muzzleloaders

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I used to shoot a .50 using 90 grains of 2f with a .490 ball and .015 mink oil lubed patch. Took a couple of deer with it, but moved up to a larger caliber for more put down power. I now shoot a .58 round ball. Were i hunt the laurel is real thick, so I want to get the deer on the ground right away, cause following a blood trail in the laurel is a lesson in frustration. I pick my shots so as to pretty much drop the deer in its tracks. So far I have not had a deer go more than 20 yards from the shot. The fifty will do the job, just pick your shots and keep the range under 75 yards if possible.
 
I switched from using a .490 round ball and .015 patch with 90 grains of Pyrodex P in a medium twist barrel to using a sabot and a 225 grain bullet in a fast twist, or a sabot with a 240 grain .44 bullet in a medium twist, both with 90 grains of powder.
I found that the sabot would shoot the first shot to the point of aim better and also have a 4X shotgun scope mounted on the fast twist.
I've only killed a ML deer with the round ball load, but the shot was less than perfect.
Ar least the deer cooperated by waiting for me to reload.
 
I use 250gr xtp hollow point sabots over 90gr loose bp or 2 50gr pellets of substitute in my inlines, they both shoot good at 100yrds. The farthest I've killed anything was about 30 or 40 yrds but bullets worked well.
 
Will be chasing deer this fall with a TC maxi ball over an over powder wad and 80 grains of Olde Eynesford FFG. Haven't shot a deer with a front stuffer yet, but this rifle cloverleafs at 50 yards with this load and I figure 370 grains of lead that leaves the barrel at 1300 FPS should have no problem killing a doe.
 
Yes, for many years. 80 grains of Swiss 3f under a .490 round ball with a .015 patch. It’s very accurate and will kill deer as far away as you can hit them.
 
Real black powder-
400gr Minie, beeswax/lard lube, RWS caps, 42gr 3f Swiss. Sub 2moa gun. Bambi don't walk away from it either.

There's no need for huge charges of black powder. What you DO need is an accurate load that you can shoot well and keep your shots to a reasonable distance.
 
dave951 said:
Real black powder-
400gr Minie, beeswax/lard lube, RWS caps, 42gr 3f Swiss. Sub 2moa gun. Bambi don't walk away from it either.

There's no need for huge charges of black powder. What you DO need is an accurate load that you can shoot well and keep your shots to a reasonable distance.
Click to expand...

Accurate load and reasonable distance goes for every kind of hunting.

I will be using a 54 grey hawk for elk. A 380 grain REAL and 120 grains of black mz with a wad in between is accurate and flat shooting to at least 100 yards. I don't imagine a cow elk would shrug that off either.
 
90 grains FF Goex and wonderwad with .491 ball out of my Lyman Deer Stalker worked at 60 yards well. Switching to 60 grains / Maxiball this year , next week :)
 
I have both .50 and .54 rifles in muzzleloaders, and some are flint and some are caplock. In either I like a patched, round ball of soft lead. With the .50 I've only gone out about 50 yards to take a deer. With the .54 my max harvest distance was 110 yards. All of my rifles with a patched round ball and 70 grains of 3Fg will cause the round ball to pass-through a whitetail doe or buck, when that animal is standing broadside.

Some folks like conicals like the TC Maxi-Ball or Maxi-hunter. I found one of my rifles prefers the Maxi-hunter as well as the round ball. That rifle has a metal butt plate, and I found that the extra recoil from the conical bullet didn't help to harvest the deer, so I'm now strictly patched, round ball on deer. IF I was going for Elk, I'd try to get close to 50 yards with the .54 OR I could switch to conicals, OR..., I could use it as a good reason to get a .58 or even a .62 caliber round ball rifle. ;)

LD
 
Yeah. I have been having difficulty getting accuracy with round ball in my 50. It occurred to me that part of the issue might have been the mold I used, a really ancient lyman. Next time I get a chance I will try casting some from a new lee mold and see if I can do better. If not, I will probably end up getting a slow twist barrel for this rifle.

Have to agree on heavy bullets and a metal butt plate delivering outsized punishment.
 
