Changes in Elevation...Changes in Point of Impact!

My personal shooting range is located on what was once the bottom of an ancient lake that was in some places 2,000-feet deep.  Of course, that was more than a million years ago, and the bottom of that huge glacier created lake is now the Missoula Valley of Western Montana.  The elevation where I annually shoot 3,000+ muzzle-loaded rounds is right at 3,000 feet.

Missoula, a city of 70,000 people, is the largest such city in the U.S. that is completely surrounded on all sides by mountains...with some of the peaks reaching 9,000 feet.  There is easy access to a lot of high country where, when it begins to heat up too much in the valley bottoms to do a lot of shooting with saboted bullets, that I can load up and drive to a reasonably remote mountain valley or ridge and get in a morning of shooting with temperatures in the 40's - even in July and August.

On my valley range, I generally sight rifles to place point of bullet impact approximately 2 inches high, to preserve my point of aim.  When we take the dogs and spend a few days in the mountains to get away from city noises, I always take along a muzzleloader or two - and try to get is some high elevation shooting.  I have noticed that at 5,000 to 6,000 feet, point of impact often moves up another inch or two - depending on the load and bullet.

One test I hope to complete by the end of summer is to see if I can actually discern an approximate change in that point of impact at 4,000...5,000...6,000...and maybe 7,000 feet.  The rifle I'll be using for this test is the new 30-inch barreled Traditions .50 VORTEK StrikerFire LDR - shown in the photo above.  This shot was taken at one of my favorite high country shooting spots, at about 6,000 feet.  The snow capped mountains in the background are the Mission Mountains of Western Montana...with several peaks up around 9,000+ feet.

If you have the opportunity to shoot at such radical changes of elevation...have you noticed any significant changes in point of impact?

This will be posted as the July "Question of the Month" on the NORTH AMERICAN MUZZLELOADER HUNTING website - at www.namlhunt.com

Toby Bridges
NORTH AMERICAN
MUZZLELOADER HUNTING

Missouri Breaks Buck With The VORTEK Ultra Light LDR

                                                        Click On Photo To Enlarge

You don't have to cruise through the NORTH AMERICAN MUZZLELOADER HUNTING website very far to realize that the .50 caliber Traditions VORTEK Ultra Light LDR is at the top of my muzzleloading rifle preference list.  Rounding out that "Favorite Combo" would be the Hi-Lux Optics TB-ML multi-reticle muzzleloader hunting rifle scope...a 110-grain charge of Blackhorn 209...and the saboted 300-grain polymer tipped Scorpion PT Gold spire-point bullet from Harvester Muzzleloading.  This combination has rewarded me with quite a few sub 1-inch hundred yard groups over the past year and a half.

Thanks to the 30-inch barrel (28 1/2-inch working bore) of this rifle, the load is good for 2,009 f.p.s. at the muzzle, generating right at 2,690 f.p.e. at the muzzle.  The above buck was taken just a few days before this past Thanksgiving, with a single well placed shot at 140-yards.  At that distance, the load was still good for around 1,650 f.p.s. - meaning this buck was hit with more than 1,800 foot-pounds of retained energy.  The buck went less than 25 yards after the 300-grain bullet passed squarely through the chest cavity.

By the time I had pulled the trigger late the afternoon of the 5th day of hunting, I had already passed on 14 or 15 smaller 3x3 and 4x4 whitetail bucks, plus had seen five other whitetail bucks of this same class...or slightly larger.  During one long morning walk along the rolling ridges that overlook Montana's Musselshell River, I had also tried to catch up with a giant 30-inch class 5x5 mule deer buck, but could just never get ahead of the deer...or to get within 300 yards of the buck.  That same morning, I did have the crosshairs on a nice 20-inch spread 4x4 mule deer buck, but passed.  Then, I decided to concentrate on river-bottom whitetails.

That's the beauty of hunting the Missouri Breaks of north-central Montana, there are good numbers of both whitetails and mule deer.

Watch for the feature article on this hunt on the NORTH AMERICAN MUZZLELOADER HUNTING website in early to mid January 2014.  It's one of many great articles slated for the website this coming year.

Toby Bridges,
Traditions Muzzleloader
Hunting 

Be sure to visit the NORTH AMERICAN MUZZLELOADER HUNTING website at -

www.namlhunt.com 

NORTH AMERICAN MUZZLELOADER HUNTING Newsletter...Summer-Fall 2013

The Summer-Fall 2013 NORTH AMERICAN MUZZLELOADER HUNTING Newsletter was published today - and one of the new rifles spotlighted is the Traditions .50 VORTEK StrikerFire shown in the above photo with website host Toby Bridges.

Back near the end of October, traffic on the NORTH AMERICAN MUZZLELOADER HUNTING website topped 3,000,000 for the past 12 months.  The newsletter shares efforts to make the site more appealing, faster downloading and easier to navigate.  It also shares plans to expand the coverage of traditional muzzleloader hunting...without cutting back on modern muzzleloader hunting coverage.  Another link takes you to an article/report that takes a harsh look at how the muzzleloading industry is failing to insure future muzzleloader hunting opportunities...and what "OUR" industry needs to undertake.

To take a look at the newsletter go to the following link -

     http://namlhunt.blogspot.com/2013/11/north-american-muzzleloader-hunting.html

Legislative Alert! Petition Filed With Nevada Board of Wildlife Commissioners To Repeal Or Amend Ban On Blackhorn 209

                       New VORTEK StrikerFire & Blackhorn 209 - A Great Combo!

