Sighting in a muzzleloader?

[Stick in Mud]

First of all, thanks for the advice in the earlier thread about getting started muzzleloading.   I used it to help me harvest my first deer with a muzzleloader last weekend.  

Unfortunately, I realized when putting the gun away that the sights had come loose, and the rear sight was sliding up, down and left and right.  I'd like to get it sighted in again before putting it away for the year.  

I was reading Gary Clancy's column in the Outdoor News this week, and he recommended only using 50 grains/one pellet when sighting the gun in, just to make it a little easier on the shoulder.  A friend of mine swears this is bad advice, arguing that I should use the exact same load that I'd use when hunting (two pellets).  He also claims that there will be significant performance differences between the types of bullets I use, the brand of powder, and the number of pellets, and I should get a bunch of different ones, about 200 cleaning patches, and spend an afternoon at the range dialing everything in to figure out what my particular gun likes the best.  

Who's right?!? 

[eyeguy 54]

congrats on the deer

 

[trolloni]

Do yourself a favor and dump the pellets and try blackhorn 309 powder.

[Stick in Mud]

Thanks, Royce.  Got my pheasants in the morning and my deer in the afternoon.  That's a good day.    

What kind of a difference in accuracy do you see, trolloni, between the pellets and the powder?  

[MattL]

I agree that you should sight in with the same load that you plan to hunt with. There's also no harm in using a lighter load to get the gun close before you really dial it in. 

[Boar]

page it in with the same load u hunt with. pellets or powder. 

[O.T.C.]

Definitely use what you hunt with but what in the world happened to your sights ? Have never heard that 1 before but think you're lucky you connected possibly, sounds like sabotage and good job on getting a goat.

[Stick in Mud]

I honestly don't know.  I don't think my friends would do something like that, and the gun was dead-on when we started, so I didn't even touch the sight/screws this weekend. 

We were pushing through some very thick cover, so I suppose I could've had the rear sight too loose somehow and it got hit by a branch or something.  That's the best we could come up with.  

[Boar]

COuld have lossen up with the last shot at the range then just continued.....

[ozzie]

I had my sight slip down a couple years ago on my shotgun...luckily that year I got 2 deer and both were only 20 yards away or so and even though both shots were off the aiming point both deer dropped in their tracks!!  I got so lucky on the second one that I hit it in the white of the neck...anther inch or 2 forward and I would have missed!!!  Craziest thing when you cant find a bullet hole on a deer you just shot!!  To the question at hand though...I would practice with the same stuff you shoot. 

[trolloni]

sorry.stick been huntin all weekend didn't see youre post,.i wouldn't say theres any difference in accuracy, all guns,like different combos,but I will say you will be amazed at how much cleaner  the gun will be!it seemed like pellets shot low out of my gun ,2or 3 didn't matter ,blackhorn  120 grains is max charge .equevilent  of 3 pellets,you must use hoppes  bore cleaner, not water or black powder cleaners.no need to swab between shots either ..

[Stick in Mud]

Thanks for the advice, guys.  I have yet to get out and shoot it again, but I suspect it won't be long before I'm killing paper plates.  I might pick up a bottle of powder just to give me an excuse to get out and shoot more.