New to muzzleloading, looking for some help and guidance.

[tim]

Well I bought a traditions pursuit g4 northwest edition. I live in Idaho and we have a little more restrictions on muzzleloaders. ie open ignition, loose powder, no optics, no 209 primer. I don't think we can use sabots.

I did have hawken as a kid, but that was over 30 years ago. So basically I am new. What do I want to do and not do.

is there any tips or tricks for a newbie? I do have a 6 day cow elk season in dec 2nd thru 8 here in north Idaho. I can only hunt cows with in one mile of private land, so I am hoping for a lot of snow to push them down to me.

I do have .50 348 gr power belts, but don't know where to start with the amount of pryodex ffg powder. 80 grns?

I was told you should unload your gun every night. Do you shoot it off or open the breech and push it thru? if you push it thru, can you reuse the powder and bullet? reuse for target shooting?

I have always taped the end of my barrel. is this a no no on muzzleloaders?

thanks tim

 

[mallardsx2]

Even though you called me a DICK in another post, I will offer my opinions.

-I do not tape my barrel. (If its raining I do)
-I unload my gun every night (Why would you want to risk it?)
-I do not re-use the powder or bullet. (I shoot it at the range when I get home ater I have sealed de-humidified it.
-I seal my powder air tight from the house
-I leave my gun in the back of the truck or outside.(Taking it in and out of the hotel or house causes too much condensation)

Dont overthink it. Its "muzzleloader" hunting.

Keep your powder dry and change caps frequently... They are cheap in the big scheme of things.


If we were talking flintlocks I could offer different advice. But these "Muzzleloaders" are not Flintlock muzzleloaders...They are single shot rifles at worst....

Be careful what powder you use with a caplock ignition. Some powders WILL NOT work with them at all...Dont ask how I know that..

Good luck.

 

[tim]

Mallard
thanks for the reply, but I do feel calling law enforcement on speculation is not a very cool move. I might be more partial than others on this though.

 

[go_deep]

I agree with Mallardx2, well I'm not sure if he's a DICK, but I could be persuaded, LOL.

Unload every night, I do reuse my sabot for hunting, but not the powder.
I primarily have only used my smoke pole for whitetail hunting, which involves sitting. When doing that if it was raining or snowing I would bring a piece of old tarp and place it over the igniter area to keep moisture out. Also when cleaning, only use hot water, and dawn. If you use oil around the igniter hole, it'll plug it up, and the spark doesn't make it to the powder. Like above, don't ask me how I know.

Good luck, and have fun!!

 

[kidoggy]

yup. fire it off every night and start with a new load in morning. if you don't sooner or later ,you will be sorry.
I missed out on the chance for the biggest buck of my life for making this mistake and getting a misfire.

I generally used 90 gr of pyrodex in my .50. but would suggest you shoot a few different loads through it and see what works best with your gun

 

[tdcour]

I started shooting a muzzy this year and found a few things...

The powder quantity and bullet size mage huge differences in accuracy. If you are getting big groups, go up or down on your powder load 5 grains at a time and you will start to see some differences.

I'd personally shoot 90-100 grains of powder if you can get good groups and handle the kick, but then again I haven't shot your specific rifle and bullet combination.

I used the "barrel condoms" on mine, but found they tore holes fairly easy and just started using tape. I'd remove it right before the stalk and put it back on if I didn't shoot.

We were on a backpack trip this year with our muzzleloaders, so we didn't bring enough powder to empty every night. When it came down to it, the gun went bang, but if I was where I could replace powder everyday I would. I would just empty it out at the end of the day unless you want to clean the rifle everyday.

Yes, like Mallard said, keep it closer to consistent temps to reduce condensation.

 

[HighPlainsHunter]

I'm sorry but in my opinion firing a shot every night, cleaning the gun, and then fouling the barrel before reloading the next morning is way way overkill and nothing more than a waste of $ and time. Same with swabbing between shots.

No need to go through all that every night. And never load a clean barrel to go hunting. The first shot will always be a little off.

And if you state allows Blackhorn 209, there is no reason to use the other unreliable and dirty powders out there unless you enjoy misfires and constant cleaning.

 

[RICMIC]

I've probably fired a couple hundred shots from my TC Omega, using a variety of powder and bullets, and have only had one misfire. That was at the range and it was the primer that failed to fire, and not a powder issue. A quick primer change and BOOM. While hunting, I keep the muzzle taped, and don't shoot it until I'm trying to kill something or my season is over. I pull the primer and the rifle goes in a silicone gun sock in the tent vestibule overnight. My experience so far:
1. 10 days over 3 seasons in MN; cold December muzzy deer hunts. 2 deer, 2 seasons,- BOOM-FLOP. End of season, no deer-BOOM.
2. 6 day muzzy deer in CO, DIY backpack in Sept. 1 deer- BOOM on the 5th day.
3. 13 day muzzy deer CO (6 scouting, 7 hunting, loaded in camp at start of hunt). No deer, shot muzzy upon returning to MN. BOOM
4. 5 day muzzy deer CO. No deer, shot muzzy upon returning to MN. BOOM
I currently am using 209 powder and THOR bullets, but that has been only for the last two hunts. Do what you think is best, but when I have good results, I don't see any reason to change what I am doing.

