Most of the post I read on consistant ML ranges seem to max out at 100 yds. I hunt alot of clearcuts and really would like an ML that can give me good groups out to 150. Any suggestions?
Back 40...probably any of the muzzeloaders currently being manufactured can do that...especially if you shoot manufactured ammunition...in other words, not lead balls you mold yourself. With every bullet being the exact same weight and shape, along with modern manufacturing techniqes for the barrels, the accuracy is pretty much built in. Now you can even get black powder pellets, too, which ensures that your loads are the same every single time, too. I can recommend the Remington 700 ML...its a 700 bolt action that has been converted to a muzzeloader. Far as I can tell, it shoots pretty much identical to the modern 700, but I have not tried it beyond 100 yds, so you'd have to see for yourself. It also comes drilled and tapped for a scope, which you might want.
Good luck!
My Knight will shoot sub-3" groups at 150. They'd probably be tighter, if it weren't for me. It's got a Simmons 4x32 scope and I was using a tacklebox with a towel as a benchrest (not super stable). But 3" is good enough to hit a deer's 8-10" kill zone.
Mike
Gun control means putting the second bullet through the same hole as the first- Ted Nugent
NRA Member
"They that can give up essential liberty to obtain a little temporary safety deserve neither liberty nor safety." -Ben Franklin
Aside from grouping ability, it is trajectory that limits the range of a muzzleloader. Even with relatively high velocities, (1800 to over 2000 FPS) the drop beyond the range they are zeroed for is considerable. And, when you zero them for a long range like 150 yards, you are then risking mid-range misses on the high side!
Keep yore powder dry!!
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The Savage 10ML-II. Nothing else on the muzzleloading market can even come close to matching it's velocity, flat trajectory, and knock down powder. With my most recent loads, I can push a Hornady .452 250gr XTP out the muzzle at over 2,600 FPS, generating over 3,700 FPE, and with a 2" high zero at 100yds I drop just 16" at 300yds, where I still have almost 1,400 FPS and 1,100 FPE. Average groups run between 1 & 1.5" at 100yds, but I have shot 2.5" groups at 300yds, with the 10ML-II.
If you are looking for a true long range muzzleloader, you need to look at the Savage 10ML-II.
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1 SHOT-1 KILL: NOT JUST A MOTTO, IT' S A WAY OF LIFE.
I did not want to list that load info here, as it is smokeless powder loads, for the Savage 10ML-II only. I do not want to risk the chance that someone, accidently or intentionally, using that load in some other muzzleloader, not a Savage 10ML or 10ML-II. The resulting shot, would look like the 4th of July, in any other muzzleloader but a Savage 10ML-II.
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1 SHOT-1 KILL: NOT JUST A MOTTO, IT' S A WAY OF LIFE.
gregwth7mmmag, so what are all these states that don't allow smokeless? I doubt a game warden ever bat an eye at what kinda powder your using. As far as the challege, do you think the savage will just take out all that challenge? Will I have double the amount of deer due to it?
Long range ML?
