Muzzle loader ?

[Gofishleech]

How many of you use 3 pellets? I have only been ML hunting for a couple seasons but the "guy at the gun counter" said to only use 2 but all the TV guys use 3. I have used 2 pellts but have not had a chance at a deer yet. If you use 2 or 3 give me your thoughts please.

[tipup]

When I bought mine the salesman also said just use 2. Well as started talking to other who hunt and most use 3 so thats what I have been useing also. This will be my 3rd year and I have not been fortunate to shot a deer yet either with my smokepole, but I cant wait maybe this year!!

[mnmuzzleloader]

you have to check what the manual has to say. my NEF Huntsman says to use 100 grain max, I think a couple manu. make some that are considered magnum and will handle 150 grains.

[troutmaster]

also see what shoots better in your gun, my buddy has terrible groups with 100 grain but shoots good with 150. Mine is the other way around, terrible groups with 150 but good with 100.

[brassman]

I have shot 3 pellets and man they kick. Its cheaper to shoot 2 pellets anyways! I think the reason that many of the guys out there shoot 3 pellets is because they can use scopes and can reach out to 200 yards, at least I have seen that on hunting shows. I put my max effective range with open sights at 100 yards and most of the places I hunt are under 50-60 yards so 2 pellets are enough for that distance.

[Moose-Hunter]

Quote:

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How many of you use 3 pellets? I have only been ML hunting for a couple seasons but the "guy at the gun counter" said to only use 2 but all the TV guys use 3. I have used 2 pellts but have not had a chance at a deer yet. If you use 2 or 3 give me your thoughts please.

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This is my first year muzzleloading and to say I put in a bit of range time is an understatement. Although I'm told I can use up to (3) 50 grain pellets, I figured why punish myself with all that un-needed recoil? Granted, when you drop the hammer on that trophy buck, you'll never feel it. But at the range, those max loads sure let you know you pulled the trigger.

After trying a quite a few (3) pellet loads with bullets ranging from 200 grain up to 385 grain, I was getting beat up and my groups were still a bit open for my tastes. However, a pattern did start to develope after dropping my charge weight. I finally worked up a load using (2) pellets and a 240 grain saboted bullet that should be deadly out to around 150 yards. My T/C Encore .50 cal shoots 3" groups, +1.25 high at 50, dead on at 100 and 1.5 low at 150. With roughly a 3" variance from 50 to 150, I can hold dang near dead on out to my max range and score a decent hit.

As you can see, max loads are not always necessary to acheive good accuracy. And if it's penetration you're concerend with, my balliatics calculator tells me my downrange energy is more than enough to humanely harvest a deer.

I say, let the TV guys do whatever they want. I feel you should let your gun tell you what it likes through practice at the range and go from there.

[TrophyEyes]

I have a .45 magnum T/C Encore and have shot it the last 4 years, taking 5 deer with it, from 20-130 yards. I can tell you that 2 50 grain pellets dropped every deer in its tracks. I would not hesitate to just use 2 pellets, they are most often more accurate than 3 pellets. It is one of those things though, if you want to reach out to 200+ yards, you may want to think about adding that extra pellet. But you have to be far more of a technical muzzleloader to be confident out to those distances.

[Hines R]

Most guys just don't shoot the max loads that I've talked to. Usually your bullets just won't group. I shoot 90 grains of Loose triple seven which puts me at pretty much the equivalent load of 2 pellets. I'm also shooting the FFFG powder instead of the FFG which gives it a little faster burn rate.

I'd probably consider switching over to using 2 pellets now, but have plenty of loose left over so it just doesn't make much sense. Also the original state I hunted blackpowder in did not allow the pelletized powder, and it also didn't allow sabot style bullets. You had to use the Powerbelt bullets in that state.

Ryan

[bigbucks]

My ML only seems to shoot the Powerbelts worth a hoot, but I wasn't impressed with their penetration at 100 grains so I went to 150. It probably shoots a little better groups with 100, but out to 100 yards the groups are still fine with 150. The Powerbelts still didn't penetrate as well as I'd like with 150, but they were better. Most of my places I ML hunt I would setup for a shot to be no more than 100 yards generally anyway. Never know what can happen on a field though.

[Hines R]

There has been some discussion that I've seen in several places on the fact that the Powerbelts don't perform well on game when they hit. From my understanding more grains of powder behind a powerbelt won't help the problems guys are having with the bullets performance.