The State of Nevada is the ONLY state to ban the use of this modern top-performing muzzleloader hunting propellant by name. Take a few minutes to send the Nevada Wildlife Commission a message - that muzzleloading hunters need to make those decisions...not a board made up of affluent residents who do not hunt with a muzzleloader...or who, very likely, have never even shot a muzzleloader. For more details and where to send your e-mail, go to the following link...

                    http://www.namlhunt.com/blackhorn209-10.html


                               Get Involved...Send An E-Mail!

Muzzleloader Hunting Is A Never Ending Life Long Learning Experience

I was going through some old photos today, kind of looking for a topic for this blog. I've been so busy working on the NORTH AMERICAN MUZZLELOADER HUNTING website, I just haven't had the time to devote to the several blogs I also host. I apologize for that...and will do my best to get at least one new post on this blog every month...more when time permits.

Getting back to this photo. It sure does bring back some memories. I do have to confess, I can better remember this old cabin my hunting partner and I came across while looking for wild hogs in the Cumberland Mountains of east-central Tennessee than the hunt itself. From the dates on some old newspapers that had been slapped on the inside walls, using what looked like good ol' flour and water paste, tended to indicate that the last tennants vacated shortly after 1927. From what I could see from the terrain, and where this cabin was situated, my guess was that there was likely never a road for motor vehicles within four or five miles of this backwoods home site. Chances were very good that whoever hewed out those logs also hunted with a muzzleloading rifle. The cabin could have very easily been built in the late 1800's.

What made this photo really significant to me was that it is one of the earliest photos of me hunting with a muzzleloader. The shot was taken in November of 1972 - just ten years after I had ever shot a muzzle-loaded rifle, at the age of 13 years old. I loved it so much, two years later I purchased my first frontloader - a .45 caliber percussion Kentucky rifle. That fall, the rifle accounted for two eight-point bucks - and I was hooked on muzzleloader
hunting for life.


I'll confess that when the above photo was taken, I thought I pretty much knew everything there was to know about loading, shooting and hunting with a muzzleloader. After all, during that ten years since shooting a friend's original .36 caliber Billinghurst under-hammer rifle for the first time, I had definitely gotten in quite a bit of experience. During that period I had taken a half-dozen whitetails, a couple of mule deer, a pronghorn, a black bear, a half-dozen wild hogs, and a truck load of small game, upland birds and waterfowl with a variety of muzzle-loaded guns. Heck, I had even written and had published three or four magazine articles on hunting with a muzzleloader, plus my first book, of which I wrote about 75-percent - titled BLACK POWDER GUN DIGEST. (During that time, I had  served as a Marine Corps journalist as well.)

Man, was I ever wrong! 

Muzzleloading was a much simpler shooting sport in those days. The vast majority of guns were built for shooting the patched round ball...and if a rifle had a quality barrel, working up a hunting load pretty much meant slowly upping the powder charge until you reached a point where the rifle no longer shot with accuracy - then you took the charge the other way until it was grouping again. Most considered 100 yards as the maximum effective range of those rifles...so few hunters ever bothered scoping a muzzleloader.

That rifle slung over my shoulder in the photo at the top of this post was the Thompson/Center Arms "Hawken"model, one of the first somewhat modern muzzle-loaded big game rifles. And for the 10 years following this hunt, I hunted with these half-stock rifles, or custom versions of them, more than with any other rifle model. And that was due to the T/C rifle's ability to shoot a heavier, harder-hitting conical bullet with reasonable accuracy. With a scope on one of these rifles, I found I could often group five shots inside of 4 inches at a hundred yards - and was tickled to do so.

In late 1985, I became acquainted with Tony Knight, and in February 1986 I began shooting and hunting with a Knight MK-85 in-line rifle - and my real muzzleloading education began. Muzzleloading as we know it today has evolved from that day forward...and since the mid 1980s, the only thing in this sport that has remained constant has been change. The photo shown here is of the very first whitetail buck I took with an in-line ignition rifle and saboted bullet.

On the morning that my old high school buddy Earl Barr and I found that rustic old cabin, if someone would have walked up to me and predicted that 40 years down the road I would be shooting a scoped Traditions break-open in-line rifle that utilized hot No. 209 primer ignition...and when loaded with a modern nitro-cellulose based black powder substitute and a plastic saboted polymer-tipped spire-point bullet, the rifle and load would be fully capable of consistently printing sub 1-inch 100 yard groups, I would have laughed. Then I would have gotten away from them as quickly as I could.

The load I shoot today (110 grains of Blackhorn 209) is fully capable of getting a saboted 300-grain bullet (Harvester Muzzleloading "Scorpion PT Gold") out of the muzzle of the .50 caliber VORTEK Ultra Light LDR that I shoot and hunt with most at 2,009 f.p.s., with right at 2,700 foot-pounds of energy. And thanks to the 3-9x scope (Leatherwood/Hi-Lux TB-ML model) on the rifle, it will indeed, with amazing regularity, group inside of an inch at 100 yards. And out at 200 yards, as often as not, I have found that I can keep groups at around 2 1/2 inches, and at that distance the bullet still hits with 1,500 f.p.e.

