% rubbing alcohol followed by dry patches. Traditional muzzleloader hunting is awesome, so much more fun to me than more distance capable guns. It's like bow hunting with double the range really. Moisture is what makes a muzzleloader unreliable. Clean and dry and decent quality they are very reliable. I'm sure there is more but that is what comes to mind quickly.

 

[Rick Richard]

And then you get deeper into that hole by having a custom one built.

 

[HSmithTX]

And then you get deeper into that hole by having a custom one built.

View attachment 581843

And then you think you can do it yourself and maybe even save money building your own and end up with a rifle in process, 5 planks and 5 barrels and 5 locks, all the tools to build them, the depth of this rabbit hole is frightening, the OP is just skimming around the top edge LOL. Fine looking rifle Rick!!

 

[biednick]

I'm confused by the projectile rules and mostly because I am just not familiar with different ML projectile options. I don't even know what a sabot is. ML technology seems to have evolved quite a bit since I was a kid.

You have to use a bullet that's the size of your bore or up to .010" under. Patching is okay, which is why they specify .010 under bore diameter. You can use a bullet that has a plastic gas seal and/or a polymer tip, like a powerbelt:

These specifically are powerbelt ELRs which have both a gas seal and a polymer tip.

Sabots are plastic sleeves that let you shoot bullets smaller than your bore, like a 45 cal bullet in a 50 cal barrel. You can't use them.

Previously Idaho required pure lead bullets, but that's changing for the upcoming season. If you see anything about needing pure lead in Idaho it's outdated information. You can still use pure lead, but you have the option to use jacketed or lead free now too.

 

[LkeAF]

Patch lube when cold is a consideration, good news is mink oil works from well below freezing to 100+ degrees. Other than that real black powder is consistent enough across temp to not matter, it'll shoot fine out as far as you should shoot so long as it's dry. Once the rifle is loaded tape the barrel to seal the muzzle, I use electrical tape. Leave it loaded, if you take your cap off for transport put a piece of tape over the nipple on a caplock or a toothpick in the flash hole on the flintlock. On the flintlock if there is any humidity I will dump the pan a couple times a day and recharge with fresh dry powder. If using a flintlock cover the hammer (the piece the cock with the flint in it hits) with a piece of leather as your safety for transport and rough country, a decent flintlock will fire way more reliably than you would believe without a charge in the pan, lots of people cut the finger off a leather glove and slip that over the hammer. It is called a Stall, tie it to your trigger guard with some good string so you can't lose it. Once the rifle gets cold leave it cold, don't bring in in the house/hotel/hot tent. If I am going to hunt cold I will load it cold. Clean and dry the bore very well before loading, I use 90% rubbing alcohol followed by dry patches. Traditional muzzleloader hunting is awesome, so much more fun to me than more distance capable guns. It's like bow hunting with double the range really. Moisture is what makes a muzzleloader unreliable. Clean and dry and decent quality they are very reliable. I'm sure there is more but that is what comes to mind quickly.

Wow. Thank you. That is all really helpful stuff! I'm pretty excited about this muzzleloader hunt. It's in a unit that I've done a lot of archery hunting in, so it'll be fun to try a different technique a little later in the season.

 

[LkeAF]

You have to use a bullet that's the size of your bore to the diameter of your bore. Patching is okay, which is why they specify .010 under bore diameter. You can use a bullet that has a plastic gas seal and/or a polymer tip, like a powerbelt:

View attachment 581882
These specifically are powerbelt ELRs which have both a gas seal and a polymer tip.

Sabots are plastic sleeves that let you shoot bullets smaller than your bore, like a 45 cal bullet in a 50 cal barrel. You can't use them.

View attachment 581881

Previously Idaho required pure lead bullets, but that's changing for the upcoming season. If you see anything about needing pure lead in Idaho it's outdated information. You can still use pure lead, but you have the option to use jacketed or lead free now too.

Good to know. Thank you! I like the idea of a jacketed or even lead free projectile.

 

[Josh86]

I'm in the same boat, I've muzzy hunted off and on for the last 10 years with my TC Omega/sabots/209, but from what I can tell there's no way to make it Idaho legal and I just drew an Idaho muzzy tag. I'll be looking for a new rifle as well. I've been looking at the Accura LR-X but there seems to be a ton of negative feedback.

 

[Tracker12]

A friend who lives in ID hunts with a Knight UL and says that it is also ID legal.

 

[Matt Johnson]

Some older inlines will fall into this too. TC black diamond or I believe some of the knight rifles for the bill maybe

 

[robo57]

Any white muzzleloader would fit the bill, yes I know that they are no longer in business
But they are still obtainable
I have a Super 91 in .50 caliber (.504)
It is my absolutely best shooting muzzleloader
Solid lead projectiles, loose powder and #11
Primers
Sad to say Doc White passed away
Great guy to do business with