What are your prefered bullet/sabot/powder combinations for muzzleloading?

fugawi

fugawi

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Was at the range yesterday zeroing my scope for the upcoming muzzleloader deer season and got to talking with another fellow doing same and working up bullet/sabot/powder loads.

What combinations are muzzleloaders using for accuracy and consistent shot placement (please include ranges) and how do they perform on deer? Thanks.
 
A pure lead ball or minie bullet.
REAL black powder.
Linen patches.
Beeswax/murphy oil lube
#11 precussion caps or musket caps.

When target shooting I use just enough powder to get the ball to the target accurately.
This is 35 to 50 grains in 45 and 50 caliber rifles and about 50 grains in my .58 caliber parker hale.
I do NOT use Pyrodex as it is clorate based and is MORE corrosive than regular B.P.
I do use GOEX but try to purchase powder manufactured in the spring and early summer as they use soft water from a reservoir during that time. In the fall and winter they use hard water (a significant amount of total dissolved solids) that leaves fouling that is more difficult to clean.
I do run a wet patch down between shots, followed by a dry patch.
In the winter I use windshield washer antifreeze, in the summer I use windex or cheap C.Tire window cleaner....

A 45 caliber round ball at 1000 fps will shoot right through a deer at 30 yards. For moose or elk I would want at least a 50 with a minie bullet and wouldn't shoot at over 150 yards.
 
My best combo was a Lyman Great Plains 1-66" percussion gun using the soft cast "PLAINS" bullet and 80 grs. of 1 1/2fg Swiss black powder, it grouped best of all at 100yds. and killed a deer very quickly with complete penetration. Regrettably I sold the gun because the severely curved buttplate and my shoulder didn't get along, right now I'm ringing out a Thompson In-line and I don't care much for it. Even with a fancy scope on it, it doesn't shoot as well as the Plains rifle, and I've tried alot of diff. conicals and sabots.
 
I shoot bp and round ball in my traditional guns but my hunting load is a 240 or 250gr Hornady XTP hollowpoint in an MMP black sabot. I use 2 777 magnum pellets in my MDM Buckwacka and a smokeless charge in my Savage ML II.
 
tactical870 - have you tried the 300gr XTP/MMP sabots with the 2 Triple Seven pellets? I'm using that combo with the Hornady green sabots (forget what they are called). Works well but are real tight after a few shots without cleaning. I'm think of using the black MMP sabots as the fellow I met told they are easier to load. Thx
 
200gr Precision Rifle "Dead Center" (ballistic tip, all lead, no jacket) pushed by 100 gr 777 3F, lit by a 22Hornet conversion plug (small rifle primers).

Good for 0-250+ yards. My longest shot...35 yards :redface:. Friends have shot a couple of deer over 200 yards-D.R.T.

PR bullets are :canadaFlag:...:)
 
tactical870 - have you tried the 300gr XTP/MMP sabots with the 2 Triple Seven pellets? I'm using that combo with the Hornady green sabots (forget what they are called). Works well but are real tight after a few shots without cleaning. I'm think of using the black MMP sabots as the fellow I met told they are easier to load. Thx
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I have not tried the 300 grs. Are you sure they are XTP's? I've seen 300gr SST's before but not the xtp. The black sabots are tighter than the green as they are designed for magnum pressure. You may want to try a red "crush rib" sabot if loading is too tough. I've got no need to experiment any more with loads though as my Savage ML II is printing about 1" at 100 yards. The only reason I even still own the MMP is in case a friend wants to go hunting..... (and when tags get hard to come by late season, everyone is a friend :D )
 
I was using 80gr of FFFg with a 180gr. roundball in my sidelock, but I recently picked up a TC Scout, so I need to try out some new loads.
 
tactical870 said:
I have not tried the 300 grs. Are you sure they are XTP's? I've seen 300gr SST's before but not the xtp. The black sabots are tighter than the green as they are designed for magnum pressure. You may want to try a red "crush rib" sabot if loading is too tough. I've got no need to experiment any more with loads though as my Savage ML II is printing about 1" at 100 yards. The only reason I even still own the MMP is in case a friend wants to go hunting..... (and when tags get hard to come by late season, everyone is a friend :D )
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Yup, picked up a box today. Hornady 300 gn .50 cal XTP Mag. Black coloured sabot. Though its a bit confusing - on the top it says 50 cal 300 gr XTP Mag but on the end it says 50 cal sabot w/45 cal 300 gr.

Its XTP Mag - flat brass scooped nose with a lead core.

I think I tried the red 'crush rib' sabot previously but every once in a while I would get a flier if I remember correctly.
 
338grain platinum powerbelt bullter over 150 grain 777 in my cva under inch at 100yards 100grain load in my traditions buckstalker 1.5"groups at a 100 yards. Never kept a bullet in a deer longest shot 237 yards closest shot 3' from barrel
 
Three Pyro pellets and a 250 grain Shockwave. Killed everything from deer to moose with this combination from 30-307 yards.
 
My ol' reliable for 12 years was the Hornady 240 grain XTP with 100 grains of Pyrodex ffg. Never let me down. I have so many deer to that load's credit I can't even start to count. With the liberal harvest allowance in SW sask I was able to shoot 10 deer in some years. That load ALWAYS worked and shot around 1-2 inches in my remington 700 ML.

This year I have a T/C Impact and have been using 260 grain extreme elite from precision rifle with 100 grains of Pyrodex. I also find the variflame adapter from the same outfit is a big improvement from the 209. My remington had plenty of venting around the nipple so 209s worked very well. My T/C is not vented at all so the 209 did not perform very well. Once I started using the small rifle primers with the variflame everything settled down and I can punch out 1" groups all day long
 
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