When I fully got into this game back in 1964, at age 15, with the purchase of my first rifle, a percussion .45 caliber Kentucky reproduction, the load I first shot and hunted with was good for about 1,900 f.p.s. - but the light 128-grain ball was generating just 1,025 foot-pounds of energy at the muzzle. And that load was actually dropping below the 800 f.p.e. considered to be minimum for deer at just 30 to 35 yards. Muzzleloader energies is something I did not really begin to comprehend until the early 1970s. The first whitetail I ever shot with the rifle, at 60 to 70 yards, went more than 200 yards before going down. The second buck I shot with the rifle, at about 45 yards, went more than a half-mile...and was nearly lost.

The .50 T/C "Hawken" in the above photo, stoked with 100-grains of FFFg black powder, would get a 370-grain soft lead "Maxi-Ball"bullet out of the 28-inch barrel at around 1,500 f.p.s., with 1,850 f.p.e. The bullet has a low b.c., and by the time it gets to 100 yards, it has slowed to just over 1,050 f.p.s., and hits with just over 900 f.p.e. At 150 yards, velocity drops to 920 f.p.s., with 690 f.p.e. The load drops below the needed 800 f.p.e. for deer sized game at about 115 to 120 yards.

My first .50 caliber sabot-shooting Knight MK-85, loaded with a 110-grain charge of Pyrodex "P", would launch a saboted 250-grain HornadyXTP JHP at 1,625 f.p.s., and generate close to 1,525 f.p.e. That bullet has a .147 b.c., and at 100 yards was still good for 1,250 f.p.s. and almost 870 f.p.e. At 150 yards, velocity is down to 1,075 f.p.s. and energy is down to around 640 f.p.e. The load drops below 800 f.p.e. at about 110 to 115 yards.

My muzzleloading education has spanned 46 years, and fortunately, I'm still learning.  One of the realities of muzzleloading today is that once your knowledge of muzzleloader hunting performance graduates you to the next level, it becomes increasingly harder to step back down to rifles and loads with far less efficiency, range, knockdown power or accuracy - except for maybe nostalgic reasons.  The Traditions .50 VORTEK Ultra Light LDR has proven to be one of the absolute finest performing No. 209 primer ignition in-line rifles I have ever shot and hunted with.  While I do intend to do some hunting with several other rifles during the coming fall hunting seasons...the performance of the Ultra Light LDR has already insured that it will be my primary hunting rifle in 2013.  Topped with one of the Hi-Lux 3-9x TB-ML multi-reticle scopes, using the proper long-range cross-bar for the range, the rifle and load shared earlier easily keeps ALL HITS in the kill zone at 200...225...250 yards - and with the knockdown power to insure the game will be laying very close to where it was standing when the shot was taken.

(To see how the VORTEK Ultra Light LDR fared in a 50 Consecutive Shot Test, go to

http://www.namlhunt.com/mltesting.html )

Over on the NORTH AMERICAN MUZZLELOADER HUNTING website, I maintain between 125 and 150 articles, reports, and pages of data that shares what I've learned along the way. Likewise, in addition to this blog, I also host the North American Muzzleloader Hunting blog, the Harvester Muzzleloading Hunter blog, and the Blackhorn 209 Hunter blog - with lots of info there.

If you have travelled the same long road I've taken to get here, or have some great muzzleloader performance information that others can benefit from...please jump in on the comment sections of these blogs and share.

Toby Bridges
NORTH AMERICAN
MUZZLELOADER HUNTING


For A Look At Traditions's New "Hammerless" VORTEK StrikerFire Rifle Go To -

http://www.namlhunt.com/mlrifle9.html

Tony Knight - The Father Of Modern In-Line Muzzleloading - Dies

                                         December 21, 1945 - March 18, 2013

William "Tony" Knight passed away on March 18, 2013. The world of muzzleloading has lost one of its greatest contributors, and he will be sadly missed by all who truly knew him. He was one of the greatest people I've known in my lifetime, and at one time my dearest and closest friend. My hope is that in spirit he's up there still running the hills and hollers of northern Missouri, chasing those big whitetails and long bearded gobblers...with his favorite dog Ginger at his side. Let us never forget him. - Toby Bridges, NORTH AMERICAN MUZZLELOADER HUNTING


NORTH AMERICAN MUZZLELOADER HUNTING has published a tribute to Tony Knight...Go To http://www.namlhunt.com/mltribute.html

Hot New Loads for The .50 VORTEK Rifle

Okay, I'll admit it...this winter is getting to me.  Now, please don't think I'm crazy when I say...it's been too warm.  Through January and most all of this month, afternoon temperatures have been in the upper 30's and low 40's...with a couple of really freaky days pushing 50 degrees.  While such balmy weather is great for my daily walks with my dogs, it has also kept me from getting in to my range...which entails traversing several hills and valleys...on a two-track dirt field road.  And while I might be able to get in during the first hour of daylight...with the mud frozen by the 20 to 25 degree nights, an hour or two after daylight that muck turns into a greasy surface that means getting out is impossible.

Fortunately, I have a good friend with some property about 35 miles south of where I live in Missoula, MT, and he has a nice and solid gravel lane going into his home in the Sapphire Mountains, with a nice high bank backstop that still allows me to shoot 100 yards...with my old Suburban parked on the lane...and a portable shooting bench set up right behind it.  And that's where I head at least once a week this time of the year...and often my hunting buddy will pull out his .50 Traditions Pursuit and join me.  He says he loves shooting someone else's powder and bullets.  I figure it's pretty cheap rent.

