I realize that the Traditions rifle is an inline type muzzle loader.
A friend of mine, that is addicted to BP muzzle loaders, refuses to use the pellets or any replacement for actual black powder, such as Pyrodex. All are claimed to be non corrosive but, if they aren't cleaned properly, they are corrosive. They just don't have to be cleaned within 24 hours or less.
I like going out shooting and hunting with him. I have a Lyman Great Plains 50 cal muzzle loader that shoots very well, with the proper loads.
My rifle will shoot maxi ball bullets OK but the rifling is to shallow to grip the bullets properly and velocities have to be kept to low to allow it to be suitable for hunting. I tried the 45 caliber bullets in the sabot cups, with Pyrodex and they were OK accuracy wise but not good enough to hunt with.
I then went back to poured black powder charges, using patched round balls. There is a formula for figuring out the size of the ball and the thickness of the patch from back in the day and it works. The thing is, you want a properly lubricated patch that fits tightly into the bore, needing a ram to start it into the muzzle and a good sturdy rod to get it seated properly on top of the powder charge. This is difficult with pellets and OK with Pyrodex.
Black powder doesn't appreciate air space between it and the bullet. It likes to be slightly compressed at a consistent rate for best results. Takes a bit of practice but it's well worth the time and effort if you're going to hunt with that rifle.
I shoot round balls and a swaged 500 grain maxi bullet out of my Lyman. The round balls are patched with a consistent thickness linen that is .015 diameter, around a .500 diameter ball. My rifle has a rather large bore and won't shoot the normal .490 diameter balls well, unless I double patch and that really makes quick, for muzzle loader, shots difficult.
If you decide to try round balls and want to purchase, rather than cast your own, you will need to get a custom mold that is suitable for your rifle. Then use a .015 patch material. I like linen but have had good success with other material.
For the Maxi bullets, I have a mold that throws them at .504.
I made up a swaging die from an old 458 Win Mag sizing die and use ordinary masking tape (green stuff) as a patch. No lube required with this setup. The tape seems to do a good job of holding onto the grooves to consistently give enough spin to the short/squat bullets to stabilize them appropriately. Launched at 1300 fps, those maxi bullets will go through both sides of a Mule Deer out to 150 meters.
This where the old timers were given some grace when their old muzzle loader bores became pitted. Patching gave them a free pass to acceptable accuracy, as long as there was rifling left for the patch to grasp.
The plastic sabot style cups, over jacketed bullets, often don't fit the bores well and accuracy is just OK, even with excellent bores.
I tried Pyrodex propellant on my Sharps 47-70 and could never get it to perform to its full potential. I contacted Mike Venturino, a real gentleman and a great enthusiast of rifles and handguns that were originally chambered for BP cartridges.
He told me that he had similar issues with his BP cartridge and muzzle loading firearms. He does lean towards cartridge types but appreciates muzzle loaders as well.
He told me that his rifles wouldn't shoot consistently from shot to shot, until he went back to the appropriate Black Powder for the cartridge, with properly lubed hard cast bullets. He advised me to do the same thing. He makes his living from reporting such things and is relatively well respected on the BP match circuits in the US. His recent spate of heart attacks has slowed him down a lot and since he moved to Montana, I don't know if he participates in the long range silhouette buffalo matches out to 500 yards anymore.
I followed his advice and never turned back. I use Black Powder for every firearm I have that is was originally built for it. Even my old Kropatschek rifles, which were built to accommodate both BP and smokeless powder perform the best with paper patched BP loads.
It's a pain in the butt, because it needs to be cleaned properly and quickly after shooting, but it isn't much different from shooting ammunition with corrosive priming.
