MuzzleLoader Season Opens Saturday

[KahrMan]

Went to the range today to make sure both of mine were still sighted in.  I am ready to be able reach a little farther than my bow will allow.

 

Cleaning tip:  I figured out today that a 28 ga bore snake, while tight, works really well in a .50 cal barrel.

 

Hopefully the weather is not to rainy on Saturday.

[rugerla1]

I checked mine last weekend. Im excited with all this cold air we’re having. Rain or not I’ll be hoping for the best. I will be putting a better quality scope on my Optima next year but it’s dead on right now. Good luck!

[martin5]

Some of us were drawn for Catoosa this weekend.I hadn't been there in about 16 years. I swa 4 deer, none legal. I thought with the 4 point on one side rule being in effect for over 20 years I might see more. I'll be back on my lease this weekend and looking forward to it.

[Sunfish]

My CVA is on and hoping for a good opening day. I went to .458 sabots and a 405 gr. swaged lead bullet in front of 2 777 pellets and have not lost one yet. Last year was the first time I got skunked in Muzzle loader. The weather and the rut were not in sync. The year before I shot a nice 8 point the second weekend.                Good Luck to all and be safe.   

[Alleycat72]

Working on loads for my gun now. Running a 270 Parker full formed sabotless and 67 gr of H4198. Just over 2600 fps. Love smokeless muzzleloaders.

[martin5]

What does a Parker 270 sabotless look like? I still use hornady xtp 240 grain sabots in front of 2 777 pellets. I got a 7 pointer at 92 yards 2 seasons back. Exploded the heart. The 270 sabotless interests me.

[MacGyver]

10 hours ago, alleycat72 said:

Working on loads for my gun now. Running a 270 Parker full formed sabotless and 67 gr of H4198. Just over 2600 fps. Love smokeless muzzleloaders.

What are you running it in?

[bersaguy]

I use to hunt witha guy that made his own bullets for his muzzle loader and I got to see his bullets in action one day. He was a rather big guy and he laoded the powder laod to the max that hsi Charles Hawkins would safely accept and his bullets. We where hunting the Islands on Percy Priest and had to get to them by boat. We were in stands about 30 yards apart and I saw a large doe coming and it would have to pass him to get to me. I was watching and he raised up his loader and took aim. The deer was facing right at me when he fired. I'm not exaggerting, when that bullet made contact with the deer is knocked the deer about 5 feet straight sideways. When we got to the deer I said slight over killed there Steve and he said yea kinda. He destroyed both front shoulders and damn near ripped the doe in half. He showed me his bullets and I took one and I could roll the lead off the bullet with my finger nail. He was shooting almost pure lead bullets. After that I think he began adding some other type of material to harden the bullets up a little. I hunted with his a cople more times and his bullets were not doing as much damage to any more deer.

Edited October 31, 2017 by bersaguy

[RED333]

Pure lead is what is needed in a ML, it allows you to push the boolit into the rifling. If the lead is hard you have to beat it into the barrel. Pure lead also allows you to shoot a smaller boolit so when the charge goes off the pressure will expand the skirt of the boolit to engage the rifling.

[bersaguy]

18 minutes ago, RED333 said:

Pure lead is what is needed in a ML, it allows you to push the boolit into the rifling. If the lead is hard you have to beat it into the barrel. Pure lead also allows you to shoot a smaller boolit so when the charge goes off the pressure will expand the skirt of the boolit to engage the rifling.

I never thought about that. Probably why he used it. I bought Buffalo Bullets to shoot in my Hawkins and I never had a problem dropping a deer that I hit but I never checked to see what my bullets were made of. They may have been have been pure lead. I do know they were very easy to push down the barrel with ram rod.................... 

[Alleycat72]

18 hours ago, MacGyver said:

What are you running it in?

A converted Savage ml ii. 

http://www.arrowheadsporting.com/

[Alleycat72]

20 hours ago, martin5 said:

What does a Parker 270 sabotless look like? I still use hornady xtp 240 grain sabots in front of 2 777 pellets. I got a 7 pointer at 92 yards 2 seasons back. Exploded the heart. The 270 sabotless interests me.

 

[RED333]

Alleycat, does that bullet get pushed down the barrel and just how hard is it to load?

[Alleycat72]

37 minutes ago, RED333 said:

Alleycat, does that bullet get pushed down the barrel and just how hard is it to load?

The bullet has to be sized. You can use a smooth sizer or full form die. Full form will engrave rifling into the bullet. Smooth will not. You have to size them down until the amount of pressure on the ramrod "feels" correct. It takes a bit of trial and error. Everything is loaded in the traditional manner. 70 gr of H4198 is considered the starting load in guns like this, but a lot are running some kind of recoil reducer. Mine is set up for a suppressor.  As soon as my stock shows up I'll be running the velocity up a bit. Guys are running up to about 2900 fps. 

[rugerla1]

I put my decoy together this morning that I’ll be using opening day of muzzleloader. I put it at the end of the hall while Roman (my dog) was in his kennel. I let him out to video him freaking out and growling. He ran out to living room, grabbed his tennis ball for a few seconds playing. He started walking back towards me and I thought “Here we go!” And boom! He ran down the hall and licked its face!

Thinking I may oughta let him roam the woods Saturday to make friends with some bucks and lead them back to me lol

[Alleycat72]

This is bullet sizing. 

 

 

[RED333]

Now aint that something, I size to reload boolits all the time. Not for ML, I just cast with soft lead.

[MacGyver]

I need one of those swing lock dies.  

[RED333]

1 hour ago, MacGyver said:

I need one of those swing lock dies.  

I was thinking the same till I saw the price. Can only get them in 45 caliber, I do not have a 45, just 50, 54 and 58. I do have pistols in 45 but I aint shooting a slug that heavy from them.

http://www.arrowheadsporting.com/swinglock.html

Edited November 1, 2017 by RED333
Because I can

[MacGyver]

Wow.  That’s not cheap.  Still, it is a pretty neat piece of equipment.  

I rolled my own smokeless from a handi rifle - and it is .45 caliber.  I’ve not had a problem because I’ve mostly been shooting sabots or cast.  But, it would be nice to open up some other long range options.  

I’m not certain I paid that much for the handi rifle in the first place - so I suppose I could spend a little change on accessories, right?

[gregintenn]

It's gonna be nearly 80 degrees tomorrow, and hotter than that Sunday. I think I'll wait til it cools up a bit.

[KahrMan]

The weather was perfect last weekend. Kinda annoying. I will be up in a tree for a couple of hours in the morning and leave before it gets to warm. 

[10-Ring]

All of my stuff is ready to go.  I only have tomorrow morning to hunt this weekend, going to try to drag one in anyway.

[rugerla1]

Double checked most things this evening and triple checked a few others. Really excited to get out even if it’s warmer than I wanted. Still cooler than the last time I bow hunted so I’m happy. Stayed completely out of my hunting spot for last two weeks to let everything calm down and man was it hard to do that. Took off all next week to hunt and looking forward to the cool down coming Wednesday. Good luck everyone!

[10-Ring]

I'm in the tree and covered in sweat.