Muzzleloader accuracy

[Independence day]

I am new to muzzleloading and I have a traditions Pursuit LT. I was wondering if there are any other shooters out there that use one as well that could tell me what ammunition/powder combination to use for the best accuracy.

Matt

 

[SDSmlf]

Hi Matt. Welcome to the traditional muzzleloading forum. Believe the gun you are talking about is bit more modern that what we discuss here. You should check out a sister forum of this one (same owner), Modern Muzzleloader. They will be able to help you.

 

[tenngun]

Caliber?
Start with ..01 less then bore size. 50 cal .490 ball.
About 1/3 weight of ball in powder charge or a bit less
.50 is about 180 grains so start with 60 grains
A .45 is about 130 grains so start with 40.
.15 patch. A light lube such as olive oil, Spit, or a black powder lube like bore butter.
Shoot a string of five shots. Move your powder charge by five grains repeat.
Get several ball size, .485,.490..495, try those same way and several patch size.01..15 .20.do the same.
Shoot from a rest. Don’t try off hand till you have your best load.
About a hundred shots will tell you. I know it’s a pain but you may go three or four times to shoot to find the best, it’s just the sacrifice we have to make for our sport.
Swab between shots, this keeps it easy to load.
Down the road you get in the rabbit hole, different lubes, different powder grain size or brands
Don’t adjust sights till you have your best group. Don’t try fancy shooting like holding high or to the left or right for range or wind till you have your best group.
Try different weathers and keep trac of how it shoots when warm or cold or wet or dry.

 

[Carbon 6]

Good advice Tenngun, but it won't do him much good unless he sells that modern ML, and buys a traditional one.

 

[tenngun]

Good advice Tenngun, but it won't do him much good unless he sells that modern ML, and buys a traditional one.

I wasn’t familiar with the model, and traditions makes some traditional

 

[Ben Meyer]

I love shooting my traditional MLs. But I do have and hunt with an inline, a CVA Optima. Three 50gr Pyrodex pellets and a 250gr T/C Shockwave sabot(the yellow one) is all ive ever used. DAMN accurate, and powerful. Use 2 pellets at first. All 3 does is extend your range. Shooting inlines isn't cheap, and is not much different than shooting centerline rifles. I'd have no qualms about taking a 200yd shot at a deer(mines scoped).

But seriously, get a traditional. WAY funner!

 

[Zonie]

First off, I'll say there is nothing a In-line gun can do that a sidelock can't do so the idea that you can't use a traditional rifle to hunt with isn't logical.

Next, I will show a few of the Muzzleloading Forums Rules:

1: The focus of this site is "Traditional Muzzleloading"; The history of muzzleloading weapons and battles, up to and including the American Civil War. (From the inception of firearms through 1865)

7: We do not discuss modern (in-line) muzzleloading firearms.
Early historic breech loading guns that do not use primed metallic or semi-metallic cartridges and meet the requirements of rule #1 are permitted for discussion.
See special rules at the bottom for posts about breech loading firearms.

9: We do not discuss copper and/or jacketed, plastic/polymer tipped bullets, sabots, power belts, or other 'plastic-wrapped' bullets. Smoothbores using plastic wads and steel shot are an exception to this rule.

From these, it should be obvious that further discussion of your rifle and the bullets you are using is off limits on the forum.

Here is a link to the other forum rules

https://www.muzzleloadingforum.com/threads/forum-rules.108881/
Now, I'm not saying your not welcome here. You are welcome so please feel free to talk about anything you want as long as it stays within the forum's rules.

(By the way, I often make comments like this in the public areas of the forum but I don't do it as an attack on the person so please don't take this personally. The reason I do post it publicly is so the other members who don't know the forum rules will learn about them.)

 

[Sidney Smith]

Only shot an inline once, and that was at a boy scout event when the grand kids were small. While it was fun, it didn't make me want to own one.

 

[tenngun]

I think we do pretty fair. None of us is a hundred percent. My guns are more ‘correct’ then GPR, and those more then TC. All fun to shoot.
Never have shot an in-line. Last time a auto was in the navy. Got my home defense guns but they are just tools like a hammer, no more personality then plain water glass.
Now my girls that’s another story.

 

[Carbon 6]

First off, I'll say there is nothing a In-line gun can do that a sidelock can't do

The reverse is true though, there are some things a traditional gun can do that others can't.