Since Montana's general deer and elk seasons closed the weekend after Thanksgiving, I've been spending some time trying to get a wolf within muzzleloader range.  While several times this winter I've gotten wolves to come within 325 to 350 yards of where I've been calling, nothing has crossed the 200 yard line - the maximum range I'll take a shot.

Several mornings, I've hunted within five or six miles of where I shoot off my buddy's lane, and after a half-day of hard hunting, I've dropped by to get in a few hours of shooting as well.  I like the cool temperatures in the 30's for shooting, since the barrel cools quickly.  When I can get out to shoot, this is the time of the year I generally do a lot of experimenting.

The rifle I've hunted with all fall and winter is one of the .50 VORTEK Ultra Light LDR models offered by Traditions.  Personally, I like the 30-inch barrel (28 1/2 inch working bore), and especially the way this rifle shoots.  For all of my earlier hunts, I stuck with a 110-grain charge of Blackhorn 209 and the saboted .451" diameter 300-grain polymer-tipped Scorpion PT Gold from Harvester Muzzleloading.  The rifle is topped with one of the 3-9x40mm TB-ML scopes from Hi-Lux Optics, and this combination punched dozens of sub 1-inch hundred yard groups during last summer and fall shooting sessions - plus the rifle accounted for several deer for the freezer last fall.  (Shown in the photo above left is the Scorpion PT Gold bullet, from left to right, 240-, 260- and 300-grain.)

The load gets out of the muzzle at 2,009 f.p.s., with 2,688 f.p.e.  At 200 yards, the load is still good for 1,451 f.p.s. and 1,401 foot pounds of energy - and is still more than plenty for taking one of the huge Northern Rockies wolves, which can top 140 pounds.

One morning, I had a good supply of the lighter 260-grain Scorpion PT Gold bullets in my shooting box, and just felt like seeing how fast I could push them with charges of Blackhorn 209.  With a 110-grain charge, I had already gotten an average of 2,054 f.p.s. with the 260-grain polymer-tipped spire points, which equates to 2,431 f.p.e.  At 200 yards, the load is good for 1,336 f.p.s. and 1,027 f.p.e.

With a 120-grain charge, velocity jumped to 2,147 f.p.s., generating 2,665 f.p.e.  The hundred yard group punched with the load went 1.228" center-to-center - and was right there with the average group size shot with the 10-grain lighter charge of Blackhorn 209.  So....I moved up another 10 grains, to 130-grains of Blackhorn 209, which pushed the 260-grain Scorpion PT Gold out of the muzzle at an average of 2,188 f.p.s. (3 shot avg.), developing 2,764 f.p.e. at the muzzle.  Downrange at 200 yards, the load would still be flying at just over 1,500 f.p.s. and hit with 1,300 f.p.e.

Recoil was very tolerable with the 130-grain charge of Blackhorn 209 behind the light 260-grain bullet - and accuracy was exceptional.  Before heading for home, I took my time and punched two 100-yard groups.  The first is the .853" center-to-center group shown here.  The other went 1.174" center-to-center. 

The rifle printed the load in practically the same spot as it did the 110-grain charge behind the 300-grain Scorpion PT Gold.  Using the CLD-3 Bog Pod collapsible tripod rest I use when hunting, I managed to put 5 hits with 5 shots on a 6-inch steel swinging target, at 200 yards, my friend has set up in a valley that runs down to his back yard.  (That rest can be seen in the photo at the top of this post - available from Bog Gear - go to www.bog-pod.com for more information.)

As this is written, there are just eight more days of wolf season, so I've decided to finish out the season with the 130-grain charge of Blackhorn 209 and the 260-grain Scorpion PT Gold. In early March, I'll post a report on how my wolf hunting season went over on the NORTH AMERICAN MUZZLELOADER HUNTING website at www.namlhunt.com .  -  Toby Bridges

_______________________________________________________________________

For a look at more Blackhorn 209 loads for the 28-inch barreled Traditions VORTEK and 30-inch barreled VORTEK Ultra Light LDR...go to the following link -

http://www.namlhunt.com/modernmldata3.html

Ever Thought Of Hunting With A Muzzle-Loaded Handgun?

Here's a first look at getting the acuracy and knockdown power needed to take deer-sized game with the Traditions .50 caliber VORTEK Pistol. 

The .970" center-to-center 50-yard group shown here was shot from a sandbag rest, and generates and retains enough energy to almost 90 yards for taking a deer or wild hog.  The load consisted of 60 grains of Blackhorn 209 behind the Harvester Muzzleloading 260-grain Scorpion PT Gold. 

Learn what the maximum feasible charge of Blackhorn 209 is for this very serious hunting handgun.



http://www.namlhunt.com/mlhandguns.html

Nevada Regulation Banning The Use Of Blackhorn 209 During Muzzleloader Seasons Is Biased And Prejudiced!

Following is an e-mail sent to the Nevada Board of Wildlife Commissioners in regard to the Nevada Department of Wildlife ban on the use of Blackhorn 209 during the muzzleloader only hunts in that state...

________________________________________________________

 

Dear Nevada Wildlife Commission;

What does the State of Nevada have against nitrocellulose...or Blackhorn 209?

