mr ratchet

hi all. im looking to get into muzzleloading to extend deer hunting season
im looking for sugestions on picking a accurate muzzleloader. I have been shooting accurized bolt guns for some time and also have a very accurate marlin levergun in 444. if a gun isnt very accurate it just doesnt intertest me.i was originaly thinking of getting a mossberg muzzlelaod conversion barrel for a 500 shot gun,i read some where that it will cloverleaf at 100 yards, any body have experience with this? open to sugestions thanks

ENCOREMAN

mr ratchet,
Congratulations on your 1st post and welcome
We need more information from you to help you. What kind of rifle are you interested in?
Many of today's scoped inlines are capable of minute of angle accuracy @ 100yds. once you find the load the rifle likes.

ENCOREMAN

I forgot to mention that I have no knowledge on the Mossberg ML barrel or anyone who shoots one.
I guess you'd have to already own the 500 to be interested in one?

AQUATECH

WELL FIRST I THINK THE TRUE ACCURACY OF ANY
FIREARM IS A MIRROR IMAGE OF JUST HOW MUCH
TIME IS PUT INTO MAKING IT ACCURATE. THERE ARE
MANY GOOD MUZZELOADERS ON THE MARKET. BUT
IT WILL TAKE TIME AT THE RANGE WORKING ON
POWDER/BULLET COMBINATIONS. I SHOOT A CHEAP
CVA BUT I HAVE PUT IN THE TIME AND IT IS
DEAD-ON AT 100YDS. KNIGHT, CVA, THOMPSON
CENTER ARE SOME GOOD ML. ALSO WHAT, WHEN,
HOW FAR, WEATHER ,WILL HAVE A DETERMINATION
ON WHAT YOU WILL CHOOSE. GOOD LUCK ENJOY.

mr ratchet

looking for an inline
at least 100 yd capable
scattering a few shots on a pieplate size target at 50 yds is not what im looking for
doing some research now gonna check walmart clearanc in the morning
just came across some info on savage 10ml looks wild

mr ratchet

i live and hunt in ct. so it will be cold and most of my range time is in the cooler to cold weather thanks for the replies

cayugad

I have no Experience with the Mossberg barrel. WhileI am sure it would be a good shooter, there are some known performers out there. If cleaning them is not an issue to you, right now Sportsman Guide is selling a Knight Disc Elite for $250.00 which is considered one of the more accurate of muzzleloaders. Guaranteed out of the box accuracy of 2.5 inches is not bad. Omegas, and Encores are also good rifles as is the Savage ML10.

You accuracy will also be determined byu how good a load you can work up in the rifle. It sounds like your determined and going to get a good one.. Good luck.

sabotloader

mr ratchet

Cool to Cold is the best weather to shoot in - guns perform better...

Pie plate/Paper plate - the center portion of those are OK @ 200 yards, but at 50 you better be using a 2" circle and only using an 1" or so of that all the way out to a 100.

One thing you will have to get use to coming from a moderncenterfire is bullet performance - Those 400+ BC's you can get in a modern centerfire do not come real easy with a ML bullet. THEN - you will not believe the effects of X-winds in shooting the longer distances.

All that said you will not believe how incredibly fun it is to slow down and shoot a ML.

The Savage you are looking @ is an incredible gun - you can even revert to smokeless powders, but I really do not understand that aspect - if you want to shoot a smokeless just get a single shot Ruger or only put one bullet in you rifle. Another big powerful gun is the Ultimate, you can do a search for it on the internet. Dropping down from those two the are some really quality guns - from the $800 Knight Master Hunter all the way done to the most inexpensive ML's.

Another aspect you are not going to be used to is there in no standard in barrel bore diameter, a 50 cal can be anything from .50? to .504/5. The quality guns control this a lot better than the inexpensive ones.

You can get a great 100 yard gun - you can get a great 200 yard gun, but niether of these just happen - you will have to do your share in finding the charge and the bullet your gun REALLY prefers - this occurs from gun to gun let alone from manufacturer to manufacturer.

I really hope you find what you are looking - shooting a ML is great, my centerfires all st in the cabinet un-used for years now.

Good luck

Paul L Mohr

I have not seen many muzzle loaders that will not shoot well at 100 yards, even the older slower twist sidelock ones. As long as you find the right load and load it consistantly it should shoot as well as you can. I had an old CVA kit when I was kid that my dad and I built and I could kill woodchucks at 100 yards with open sights.

For a modern inline 100 yards should not be much of a challenge really. The accuracy you are describing sounds more like a smooth bore shotgun shooting slugs. I think bad accuracy out of a modern inline at 100 yards would be 3 inch groups off from a bench. That is with a scope by the way. My remington will shoot between 1-1.5 inch groups pretty consistantly, and the majority of the time I can get three shots into one ragged hole. When you extend your range to 150-200 yards things get a bit more complicated though.

The savage is an excellent gun, you should have no trouble getting good accuracy out of it.

Paul

eldeguello

Knights and Whites are pretty accurate, usually. Others can be, but it is more of an individual thing with CVA's, Traditions, etc. The BEST way to get an accurate ML is to have one custom made using a barrel by a maker who is known for the accuracy of their barrels. Barrels such as Getz, Coleraine, etc.

Here's what a custom barrel can do-these barrels (a .45 and a .50) were made by the late, great Bill Large. Both shot at 100 yards.