Muzzleloader Season

[DaveS]

Well friends, in about a week or so, Tennessee's Muzzleloader season will begin.

Just curious who all will go, what rifle and load you will be shooting?

My weapon of choice is my hand built .50 cal Kentucky Flintlock Rifle. I call her "Klien Schwester" and she eats a .490 round ball, .015 greased (with wild boar fat of course) patch and 80 grains of 3F powder. She is fired with a fine 3/4 inch English flint and a touch of 4F in the pan.

My "backup" guns (depending on weather and/or mood) is a CVA Wolf, scoped with a BSA 4x32 scope with 80 grains of 3F Blackpowder, .50 cal 240 grain XTP bullet and sabot. Shotgun primers work well in Ol'Lucy!

I own 2 other muzzleloaders, a .50 cal Hawken and a .36 cal Kentucky Flintlock rifle hand built by me. Both are used for pig and small game hunting.

Next in line is my CVA Apollo .50 with BSA 4x32 scope. Hershyvogel eats the same load as the Wolf, except number 11 caps.

Edited October 27, 2011 by wd-40

[Handsome Rob]

Lyman Great Plains Rifle, .54 cal with a .530 round ball clothed in a .018 pillow ticking patch. I lube with a mixture of beeswax, deer tallow & Murphy's Oil soap. 90gn of Goex FFG and a CCI #11 cap

My backup is a customised Investarms Hawken. .54 cal flinchlock shooting a .530 ball in a .022 denim patch. Same lube. I load it with 80gn of FFFG Blackpowder, prime with the same powder & ignite the whole shebang with an English flint.

I have another sidelock that I'm loaning out to a friend this year. A T/C White Mountain carbine, loaded up with 85gn of FFFG & a 370gn Maxi Ball. IT has a 1 in 20" twist & I can't really find anything else that shoots well, but it kicks like a 3-legged ninja!

[robin48]

T/C Impact

[roverboy]

I've got a T/C New Englander .50 cal. and a CVA Stag Horn .50 and I shoot 350 gr. Maxi-Hunters in each one. Good luck to everybody this season.

[Wingshooter]

What, no pics?

I will be out there hunting with my Traditions Buckskinner .50cal carbine.

I shoot a 385gn flat nose bullet with 85gr powder from the 1:20 twist bbl. It has good sights and it's pretty accurate. This rifle dropped a deer last year at 75yds, and I'm hoping it has a chance to drop another this year.

I plan to get a CVA Optima this week to have as a backup if the weather is wet. Plus, I just have a rare itch to get an inline this year for some reason.

Edited October 28, 2011 by Batman

[roverboy]

I almost bought a Buckskinner a few years ago. The inlines kinda grow on you. I like the traditional rifles but, I've hunted when the weather was wet and the inlines sometimes are less finicky. Batman, do you get any expansion with the 385 gr. bullets your using?

[Guest GunTroll]

You guys are all way to modern.

Good luck to all! I'm jealous and one day will join the ranks when I have more time to spend in the woods during ML season.

[Wingshooter]

Batman, do you get any expansion with the 385 gr. bullets your using?

Not much. It's a thumper, but it leaves a pretty small hole in the other side of the deer. I have never recovered a bullet to inspect it, though. I use the flat nose because it is easier for me to start down the bore, and it's just what I have always used. It might do more damage to the deer (and my shoulder) if I loaded it up to 100gr or more, but 85gr gives me the best accuracy vs recoil. It still kills 'em dead, though.

[MacGyver]

This will be my first muzzleloader season. I'm looking forward to it. Going to be using a Traditions Tracker 209 that I picked up on here in order to test the waters. I've been shooting 300gr sabots using Blackhorn209. I'm pretty impressed with the stuff so far.

[Bad_Bowtie]

Ill be using my Savage 10 MLII with 44 grains of AA5744 over a 250gr xtp and mmp sabot. Gonna try to pick up some IMR 4759 or 4227 this weekend to try out with some 300gr xtp's.

Edited October 28, 2011 by Bad_Bowtie

[roverboy]

I used to use the Hornady Great Plains bullets and they shot good out of my T/C New Englander but, didn't expand and everyone of them shot clean through. They did kill quick though. I've been using some 350 gr. Maxi-Hunters that were home cast the last few years. I like to experiment a little. I killed a 140 lb. 7 point last year with one.

