Modern muzzle-loader resources for a newbie?

bmcrae

bmcrae

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I recently came into possession of a Traditions .45 muzzle loading rifle. I've never shot one before, nor do I know anyone who is into it. I do hunt deer, and being able to use it to extend the season is desirable. I would like to learn more about it; equipment required, safety, loads, etc etc etc.

Does anyone know of any good resources (online or other) for this?

Brad.
 
Thanks Nessy. It's an inline rifle.

As a 'for example' of things I'm struggling with, I'll start with propellants and projectiles.

I've got a .45 rifle, but apparently that means I use a .40 bullet with a sabot.
I was led to believe that most people used Pyrodex pellets, but according to the Hodgdon's website, for .45 cal muzzleloaders you need to use Triple Seven pellets.

From there, Hodgdons also says that Triple Seven pellets can only be used with 209 primers rather than #11 caps.

I'll probably find one of the Traditions starter kits as they seem to have many of the required tools.

Brad.
 
You might have trouble finding stuff in Canada for the .45. Pellets for a .45, never seen them locally...would be $$$$ to ship.

You can use pellets with #11 caps..BUT, you have to add a booster charge of loose first. Thus negating any convenience of the pellets.

.50 cal is by far the most universal and easiest to source. PRbullet has some .45 cal stuff and its Cdn.($US priced though)

Good luck. Welcome to the BP addiction. :D
 
Check with company info but I'm sure that Pyrodex would work fine. I've used loose pyrodex with no problems at all in Knight rifles designed for pellets. This is with both 209 and #11 cap ignition systems. Ordering sabots and bullets should be no problem. Start with a 90 gr load of loose pyrodex RS and see how it performs.

I have found that using the higher end loads left a lot of unburned powder and loads between 90 to 100 grs worked very well in my inlines. I never liked the pellets as they are too pricey compared to loose powder.


I've since switched to the savage that uses smokeless but that is a different thing all together:D Note: DO NOT USE SMOKELESS POWDER IN YOUR RIFLE

Be sure to read all company literature first and do not break any of the stated safety rules. The above info is from my personal experiences only.
 
.45 would not have been my first choice, but...... I won the gun as an attendance prize.

I had a closer look at the gun last night after a little reading. It does have a 209 nipple in it. It also has a #11 cap nipple and an even smaller one.

I load shotgun, rifle and handgun, so I've got a background in 'firearm pyro' (alas my desire to be able to do this correctly/safely). This brings me to another question on the 209 primers. I have a few thousand 209s around for loading shotgun. Can they be used, or should I use special ML 209s (which I think I saw advertised).

I think I have a handle on the basics, but with anything, I'm sure there are a lot of tips and tricks to make this easier and safer.

Brad.
 
The regular 209's will be fine. :D

The theory behind the low-powered 209's for ML's is... that there is too much energy in the reg. 209's and that pressure created
by it might push (channeled through the hole in pellets) the sabot & bullet ahead of the charge before ignition...leading to inaccuracy.
Don't know if it's ever been proven though...or just someones speculation. ;)

If you want pellets...your best bet is Higginson's. I still advise people to use loose powder...you can really fine tune a load to your gun.
 
So trip #1 for 'kit' was unsuccessful. I went to LeBaron (ya I know the joke). They had no .45 (.40) projectiles, and really not much other equipment other than a few bits and pieces. I guess it is 'off season'. I didn't ask about pellets or powder as I want to get some other things figured out first.

I'll probably have a look at Stittsville and take a ride out to Al's Corner Store to see what they've got.
 
Loose powder ain't so bad. Steal a hint from history and make up paper cartridges. Not ones that you ram down the bore in one piece but ones that you tear off the end and pour in pre-measured powder and then pull out the bullet from the paper along with any wad if that is part of the deal. Heck, your cap could even be in a little end fold so it's all there in one package.

Now I don't know for sure if this is pertinent to the Traditions rifle you have but if it helps you think outside the box then bonus.
 
BCRider said:
Loose powder ain't so bad. Steal a hint from history and make up paper cartridges. Not ones that you ram down the bore in one piece but ones that you tear off the end and pour in pre-measured powder and then pull out the bullet from the paper along with any wad if that is part of the deal. Heck, your cap could even be in a little end fold so it's all there in one package.

Now I don't know for sure if this is pertinent to the Traditions rifle you have but if it helps you think outside the box then bonus.
Click to expand...

I think I'll stick with my water-tight 35mm film containers. ;)
 
So as mentioned earlier, it is more difficult finding projectiles for the .45. I did find pellets, and placed an order for some gear. I picked up some cleaning supplies to keep me occupied until I get the rest of the gear.

Most importantly I found a DVD from Traditions, titled How to Load, Shoot, & Clean your Traditions Muzzleloader, which gives all sorts of tips and tricks for all of their different guns. It's a perfect aid for the new muzzleloader. It goes over all maintenance, cleaning, safety, loads, powders, pellets, projectiles, best practices, etc etc. It was exactly what I was looking for, and was under $10.

I looked online for exactly this kind of thing (Excalibur has exactly the same thing on their website for example) but I didn't have any luck finding anything.

I'll start up with the pellets, but I'll pick up a pound or so of loose powder to give it a try.

Brad.
 
Brad

if your stuck and cant find any .45cal bullets/sabot....theres a place by me that sell lots of .45,,50,,ad54cal stuff...

ACCURACY PLUS 707-740-0063 ask for jeff ...(peterborough)
he could ship to you ...or if your a really nice guy I come up to Ottawa a couple times a month and would bring them that way for you....
I'll look around I think I have about 100 round 45cal balls...not great for hunting but good for you to practice with and get use to the gun with out costing a tonne...
jay
 
Loose powder (T7) Don't let people tell you that you need rabbit turds that cost more, and you get less for the dollar.

Bulk pistol bullets, and the appropiate MMP sabot from PR bullet(dot)com.

Done.
 
wild game processing said:
Brad

if your stuck and cant find any .45cal bullets/sabot....theres a place by me that sell lots of .45,,50,,ad54cal stuff...

ACCURACY PLUS 707-740-0063 ask for jeff ...(peterborough)
he could ship to you ...or if your a really nice guy I come up to Ottawa a couple times a month and would bring them that way for you....
I'll look around I think I have about 100 round 45cal balls...not great for hunting but good for you to practice with and get use to the gun with out costing a tonne...
jay
Click to expand...

Thanks for the tip. I've driven by Accuracy Plus a few times and now I've got a reason to stop in next time.

I stopped in at Bass Pro on the weekend and didn't have a very good experience. I left without buying anything. They had some 40 cal projectiles with sabots, but they were about $30 for 15. From there I got some conflicting advice from an employee so I called it a day.

Brad.
 
hakx said:
Loose powder (T7) Don't let people tell you that you need rabbit turds that cost more, and you get less for the dollar.

Bulk pistol bullets, and the appropiate MMP sabot from PR bullet(dot)com.

Done.
Click to expand...

Thanks. I'll give that a try as I'm getting sighted in.
 
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