MUZZLOADER'S EFFECTIVE RANGE

[martin murphy]

WHAT WOULD YOU SAY YOU CAN EFFECTIVELY TAKE GAME WITH MUZZLOADER.

[skeeter 7MM]

WHY ARE YOU SHOUTING...ease up on the cap locks!

With a modern inline 200 yards is doable for a well practiced shooter, 150 being the long side average. For a traditional shooter I'd say 100 yards is average but some may have 150 or longer max ranges under the right conditions.

For the likes of the smokeless or high sub shootersI'd say 200-250 would be the average with the odd well oiled machine taking it to the 300 or beyond.

Ability is a big part of the equation but just as much is the inability to have an effecient bullet past the 200 yard mark due to low BC. Unlike CF's the handicap is more equally placedwith theequipment, components &ability with a frontstuffer.

[lemoyne]

A lot farther than I am willing to try, the wind, distance judgement if you dont have time to use the laser range finder,make it more difficult than is practical. I like to do some target shooting out to 240 but I limit myself to 175 area. One of the reasons for that is the trajectory; I sight in 2 inches high at one hundred yd which puts me dead on at 125 2 inches low at 150 and about 6 low at 175. I can hit the 18 inch gong real regular at 240 my longest range but by shooting it I have found that the wind judgement with any breeze at all is real tricky.
If you sight in right and shoot it till you can keep a two inch group at 150 then in a lot of the country you won't need to shoot any farther than that anyway. Lee

[cayugad]

I see some good responses already. So I will add my two cents. If you are not willing to practice out to the further distances you expect to encounter, then limit your shots to the distance you have practiced. There are people that are shooting out past 200 yards. While the modern rifles have that ability, many people do not. So the range of the modern day muzzleloader would depend on if you want to put a fatal wound on an animal or punch a hole in it some place.

As a side note, during the Civil War, there were sharpshooters with traditional rifles taking out people at 800 yards. Of course their objective was to only put a fatal wound in the target if possible. Still, there are reports of officers on both sides being grazed by sniper fire at distances out to 1000 yards.

[yeoman]

Cayugad, I'm not sure their objective was a fatal shot in the civil war. Back then, you were better off to badly wound an enemy causing the troop to have to "carry" the wounded, slowing them down, depleting provisions and giving them a liability. Just put a hunk of lead in 'em at 800 yds. and you done great!

[cayugad]

thats true.. plus their medical abilities at the time, and sanatation in battle ground hospitals often cause more infections and problems for the individual wounded...

[alsaqr]

Yes, they did kill folks out to 800-1000 yards during the Civil War. There was a federal general killed at Cold Harbor while haranguing the troops with: "They could not hit an elephant at this range." A bullet struck him between theeyes.

Those rifles usually weighed in excess of 15 pounds and had huge barrels with false muzzles for loading. A scoped Whitworth sniper rifle costover $1,000-big money for that time.

[alsaqr]

Just checked it out. Sorry, it was not Cold Harbor. It was Spotsylvania Court House. The General was Sedgewick. He was killed with a Whitworth bolt.