[Guest FiddleDog]

This will be my first deer season, and I'll be using a Traditions 209 that my father in law gave me. I'm completely new, so I'll be watching this thread for advise on loads, etc.

[Wingshooter]

I bought a bunch of those 385's several years ago because they were on clearance, and they shot well from my gun. When I finally shoot them up, I will prob experiment with some different bullet weights and types.

[R_Bert]

Thompson Encore Katahdin, 300gr Hornady XTP's, 100 gr TripleSeven

[gregintenn]

I'll be hunting with a CVA Wolf scoped with a Leupold M8 4x. I shoot 295 grain Powerbelt bullets on top of two 50 grain Triple 7 pellets, ignited by a 209 Winchester shotgun primer.

If my oldest son decides to tag along, I'll hand that to him and carry my left handed Thompson Center Renegade with factoy iron sights, loaded with a big ole Great Plains hollow point, on top of 90 grains of Pyrodex, and ignited by a standard percussion cap.

[DaveS]

In all my M/L's, 80 grain of 3F rains king in accuracy and expansion!

[whiskey]

I got a T/C Impact last year and killed two deer with it. I'm gonna try and bust some lungs again this year.

[Bad_Bowtie]

This will be my first muzzleloader season. I'm looking forward to it. Going to be using a Traditions Tracker 209 that I picked up on here in order to test the waters. I've been shooting 300gr sabots using Blackhorn209. I'm pretty impressed with the stuff so far.

Ive heard alot of good stuff about Blackhorn 209 from several different hunting forums Im on. Supposed to be the closest thing to smokeless. I plan on trying it in my old Knight Wolverine one of these days to see for myself.

Edited October 29, 2011 by Bad_Bowtie
spelling

[MacGyver]

Ive heard alot of good stuff about Blackhorn 209 from several different hunting forums Im on. Supposed to be the closed thing to smokeless. I plan on trying it in my old Knight Wolverine one of these days to see for myself.

I really like it. It's not particularly cheap, and it does ignite best with a magnum primer which can be tough to source locally, but I find it really consistent, and surprisingly clean. Cleaning the rifle after shooting it is really a breeze.

You do have to be careful when first using it, as they measure in "volumetric equivalents" as opposed to grain weight, so substituting 100gr for 100 volumetric equivalents would overcharge your rifle by a third and could be dangerous. You've got to use a 0.70 conversion factor.

I've been shooting 300gr TC shockwaves over 70gr(100vu) and it seems to thread the needle and have plenty of power.

[Bad_Bowtie]

I really like it. It's not particularly cheap, and it does ignite best with a magnum primer which can be tough to source locally, but I find it really consistent, and surprisingly clean. Cleaning the rifle after shooting it is really a breeze.

You do have to be careful when first using it, as they measure in "volumetric equivalents" as opposed to grain weight, so substituting 100gr for 100 volumetric equivalents would overcharge your rifle by a third and could be dangerous. You've got to use a 0.70 conversion factor.

I've been shooting 300gr TC shockwaves over 70gr(100vu) and it seems to thread the needle and have plenty of power.

Alot of good info right there. Ive always liked the CCI 209M and Federal 209A primers, as they are alot hotter than most other primers. I shot Pyrodex then 777 before I got my smokeless muzzleloader. I had good results out of the 250gr Shockwaves and 250gr Barnes Original over 90gr 777 or 100gr Pyrodex. Had good acuracy outta the 295gr Powerbelt but the on game performance was hit or miss. One would pass thru then the next would blow up on contact. The deer would either drop in its tracks or run with no blood trail. Nothing compares to the performance of smokeless but as im getting older the attractiveness of this "primitive" muzzleloading really appeals to me.

[Timestepper]

IF I have the chance to go (not looking promising right now), I'll load up my good ol' .54 Mowrey Plains rifle with a .530 roundball in front of a 10/1000ths spit-patch and (for these little East Tennessee deer) 80 grains of FFG Goex.

[Guest clutepc]

CVA Optima with a Nikon BDC Scope, first year with a scope

[DaveS]

Ya'll please tell me I'm not the only "flinter" here?

[roverboy]

WD, you may be the only one huntin' with a flintlock. I don't know. I'd hunt with one if I had one.

Edited November 1, 2011 by roverboy

[roverboy]

Has anybody seen any rubs or scrapes yet? I found 3 or 4 scrapes and only 2 or 3 rubs so far.