The manner in which the Nevada muzzleloader hunting regulations attack this powder, by brand name, shows extreme prejudice - and likely violates interstate commerce laws. The Nevada Wildlife Commission needs to give all of this very serious thought, and truly question those responsible for such a stand against a revolutionary new muzzleloader propellant that is now taking muzzleloader hunting by storm across the country. Should there be any personal bias involved, it could end in some extremely costly legal litigation.

The manner in which the agency and the commission allows several powders, by brand name, to be used during the muzzleloader only season, then bans the use of another powder, by brand name, is extremely discriminatory - especially since the powders, including Blackhorn 209, all share the same technical classification - as determined by the U.S. Department of Transportation - and the United Nations.

Over the past 12 months, the NORTH AMERICAN MUZZLELOADER HUNTING website has had more than 1.7 million visitors, and they are now reading about how the Nevada Wildlife Commission and the Nevada Department of Wildlife are wrongly robbing Nevada's muzzleloading hunters of the opportunity to go afield with a superior muzzleloader propellant. Here's a link to a report published Sunday, February 3, 2013.

http://www.namlhunt.com/blackhorn209-2.html

I would be very interested in hearing from any of you in defense of such non-serving muzzleloader hunting legislation. The end of this week, NORTH AMERICAN MUZZLELOADER HUNTING will issue a release, addressing this issue, that goes out to much of the media there in Nevada, and to the national outdoor media and to the shooting & hunting industry.

Toby Bridges

NORTH AMERICAN

MUZZLELOADER HUNTING

Building This Blog In 2013!

We didn't spend much time on this blog last year, and that's because we were extremely busy rebuilding the NORTH AMERICAN MUZZLELOADER HUNTING website - which became pretty much a full time endeavor.  However, it has proven to be an extremely worthwhile endeavor.

Through 2012, some 50 new pages were published - and this website became the Leading Source Of Muzzleloader Hunting Information on the world wide internet. From January 1, 2012 to December 31, 2012, muzzleloading hunters turned to NORTH AMERICAN MUZZLELOADER HUNTING more than 1,500,000 times for the load data, technical information, accuracy tips, product coverage, problem troubleshooting, bullet performance, powder comparisons, and other technical/performance topics simply not found on any other muzzleloader hunting website.  For the complete 2012 Articles & Reports menu, go to the following link -

http://www.namlhunt.com/2012-articles-reports.html

Our goal for 2013 is not necessarily to surpass the number of pages published this past year, but rather to bring you the same great variety of muzzleloading topics. If there's something you would specifically like to see covered, please drop us an e-mail at the following address...

namlhunt@gmail.com

We've gotten a great start on 2013, with three feature articles/reports published in the very first week of January...with another one or two pages to be published before the end of the month.  Go to -

http://www.namlhunt.com/2013-articles-reports.html 

This year will also see a lot more activity on this blog, primarily to spotlight new muzzleloader hunting products...to share loading and accuracy tips...to alert muzzleloading hunters of legislation changes that affect muzzleloader hunting...and topics that don't require a full page on the NORTH AMERICAN MUZZLELOADER HUNTING website.

Where Can Muzzleloader Hunting Go From Here?

The Traditions .50 caliber VORTEK Ultra Light LDR rifle shown here, with accompanying .50 caliber VORTEK pistol, is currently one of the leading State-of-the-Art modern in-line muzzleloading rifles on the market.  This is truly a "long range" hunting muzzleloader, built with a 30-inch barrel that can squeeze 2,009 f.p.s. out of a 110-grain charge of Blackhorn 209 loaded behind a saboted 300-grain bullet.  At the muzzle, the load generates right at 2,690 foot-pounds of energy, and from 100 to 200 yards, the load has right at 10 inches of drop.  The scope on this rifle is one of the excellent Hi-Lux Optics multi-reticle TB-ML muzzleloader hunting scopes, and using the 200-yard reticle with a dead-on hold at that distance...this rig and load will put a modern saboted polymer tipped 300-grain spire-point right through the chest cavity of a deer with more than 1,400 ft. lbs. of retained knockdown power.

So, where can muzzleloader hunting performance go from here? This new NORTH AMERICAN MUZZLELOADER HUNTING report takes a look at what likely lies ahead...

http://www.namlhunt.com/longrangeml2.html


Traditions Muzzleloader Hunting

Lots Of Great Muzzleloader Hunting & Shooting Coverage...

Our sister website, NORTH AMERICAN MUZZLELOADER HUNTING, is easily the fastest growing site to cater to today's muzzleloading hunter.  The site went through a complete rebuild last August (2011), and since September 1, 2011 the site has now had nearly 500,000 users. 

In addition to nearly 60 published NEW pages, the website also links to several dozen other superb muzzleloader hunting/shooting related internet articles and video clips.

Go to - http://www.namlhunt.com/mlnet.html

Or just visit the hoMe page at www.namlhunt.com and link to our article/report/load data menu pages.

Toby Bridges
NORTH AMERICAN
MUZZLELOADER HUNTING

Do You Think Any Company Will Breath New Life Into The .54 Caliber In-Line Rifles?

It's been about 10 years now since Knight Rifles introduced their "new" .52 caliber in-line rifle models. While the company offers several different bullet designs and weights for the bore size, the rifles have actually been truly built around one of those bullets - the big all-copper 375-grain .475" diameter "Red Hot" spitzer hollow point. From the get go, the goal was to make the .52 caliber DISC Extreme the most powerful convenional in-line rifle on the market - to make it the elk hunter's dream muzzleloader.

