I am new to the sport and I am doing my range work to find what my rifle likes best. As I work towards what will give me the best in accuracy I have started to think along the lines of what I can do to minimize the need for too many different loads for different size game. I used my .270 for all but a few of the deer and elk I have taken over the last 25years. All with a 130grn bullet. Not always the same construction, but always 130grn. It made me much more accurate and balistically, I had the best my .270 could offer(imo).
I plan on hunting deer, elk, and bear up in Montana. I figure on finding a good heavy bullet that can also be considered fairly accurate at long range(200yd max). Something in the 300-350 grn weight with a charge of 100-110grns. Shoot this load exclusively and get good at it. The added accuracy in familiarizing myself with trajectory will payoff. I figure why load down for a deer? He's going to be dead either way.
I shoot a T/C triumph 50 cal. Anyone care to share their favorite loads that would be good for every hunt? Is this a good way to go in BP? Or is this trying to put a round peg in a square hole? Thank you for the help.

Eddie

Hi Eddie - I shoot a .45 caliber mz, so I can't help you w/ any specific loads. I think you can find one good all around load for the game you mention. Investigate the bullet offerings in the grain weight range you mentioned, and look for those that will hold together and penetrate at close range and out to the 200 yards max you suggest. I'd buy three or four different styles or brands and experiment for grouping with 80 or 90 grains of powder. Then try 100 grains. See which bullet groups best. There are lots of powder choices, and I've tried them all over the years. For the last few years I've used Hodgdon's Triple Seven with excellent accuracy results. I recently purchased a can of Blackhorn 209. I have yet to use it, but folks that have usually say they aren't going back to anything else. If nothing else, you save alot of time at the range by not having to wipe your bore between shots as with most other powders, including 777. I did try one other powder a few years back, American Pioneer or something like that. It claimed no wiping between shots, but the grouping was horrible for me. I'm not promoting any products, but it may sound it! Have a look at Precision Rifle's bullet selections www.prbullet.com . They make some flat shooting, penetrating killers. Have fun, and be patient. Guy

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See ya, Guy

"Out of work and hungry?...eat an environmentalist."

I've yet to see an inline that wouldn't shoot a 240-250 grain bullet/sabot combo over 80 grains of Goex 3F or Pyrodex RS into a pretty small group.

Bought a muzzle loader this fall (Knight Bighorn, 0.50, #11's, open fiber optic sights) and shoot factory 310 gr lead hp sabots with 2x50gr Pyrodex pellets. This set up reflects WA laws and 310g was factory recommended for elk. Did not have time to do the full drill to find an optimum load and figured the factory bullets would likely be acceptibley ok. For elk hunting, I found that my shooting with this setup was "good enough," following the bow hunter's philosophy of being able to consistently hit a paper plate sized target at a feasible range. For my ability level with the Knight, that means no more than 100 yds, preferably 50 yds (not a problem in the field hereabouts because our woods can be a bit jungle like, shorter shots happen). The pellets _are_ very handy, though I have concerns about them absorbing water (that nifty little storage box does not seem like it would seal as well as compared to a plastic jar with screw lid) and how this could affect performance. I store the pellet box out in the shed in a tupperware container. When the weather gets better (range now snow blocked) my plan is to practice, practice, practice with the current set up until my shooting is as consistent as I can get it, then assess variables such as pellets vs. powder, measuring actual barrel size and trying different sized sabots if needed, and maybe 150 g powder loads, though consensus seems that the somewhat increased velocity achieved by 150g over 100 g loads comes at the price of reduced accuracy. I also have found Randy Wakeman's on line information on this topic and other muzzle loading to be fairly well thought out.

Ooops, that was a bit long winded. To sum it up, I am first going to tune up my shooting ability using a standard load and then test what seem to be some logical variations. Good luck and Happy Trails from Washington State.

p.s. I found that a CO2 unloader does not remove the sabots I am using; they and the pellets leak, not allowing enough pressure to build up to push everything out. I posted thread on Cabelas about this.

One of the key issues I see hayman is the distance you expect to shoot. For those kind of distances you might not find a 350 class bullet . What I mean is, they are out there but no need for them. A 250 or 300 grain of the right kind of bullet will do the job. Some ones I would recommend to try..

250 & 300 grain Shockwaves. Shoot them with 110 grains of powder. They can take a good powder charge, and you have a great rifle that handles large powder charges. You could shoot pellets and shoot 150 grains of loose and shoot 100-120 grain.

