Hunting Forum

I think the phrase "this gun" is the biggest thing to remember for you , the optimum are a tad different compared to the next . In my Knight in-line I use 90 Grain FF Trip. 7 loose powder with a Harvester crush rib sabot and Hornady 240 Gr. XTP and a Winchester 209 primer . With my gun it shoots tight and the deer have no complaints . Main thing is don't go for max. load .

Posted By MRD on 22 Sep 2012 06:58 PM 
. Main thing is don't go for max. load .

2nd that.  This is a common huge mistake with newbies getting the modern in-lines.  Newbies often believe the hype in advertisements and think "more is better" thus punishing themselves usually to no real benefit.  I have never found a muzzleloader that shot its absolute best at maximum safe loads. 

i have that same gun. I shoot 100 grans of triple 7 pellets thats 2 of them. I used to shoot T/C shockwaves but they dont produce a good blood trail. So now im shooting barnes spitfire tmz

The curious thing about muzzleloaders is that no two are exacty alike. You will probably have to experiment to find a combination of powder type/load and projectile that your rifle will shoot accurately and consistently. Various combinations have been cited as favorites above, the combination that my New England Firearms Sidekick likes are 245 grain powerbelts with 100 grains of 777 pellets. My advice is to try various combinations that work for you and your smoke pole. Good luck to you and be safe.

I'd have to highly agree with MRD and
Shiloh. I am not knocking pellets but the gun may shoot better with loose powder (cheaper also).

My Thomson Center Omega works best with a 360gr minie ball poured by a friend of mine in a form he has. I poor 80gr of Pyrodex. I put a little bore butter on that ball and then load it. But this comes after much time at the range and testing a bunch of combinations.

Your muzzleloader will have what is called a "pet load". That is why you will get so many opinions on the best load here. For some the Powerbelt with 2 preformed smokless powder pellets works great. For others a led ball and pyrodex works better. So your job is to take 3-5 five of several combinations and go to the range. First get on paper with something then get more precise if you like.

Some like the preformed propellant pellets (pyrodex, white hot sticks, etc.) and they work fine for them. I had an issue with them always getting moisture and they would fail. (I actually watched one roll out of the gun after the ball and land 20 ft away) I have found it pretty easy to fill pyrodex in tubes you can find anywhere (http://www.gandermountain.com/modpe...hID=4006). For mine 80 grains works great. So I premeasure that amount and put it in these tubes to go to the woods.

I take my minie balls to the field in a seperate container with bore butter already on them. Some just place the prelubed ball in the tube with the powder, but I am paranoid about moisture after my pellet experience. I found that i get a more consistent firing when I put the bore butter on first. The opinion of a friend who understands this stuff better than me is that this helps get more consistent compression.

I really want to thank you all for the wealth of information. It's going to be off to the woods to shoot, with a combination of shot, and powders. This sounds like a wonderfull day to me.

I do have another question? Is the recoil any better or worse that my Marlin 35 rem. or my Remingtion 30.06 or a Mossburg 500 with a slug.. I was told it would be less. This is of consern having had three shoulder surgeries.....

"Is the recoil any better or worse..."

That depends on the amount of powder you put in the load. I have shot as much as 150gr and had it kick my butt. My 80gr pet load is not that bad. That can figure into your choices as well. If you are worried about recoil then you can flinch (I do). A comfortable well placed shot beats a mess because you were anticipating recoil pain.

Be sure when testing and shooting and for the sake of loading, swab your barrel between shots. It will make the rifle more accurate and easy to load. Go to the Dollar Store and get a bottle of Windex window cleaner. Then some patches. Old T shirt work real well. Lightly spritz that patch wih windex and using short strokes, swab from the muzzle to the breech, then back up. After that follow it up with a dry patch. This will make each shot much more consistent and help you load. If you are real new to this, you might want to add a witness mark.

Witness Mark?

When you have a load you like, mark the rammer at the muzzle to show you when loading that the powder and ball are seated properly. That is esentially what a witness mark is. I use wood rammers so throough basic use the wood is marked where it stops hard load after load against the muzzle crown. If ever loading and I see that the witness mark is noticeably higher than the face of the crown I know something is wrong and either have to try to push the load down harder to seat the ball or am just made aware that I may have a different powder charge or projectile loaded which hopefully I will already have known about.

A Witness mark can tell you a lot. After I load a rifle, I take a simple piece of masking tape and level to the muzzle, wrap that around the ramrod. The next time I load, I know that tape has to be level to the ramrod. That means all is well in the world. But lets say the tape is now under the muzzle... did you forget the powder? Maybe the projectile? Something made that witness mark change. So don't shoot it, find out what the problem is. Or lets say the mark is high, up off the level of the muzzle.. Did you seat the bullet correctly? Maybe double charge the rifle? Change powders, or perhaps the amount? Also this will indicate when the rifle bore might need a good cleaning. You see, as the carbon and unburnt powder collect in the breech of the barrel, ever so slightly, besides the feel of the barrel, the witness mark will tell you that you are fouling out. And last of course.. is the gun loaded? Drop that ramrod in the barrel and that witness mark better all but disappear.

The nice thing about the masking tape.. I don't scratch or mark the original ramrod. I can remove the tape and replace it when I change loads so there are not a lot of confusing marks on the ramrod. And it sticks out like a sore thumb. I have looked at a ramrod in the barrel and almost shot the rifle. When I see tape, I see danger as well. If tape is showing, that rifle is not shootable.. you need to pull the ramrod.

The draw back of masking tape.. sometimes it will not fit in the thimble rib. But once you work up THE LOAD, then scratch the ramrod, or paint it for a witness mark. It is just a guide to the shooter of how the rifle is and what it is doing..

Here is the skinny. I decided on Powerbelts 250g, with 2 white hot pellets 100g, with Whinchester 777 primers. after zeroing in. 4 sho{1}**** on upper edge of bullseye and 1/2 inch above that, then dead nuts on at 100 yards. I think I am good..... Again Thank you all for the wonderful help and advice, very helpfull. only issue is the recoil, after 3 shoulder surgeries might need a{1}***** pad.

Mine likes a win t7 209 primer with 2 50g t7 pellets and a 295g cop HP powerbelt. But it loves 3 50g pellets and a 230g HP t/c sure fire sabot.

Going to add something here. Make sure you shoot a 3-5 shot group at the same target to ensure that you are not doing anything fundamentally wrong and that the center of the group is in the bullseye. Also if possible shoot off the same rest you will be using in the field ie sticks etc to ensure the zero doesn't change.