Muzzleloading Newbie

[pokerdemon4]

I am new to the art of muzzle loading. I am about to purchase one and was wondering if anybody had any input to specific makes and models. I have heard good things about Thompson-Center. I will be purchasing an inline percussion cap .50cal. What kind of ballistics can I expect? Do certain guns perform better than others? Any response is appreciated.

[Jay T]

I am new to the art of muzzle loading. I am about to purchase one and was wondering if anybody had any input to specific makes and models. I have heard good things about Thompson-Center. I will be purchasing an inline percussion cap .50cal. What kind of ballistics can I expect? Do certain guns perform better than others? Any response is appreciated.

 

Thompson-Center are great guns, you will be happy with that choice. It should have the ballistics on the site, but it depends on what size of a bullet you want to use and how much powder, anything more than 100gr of powder will give a big recoil.

 

I have the CVA Optima Pro 50 cal. It is a great gun and lays the smack down on the deer. I am shooting a 300gr bullet and 100 grains of powder and it is flying around 1500fps. I can reach out to 250yrds if needed but most of my shots are 100yrds and under. Just remember after shooting 2 or more rounds run a some cleaning solution through it, or you will not be shooting consistant groups. That is what I have found anyways.

 

Try different size bullets and grains of powder to find out what works best for you and your gun and the animal that you will be hunting.

[ch312]

savage 10ml is a great gun. excellent accuracy and as far as i know its the only one designed to shoot smokeless powder. MUCH less cleaning and no cloud of smoke after the shot....

[cjgraham]

I shoot a Traditions and love it. If your just getting into it make your life a whole lot easier and get a break open barrel muzzle loader that takes shotgun primers. It makes cleaning a heck of a lot easier, and with the shot gun primer there is less chance of a missfire. I've learned the hard way with deer in my sights and an inline primer that would not go off. Also .50 cal will do the trick with no more then 100 grains of powder.

[misfish]

Thompson-Center are great guns, you will be happy with that choice. It should have the ballistics on the site, but it depends on what size of a bullet you want to use and how much powder, anything more than 100gr of powder will give a big recoil.

 

I have the CVA Optima Pro 50 cal. It is a great gun and lays the smack down on the deer. I am shooting a 300gr bullet and 100 grains of powder and it is flying around 1500fps. I can reach out to 250yrds if needed but most of my shots are 100yrds and under. Just remember after shooting 2 or more rounds run a some cleaning solution through it, or you will not be shooting consistant groups. That is what I have found anyways.

 

Try different size bullets and grains of powder to find out what works best for you and your gun and the animal that you will be hunting.

 

 

That is some great info.

[cranks bait]

I think a Thompson is what one of the guys at hunt camp got this year. Not sure exactly what he uses in it. Although it does go BOOOOOM pretty loud and obviously leaves you in a cloud. One thing we did make him aware of, you can miss a deer just as easy, but the hole in the tree is freakin huge! He did also mention that it kicked like a mule. I'm sure he would have used a big load though, as he is a go big or go home kind of guy.

[pokerdemon4]

Thompson-Center are great guns, you will be happy with that choice. It should have the ballistics on the site, but it depends on what size of a bullet you want to use and how much powder, anything more than 100gr of powder will give a big recoil.

 

I have the CVA Optima Pro 50 cal. It is a great gun and lays the smack down on the deer. I am shooting a 300gr bullet and 100 grains of powder and it is flying around 1500fps. I can reach out to 250yrds if needed but most of my shots are 100yrds and under. Just remember after shooting 2 or more rounds run a some cleaning solution through it, or you will not be shooting consistant groups. That is what I have found anyways.

 

Try different size bullets and grains of powder to find out what works best for you and your gun and the animal that you will be hunting.

[pokerdemon4]

What kind of bullets do you have a preference for? Do all of the modern muzzleloaders use the 209 primers or are some different? Im new to this and it seems to be somewhat overwhelming but what the heck it sure looks like fun. Thanks for all the help guys I really appreciate all the input. I will be hopefully taking a deer this fall with one.