Gear List - Newbie - 2024

2024 Muzzleloader Guide - Notes
Putting together a packing List for what to get to begin a semi-traditional style of practicing ML hunting. Please feel free to add recommendations and advice on what you think works best in your experience.
Rifle - Something maybe a little shorter than a full long rifle im a sucker for mannlicher styled rifles. Although a long rifle may function better in terms of what I want. I really think Lymans are nice, but still reading on twist rates etc. Just want something that is accurate, that can shoot both conical and round ball.

EDUCATION
CDFW Course Hunting
CDFW Advanced Courses
- Land Nav
- First Aid
- Packing
- Animal Specific Courses - Waitlisted
- Turkey hunting waitlisted
- Deer hunting waitlisted
- Waterfoul - waitlisted
- Muzzleloading Forum
- Youtube - Folks Firearms Collective, I love Muzzleloading, Capandball, Muzzleloaders.com

TARGET
Turkey - Pig - Deer - Elk
That is the order id like to progress with god given opportunity depending on all the variables.

RIFLE
Goals - Accurate - Well made hold/gain its value - want something to hand down, preserve. - historically based.
Rifling Spin Rate - Not completely educated yet
Nipple/ Cap Size - #11 seems to be very common, would like to make my own using recycled cans.
Sight - Lyman so far seems to be the most practical with a " peep sight" one rifle im looking at seems to have the proper " old school " narrow post sight.
Powder - no understanding yet
Ammo - 50 seems that round is common, carries a very flat stable FPS, It seems like a good " well rounded" caliber. ( see what I did there )

RIFLE ACCESSORIES
Bag - Id like to make my own out of heavy duct canvas, but I see some traditional leather bags that are really beautiful.
Bullet Dye - not sure, have read some older molds have less flashing
Bismuth - Legal alternative to lead shot in California
Lead - Target Practice I assume I can fire lead - will read more
Patches - would like to make my own. little understanding of thickness of materials. etc
Oil for shooting- no understanding
Cleaning Equipment - Oil, Rods etc
Wood Care -
Metal Care -
Sling - Preferably leather not sure
Percussion Cap maker - hard to find caps, self reliant
paper cartridge maker - just cool - curious about if it can help shelf life
Case - not sure - traditional would look nice. Although newer may help keep away elements.

Hunting Accessories
Education - California CDFW Course + Advanced courses
Find club or community active out of southern California - unknown
License
USGS MAP
Compass
Firestarter
Knife - Utility x2 and Skinning
Axe - Not sure
Backpack - not educated enough to choose size, or features
Drybag
Plastic Bags
nifty lift - small pulley system
Paracord
Calls - not educated on brands or types of animal calls




- Thank you for all your help

Dude, simplify your list.

Do what now?

CoastComanche said:

2024 Muzzleloader Guide - Notes
Putting together a packing List for what to get to begin a semi-traditional style of practicing ML hunting. Please feel free to add recommendations and advice on what you think works best in your experience.
Rifle - Something maybe a little shorter than a full long rifle im a sucker for mannlicher styled rifles. Although a long rifle may function better in terms of what I want. I really think Lymans are nice, but still reading on twist rates etc. Just want something that is accurate, that can shoot both conical and round ball.

EDUCATION
CDFW Course Hunting
CDFW Advanced Courses
- Land Nav
- First Aid
- Packing
- Animal Specific Courses - Waitlisted
- Turkey hunting waitlisted
- Deer hunting waitlisted
- Waterfoul - waitlisted
- Muzzleloading Forum
- Youtube - Folks Firearms Collective, I love Muzzleloading, Capandball, Muzzleloaders.com

TARGET
Turkey - Pig - Deer - Elk
That is the order id like to progress with god given opportunity depending on all the variables.

RIFLE
Goals - Accurate - Well made hold/gain its value - want something to hand down, preserve. - historically based.
Rifling Spin Rate - Not completely educated yet
Nipple/ Cap Size - #11 seems to be very common, would like to make my own using recycled cans.
Sight - Lyman so far seems to be the most practical with a " peep sight" one rifle im looking at seems to have the proper " old school " narrow post sight.
Powder - no understanding yet
Ammo - 50 seems that round is common, carries a very flat stable FPS, It seems like a good " well rounded" caliber. ( see what I did there )

RIFLE ACCESSORIES
Bag - Id like to make my own out of heavy duct canvas, but I see some traditional leather bags that are really beautiful.
Bullet Dye - not sure, have read some older molds have less flashing
Bismuth - Legal alternative to lead shot in California
Lead - Target Practice I assume I can fire lead - will read more
Patches - would like to make my own. little understanding of thickness of materials. etc
Oil for shooting- no understanding
Cleaning Equipment - Oil, Rods etc
Wood Care -
Metal Care -
Sling - Preferably leather not sure
Percussion Cap maker - hard to find caps, self reliant
paper cartridge maker - just cool - curious about if it can help shelf life
Case - not sure - traditional would look nice. Although newer may help keep away elements.

