| Front Stuffers |
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Limmited Supply Available!
Buy one at the Missouri Deer |
| Front Stuffers |
|
Limmited Supply Available!
Buy one at the Missouri Deer |
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SPORTSMEN HUNTING
ORGANIZATIONS
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I recovered the bullet
from just under the skin on the deer's right shoulder. The bullet
entered his left side just behind the shoulder, went through his right
shoulder bone, and stopped just short of exiting. Dropped him instantly.
Thought you may like a picture of the recovered slug.
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The one by myself was shot with 45 cal 240gr Hornady JHP XTP bullet, Knight sabot, and 90gr of Goex 130, 140 yards or so, should have waited but it was getting dark,,,,,got impatient lol. One shot, clean through. The one with my Daughter
in the pic with me was got last year, same load, same gun, only this one
was head on at around 50 yards, had to get the bullet hole sewed up for
the mount, it went in low in the neck, and stopped in a large belly of
green grass and acorns. Both deer went around 2 foot after the shot.......Straight
down! Gary Shortt
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Magnum Muzzle Loaders
If your selling a gun that you can't put three 50 grain pyrodex pellets in,
your not selling many guns in today's muzzle loader market.
Here are a few of what is hot in the modern muzzle loading world.
Thompson / Center Arms
http://www.tcarms.com/
Encore 209x50 and 209X45
Caliber: .50 and .45 Ignition: 209 Shotgun Primer (Closed Breech). Barrel: 26" with QLA® Muzzle System. Rifling Twist: 1 in 28" twist for use with Conicals and Sabots. O/A Length: 40 1/2". Approx. Wt: 7 lb. Sights: Competition click adjustable steel rear sight and ramp style front sight are fitted with Tru-GloTM Fiber Optic inserts. Trim: Sling Swivel Studs. Stock: Solid American Walnut or Black Composite Buttstock and Forend. Extra Features: Interchangeable barrels offered as accessories. Centerfire and Shotgun barrels interchange easily. Loading: Accepts Magnum charges of up to 150 grains of FFG Black Powder or Pyrodex® equivalent (or 3 Pyrodex® 50 caliber, 50 grain Pellets). |
NEW FOR 2002 T/C's OMEGA
Specifications: Caliber: .50 Caliber
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Connecticut Valley Arms
http://cva.com/
The FireBolt™ MusketMag™ 150, CVA's top of the line magnum in-line, surpasses its predecessors with the addition of our super hot MusketMag™ 3-Way Ignition System. This new ignition system allows the shooter the choice of using standard #11 caps, musket caps, or modern 209 primers. Also new for 2000, the FireBolt™ features the Mono-Block one-piece barrel design and a stainless steel bolt assembly. |
NEW FOR 2002 FIREBOLT 209 ULTRAMAG
Make no mistakes, this is no ordinary FireBolt! We started by increasing
the one-piece MonoBlock barrel length to 26" to ensure magnum long-range
performance, capable of handling Pyrodex Pellet charges up to 150 grains.
Next we added 6 precision machined flutes for weight reduction and increased
barrel stability. A bullet-guiding muzzle completes the barrel design and
is available in your choice of matte blue or nickel in either .45 or .50
caliber. Barrel is also drilled and tapped for easy scope installation.
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Knight
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Extremely reliable and quick – the DISC Extreme™ employs Knight®’s new Full Plastic Jacket™, a new generation of Knight®’s exclusive DISC™ technology. Load a Full Plastic Jacket™ with a hot-firing #209 primer, drop it into the breech and close the bolt. The Full Plastic Jacket™ forms a weathertight seal over the primer and nipple, giving you reliable ignition each and every time. |
Knight Master Hunter Series DISC Rifle
http://www.knightrifles.com/
You've never seen a muzzleloader like this before... because it's the
first of its kind!
The Master Hunter DISC Rifle is built around Knight's patented #209
primer DISC technology. Its 26"Green Mountain barrel is crafted from the
finest stainless steel available. It features precise fluting for elegant
style and weight reduction. Before we lay the barrel into the custom stock,
its 1:28" rifling is air-gauged to ensure exact tolerances and ultimate
accuracy.
Knight has added a stock that is not only built for class, but for comfort and concealment as well. Master woodworkers have tooled a laminated stock into a virtual sculpture, complete with a thumbhole grip and a Monte Carlo cheek piece. When you bring this stock to your shoulder, you'll find a fit with comfort beyond compare! For those of you who do not wish to risk this stock to scratches and nicks from use in the field, Knight is including a black composite thumbhole stock for your Master Hunter.
