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200 yard muzzleloader tips

Nutterbuster

Nutterbuster

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Where the skys are so blue!
Making a commitment to hunt a local tract of land more. Muzzleloader or bow only. I've killed 5-6 deer with my ML, but I've only ever shot it out to 50 yards. 60 grains of fffg 777 and a 240 grain Thompson Cheap Shot.

Works fine for close and dirty, but this parcel has some areas where being able to stretch out would be nice. So...

Who here has shot critters and paper at 150 to 200 yards? Shooting a an older (no toolless breech plug old) CVA Optima if that matters. 1:28 twist.
 
I’m shooting a Traditions Pursuit XT w/ I believe is a 26” barrel. 110-120gr of Black Horn 209 and a 250gr bullet. Shoots out past 200yds easily.
 
ImThere said:
Buy the bh209 breech plug for that gun and buy bh209 and find what sabot you gun likes for those distance and weight. I’m shooting red sabot 250sst over 110 of bh209. It has a good amount of drop but is very accurate at 200yards


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How many grains of 209 are you using, and what kind of drop are you getting at 200 yards? 100 yard zero I'm assuming?
 
In my gun 110 grain of bh209 was 4.5” drop at 200. Best I remember. I have it sighted in 1.5” high at 100. I haven’t shot it past 100 in several years.


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I’ve only ever shot a deer out to 150 yards once. All other times have been <100 yards. For me, I had my scope zeroed in at 100 yards. It shot bullseye at 100,50, even 25. At 200 on paper it dropped about and inch but I only did one shot so not a true picture. For the doe I dropped at 150, i just aimed a hair higher and hit fine.
 
PancreasBroke said:
I’ve only ever shot a deer out to 150 yards once. All other times have been <100 yards. For me, I had my scope zeroed in at 100 yards. It shot bullseye at 100,50, even 25. At 200 on paper it dropped about and inch but I only did one shot so not a true picture. For the doe I dropped at 150, i just aimed a hair higher and hit fine.
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You're getting an inch drop at 200 with a muzzleloader?
 
ImThere said:
Pleasant! Lol. Honestly it’s not bad unless you spend the day at the range. It’s one of those you never feel the kick when the deer goes down. As much as you shoot a shotgun you won’t mind it at all.


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Sweet. Is the 209 recommendation an accuracy thing or just the fact that it's not as dirty.

Assuming I know how to clean a ML (I think I do) and am willing, is 777 acceptable? It's much more readily available locally and half the price.
 
It’s a hotter powder. 777 will have much more drop. You will have to clean it more, it’s more corrosive to the barrel. I was a fan of white hots for a long time. I could pour water down the barrel and clean it perfectly.


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My Accura V2 likes these with their crushed rib sabots and 110 grains by volume of BH209. Pellets work fine but are dirty. They are also more convenient to use than loose powder in the field. Haven’t stretched mine out to 200 but I have holes touching at 100.

Scorpion White Lightning

Harvester Muzzleloading offers a belted bullet and the new crush rib sabot that crushes the competition. Also home to our new polymer tip bullet, Scorpion PT Gold.
www.harvestermuzzleloading.com www.harvestermuzzleloading.com
 
You want to go down a rabbit hole, do some research on the 45-70 govt to smokeless muzzleloader conversion. Guys are shooting pittman bullets with near MOA accuracy out to 400 yards. I know I shot dads 45 T/C encore at 200 yds w/ 100gr of the pellets and a 200gr power belt. Had ~5" of drop @ 200 with a 100yd zero.
 
If you switch to Blackhorn 209, I strongly recommend you weigh out each charge with a powder scale, not use a volume measurement. BH209 burns hotter, faster, and creates more pressure than traditional black powder. If you're not careful, it can be dangerous. There are formulas on various forums that can assist in converting grain weight to volume measurements but keep in mind, these are not 100% accurate. One lot of BH209 may convert 77 grains by weight to 110 grains by volume but a different lot may only produce 100 grains by volume for the same grain weight. Add too much by volume and you may end up with a different bang than you expected.

For example, a muzzleloader rated for a 150 grain charge WILL NOT safely shoot 150 grains by volume of BH209. It can shoot 3 x 50 grain preformed charges, sure, but not 150 grains of BH209.

I have two muzzleloaders that I use BH209 in, one is a Paramount HTR which is rated for magnum loads, and the other us a Accura MR-X which is more of a standard muzzleloader.

I shoot 98.1 grains by weight of BH209 out of my Paramount HTR (.40 cal, 225 grain bullet) and get muzzle velocities similar to a .308 WIN. I zero it 2.1" high at 100 yards, it's dead on at 200, and drops 9.2" at 300. This load is on the low end of "magnum loads" but it's where I started, had excellent accuracy and velocity, so I never increased to heavier loads. I've shot deer at 200 yards with it and it's wicked. Of the 2 bucks I shot with it, one at 194 yards and the other at 206 yards, neither ran. Both dropped on impact with hits in the vitals. I absolutely love that gun but toting a 10+ lbs muzzleloader around isn't always fun.

However, with the Accura MR-X, 77 grains by weight of BH209 is the top end of the BH209 charge the gun will safely handle. Breach action muzzleloaders simply cannot handle the pressure that a bolt action muzzleloader can.

Strongly recommend reaching out to muzzle-loaders.com (they have a customer service line you can call) to help you dial in a safe load. They are extremely helpful and knowledgeable but most importantly, will help keep you safe. No, I am not affiliated with them whatsoever but whenever I've had a question, they have always steered me in the right direction.

Sorry for the long message. Just thought it was worth sharing because I went through this same process a few years ago and almost learned the hard way.

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Triple f in a rifle can be tricky as it’s a faster burning powder. Dropping to a Double f will give you longer range and better consistency.

I run 95gr Shocky Gold ffg over either a ball-et or patched ball out of my hawkens.

What I want is a 1858 Enfield (because it’s blued) with my hand cast minne balls over 100gr powder. That would be a hoot to hunt with.


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Nutterbuster said:
Making a commitment to hunt a local tract of land more. Muzzleloader or bow only. I've killed 5-6 deer with my ML, but I've only ever shot it out to 50 yards. 60 grains of fffg 777 and a 240 grain Thompson Cheap Shot.

Works fine for close and dirty, but this parcel has some areas where being able to stretch out would be nice. So...

Who here has shot critters and paper at 150 to 200 yards? Shooting a an older (no toolless breech plug old) CVA Optima if that matters. 1:28 twist.
Click to expand...
I have a newer model CVA Optima.

Use 150g of 777. Sight it in for 150 yards. Hold at the top of their back for 200.

I just use power belt bullets and have had good accuracy with them.
 
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