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.
Oooh look, another rabbit hole!!!
- Thread starter LkeAF
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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.
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?
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!
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
Well-Known Member
And then you get deeper into that hole by having a custom one built.
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!!
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.
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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.
Good to know. Thank you! I like the idea of a jacketed or even lead free projectile.