With that bullet, the .52 is indeed the "Powerhouse of Muzzleloading" today. But, did it really take the introduction of a modern .52 caliber rifle to accomplish that? Many muzzleloading hunters are now wishing the other in-line rifle makers would revamp the old .54 caliber in-line rifles...and give it a facelift to give Knight's .52 a run for the money.

So...what would it take?

First of all, to shoot long all-copper bullets like the Knight 375-grain "Red Hot" bullet, which is produced by Barnes Bullets, it would very likely first entail breaking from the old turn-in-28 inch rifling twist that the vast majorioty of early .54 in-lines featured. Knight rifles found that the older twist, which was standard for both .50 and .54 caliber models, was not snappy enough to stabilize the 1.2" long .475" diameter bullet. So, for the .52 caliber models, the company went with a faster turn-in-26 inches. (I actually have one prototype .52 turn-in-24 inches twist barrel and receiver that shoots the long 375-grain bullet better than the turn-in-26 inches barrel/receiver that came on the rifle.)

And to shoot the .475" diameter bullets would also mean tooling up for an appropriate .54x.475 sabot, and while at it, maybe even a .54x.458 bullet for bullets like the 325 grain Hornady .458 FTX and the Barnes .458 300-grain SOCOM bullet. Another bullet with a lot of promise for a revamped ".54 Express" would be the Barnes 400-grain .458 "Original" spitzer. This bullet has a .389 b.c. - meaning once it gets rolling along it isn't stopping for quite a while. Determinng if the turn-in-26 or 24 rifling twist performed best with the widest range of bullets should be a primary concern. One advantage of the .54 over the .52 is that saboted .50 caliber bullets can be shot out of the .54 - possibly making the old "magnum" of in-line muzzleloading a bit more versatile.

What plagued the .54 caliber 20 years ago was that we really did not have the muzzleloader powders available to produce the speed needed to force heavy petaled .54x.45 sabots to open up, form an air-foil, and pull away from the bullet fast enough to keep from affecting bullet flight - a.k.a. accuracy. Today we do, and with 120- and 130-grain charges of Blackhorn 209 behind big bullets like the 375-grain "Red Hot" bullet just could give the old .54 a new lease on life. Think about the potential knock-down power of of getting a big 400-grain spitzer like the .458 Barnes "Original" out of the muzzle at around 1,900 f.p.s. That's 3,200 foot pounds of muzzle energy. And with that .389 b.c., the bullet would still be flying at around 1,550 f.p.s. at 200 yards, plowing home with 2,132 f.p.e. at that distance. Out at 300 yards, the big bullet would retain close to 1,400 f.p.s. - along with 1,740 f.p.e.!!!

What an elk load! Move over Knight .52...you may have some strong compeition coming your way. - Toby Bridges


For more on the revamping of the .54, go to - http://www.namlhunt.com/54caliber.html

New Name For This Blog...

We have changed the name of this blog due to the high number of complaints we've received about the overall disentigrating quality of the current production Knight muzzleloaders. At one time, Knight Rifles customer service was the best in the muzzleloading industry. We have heard from dozens of new rifle buyers, who have purchased their muzzleloaders since new owners put the line back into production in April 2011, and who are extremely frustrated with trying to deal with the "New" customer service for that company.

Here is a look at one such ordeal...and the outcome - http://www.namlhunt.com/ml-qc.html

The vast majority of our modern in-line rifle shooting and testing for this blog will now be conducted with the fine rifles being produced by Traditions Performance Firearms. We will leave some of the posts that are related to Knight Rifles, since all of the shooting was done with Pre 2009 rifles...back when the company was still producing some quality rifles of excellent design.

This is a whole new start for this blog...and we will do our best to make it grow quickly.

Traditions Muzzleloader Hunting

Want A Look At The Next Likely Trend In Saboted Muzzleloader Hunting Bullets?

Top Photo Above - Those of you who shot with saboted .44 (.429-.430" dia.) bullets during the late 1980s and early 1990s probably realized quickly that the .50x.44 sabots and bullets of that diameter did not produce the best groups. Three-shot groups of that period with that sabot-bullet combination, on a good day, rarely stayed inside of 4 inches.

Center Photo Above - Shown at the left side of this line up is the Harvester Muzzleloading green .50x.44 Crush Rib Sabot and the 300-grain Hornady .430" diameter XTP jacketed hollow-point bullet. Note the different degrees of sabot opening exhibited by the recovered sabots. More powder and higher velocity continues to more completely open sabot sleeves.

Bottom Photo Above - At 2130 f.p.s., the 300-grain .44 XTP, paired up with
the green .50x.44 Crush Rib Sabot, produced excellent 100-yard accuracy with a Knight Rifles .50 caliber Long Range Hunter - like this sub 1-inch three-shot cluster.

For a look at the most common problems associated with loading and shooting saboted .44 caliber bullets out of a .50 caliber rifle, and how to overcome those problems - go to the NORTH AMERICAN MUZZLELOADER HUNTING report at the following link -

http://www.namlhunt.com/mlbullets4.html

Also...Discover the advantages of a slightly smaller diameter bullet...and what likely lies ahead for today's modern muzzleloading hunter. - Toby Bridges

Eleven States Still Discriminate Against The Muzzleloading Hunter

My wife Christy poses with a plump doe for the freezer, taken at 125 yards with a Knight .50 caliber Long Range Hunter and deadly saboted 250-grain "Bloodline" all-brass bullet...thanks to state muzzleloader hunting regulations that permit the use of a riflescope for precise shot placement.