The Master Hunter has the premium details that set it apart from any other muzzleloader in the world, including: a goldplated Knight trigger and engraved trigger guard, jeweled bolt, satin ramrod, fully-adjustable metallic TRUGLO fiber-optic sights, schnabel fore end, palm swell grip and deluxe recoil pad.
Traditions
http://www.traditionsmuzzle.com/
LightningTM Bolt-Action Rifles Our most popular gun of 2000 because it has the look and feel of a cartridge rifle. This rifle is the most versatile one we offer because of its options available to you. Rifles with a Muzzle-Brake and knurled cap (when Muzzle-Brake not in use) are available to reduce the recoil up to 35% when shooting up to 150 grains of powder or Pyrodex®. Fluted barrels in Stainless Steel are optional for a great look and lighter weight. To get the ultimate in concealment we offer Mossy Oak Break-UpTM or Bill Jordan's Advantage® Camo Stocks. All of our composite stocks are checkered with a pistol grip and cheekpiece. .50 caliber rifles have 24" barrels and a 1:32" twist. .54 caliber rifles have 24" barrels and a 1:48' twist. All Lightning Bolt-Actions come with the LFS Magnum System (one #11 percussion nipple, one musket cap nipple and one musket cap nipple adapter), and a breech plug/nipple wrench take-down tool. |
NEW Lightning 45 Long Distance
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| Need to do some shopping for frontstuffer
stuff
here is a straight shot to it! |
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One thing that has plagued the enjoyment of shooting front stuffers
is the clean up after shooting. If you do not do it you pay the price.
Goex may have come up with the answer. Here is what they have to
say about their new Clear Shot Powder. There is also a link below
to their site.
After years of research, GOEX is proud to announce the first true muzzle
loading replica propellant powder. You have heard all of the claims, all
of the hype, from other manufacturers. ClearShot has been designed to perform
exactly like black powder and is an excellent replacement for other replica
black powder propellants.
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Powder links
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Knight high pressure sabot, 25 yards. |
Just had to show one off. Unfortunately it is not shot with my
new gun.
Friend of mine called wanting to go muzzle loader hunting and I told him I would love to. I have a new gun and he could use my old one. I thought I had better check to see if the old gun's sights were on and how it would shoot my new bullets, since I have never shot these bullets from that gun. The gun is a Cabelas, Italian made Hawkin reproduction, 28" 1 in 60 twist. This gun should not shoot sabots as well as it shoots round balls, but it does. Just goes to show you, you can't pigeon hole any muzzle loader thinking it can only shoot one type of projectile. I think this one is good to go for my buddy Dan. One bullet does not a group make, but I have burned a lot of powder with this gun over the years. If I had more time, and I was going to be carrying this gun this weekend I would shoot it a bit more. |
| If you want to
get the most from your "magnum"
muzzle loader you need to shoot a "magnum" bullet. We found these sites and they make some magnum bullets with a special emphasis on accuracy. Check them out! |
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If
You Want to Play You Gota Pay
But you can still try to get
the most boom for your buck.
I have been doing research on muzzle loaders since I first started shooting one in the early nineties. I have read extensively the charts and graphs on what to expect a bullet shot from a muzzle loader to do when it reaches its' intended target (the whitetail deer in my case). I have learned a lot from reading and experience on game and on the range. The one thing I believe is paramount to get the best performance from your front stuffer is to get to know your gun, how it shoots and what it shoots best. This means shooting it, alot!
My original perception of muzzle loaders was that they were inexpensive to shoot. After all, shooting them is more work, you have to measure and pour your own powder, seat your own bullet, and cap your own nipple. When you have to do all this work for yourself you must be saving money right? After all it must be much more expensive to buy those pre manufactured all in one 30-06 cartridges, right? Wrong! The popularity of muzzle loading firearms has gone through the roof in the last decade and along with popularity comes expense. The old law of supply and demand and the principle of more, bigger, stronger, faster = better, has given muzzle loaders the potential to cost much more per shot than many center fire cartridges. The cost of shooting a muzzle loader however, is adjustable.
The list of different projectiles you can stuff down the barrel of a muzzle loader has grown considerably in the last few years. Some of these bullets are selling for over a dollar a piece and then if you want to drop three Pyrodex pellets in the mix, you can see more than $1.75 blown away in that cloud your gun makes every time you pull the trigger. Of course you can stick to the round ball and light loads of loose Pyrodex and shoot for about $.17 per shot.
