Gatofeo
Member
"The problem with muzzleloaders is the larger room for operator error. Don't properly seat that projectile or shot column on the powder or wad, and see what happens! Doesn't matter who makes the gun or rifle! (That's just one example - so it's tough to know why a barrel might fail or bulge in some cases.) ..."
-- LOYALIST DAVE
Truer words were never spoken! Everyone should read Loyalist Dave's post of Aug. 21, print it out, carry it in their wallet, and the next time some joker talks about using 150 grains of FFG in his smokepole, hand it to him.
There is entirely too much Magnumizing going on with black powder guns today.
Case in point: the .45-70 rifle. In the old days, a 405 gr. lead bullet at 1.300 fps took moose, deer, bear and even the big bears.
Today, the way people talk, you'd think it was nothing more than a squirrel load. The very same mindset accompanies black powder today.
How the heck did Mountain Men take elk, moose and grizzly with a patched, lead ball of .50 to .58 caliber?
Has game become tougher?
Show up at an elk camp with a Hawken pattern .50-caliber rifle, using a lead ball over 80 grs. of FFG, and all the "modern" hunters will tell you it's no good for elk.
I knew an old guy in the St. Joe River drainage of Idaho who got his elk every year with just such a rifle and load.
The trick? He was a marksman and didn't depend on power to replace proper bullet placement.
He stalked close, instead of taking impossibly long shots with the latest Wunderbullet over the latest Wunderpowder.
Throw more and more powder down your barrel if you must, but please let others at the range know what you're doing so we can take cover.
I used to think that Congress had the highest per-capita rate of idiots. Now I believe that shooting ranges have exceeded that rate.
-- LOYALIST DAVE
Truer words were never spoken! Everyone should read Loyalist Dave's post of Aug. 21, print it out, carry it in their wallet, and the next time some joker talks about using 150 grains of FFG in his smokepole, hand it to him.
There is entirely too much Magnumizing going on with black powder guns today.
Case in point: the .45-70 rifle. In the old days, a 405 gr. lead bullet at 1.300 fps took moose, deer, bear and even the big bears.
Today, the way people talk, you'd think it was nothing more than a squirrel load. The very same mindset accompanies black powder today.
How the heck did Mountain Men take elk, moose and grizzly with a patched, lead ball of .50 to .58 caliber?
Has game become tougher?
Show up at an elk camp with a Hawken pattern .50-caliber rifle, using a lead ball over 80 grs. of FFG, and all the "modern" hunters will tell you it's no good for elk.
I knew an old guy in the St. Joe River drainage of Idaho who got his elk every year with just such a rifle and load.
The trick? He was a marksman and didn't depend on power to replace proper bullet placement.
He stalked close, instead of taking impossibly long shots with the latest Wunderbullet over the latest Wunderpowder.
Throw more and more powder down your barrel if you must, but please let others at the range know what you're doing so we can take cover.
I used to think that Congress had the highest per-capita rate of idiots. Now I believe that shooting ranges have exceeded that rate.