Deer season muzzleloading questions

[Smokepole14]

Last year I bought me a used cva wolf break action muzzleloader. Unfortunately I didn't get to go much and never shot at anything. Season here opens up Monday. I have a few questions from the long time hunters.
1. What is the best bullets to use? I have some powerbelts and they are very accurate. The only thing I've heard is they are not as good as sabots and don't leave a good blood trail.
2. Has anybody tried the hornady lever revolution .452 bullets in a sabot? I heard of one guy who swears by them and says he'd rather throw rocks at deer than use powerbelts.
3. Any good tips for the new muzzleloading hunter? Thanks guys for any help!

 

[Pancho]

Without prior shooting time with your new gun I'd limit myself to 50yd shots. At that yardage the powerbelt will do just fine. Wait until next year and get some range time in to give yourself confidence with your gun and your chosen round and load.

 

[dprice3844444]

use up what you have while working up new loads
http://forums.knightrifles.com/

 

[ColtPythonElite]

I have never really seen a muzzleloader bullet perform badly if it's put in the right spot on a deer. Too many guys think you need a whiz bang new fangled bullet and 150 gr of powder to deer hunt. Truth is a patched round ball and under 100 gr does a fine job.

 

[Patocazador]

The only bullets that perform very poorly on deer are pistol bullets designed for low velocities. At some muzzleloading rifle velocities approaching 2000 f/s they will fail if they hit bone and fragment without penetrating well.

 

[J-Bar]

If you have not yet decided on the projectile you are going to use, then you can't be sure where your gun will hit with it, and what powder charge will give the best accuracy. That means you are going to have to make a choice and get it sighted in pretty quick. Shooting at game without checking the load on paper first increases the risk of crippling an animal.

If you are hunting from a treestand, secure the rifle somehow to prevent it from falling. If a loaded, capped muzzleloader slips from your grasp and falls, the results could be tragic. Cap it after you get into the stand, and uncap it before lowering it on a rope or slinging it coming down.

Yeah, I know, I'm a worry wart. But I believe in Murphy's Law.

 

[Smokepole14]

I shoot powerbelts with 2 whitehots. The maximum distance I'll be shooting is approximately 50 yards. I should've mentioned that. It's fiber optic sights I don't have a scope. But at 100 yards on paper I can place the powerbelts within 2 inch groups. I kno my load is right on. I was just curios because I have heard so many people say powerbelts are junk. They are deadly accurate, I was wandering how do they perform.

 

[PapaG]

Pure lead 50 caliber maxiballs over 100 grains of DuPont ffg from an old Renegade. Good enough for me out to 100 yards. Do miss my old Jonathan Browning Mountain rifle, however.

 

[Temp430]

A lot of the posters on this board are strict coonskin cap traditionalists, but I think you're talking about using a modern in-line. So...if I could go back in time with what I know now:

1. I would skip using Pyrodex, Triple 7, or such pellets and go right to Blackhorn 209. Blackhorn 209 leaves almost no residue in the barrel after the shot. So little that swabbing between shots is not required. Try that with Triple 7 or Pyrodex. Blackhorn 209 has a much longer shelf life since it does not absorb water. And Blackhorn 209 cleans up with Hoppe's 9, CLP, or your favorite oil based solvent. I never liked cleaning my rifles with water since that can cause rust. Yes, Blackhorn 209 is more expensive but well worth it. You'll need a powder measure like Thompson Center's U-View Measure, P/N 7222, to measure out your powder. Using powered instead of pellets gives one more flexibility to tailor loads to your rifle and is just as easy to use.

2. I would get away from Powerbelts and buy my bullets in bulk. A box of 100 Hornady XTP 250 gr. 0.452 in., Hornady P/N 45200, bullets is around $28. The XTP is a great bullet and extremely accurate out of the three different in-lines I own and is very, very lethal to deer along with it's 300 gr. brother.

3. I would buy my sabots directly from MMPsabots.com. A bag of 50 black standard sabots is $8.75 delivered. There's a lot of useful information about bullets, sabots, and muzzleloading on that web site.

4. Blackhorn 209 recommends using CCI 209 Magnum primers but I've also used plain 209 primers. Avoid the more expensive primers marketed for muzzleloaders.

5. I've learned that there is no need to shoot maximum or magnum loads. I've had the best accuracy with lower power loads using around 100 gr. by volume Blackhorn 209.

Good luck!

 

[Loyalist Dave]

A lot of the posters on this board are strict coonskin cap traditionalists

Nothing wrong with that, except for maybe the Hollywood coonskin cap. I prefer a .530 patched round ball fired from a flintlock. That's a personal preference, not for everybody.

The key to your opening of this thread is that you wrote, "I have some powerbelts and they are very accurate. The only thing I've heard is they are not as good as sabots and don't leave a good blood trail". Use what is accurate!. An inaccurate bullet may not leave a blood trail because it hasn't hit anything that bleeds, right? Nothing on the market leaves a guaranteed blood trail (no matter what "experts" may tell you), and if one bullet design did... the rest would be out of business. You must use an accurate load, and you must place that bullet in the proper spot on the deer. If you hit the deer right you should not need a huge blood trail to find it. With black powder rifles it is often common, especially when you shoot under 100 yards, to be able to see the downed deer when you stand on the spot where it was when you hit it. Zap both lungs and they won't go very far.

LD