250-300 grain Barnes all copper bullets. Because of the copper, you get a controlled expansion, excellent mushroom for maximum wound channels, long range accuracy, and they do not fragment. These can also be pushed hard in most rifles.

250-300 grain Nosler Partition. Again, an excellent construction gives you maximum expansion and wound channels. They do not fragment. And are a good long range accuracy projectile.

If you want to shoot something in the 350 class you might look into a Hornady FPB conical. I just got some but have not had a chance to shoot them. I am looking forward to some range time with them. They look well made and reports so far on them is promising to say the least.

Thanks for your replies. I will use the information as I try and find a round I can call my own. One thing I would want to clarify about my expected range for the round. The 200yds would be a maximum. I wouldn't be looking to make 200 yd shots, I would be doing my best to avoid that scenario. 100yds and closer would be the goal, however if I were presented with having to make a choice on making a shot of that distance I wouldn't want my round to completely eliminate the possibility. Bottom line is I would need a max, and 200yds is a good one imo. Thanks again!

Eddie

We have been shooting the .50 cal Omegas since they were introduced and have always used 100 grs of pyrodex and 295 grs Power Belts. We sight our in at 150 yards and shoot 2" groups consistantly. Every Ohio whitetail we have hit has stop cold in its tracks! No tracking just gutting!

I did some work with 80grns T7 with the 295grn PB HP. I had groups that were unbelievable. Some of my rifles don't group as well. It's a tack driver and I have found my medicine. I will order some of the PB 295 grn bullets with the AreoTips for better penetration. Not sure I need them just yet but I am sure they couldn't be much different than the hollows, maybe even better, if that were possible. I am going to do some penetration tests tomorrow. Will report back.

Eddie

Oh yes, my groups were double bullet dia. 3 shot. @100yds. Some shots were almost exact with the third just being a half hole off. Not going to mess with it.

It sounds like the rifle is tuning in fast and its going to be a good shooter.

Thanks Cayugad. I am looking forward to hunting with it next season. Till then it's having fun at the range. I plan on doing some penatration tests tomorrow. 5 gallon water buckets is the plan unless I get some different ideas before going out in the morning. I have access to all the grass bales I would need but I am not sure if this would give me any usable information. I see lots of posts where water buckets are used. Have lots of those too.
A fresh beef carcass would be perfect, but I don't really want to mess with that. Any ideas?

Eddie

A 5 gallon plastic bucket, fill it with sand and then water the sand down and compact it. Take a piece of canvas and make a lid. Usually a good piece of rope can hold that canvas in place. Put a circle on the canvas and lay the bucket on its side. Shoot through the canvas. With a piece of dowel, measure the depth of penetration and also if you want to take the time you can recover the bullet and see the expansion on it.

That's a GREAT idea , I'll have to remember that one . How , and with what product do you properly butter your barrell for target practice ?

I don't butter my barrel. I lube any conical or patch for a roundball, but other then that I shoot on a nice clean barrel or a swabbed barrel.

I did a lot of testing this fall with some of my different rifles. I found almost 100% of the time, a swabbed barrel will shoot more consistent and accurate then an unswabbed barrel. When I shoot I swab between shots, then at the end I stop the swabbing to see the effect on the bullet path. Almost always they start to drift. The further the distance, the more they drift.

I know there are people out there that use bore butter and like bore butter in their barrels. I personally am not one of them. I don't like bore butter in my rifle bores. I want a nice clean barrel with the rifling is all ready to do its job. Just my opinion mind you. I had some bad experiences with bore butter and traditional rifles. So while bore butter is a good conical lube and patch lube, that's all it is to me. I never butter a barrel for anything. I shoot and target shoot like I hunt.

Does a swab work better than a bore snake ? What is your swabbing process ?

In an inline that shoots 209 primers shooting any of the powders other then Blackhorn 209... I use a mix of 50/50 windshield washer fluid and isopropyl alcohol or simple Windex. Dampen the patch do not saturate it. Then with the cleaning/loading jag, start swabbing the bore in three inch strokes working down from the muzzle to the breech. After you bring it back up, flip it over and do it all over again. Now take a dry patch and swab the bore in the same manner. If that patch "feels" damp do another dry patch. Now load and shoot as normal.

In a traditional rifle I do basically the same thing except I use pure isopropyl alcohol. The reason for this is alcohol will pull the fowling, and it drys faster. Because in a traditional rifle, any moisture not removed from the bore could cause a hangfire or misfire with a #11 cap.