Thinking of gun season with Muzzleloader

[Robhuntandfish]

Ive been considering for the gun season this year with going just muzzleloader.   Its the gun that just feels the best in my hands, fits the best and it is spot on dead balls accurratte at 100 yards.  I have never taken a deer with it cause i hunt very little in the late muzzle season, cause well its cold, have already hunted for two months and usually have something in the freezer by then.  Anyone here hunt muzzle all gun season?  How long do you go without shooting it between hunts?  any issues with missfires over the long season ?  If i have 2 or more deer in freezer from bow I will prob not hesitate.   But if i am deerless going into gun, i might just stay with something with a back up shot! Cause im not above missing the first shot and not one to be shy about shooting two deer either if i had the chance.  

I have a Thompson Center Impact .50 cal.  

also it is dead on at 100, might be my best gun to use if all were one shot.  I shoot 100 grains - 2 pellets of 777.  Have been considering trying 150 grains for a little more umph!  But would have to get out soon to try that and see if it hurts the accurracy any.     

[Jeremy K]

Go for it , I took my Apex out for gun season when I got it because I wanted to get a deer with a muzzleloader.

[Adkhunter1590]

I’ve been using my muzzy the last couple years during gun season. My CVA wolf is dead accurate and easy to carry so I don’t think of it as being at a disadvantage. Your not supposed to miss the first time anyways so not much need for a follow up round.

I’ve left my muzzy loaded in the garage for 3 weeks at a time without any misfire issues. I think the biggest thing is to not bring it inside if it’s cold out where the big temp change can cause condensation and wet the powder. So I just leave it out in the cold garage and it’s been fine.

I did pick up a CVA 45-70 single shot this summer for a bear hunt this weekend and I’ll probably use that this year for gun season just because it’s new and I’d like to shoot something with it. And since it’s a single shot it’s not too much different than hunting with the muzzy. But I say go for it with the muzzy this year, a little extra challenge is fun!

[rob-c]

When my dad was alive we hunted with our front stuffers during regular firearms season for well geez probably 7-8 years. I used pyrodex pellets and if no deer was  shot I would go 2-3 weeks before I would use up my load, my dad used good old black powder and he would shoot his after every load/ hunt . We never experienced a miss fire in all the seasons. Since you have not shot a deer with yours I would be taking it until it’s made a kill....

[BowmanMike]

That is what i do every year,and adkhunter nailed it. Don't expose the gun to big sudden temperature changes and the charge will be fine for weeks.

I have a wolf and love how light it is and how little kickback it has. One shot is all that is needed.

[wooly]

I've been hunting with my smokepole in the regular season for 10+ years now. When I first started using the ML exclusively I thought for sure I'd be at a disadvantage.

Nothing could have been further from the truth. In fact, my success rate IMPROVED over hunting with the shotguns. I never really gave it much thought as to why that is, but seeing I'm at 100% shot, kill, recovery rate since I started using it, I don't ask too many questions. One thing I'm positive it's NOT  a result of is extending my effective range. That has remained the same, or even lessened some from my effective range with shotguns.

 

If I go two weeks with the same load in the gun I start to get nervous and will reload just for my own peace of mind. I've also had to reload in the field for a follow up shot a time or two. Just keep all your chit together and it's really no big deal. Of course you will feel like the pressure is really on at that point, and it will seem like an eternity until you touch off that follow up shot, but in reality it doesn't take THAT long as long as your organized and confident in reloading as quickly as possible.

I say go for it man! Shotguns are for bird hunters,lol

[LET EM GROW]

I love hunting with my ML then any gun i own. I think its more along the lines because I can only take 1 shot so I have to make the absolute best of the situation. Which IMO keeps me from taking iffy shots etc.. Theres usually no "backup shot" available or not as readily available like other guns..  

I used to only take my ML during Gun season.. Then picked up a rifle a couple years ago.. Im going back to the ML this year. I miss it. 

I have a TC Omega and TC Triumph .. Both awesome reliable guns.. 

[G-Man]

im always amazed the number of peopek that onky use pellets. you can get so much more out of a gun with loose powder. what if max velocity and accuracy is at 110 grains cant get that out of pellets. 150 maybe blowing powder out of the barrel and decrese accuracy. idk just my observations ,i have many guns and none shoot the same load .. 

[Adkhunter1590]

im always amazed the number of peopek that onky use pellets. you can get so much more out of a gun with loose powder. what if max velocity and accuracy is at 110 grains cant get that out of pellets. 150 maybe blowing powder out of the barrel and decrese accuracy. idk just my observations ,i have many guns and none shoot the same load .. 