 

[dave951]

This accurate enough for you? 50yds, Parker Hale P58. 576cal, RCBS Hogdon minie, 42g 3f Old E, RWS caps, beeswax/lard lube. Group opens up a tad at 100yd to right at 2in.

 

[Billy Boy]

I love shooting my traditional MLs. But I do have and hunt with an inline, a CVA Optima. Three 50gr Pyrodex pellets and a 250gr T/C Shockwave sabot(the yellow one) is all ive ever used. DAMN accurate, and powerful. Use 2 pellets at first. All 3 does is extend your range. Shooting inlines isn't cheap, and is not much different than shooting centerline rifles. I'd have no qualms about taking a 200yd shot at a deer(mines scoped).

But seriously, get a traditional. WAY funner!

Up here on the tundra, hunters and shooters are easily identified, the shooters usually kill their deer at 100-200 yds because they have to and the hunters kill theirs at 15-25 yds because they can. Again, I think we are talking about two different sports.

 

[smo]

It seems too work like that down South as well..... too each his own I guess..

Some people just don’t have the patience for hunting....

 

[bradly_tx]

f

Up here on the tundra, hunters and shooters are easily identified, the shooters usually kill their deer at 100-200 yds because they have to and the hunters kill theirs at 15-25 yds because they can. Again, I think we are talking about two different sports.

excellent comment! Couldn’t be any truer. I’m goin to write that one down

 

[Eterry]

The fact that "unmentionables" are easily scoped is a big draw to lots of shooters, who never shot anything bigger than a 22 with iron sights. If you can conquer and have faith in the iron sight, a traditional black powder rifle will take any game on this continent inside 100 yards.

Getting over the idea that iron sights aren't accurate is a hard thing to overcome. I know many deer shooters (not hunters in my book), who have never shot anything but scoped guns, even 22's. My best friend was shamed into using irons, by me, and now enjoys using them.

Outdoor writers of the 1930s thru 1950s talk of shots at 300-400 yards with iron sights, that boggles the mind of most modern hunters.

 

[Kansas Jake]

Good point Eterry. I rarely saw a rifle with a scope in the 1950s.

 

[hanshi]

Iron sights will ring out all the rifle's accuracy at the limits of the shooters ability. I've always gotten close but have killed two deer at 100 + yards with a couple of .50s and one at 75 yards with a .45. All my kills were with prb, one shot each. I NEVER feel at any disadvantage hunting with my round ball rifle as compared with most others with scoped, brass thingy rifles. I'd guess my average shot is 20 yards plus or minus.

 

[dave951]

The fact that "unmentionables" are easily scoped is a big draw to lots of shooters, who never shot anything bigger than a 22 with iron sights. If you can conquer and have faith in the iron sight, a traditional black powder rifle will take any game on this continent inside 100 yards.

Getting over the idea that iron sights aren't accurate is a hard thing to overcome. I know many deer shooters (not hunters in my book), who have never shot anything but scoped guns, even 22's. My best friend was shamed into using irons, by me, and now enjoys using them.

Outdoor writers of the 1930s thru 1950s talk of shots at 300-400 yards with iron sights, that boggles the mind of most modern hunters.

I think the root cause of this is the availability of optics. All optics do is to compensate for a lower skill level in shooting. Many, many people have never, ever been taught how to properly shoot and use iron sights.

 

[Eterry]

Indeed, as a kid in the 70's and 80's many youths my age carried a model 94 or 336 into the woods, a few whose father's or uncle's had military experience had a receiver peep sight, but only the well-heeled kids had a bolt gun with a weaver K-4 or equivalent. When I took the Patrol Rifle course in 2008 I was surprised how few had shot a rifle with irons, as I said in post #15.

It is not difficult to shoot off a rest and put all the prb's inside a small paper plate at 100 yards...if you have had some coaching and experience. That should ruin a deer's day for certain.

Lots of guys get some safety lessons and maybe a few shots at cans or such, but few actually get "Coached" in shooting the rifle. My dad's idea of a solid rest was over the hood of his truck at a sign or cans off an oil lease road.

I was fortunate to be on the smallbore rifle team in college for 2 years, shot expert at the BRM at Ft. Sill, then years later shot highpower out to 600 yards. When my friend wanted to sight in his rimfire magnum last fall it was painfully obvious he had no idea how to shoot off the bench for group. I tried to be gentle, and later over beers he confided he had given a safety lesson as a kid, then handed a rifle and was told, "Go forth and prosper". That's pretty much what my dad had said, except maybe controlling my breathing was thrown in.

I think lots of guys are in the same boat as my friend.