Powders/bullets for muzzle loaders

[IceKing72]

What kind of powder/bullet combinations do you guys use for muzzle loading?

[Archerysniper]

I use the 250 grain hornaday sts ballistic tips with 150 grains of triple 7 in the pellets. With that combination I took the buck in the pic to the left a 130 yards a doe at 20 yards and a doe at 183 yards.

[lakevet]

It doesn't matter what I use. You want what your gun likes. Our group has 6 muzzy guns with consecutive serial numbers from same manufacturer. All like a little different load/ projectile combo. You want the load/ projectile that your gun loves. The old patched round ball is easily good out to 100 yds as we have proven many times over the years.

Basically it is an excuse to go shoot your gun alot. Working up a load/projectile combo is fun!

Good luck,

lakevet

[nonteepical]

exactly. with a muzzleloader you have to go through trial and error, every gun is different. mine ended up with 100 grains of powder and a 200 grain T/C sabot.

[Code-Man]

I have a TC Pro Hunter it loves Barnes and Hornady Sabots 250 grain. One problem I found is Hornady if I clean between every shot I have no problems but I cannot get my second shot down the barrel. Barnes gets tougher then heck and I have to have a solid area to push down the Sabot. I tried PowerBelts and they were easy to slide down the barrel. I went from always on a paper plate at 50 yards to not always hitting the 3x3 foot cardbaord box. I have switched over to 250 grain TC EZ Slides and with 3 "50 grain" tablets of 777 powder I get great groups. I have not tried loose powder or 30 grain tablets so no help on that end. Also something I have found is my load is exactly the same at 50 yards as it is at 100 yards! Wish I would have found that out a few years earlier and would have saved me a lot of time!

[Borch]

Mine loves a 295 gr HP powerbelt with 100 gr of 777 pellets. I get 2" +/- groups at 100 yards with this combo.

[harvey lee]

I would shoot a few different sabots and powder loads. As mentioned above, all duns like something a bit different. No barrel rifling is exactly the same.

[HuntFishDude]

CodeMan,

I am right there with you on the pro hunter, triple 7's... Have you tried the Hornady SST Low drag sabots? I posted about them last year, they are night and day difference getting them down the barrel... SST Low Drag post ( wasn't sure, is there a better way to post a link inside this site??)

[Neighbor_guy]

I worked out my Omega's likes and dislikes last week. I shot 295gr powerbelts, 250grain TC easy slides, Hornaday 250gr .452 FTX (the bullets used in the .460 smith) in Harvester Sabot's, and Hornaday 240gr .430 HP-XTP (.44mag) in Harvester easy slide and crush rib sabot's.

Three rounds each from 90gr, 100gr, 110gr, 120gr, 130gr, and 150gr. It was several hours and a lot of cleaning and shooting.

I came to a couple of conclusions....

-People who can shoot 250gr of powder behind 250gr or 295gr powerbelts Have much bigger seads than I have. Holly whaa did those hurt.

-MY Omega's favorite meal is 240gr .430 HP-XTP over 110gr of 777. Three shot group at 25 yards you could cover with a quarter. They were in the same hole. At 50 yards they were a 1" group. By the time I adjusted the poa to eaqual the poi I had had enough.

Realisticly I wont be shooting more than 65-75 yards. But I will need to shoot more at distance just to see what it will do.

Sure do like this smoker though. Don't think the deer are going to like it.

[Archerysniper]

Neighbor_guy you have to invest in the lead sled with that much shooting way more accurate and easy on the shoulder for sighting in or working up loads.

[Neighbor_guy]

The thought crossed my mind. I was not prepared for the amount of wallup the Muzzleloader actualy had.

Interesting note: I went back out this past sat. to get some more triggertime on the gun and see what it would do at 75 and 100 yards. Just to see, to be prepared for the what if... the load I mentioned above was terrible at 75 yards. The 250gr FTX bullets with 130gr of 777 shot much better at distance than the others. That load also put up good groups at 25-75 shooting freehand standing as well.

The lighter load felt better at the range the first time, but I think flinch may have played a role in the bad shooting as the charges got larger.

Who hasn't over done it at the range a time or two?

[TUMBLEWEED]

My cheek got all puffy and red just looking at what you shot!!

Being a die-hard, big bore rifle nut, I was somewhat skeptical

what the modern smoke poles could do nowdays. I had shot a few

older caplocks with patched ball and loose powder, nothing too

impressive power-wise.

Recently got a couple of the in-lines and put three 777 pellets

to the test. My little carbine model put a 295gr powerbelt

through both sides of an empty, older 100lb LP tank at about

twenty paces.

Hey, it was the only way we could get somebody to take

it for scrap!!!!!! Oh yeah, it works for deer too.....

[Archerysniper]

The thought crossed my mind. I was not prepared for the amount of wallup the Muzzleloader actualy had.

If you get the urge to go out and shoot it some more since your close you could try out my lead sled, warning though once you use it you will end up buying your own.

[mudbrother]

Has anyone tried IMR's White Hots pellets with any luck?

[DRH1175]

I will be trying out the white hots tommorrow actually in my tc omega. I will report how they are. From what I have been reading they are very accurate, less recoil than 777 and higher velocity than the 777 magnums. I am excited to give it a try. I have shot loose powder thus far with great results. I am excited to shoot tomorrow.

[DRH1175]

Well I went to the range for 3 hours of shooting. My TC omega loves the White Hots and 300 gr hornady xtp. It shot best with 100gr. but still was quite accurate with 150 gr. I was nothing but impressed with the white hots. much cleaner than triple seven and very accurate! The velocites are also higher than with 777.

[Flag Up!]

Took a brand new T/C Omega out of the box yesterday and loaded it with 100 grains of Triple-7 and a 300gr Hornady SST. I got a 1" group at 50 yds with open sights. I see no reason to experiment further.

[Archerysniper]

Took a brand new T/C Omega out of the box yesterday and loaded it with 100 grains of Triple-7 and a 300gr Hornady SST. I got a 1" group at 50 yds with open sights. I see no reason to experiment further.

If you keep playing with it you will get it really close to 1 hole grops at 50 with open sights.

[96trigger]

Quote:

Took a brand new T/C Omega out of the box yesterday and loaded it with 100 grains of Triple-7 and a 300gr Hornady SST. I got a 1" group at 50 yds with open sights. I see no reason to experiment further

That is exactly what I shoot, all my shots are within 50 to 75 yards. Hearing of all the guys shooting 150 grains, just wondering if 100 grains is enough. I'm also getting very accurate groups at 50 yards.

[musky5555]

I have a CVA Kodiak. I tried shooting 200 grain Shock Wave sabots with ballistic tips with 130 grains of powder. At 100 yards, they were all over the place, bullets weren't flying true as the holes were oval shaped, and the plastic ballistic tip was shattering before it hit the target... there were tiny bits of plastic stuck in the card board target. But with 115 grains of powder, i had none of these problems, and was shooting one inch groups. Last year I shot a doe at 178 yards right through the heart, the only problem is the expansion of these bullets. The exit hole looks just like the entrance hole... and no blood trail at all! I shot three deer with these last year, and none of them left a blood trail... lucky for me, I found them all. My buddy shot a doe with one of these bullets and lost it because of no blood trail. I've found them to be bery accurate out to long ranges, but very poor in causing damage...