 

[tim]

highplains, I am assuming the buckhorn 209 works best with 209 primers. I can not use 209 primers in Idaho.
Ricmic

thanks for the info.

 

[youngbuck2]

Little different laws here in MN, but I never unload my musket nightly. I do however leave it outside/in my truck while loaded to keep it at a more constant temp, limiting condensation. knock on wood, i havent had any issues yet. I shoot 245 gr power belts, pushed by 100 gr. of powder, seems to be the magic combo for my TC Triumph. i still shoot open sights, so my shots are 100yrds or less 99% of the time.

I sometimes use tape on my barrel, but only if Im sitting for awhile and its really snowing/raining. I will say that with the new muskets, I think the need to clean between shots isnt necessary. I use bore butter and always "waste" the first shot to dirty the barrel. From there i dont, clean/swab my barrel for 6-7 shots or until it get too tough to seat the next round. I shoot my gun year round and have found that my groups remain consistent from shots 2-7ish.

Do some tinkering and find out what bullet/powder combo works best for you and your gun. The rest is all personal preference but if you have a doubt, shoot and reload. Most of all, have fun! Muzzle loading is a blast!

 

[tim]

what is butter bore and when do you use it?

thanks
tim

 

[mallardsx2]

Some guys use it to lube the bore to help "Season" The bore and make it easier for cleaning.

I do not use it. I have ready too much negative stuff about it building up causing the loading to actually get harder over time.

With modern day sabots it is not necessary in my opinion. (Not sure if your allowed to use those in Idaho)

I would just use copper thor bullets if I had to shoot a full bore bullet.

CC is probably more versed to answer this question than me.

 

[youngbuck2]

I use bore butter as an end year seasoning/lubricator. Come fall I?ve swabbed it all out. I just like to leave my barrel coated if I?m not going to shoot. Maybe it helps, maybe it doesn?t.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[go_deep]

My smoke pole is almost 20 years old, only thing I've ever used on it is hot water and dawn dish soap.

 

[tim]

pulled up on a calf elk this morning. Just did not like the shot. would have been an easy shot with a scoped rifle, not so much with an open sight muzzleloader.

 

[Colorado Cowboy]

what is butter bore and when do you use it?

thanks
tim

It is a bore lubricant, I don't use it. I shoot lots of cartridge BP in rifle, pistol & shotgun in Cowboy Action Shooting competition & practice. What I use to clean is Ballistol, diluted with water 50/50. It is a water soluble oil. I wipe the guns down and run a dry patch thru the bore when I am finished. I use the same stuff for my M/L. A lot of the guys I shoot with use Windex with vineager ....don't use the stuff with ammonia.

I do not coat the bore with anything when the guns are in storage.

There are lots on nuances guys use, especially the long range 1000 yarders. When you use real BP, it burns at a really hot temp and will melt lead that will coat the rifling in the barrel. Most use a special lube on the lead bullets and some use bore butter. Some also use a cookie, which is usually a patch coated with lube right behind the lead bullet. They separate the cookie from the powder with a card wad.
If you are using a BP substitute or a sabot, you probably will never have to worry about a lead buildup.

Probably more then you ever wanted to know about shooting BP. LOL

 

[tim]

I have some rust in the barrel. Does that mean I did not clean the gun good enough last time? guns is 3 weeks old.

thanks
tim

 

[mallardsx2]

Since its pretty much bare steel after the first shot it will rust if it isn't treated with something. Even if you did clean it.

Ever since I got my CVA MR Nitride I dont get too worked up about anything when it comes to cleaning. They center-punched it with that finish let me tell you.

 

[Colorado Cowboy]

I have some rust in the barrel. Does that mean I did not clean the gun good enough last time? guns is 3 weeks old.

thanks
tim

That's why I use Ballistol to clean with. It will leave a oil film in the barrel.

 

[luckynv]

Hi Tim, it is very late in the game to "Learn" everything there is to know about black powder. Not sure in Idaho if Blackhorn 209 is legal, if it is figure out a way to use it. It wont ignite reliably with #11 caps but will with musket caps if there is a way to use them Legally in your gun, might require a new breech plug or if your nipple interchanges. Plan on years of Learning!! It does take several seasons to get good with a muzzleloader. Each and every shot is a handload and consistency is key, to finding what works in your set up. I don't see well enough with the open sights to realize the full potential of my TC Encore. A Good set of Fiber Optic Sights helps. Good luck and God Bless