I had pretty much settled on a bullet and load
I was comfortable with for my old hawkin. It was a generic bullet/sabbot
combination. I was happy with it's accuracy and performance
on game. It was a pure lead 250 grain hollow point boat tail.
I am not even sure of the exact diameter, probably a 44 cal. Then
this year they started becoming hard to find, and that was one of the things
I had liked about this projectile, they had been easy to find. I set forth
on a quest for a replacement.
Jacketed pistol bullets may not expand properly at some muzzle loader velocities, especially at extended range. From left to right Hornady XTP HP 230gr, Speer soft nose HP 260 gr, Hornady XTP mag HP 300gr |
My quest sent me to my local discount store. The first criteria
for my new bullet was availability, I needed bullets and I needed
them now. It was only about ten days prior to the muzzle loader deer
season and I had a new gun and scope to zero and develop a load for.
I choose a box of 20 Remington Core-Lokt .44 cal 275gr. jacketed hollow
points. I had two or three others to choose from including a 303gr
in this same bullet. I choose this one because I like the weight
and it was about the least expensive available. I try to be somewhat
frugal on my toys.
By the time I got the scope zeroed in and a few loads tested my box of twenty was gone. My shooting was not the best because I had not figured out the best way to use my makeshift bench rest. I was not happy with my groups, even though I know my shooting was not up to par and did not give these bullets a chance, I still felt the gun and bullets could be doing better. Returning to the store my mind was made up for me when I found they were out of my original choice. Meanwhile, I had been doing some web windows shopping and found some interesting information on the Pyrodex web site. The Pyrodex people recommended using .45 cal. bullets saboted in a .50 cal. gun when using pellets. I have not used pellets yet but I would rather settle on a bullet combo that fits this recommended description for when I do. So off I went on my quest again. |
All in all, I ended up getting it sighted in and shooting decent
groups with the 230gr bullets. I never did get a chance to see what they
would do on a deer. Well there is always the January extension.
Of course after the season I found some more bullets to test. Surely
one of these will give me the results I am looking for. The bullet
that shoots the tightest group will probably win the race, but if it is
a toss up I will go with the heavier bullet.
| Now here is what I should have done through all this. It would have been much better buying the gun in August or earlier to allow time to get it figured out and tested. If you have no prior experience with a muzzle loader, I would strongly recommend you do not buy your first one right before you want to use it to hunt with. A month before season would be the absolute minimum. Allow yourself some time to test a few different bullets and loads. Earlier in the season would have allowed me to find the exact bullet I wanted to shoot and enough time to purchase them even if I would have had to mail order them. At least I could have started out closer to what I wanted in the first place. | 
Black Belt 348 and 295 grain Precision Bullets Mfg. Ballistic Tip 300 grain |
I do like the Precision Bullet ballistic tips. They seem to fly great and they are made of soft lead and the plastic tip so the expansion should be great also. I will be using the Precision bullets loaded in my gun this season with the black belt 295 grain loaded in my speed loaders. The black belts load easier for a quicker back up shot if needed.
Buffers
Muzzle loader accuracy can be improved with the use of a buffer.
The standard operating procedure for loading today's modern saboted bullets
is to simply slide them down the barrel after the powder is poured.
Many bullet manufactures will even recommend that you do not use a lube
or at least state that a lube is not necessary. While this is true,
I still believe you can get tighter groups and easier loading if you use
lubes and buffers.
A buffer is like a patch that goes between the powder and the bullet or sabot. Traditionally hornet's nest material is used as a buffer. I use a pinch and just ram it down soft over the powder. If you can't get any hornet's nest material just use a bit of tissue paper, the kind that comes in gift wrapped packages that you have to get out of the way to see what crazy color shirt your mother has bought you this time.
Muzzle loader lubes are made nonpetroleum based because petroleum products and scorch on the inside of the barrel and cause permanent fowling. I use any of the commercially made bore lubes or crisco shortening. A little in the cup of the sabot is all you need. A smear around the outside of the sabot also helps load some of the tighter bullet/sabot combinations you might encounter.
Try it the next time you get on the bench and see if a little
lube and buffer will tighten your groups.
Muzzle Loading Clubs are a lot of fun to belong to. They have regularly scheduled shoots and rendezvous which are good places to sharpen your aim and learn about shooting front stuffers.
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