I’ve observed the same thing. I use blackhorn 209 and there’s no way anyone could tell me that they can get better accuracy with pellets. I’ve shot tons of different pellets and none compare to blackhorn. I’ve tried to get a couple of my buddies to switch but they act like dealing with loose powder is such a hassle but I don’t see how. It takes one extra step to measure and load into speed loader tubes and your all set.

[steve863]

8 minutes ago, Adkhunter1590 said:

 

 

I’ve observed the same thing. I use blackhorn 209 and there’s no way anyone could tell me that they can get better accuracy with pellets. I’ve shot tons of different pellets and none compare to blackhorn. I’ve tried to get a couple of my buddies to switch but they act like dealing with loose powder is such a hassle but I don’t see how. It takes one extra step to measure and load into speed loader tubes and your all set.

The thing is that pellets in most cases are more than accurate to kill any deer walking at any reasonable range.  That is why most people who aren't fanatical about accuracy, ballistics and velocity choose to use them.  Just plop them down the tube and you are good to go!  If they fall on the ground they can still work unlike loose powder.  Try picking loose powder back up.

 

 

[nodeerhere]

It will make u a better hunter! 1 shot 1 kill! It's what my uncle told me many years ago when he handed me a single shot shotgun. I was 16! Missed a real nice buck back then! Switched to a semi auto not long after! Found myself wasting a lot of lead! About 5 years ago I started using my t/c omega. Have never looked back! 

[Fletch]

I hunt a lot of the season with my Ml. It is/was my favorite gun. My son now thinks it is his favorite gun!! It is a TC Triumph and shoots like a dream, with pellets even! They do not make them the way the used to though so I just bought myself a CVA Accura Plains Model to try out. My son does not use anything but the ML and I only use the shotgun on opening day or drives where I may expect to shoot more than one deer in a hurry.

 

I usually pull the powder after about 5-6 hunts. I put it aside for target shooting and after pulling 50-60 loads and using them later never had a misfire so I may be over vigilant.

[Robhuntandfish]

Have very rarely ever needed a follow up shot and have passed a lot of shots if it wasn't right anyway.  

Gonna go to the range this weekend as I haven't shot it in a while.  Then go from there.  But just love the feel and fit of that gun.  And last I shot it it was real accurate.

And I just don't ever hunt the actual muzzle season much anymore.  Esp since bow opens early , so I don't go north for early muzzle either.  

Thanks all !   

[turkeyfeathers]

Been hunting with my Winchester Apex magnum 209 ML as primary gun for guessing 15 + years now. Love the way it feels, the way it shoots, the Bushnell elite 3200 3x9 firefly scope on it.  Slug guns never felt like part of mw where is my ML does.  Only 2 hiccups and both last year. Second day of regular season last year I shot at a doe. Pop goes primer, followed seconds later by bang. Right over her back I shot.   Second oopsy was last day of ml and last opportunity to hunt the dirt I've been hunting as it was sold. Decent 6 point at 29 yards  with 15 minutes left I could hunt that day. Bang goes primer and no dice on the bang. Should have just put in another primer and tried again but I opted to reload   Upon ram rodding out other load I clanged the treestand platform and hes gone. Almost had him.   Both cases were moisture/condensation as kept gun in garage thinking better than house. Even keep piece of electrical tape over muzzle . Keep empty slug hulls that killed deer on window sill. Fired primers on window sill just doesn't look as sexy though. Besides a handgun deer 2 years ago the last 20 or so deer fell to the ml. Bought new box of 777 pellets other night.  It shoots 3 50 gain pellets identical to 2 pellets. No need to fire 3 as don't get full burn anyhow and no deer has ever claimed it wasn't dead enough with only 2

[f3cbboy]

just got a cva wolf.  im joining the club.  just want to give it a try.

[wolc123]

There are pros and cons for sure, especially if you are in a shotgun-only zone.   If you are in a rifle zone, I think the cons vastly out weigh the pros.  I live in a shotgun only zone and I used my T/C Omega 50 cal throughout gun season for about 5 years.   Usually, I would also carry my short-barreled, open-sighted Rem 870 for backup and that came in handy for a couple "doubles" over that stretch.   Not having a quick second shot available is the biggest con. 