Following is an e-mail that went out yesterday (12-28-11) to the Idaho Department of Fish and Game. Attached to that e-mail was a letter to Secretary of the Interior Ken Salazar, filing a discrimination complaint against the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources, for the manner in which that state wildlife agency forces the aged hunter with weakened eyesight, and those hunters with a natural sight impairment, to jump through hoops in order to "qualify" to use a riflescope during the muzzleloader season. Minnesota, Idaho and nine other states still enforce such discriminating regulations.

The battle to win fair and equal muzzleloader hunting opportunities for ALL muzzleloading hunters is far from being over.

The letter to Secretary Salazar can be read at the link in the following e-mail message.

Toby Bridges
NORTH AMERICAN
MUZZLELOADER HUNTING




December 28, 2011

Dear Idaho Department of Fish and Game;

It's time to get this ball rolling along again. Muzzleloader hunting has stalled some over the past couple of years, and that's partially due to backward muzzleloader hunting regulations, such as those enforced by IDFG, that tend to hold back interest.

The attached letter to Secretary Ken Salazar addresses one of the biggest problems plaguing the muzzleloader seasons.

Your agency is one of 11 state wildlife agencies that continue to discriminate against muzzleloader hunters who cannot see open sights well enough to use them. Since 2006, the DOI/USFWS forced IDFG and ten other state wildlife agencies to make special provisions for those hunters with aged or impaired sight to undergo medical examination, complete an application, sent with a letter from the physician/optometrist, and apply for a permit exemption from the restriction that prohibits muzzleloading hunters from using a riflescope.

The Department of the Interior's anti-discrimination policy specifically says that the agency cannot provide funding or financial assistance to any organization or agency which requires ANY U.S. CITIZEN to "qualify in a different manner" in order to participate in any opportunity.

The requirement you now have in place for those with older or impaired sight most definitely discriminates against these hunters. IDFG is in violation of that policy...and so is the DOI/USFWS when it continues to provide federal tax dollars to IDFG.

More on this issue published at: http://www.namlhunt.com/mllegislation2.html


Toby Bridges
NORTH AMERICAN
MUZZLELOADER HUNTING

Cheap & Easy Way To Get Optimum Sabot-Bullet Fit With Your Bore!

It's not uncommon for the bores of modern in-line muzzleloaders to vary as much as .002" to .003" from rifle to rifle. Most .50 caliber bores today will run .500" to .501". However, a lot of production run barrels will go .502" to .504" - and finding the optimum combination of bullet-sabot fit with those bores can be difficult. Here is a look at how inexpensive and easy to use Teflon plumber/thread tape can be the solution.


http://namlhunt.blogspot.com/2011/07/tighten-up-sabot-bullet-fit-for-tighter.html

Pellet Powder Charges VS. Loose Grain Powder Charges...

Every year, I now answer close to 10,000 e-mails pertaining to muzzleloading, most specifically looking for advice on how to get a modern muzzle-loaded big game rifle to consistently punch hundred yard groups like that seen above (shot with a Traditions .50 VORTEK Ultra Light LDR rifle...charge of Blackhorn 209...and Harvester Muzzleloading saboted 300-grain Scorpion PT Gold bullet).

A very high percentage of today's muzzleloading hunters have gotten a whole lot more into seeking the absolute best accuracy a rifle can produce -and they don't mind experimenting with powders... charges...sabots... bullets...or primers to get it. One thing is for certain, and that is that today's modern primer ignition in-line muzzleloaders are the best shooting muzzleloaders of all time. I personally believe that when the time is taken to find that optimum combination of loading components, any modern in-line rifle produced today is capable of shooting inside of an inch at 100 yards. Still, the majority of those who hunt the muzzleloader seasons are quite content with 2 to 3 inch groups at that distance - since most deer shot during the muzzleloader big game seasons are shot well inside of 100 yards.

One question that comes up regularly is... "I hunt with pellet powder charges. Why don't you do more shooting with Triple Seven Pellets or Pyrodex Pellets?" Or, something to that effect.

The answer is simple...I don't care much for them. Oh, I think they may have their place. They are probably ideal for the shooter/hunter who puts fewer than 40 or 50 rounds a year through his or her rifle. You know, just enough to insure the scope is still sighted correctly...to make sure the rifle is still grouping well (enough)...and maybe to take a deer or two with the muzzleloader. Then the rifle is thoroughly cleaned and put away until next year's hunting season.

However, if you're one of those shooters who enjoy shooting a modern in-line muzzleloading rifle as much as shooting any other type of rifle, and who may put 200...300...400...or more rounds a year through one, and who strives for sub "minute-of-angle" accuracy, pellet powder charges are more than likely not for you. I know for the vast majority of the test shooting I do, they are definitely not for me. Through a typical year, I put around 3,500 to 4,500 muzzle-loaded shots down range. And to test sabots...bullets...and the rifles themselves to determine what kind of accuracy they are capable of producing, the pellet powder charges simply are not precise enough. Getting "minute-of-whitetail" accuracy with them may be easy enough, but to consistently get a rifle and load to print right at that magical 1-inch mark at hundred yards can be close to impossible when loading with pelletized powder charges.

