PraiseDiana

Thanks all for the great discussion! The ammo I have now is Federal "Power-Shok" 55gr soft points. I guess this is the push I need to get into reloading and try some of the other, more suitable, bullets mentioned in this thread.

Great video - thanks! I think I will use my .308 at first this season, then switch to the .22-250 so I can afford to wait for perfect shot placement with the freezer stocked.

I inherited a Remington 700 in .22-250 that was used for hunting fallow deer in Ireland for many years and I'd like to use it for whitetail here in NY. I was wondering if anyone here has successfully used this caliber for whitetail, and if so what your bullet choice and shot placement choice was.

I got a couple squirrels in 4A with my .410 last weekend - just sat under an oak tree for 15 minutes Anyone have good squirrel recipes? I'm trying to get to a half dozen squirrels (I only keep the back legs) and try making a Brunswick stew.

I have the traditions deerhunter and solved this by firing a couple of primers and then swabbing the barrel before the first shot. Gets that first shot to group with everything else by dirtying the barrel, but with non-corrosive primer residue that you can let sit.

Yeah only in the off season unfortunately!

I have had several and like them. They regularly go on sale for $50.

I'm waiting for lower lumber prices to build a box blind for this season - they are down a lot from the peak already.

I have a Crosman break barrel/gas piston .177 that is quite accurate and can easily take squirrels out to 50yds

It's a Traditions "Deerhunter" .50 sidelock that I built from a kit. I added a "MagSpark" adapter to it so it can use 209 primers - super reliable.

Anyone here use patched round ball to take whitetail? I'm considering it for this year's muzzleloader season. Where I hunt I don't get shots over 50 yards so shot placement should not be an issue.

Harvested a nice doe Sunday PM in 4A hunting from a ground blind. 50yd broadside shot with the .308. Nice shot placement through the heart and lungs. Ran out of sight but I heard the crash - found her within 30yds just before she got into some thick cover. No blood trail that I noticed - was lucky to find her with just the flashlight. Had tenderloins for dinner last night - she's tasty!

I like Nikon ProStaff scopes - have them on all my rifles. Great value at the $150-$200 price point.

Nope, haven't tried anyone before! Just looking to get a tracker lined up in case I need one.

I'd like to get contact info for a deer tracker that operates in 4A just in case. Any suggestions?

What distances are you shooting? I am using the same crossbow and bolts but with Muzzy Trocar broadheads. At 30 yards there is about a 2" point of impact difference between field tips and the broadheads, but the broadheads group well - within 2". If I go out to 40 yards the broadhead group opens up considerable though.

Finally got a good group from a cold, clean barrel. My process was: 1. clean barrel with dry patches to remove oil 2. fire 3 primers (I use 209 primers with MagSpark adapter) 3. clean barrel with spit patch followed by dry patch My understanding is that the fouling from primers is non-corrosive so I can leave the barrel fouled during the hunting season.

Results are in - good groups using both 0.490" round ball with 0.015" lubed patch, and 385gr Hornady Great Plains at 50yds. Still working on getting a good group with a cold clean barrel.

Thanks - I'll order up some conicals and see how they do.

Thanks for the tip! I haven't started adjusting the amount of powder yet - I will try some heavier loads and see how they do. The barrel is rated for a max of 110 grains (by volume) so I have some room to increase. I have seen negative reviews elsewhere of powerbelts due to their not expanding much. There is a hollowpoint version so I can give that a shot too. This gun is a ton of fun to shoot, so I'll test out patched round ball, conicals and sabots too for the heck of it.

After adjusting the trigger weight to something reasonable, and getting a proper .50 cleaning jag (the one on the ramrod that comes with the kit is pretty useless) groups are much better with the "Platinum" powerbelts, and slightly better again with 245 grain.

Does anyone else use this muzzleloader? I'm curious what bullet/powder/charge people are using with it and what kind of results they get. I got a build-it-yourself kit as a gift and just finished putting it together. Tested it out with 295 grain Powerbelt "Platinum" bullets and 80 grains (by volume) Pyrodex RS and didn't get great groups: 1" at 25yds but 4"+ at 50yds. The trigger is extremely high weight out of the box, but is adjustable so that might help. I also got some 245 grain Powebelt bullets to test out. It's a 1:48 twist barrel intended to be used with both patched round ball and sabots.

Correct - the Albany county clerk has suspended pistol license services - https://www.albanycounty.com/Home/Components/News/News/85/59

Nice doe taken in 4A with a .308 165gr hollow point.

I used a sled this year - worked well even though there was no snow on the ground.