The question is not what we like but what your gun likes.
You have gotten a lot of good ideas here.

As a round ball shooter I have had 50 cals that shot best with loads from 80 to 110 grains. I have use. 490 and. 495 balls 10 and 15 thousandths patches. Mostly I have used prelubed patches but I have also used oiled patches. There are a is also the variable of cap choice. Some guns like RWS caps, some CCI, some Remington. On heavy loads some shoot better with musket caps .
I use FFF BP in my 50s but powder selection is another variable

All of this sounds overwhelming but it is not. Decide what components are available to you and what you want to use. Spend some time on the range to see if you can find a load that meets your requirements for accuracy, velocity, energy, and ease of loading Change only one variable at a time and record the results. Swab between shots. If you can't find a good load change components . It takes time but it's worth it.

IronHand
 
I’ve got several 50’s. My Hawken will get 90gr 2f, but can do well out to 100 yards with 75gr. My usual flintlock with a 42” green mountain barrel does just fine with 75gr of 2f. I only use round ball. I usually stick with a certain load once found whether it’s accurate or if recoil becomes an issue, sometimes you have to play around with patch material thickness. You don’t want it so tight you have to hammer it down. I’ve got lots of molds for multiple calibers, sometimes a smaller bullet with thicker patch works better, but not always, just takes shooting to work out the bugs. As for newer rifles, I’m no help, I prefer traditional style rifles.
 
i use pure linen cloth patch material cut off at the muzzle. how ever im going to tell you what im using lately that will probably cause a storm here but i hope not. as i shoot a lot a cowboy with round balls loaded in my 45 long colts and 38 specials i though one day why not a bare ball in a muzzleloader. so in my 50 and my 32 i ordered over sized swagged balls for both of them. i shot 50 grain of powder in the 32 which is heavy for it and 70 in the 50. between the powder and the round ball i used a 60 thousands thick wad i got from buffalo arms. then a little bit of lube between wad and dry ball. first the powder, then the wad on the powder, then a little lube then the oversized round ball is placed on the muzzle and tapped into the bore with a small rubber hammer. then short rod then regular rod onto the powder and wad. very very accurate, never any leading. works perfectly. very very tight groups. doub if i will use patching material again. they dont strip out either.. it works in percussion revolvers, even the big dragoons with 50 grains behind the ball. it also works in the rifles. also done it years ago in a 45 cal rifle that i sold to a southern man who kills a lot of wild hogs with it. hope i dont cause a storm of protest here as their is not patching material used but as for me it works very very well.
 
Same concept as a Lee REAL bullet. Gotta be pure !ead or it would be a bugger to load. I just might have to try it myself.
 
Catman42 said:
i use pure linen cloth patch material cut off at the muzzle. how ever im going to tell you what im using lately that will probably cause a storm here but i hope not. as i shoot a lot a cowboy with round balls loaded in my 45 long colts and 38 specials i though one day why not a bare ball in a muzzleloader. so in my 50 and my 32 i ordered over sized swagged balls for both of them. i shot 50 grain of powder in the 32 which is heavy for it and 70 in the 50. between the powder and the round ball i used a 60 thousands thick wad i got from buffalo arms. then a little bit of lube between wad and dry ball. first the powder, then the wad on the powder, then a little lube then the oversized round ball is placed on the muzzle and tapped into the bore with a small rubber hammer. then short rod then regular rod onto the powder and wad. very very accurate, never any leading. works perfectly. very very tight groups. doub if i will use patching material again. they dont strip out either.. it works in percussion revolvers, even the big dragoons with 50 grains behind the ball. it also works in the rifles. also done it years ago in a 45 cal rifle that i sold to a southern man who kills a lot of wild hogs with it. hope i dont cause a storm of protest here as their is not patching material used but as for me it works very very well.
Click to expand...
I am mostly a hunter that does a little target work. Your patch-less method seems to work well for you, but i sure wouldn't want for hunting purposes. A reload is slow enough, without having to pound on the ram rod with a hammer. I will give your method a try the next time I am at the range for some target work just to see how it works.
 
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