Cabelas Pedersoli if you like the Traditional look. Won a lot of powder w/their .50. .490 round ball on a .10k patch and 60 gr. of FFF. Flint or cap work very well and not an issue in 30 yrs.
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Muzzleloader? Teach me
- Thread starter thedutchtouch
- Start date
Well, did you buy one yet?
Not yet. Likely not this year, unless I stumble on a great deal. They seem to be sold off pretty cheap after mz season ends/during the summer
Whatever you get I really like the Barnes 250gr Xpander Mz. You can get them from Knight in their Redhots line of bullets. They are all copper and retain virtually 100% of their weight. These 2 were recovered from shots on deer. 100ish yards and both 1/4 to and smashed on side shoulder to bits and lodged on offside under skin. They are very accurate out of my rifle. 
I will suggest that you do not shoot where you want to eat. They are very devastating upon impact and will ruin meat. I had to cast a shoulder aside this morning. Wasn’t enough good left to make It worth trying to salvage.
I will suggest that you do not shoot where you want to eat. They are very devastating upon impact and will ruin meat. I had to cast a shoulder aside this morning. Wasn’t enough good left to make It worth trying to salvage.
I have a T/C Omega and have killed lots of deer with it. Probably more than any of my rifles actually. I shoot 2 pellets (50 grains each) of Triple 7 and a 295 grain Powerbelt bullet. I went away from the aerotips because the hollow points seem to open more consistently with better blood trails. I recently bought a CVA Wolf kit on Camofire for like $240. I heard Camofire/Black Ovis may have been sold, but I'm sure other deals are out there. It didn't come with a scope but came with like 25 Powerbelts and other accessories. Triple 7 is a bit dirty and hard to load after 2-3 shots. I'll probably try white hots to see if they are any better. The CVA's breach plug is removable by hand also, which to me is an advantage over my Omega.
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I have an Optima and it is a really nice shooting ML. Like has been mentioned, 100 grains of 777 and a hornady SST is bad medicine for whitetails. Good for when times get hard with a bow. Stuff gets dead when that thing goes to the woods.
Two years ago I got a CVA Optima and sighted it in at 100 yards the first weekend I had it. I hunted a few times that season but never got a shot.
Last year I took it out again but as I was loading it I forgot whether I was supposed to use two or three pellets. Two sounded right, so I went with that. At first light a doe presented a 40 yard shot, so I centered the crosshairs and let it rip. It was a perfect double lung shot and she barely went 5 yards.
When I started field dressing the deer I was surprised to find the bullet perfectly mushroomed inside, pressed up against the hide on the opposite side. Having hit no bones, I was shocked it didn’t pass through. Is that normal, or should I have used three pellets?
Last year I took it out again but as I was loading it I forgot whether I was supposed to use two or three pellets. Two sounded right, so I went with that. At first light a doe presented a 40 yard shot, so I centered the crosshairs and let it rip. It was a perfect double lung shot and she barely went 5 yards.
When I started field dressing the deer I was surprised to find the bullet perfectly mushroomed inside, pressed up against the hide on the opposite side. Having hit no bones, I was shocked it didn’t pass through. Is that normal, or should I have used three pellets?
BuffaloBill
Well-Known Member
There are Optimas that are designed for “magnum” loads, which is three pellets. My brother has one. Otherwise you’re probably just wasting pellets. Don’t believe I’ve ever not had a bullet pass through. I think two pellets should be sufficient. Maybe one didn’t fully ignite for some reason.
The reason I don't use pellets is most of them degrade over time, especially if not stored in an airtight container. I know they're convenient, but using loose powder really isn't much extra work and you can tailor your loads in. I find most of my guns shoot better at 90 grains than 100.
You certainly don't have to use a magnum load in an Optima, they just have the capability to.
You certainly don't have to use a magnum load in an Optima, they just have the capability to.
Were you using power belts? I’ve never had a power belt pass through entirely. They are always up against the hide on the backside. It’s kind of a double edged sword, if the bullet didn’t pass through it expended all of the energy inside the deer, but you get a less of a blood trail with no exit hole.
I have a knight disc extreme I bought prior to doing an elk hunt. I wanted accuracy with loose powder and no sabots.
I probably won’t make another western hunt and now I have a giant expensive muzzy.
Buy the cheapest .50 cal thing you can find at Walmart or academy, that is as small and light as possible. Shoot loose powder and saboted bullets. Carrying around a 4’ long gun in whitetail woods sucks.
3moa at 100 yards is still a dead deer. You don’t need a tack driver.
Honestly for deer hunting, unless you’re a gun nut - selling a centerfire rifle to fund a muzzy makes more sense - it opens up a lot more opportunity, at least the places I hunt.
I probably won’t make another western hunt and now I have a giant expensive muzzy.
Buy the cheapest .50 cal thing you can find at Walmart or academy, that is as small and light as possible. Shoot loose powder and saboted bullets. Carrying around a 4’ long gun in whitetail woods sucks.
3moa at 100 yards is still a dead deer. You don’t need a tack driver.
Honestly for deer hunting, unless you’re a gun nut - selling a centerfire rifle to fund a muzzy makes more sense - it opens up a lot more opportunity, at least the places I hunt.
Yup, power belts. Interesting.
Center Punch
Well-Known Member
- Joined
- Sep 26, 2018
- Messages
- 471
Some people subscribe to the "All the bullet's energy went into the deer, so nothing was wasted."
I don't remember their rationale of that theory. All I remember is it didn't overcome a different theory: "Two leaking holes is better than One."
And once you add that the shot is likely to be taken from above, the second hole should be lower and start the leaking sooner than one hole higher on the body.
BuffaloBill
Well-Known Member
I switched to Blackhorn a few years ago and it’s way better than pellets. Like you said, not as convenient. But it’s cleaner and more accurate from my experience. Too bad the price is crazy now. Upside is that a jug should last years for hunting purposes.
I tend to agree. The exit wound is more important than the entrance wound (assuming the shot placement is correct).
I want to do a little more research but if this is a typical thing from power belts then I might have to switch to something else.
BuffaloBill
Well-Known Member
I never had much luck with Powerbelts but it’s what CVA was pushing. I use these.
Scorpion - White Lightning - 50 Caliber Sabots - 300 Grain .430 Bullets (12 Pack)
Scorpion White Lightning Polymer Tip Bullets are the same composition of our #1 selling Scorpion PT Gold Bullets. However, the White Lightning produces a higher ballistic coefficient and this provides advanced velocity and additional energy down range. This bullet is packaged with our patented...
harvestermuzzleloading.com
Dang, 300 grains. That's a lot of bullet. I like it.I never had much luck with Powerbelts but it’s what CVA was pushing. I use these.
Scorpion - White Lightning - 50 Caliber Sabots - 300 Grain .430 Bullets (12 Pack)
Scorpion White Lightning Polymer Tip Bullets are the same composition of our #1 selling Scorpion PT Gold Bullets. However, the White Lightning produces a higher ballistic coefficient and this provides advanced velocity and additional energy down range. This bullet is packaged with our patented...
If you want one step simpler, check and see if the Firestick is legal in your state as a propellant method for muzzleloaders.
- Joined
- Sep 22, 2022
- Messages
- 546
Blackhorn 209 is my choice. Burns really clean. Just a bit of pain in the a** to get depending on where you live. It is expensive for sure. I like that you can experiment and really dial in your load.