Omega45

http://www.hpmuzzleloading.com/NAMHAhome.html

Scroll down to the articles where he shoots the Traditions.

Omega45

Try this one.

http://www.hpmuzzleloading.com/RifleReview.html

He has a few articles where he shoots the Traditions Vortek.

MZS

Thanks pluckit! BTW, I am using Remington STS primer caps used for reloading - I assume that is not an issue?

pluckit

It could be. It's even hard for me to believe, but different primers can make a big difference.

MZS

To be on the safe side, I will get the muzzleloader primers too. Thanks pluckit for taking the time to so clearly lay this out. Now, I just need to get the stuff and start shooting.

pluckit

It was my pleasure and you're welcome. Make sure you keep in touch to let me know how everything works out. There are other people here that have a Pursuit but they rarely seem to shoot them. I seem to be the only one who gives the rifle any play here. It will be nice to have someone else to compare notes with.

slowr1der

I don't shoot a Pursuit, but I'm a big fan of the Fusion 300 Grain Bullets as well as the 300 Grain Speer Deep Curls with a Harvester black sabot. I shoot these with either 100 grains of loose Pyrodex or 2 50 grain pellets. They shoot well at 100 yards in everything I've tried them in.

I want to try Blackhorn 209, but I haven't yet.

builder459

Not knowing the actual bore dia of your rifle and considering where you live shots are probably 100 yds or less. i would do the following, purchase several types of .250 gr bullets. the XTP or Gold dot to start with and 1 pack of .452 harvester crushed rib sabots and one pack of MMP-24 sabots. that should cover you on sabot to bore fit. and the 2 bullets are reasonably priced and effective. as far as powder is concerned loose is always better and cheaper. nothing wrong with pyrodex and you can always change later if you feel the need. start with 85 grs and work up in 5 gr increments until you find the sweet spot.if you don't want to buy a box of .250 gold dots just ask someone here to send you a few samples.either of those bullets is all you will need to hunt deer. Ray

MZS

Just an update: I ended up going with the 300 gr xtp bullets and triple 7 primer caps you suggested pluckit. I decided, however, to go with triple 7 powder by Hodgdon instead of the pyrodex pellets. Everywhere I read that powder gives more consistent results. Also the gun shop refused to carry Pyrodex pellets - they say they are too corrosive. The gun shop guy also said the triple 7 powder has a shelf life of a few years where as the pellet sticks I had from last year may not shoot the same one year later. So now I need to learn how to load this gun. I bought the needed equipment for that task. The gun shop guy said 85g of powder is equivalent to 100 gr of sticks so I will probably use 85 gr.

I asked the guy about the primer caps - he said that muzzleloader caps provide proper heat. Regular shotgun primer caps can provide too much, resulting in inconsistency.

Now I want to get a scope before I actually do any shooting. Thanks for the help everyone!

pluckit

Good luck with the Triple Se7en powder. I just purchased some Thompson Center 300 grain XTP's with Mag Express sabots myself. I don't have any Triple Se7en powder but I have some Triple Se7en pellets. Keep in touch in this thread and we'll compare notes.