Hunting Accessories
Education - California CDFW Course + Advanced courses
Find club or community active out of southern California - unknown
License
USGS MAP
Compass
Firestarter
Knife - Utility x2 and Skinning
Axe - Not sure
Backpack - not educated enough to choose size, or features
Drybag
Plastic Bags
nifty lift - small pulley system
Paracord
Calls - not educated on brands or types of animal calls




- Thank you for all your help

Click to expand...

Do what now??

You have quite a list! I’ll touch on a few points.
Rifling twist to handle round ball and slug, 1 in 48”
Sights should be coarse so you can see them in poor light, hunting will often present an opportunity when the light isn’t in your favor.
Powder, black is hard to beat but you may have to use a substitute like 777.
Bullet “dye” mold, Lee .490” ball.
Knife, one 3-4” belt knife will do it all.
Nifty lift, not as useful enough to haul around. (I’ve done lots of game with out ever picking them up from the ground)
Calls, Hochy Momma for elk is simple and effective.
For turkey a mouth call to make yelps works.
Keep you gear to a minimum because what’s at home in the closet just uses up your hunting money.

I get the feeling you live in the city. You are putting way to much thought into this. Get rid of that list. Call a muzzleloading club and ask if there is someone there willing to show how all this stuff works and take you out hunting. There most likely will be. Flintlocks don't need caps and are a lot more fun. Mass produced guns work, but hand made ones are so much nicer.

I am in CA also, hunted mule deer with Grandpa in the Los Padres/ M7 zone. He usually carried a super lite and small .50 cal, Thompson Center White Mountain Carbine, fast 1:20 twist, loaded hot (i think 90gr FFg) with 100% copper, polymer-tipped sabots (Barnes Spit-fire T-EZ Load). He used the same setup to take a massive bull elk in Colorado with one shot at 65 yards. Kept backup pre-loads handy in a belt pouch. I can post a pic of some of this stuff another day.

That is what he carried, while he made me carry the much heavier Pedersoli Kodiak double-barrel 50 cal for a 2-shot backup insurance policy.

A good knife and saw.
Good binoculars and/or spotting scope.
Patience, good stalking skills, and plenty of practice shooting at various ranges/elevations.
If near Ventura County, OVCG.org has a good black powder range.

The second from top is the TC white mountain carbine - super handy for hunting in the west. The bottom one is the pedersoli kodiak double-barrel (super heavy), but having 2 shots is nice. It's almost too nice to use in the field though (really nice engraving and pricey).
For reference, the top one is a TC Hawken, currently with a slower twist barrel on it for patched roundballs used for target shoots. It also has a faster twist barrel for hunting. 3rd is an Investarms Hawken from Cabelas, 1:48 twist for round ball or conicals. All 50 cal percussion. Any of these type will serve you well and are a great place to start. They are super easy to swap barrel (5 seconds) so you can have one stock/lock/trigger and multiole barrels for different purposes.

In the second pic are longer rifles. The top 3 are Pedersoli Frontier rifles (one is a Hatfield), 1:48 twist. They are actually fairly light for their length and very accurate. You can easily swap between flintlock/percussion with a spare lock. Come with buckhorn sights, but we put adjustible rear sights on them when competing. Cabelas might sell these as "Blue Ridge Rifles". I really like them.

The 4th is a tradition pennsylvania hunter with 1:66 twist for patched roundballs. its heavier and clunkier than the others. not a great choice for hunting, but good for competion/target.

A backup pistol is not a bad idea when hunting either.

I have found that game are not frightened by blackpowder like they are centerfire. Have seen deer will stand on a hill and tolerate 3 missed before it bothers moving

Muzzle loader season is great in CA since it is right after thanksgiving and wayyyy cooler than the rifle season in summer. That gives you more time to process meat temperature wise, but much shorter days, so add a headlamp and lantern to your list

Packing like a dan'gum pilgrim!

Check lists are a great thing to make. But they also tend to 'grow'. I know. I am a gear freak and love gadgets. In fact, I have boxes and boxes and boxes of them. But, I also for many years chased elk all across the Western US and Canada with a bow (and then black powder) and learned that every ounce of 'gear' cuts down on how long and far you can roam. Murphy's Law says that whatever animal you kill will also be in the deepest hole in the woods meaning you will have to drag it out UPHILL and all that extra gear becomes very dead weight. So what is essential? An earlier poster suggested finding a shooting club with actual hunters in it and ask for advice of what ESSENTIALS they always have on their person and what gets put into the non-essential pile. I focus on a good belt knife, a small IFAK (individual first aid kit made by me), compass, map and multiple fire making implements. Learn how to use map and compass and do not rely solely on battery powered items (remember Murphy's Law). More items may make your essentials list but you will learn each time you go out what really gets used or would be really critical a difficult situation. Don't stress over it either as this is the fun of going hunting in the first place. Good luck to you and enjoy the learning.

Respectfully, I think you should put that list aside for now and concentrate on just the muzzleloader and what it takes to shoot it.