Several years ago, I was curious to see just how much variation there was in the weight of Triple Seven Pellets. So, I took a brand new box of 100 so-called "50-Grain Equivalent" pellets, opened it and set down and ran each and every pellet across my RCBS electronic powder scale. First, I examined each pellet, and found that about 10-percent had small chips out of the edges around each end. And, typically these pellets weighed in at about 31 to 31.5 grains...those without any chips along the edges weighed in at 32 to 32.5 grains. Overall average was right at 32 grains. The extreme spread of the 100 pellets ran from 30.8 to 33.1 grains - a 2.3 grain variation from high to low. That means with the popular three-pellet "150-Grain Equivalent" charges, loads could easily vary from 3 to almost 7 grains. Consistent 1-inch group accuracy with such variation from shot to shot is impossible.

Hodgdon Powder Company, who markets Triple Seven, also brought the new IMR White Hots pellets to market a couple of seasons back. While test shooting these, I also took 10 randomly pulled pellets and weighed them. The average was right at 32.5 grains - ranging from 31.9 to 33.2 grains each. They were more consistent than the "50-grain" Triple Seven Pellets, but in my mind still showed enough variation to affect accuracy.

Cost is another very big factor in loading and shooting with these pellet charges. Typical retail for a 100-count box of the "50-grain" Triple Seven Pellets runs about $30. In other words, to get a saboted 250- or 260-grain bullet out of the muzzle of a .50 caliber primer-ignition muzzleloader at around 2,000 f.p.s., the three-pellet charge needed will set you back 90-cents. A 72-count package of IMR White Hots typically retails for around $27. That's about 37.5-cents each. And despite the claims of "2,300 f.p.s." with two of the pellets...it still takes three to get a saboted 250-grain bullet out of the muzzle at more than 2,000 f.p.s. - for a cost of $1.12 per charge. (Actually, $1.12.5.) New Triple Seven Magnums pellets cost right at 50-cents each, meaning a two-pellet 2,000 f.p.s. load runs $1 per shot.

Proponents of Triple Seven Pellets...Pyrodex Pellets...and now IMR White Hots pellets will argue that they are so much more convenient to use. However, to carry them in the field still means slipping two or three of the Triple Seven Pellets or Pyrodex Pellets into a plastic tube of some sort. (IMR White Hots come packaged in tubes.)

I've found the compressed pellets to be fairly fragile, and carrying them around inside those tubes for a few days tends to break them up some...and when the pellets are loaded in varying sized pieces, it affects their burning rate...which in turn again affects accuracy. In the same light, just a tad too much pressure when seating the bullet over pellet charges can fracture one or more of the pellets...again creating an inconsistent burn from shot to shot.

Consistently tight groups down range are produced by consistently precise powder charges. Not many of you reading this would continue to buy bullets that varied 2 to 3 grains in weight, and if you are looking for the best accuracy possible from a muzzle-loaded rifle and quality scope, which could have easily set you back $500 to $1,000 for the rig, you're not going to get it with powder charges that vary that much in weight as well.

Loose grain high energy powders like FFFg Triple Seven...Black Mag XP...and Blackhorn 209 will not only produce those 2,000 f.p.s. velocities with charges that cost 20 to 40 percent less than pellet charges, but will also dramatically improve the overall accuracy of any modern in-line rifle. And that is due to loading and shooting charges that are much more precise from one shot to the next. When care is taken to set an adjustable powder measure precisely to the same mark every time you go to the range or measure out hunting loads, it is very easy to keep powder charges within two- or three-tenths of a grain. And these are the charges that come closer to putting shots through the same hole at a hundred yards.

                                                    VORTEK Ultra Light LDR

Also, some shooters have found that it takes tweaking their loads to a "5-grain increment" to find the optimum powder charge for a particular rifle. And you can't do that with pellet charges.

As for "convenience", it takes ten minutes or less to pre-measure and make up more than enough speed loads for even the longest hunt. The past couple of seasons I have been using the very handy loading tubes that Western Powders has developed for their Blackhorn 209 powder. The tubes even feature a graduated scale on the side, from 20 to 120 grains, which allows a shooter/hunter to carefully pour the powder into the tube until it fills to the desired charge. A snug fitting stopper insures that the powder stays in the tube and moisture stays out.

I still rely on an adjustable brass powder measure, carefully leveling off the charge, then pouring it into the Blackhorn 209 tubes. Even so, the charge scale on the tube continues to serve a very useful purpose. Out of several rifles, I load and shoot 110-grains of the powder, out of another rifle a 120-grain charge. At a glance, I can determine which loads are for which rifle. The 110-grain charge of Blackhorn 209 I load to get a Harvester Muzzleloading saboted 260-grain Scorpion PT Gold out of a .50 caliber Traditions 30-inch barreled VORTEK Ultra Light LDR rifle at around 2,050 f.p.s., at a typical retail cost of $35 per 10-ounce container, runs 88-cents per shot. And even when carried in the tubes for months, the charges will still produce superb accuracy. - Toby Bridges

North American
Muzzleloader Huntng
http://www.namlhunt.com

State Wildlife Agencies In Colorado, Oregon, Idaho and Montana Need To Brush Up On Muzzleloader Performance

Here's A Look At How Little The Wildlife Agencies In These States Know About Muzzleloader Performance!


Blackhorn 209 Hunter Blog

Check Out The Harvester Muzzleloading Hunter Blog...

Here Is A Look At Today's Best Brush Busting Muzzleloader Hunting Bullets!


http://harvestermlhunter.blogspot.com