 I can say that I hit every deer I shot at with that ML (same load as TF),  near my point of aim (about a dozen total), but I was not able to recover one of them due to some poor tracking on my part and a bad assumption of a miss.  Fresh snow made me confident of that miss and that is one mistake I will never make again.  Do not trust fresh snow to show blood because hot blood will cut right through it, leaving no visible trace on top.   That buck was hit through one lung most likely, with no exit wound and expired about 350 yards from where he took the bullet.   The shot was on the far side for that gun, at about 175 yards, standing still, quartering away, no wind, from a good rest, with a 7X scope.  I wont shoot at another deer with that gun that far unless it is broadside.     

Energy at long range is another big con of the ML.   At 175 yards, it has less than half the energy remaining of a 12 gauge sabot slug, and only about 1/4 of a 150 gr 30/06 bullet.  When I found a rifled 12 gauge bolt-action, that would match my T/C ML's accuracy at 150 yards, give me two extra shots, and had a much easier cleanup, the ML started staying in the gun cabinet, except during ML season.   It is so nice not to have to carry a backup gun to the stand, and even nicer having all that extra wallup out at long range.   150 yard shots are typical in the broken fields around home, and groups of deer are the norm.   

The biggest "pro" of the ML is that it forces you to make that one shot count.   Personally, I would much rather learn that lesson on squirrels.  That is the reason I am switching from my Ruger 10/22 to a pellet rifle for those this year.  The relatively silent report is a second reason for that.   When it comes to deer, there have been a lot of years when our family would have been forced to eat more chicken, had I not had a second (or even a third one time) shot quickly available.   

Edited September 19, 2018 by wolc123

[Jeremy K]

1 hour ago, Adkhunter1590 said:

 

 

I’ve observed the same thing. I use blackhorn 209 and there’s no way anyone could tell me that they can get better accuracy with pellets. I’ve shot tons of different pellets and none compare to blackhorn. I’ve tried to get a couple of my buddies to switch but they act like dealing with loose powder is such a hassle but I don’t see how. It takes one extra step to measure and load into speed loader tubes and your all set.

 

 

Just the fact that you can sit at the bench and shoot round after round without cleaning the barrel was enough to make me a lifetime user of Blackhorn. 

[wolc123]

 

 

 

I am going to switch to that after I use up my last box of triple 7 pellets.  What is the grain equivalent to 100 grains of 777 ?

Edited September 19, 2018 by wolc123

[wolc123]

13 minutes ago, Jeremy K said:

Just the fact that you can sit at the bench and shoot round after round without cleaning the barrel was enough to make me a lifetime user of Blackhorn. 

 

[LET EM GROW]

When my box of Trip7 is gone, i may have to try this Blackhorn 209. I switched to triple 7 when i saw how easy it was to use and load. Not that loose powder was hard by any means.

But I can hold 3" groups at 225yrds with the (3) pellets and a 250gr shockwave combo. I was plenty pleased. I only shoot a time or 2 at the most each gun season so cleanliness doesnt bother me too much.. I will give it a shot though, no doubt. 

[moog5050]

I use blackhorn.  Works great.  Never had a misfire.  And I leave it loaded minus the cap for ML season and leave the gun outside.  It is messy to unload however.    Easier to shoot it.  I assume it would be fine through regular season too, especially if you kill a deer or two or simply shoot one off after a few weeks.

[landtracdeerhunter]

 Bubba got me to try the Blackhorn 209 powder some years ago when he was on here.  I never looked at pellets again.  Found my niche at 93 grains and shoot that each year. It adds a touch of history using the loose powder, pouring it down the barrel and all. 

[Robhuntandfish]

Shot the muzzleloader today. First time in two years.  100 grains 777 with a 245 power belt.  Would say I'm good.  (The target with the one shot) 100 yards.

Other target is 3 shots with the 450 ruger.   Just cause.  Ready for gun too when it comes.  Gotta site them in now, too busy during bow season.  

But muzzleloader is def candidate for the regular season.  

[sbuff]

Nice shooting but man I am not a power belt fan. I've tested lots of bullets for penetration and that one is rock bottom.

I use the muzzloader during gun season, if I don't use my TC X7 I'll use my white thunderbolt.  I switch from triple 7 pellets and black horn 209 just depends which I'm in the mood for . Guys are getting rifle accuracy out to 200 yards with today's inlines.

[Robhuntandfish]

What bullets do you recommend?  I've thought about trying the hornady sst or the aerolite but the accuracy was always so good with these.  

11 minutes ago, sbuff said:

Nice shooting but man I am not a power belt fan. I've tested lots of bullets for penetration and that one is rock bottom.

I use the muzzloader during gun season, if I don't use my TC X7 I'll use my white thunderbolt.  I switch from triple 7 pellets and black horn 209 just depends which I'm in the mood for . Guys are getting rifle accuracy out to 200 yards with today's inlines.