The powerbelts shot great ouf of my gun though and since they are legal in Colorado for elk, and sabot style bullets aren't I'm quite certain that at some point in my future I will shoot them again.

I think if you put a powerbelt through the ribs it'll work just fine. If you try to go through the shoulder is when guys are having poor performance.

I'll try to link a post on the subject that I believe was on this site.

http://www.fishingminnesota.com/forum/showflat.php?Cat=&Number=947142&page=&view=&sb=5&o=&fpart=all&vc=1

Ryan

[mskyfshntchr]

Going into my 19th season of hunting with a ML, it is the only way I have ever deer hunted.... I have used .45 cal and .50 cal. Side hammers and inlines. Ball/patch and sabots. And pretty much everything in between. I have never needed to use over 100 grains.

When I first started I was using 60gr black powder and a ball with my .45 cal. It took deer. Now I use 2 pyrodex pellets and a cheap shot sabot. It takes deer. It is all about the shot placement and knowing the limitations of yourself and your gun. People wanting to shoot 200 plus yards should buy a rifle and hunt that season. I can do it (but my furthest shots hunting are about 75 yards) with my Omega and can do it accurately with 100 grains. No need for the extra kick. Just wasted powder- especially if it affects your accuracy.

When using loose powder we would always move up in 5 grains increments until finding the optimal load. Alot of time, using extra powder would blow back the hammer when using a side hammer. Time to downsize, because that extra powder wasn't burning well. The gun would be much dirtier and load harder.

I guess what I am trying to say is sometimes less is more. Good luck in the season- Saturday seems so far away!!!!

[TrophyEyes]

Powerbelts have killed more animals than any other single round. They may not be perfect, but there are a lot of dead animals that would argue otherwise. I have 5 that have fallen to Powerbelts and in the past five years our group has taken well over 120 deer with Powerbelts. I still have confidence in my Powerbelts even amongst the critizism, so I have no issues going into the woods on Sat. loaded with a 45 cal powerbelt and 2 pirodex pellets.

[Nova]

I shoot 100 grains also. I have tried 150 grains, but saw little affect even out to 120 yards at the range with the exception of accuracy. I don't know if it's me or the gun but the groups were not even close to as tight as with 100 grains and the drop at 120 yards was nothing from 100 to 150 grains. I truely don't see an advantage to 150 grains. As far as the powerbelts, my gun shoots all over the place with them, I shoot shockwaves now, but maybe that's just my gun.

On another note, I started shooting pyrodex pellets then switched to 777 pellets. The pyrodex seem to smoke a lot more, was quite a bit dirtier, and smelled much worse when cleaning. The biggest factor for my switch was how dirty the pyrodex was. Anyone else have this issue?

[bigbucks]

I would say pyrodex is approximately 3 times dirtier then 777, plus it's horribly corosive.

[TrophyEyes]

I will have to check what I am using again. I swear it is 777 pyrodex pellets. I thought we were talking about the same thing.

[bigbucks]

I'm still shooting Powerbelts & the two deer I've shot with them were recovered, so they certainly do the job. I'd just like a bigger hole or better pass through. I shot some Noslers that made a great hole, but I couldn't hit a deer with them much beyond 50 yards.

Okay so where are you guys ML hunting that you are able to shoot that many deer? What I mean is what part of the state are you seeing enough to kill that many? I have no problem with you guys shooting that many, just wondering where it is you can have that much action, I'm jealous. I don't expect you to give up a honey hole just curious about roughly where.

[Curly]

I also quit using Pyrodex and went to the Hogdon, the clean up is so simple, 2 patches saturated with cleaning solvent and the barrel is clean, then 2 or 3 more with nothing on them to dry it, then one with some Bore Butter if I am putting it back in the gun cabinet for a few months.

[Hines R]

Hogdon's makes both the triple 777 and the Pyrodex. Both come in loose form or pellet form. Triple 777 is easier to clean up and in loose form generates 15 percent more power than loose pyrodex. In the pellet form the triple 777 is designed to match a 50 grain equivalent per pellet.

The only downside I've heard about the triple seven and I don't think it's that big a downside is that it tends to leave a bit of a ridge of fouling right where the bullet seats. As you shoot more and more shots successively without some cleaning it will gradually worsen. A wet patch cleans that right up though.

Ryan