Goose_Getter

Hey guys I have a questions about muzzleloaders,

- What is the effective range on deer with a m'l and with a well placed shot can they drop on the spot?
- Are muzzleloaders adequate for moose when loaded with a 150 gr charge, and what would be the effective range and with a well placed shot will they drop on the spot???
- How exactly do you clean muzzleloaders?

Soon i will be getting into moose and bear hunting, I live in a shotgun or m/l only deer area and it seems that I can get more use out of a m'l. There seems to be several new areas with a m'l season every year. I am thinking about getting a m'l instead of a big rifle, my reasoning is because I can use it for deer in my area, have some extra deer hunting opurtunities, and still use it for bear and moose. All help will be greatly appreicated, thanks a lot, Spence.

skeeter 7MM

Effective range on deer depends on your ability, rifle, iron/scoped, etc. I think starting out you should be thinking 100 yards but most mag inlines would do 200 plus in the hands of a skilled Ml shooter on deer sized game. Will it drop them on the spot sure but like a CF it is never a given, put the bullet in the right place and they usually go down in very short order from my experience regardless of the weapon used.

I took a Moose with inline using 120 RS and 460gr cronical, the shot was really bow range (30yards or so) as I called in the bull and it did the job nicely. I would say 100 yards for a moose the ML with proper bullet will get it done, if you do! Will it drop a Moose on spot, if you hit the spine most likely but other than that I have yet to see any moose drop on the spot, they often act uneffected and still muster a few yards before biting the dust with vital hits. That said i have seen equally very few moose go that far with a lung shot either, put in the lungs and fill your freezer-in that order!

How do you clean, depends on the design. Basically most inlines remove breech, flush with hot soapy water, brush if required, dry patch and oil. It is more involved than a CF or Shotgun b/c of the corrosive nature of BP or subs but really boils down to elbow grease, thoroughness and following the user manuals instructions. For a more direct answer pick some models of interest than ask questions about cleaning/products used, this will give you more useful info as their are many ML's and equally products/prodecures/reasons in regards to cleaning them.


BTW a ML will also handle Blackie's as well.

Best of luck.

MLKeith

I can help a little. Muzzleloaders are good to 100 yards and if you spend a lot of time with your rifle and can use a scope where you are hunting you can probably go out to 200 yards but that is only for a few that can spend the time and are steady enough to make those shots. Personally I consider my .50 cal Omega a 120 yard max shooter with a 1.5-5 scope. Elk when hit with 300gr. or 348gr. bullets do not drop on the spot when I do it. I have seen hunting shows where they do but my experience does not prove that it happens often. Haven't shot a Moose but they are bigger and probably as tough as an Elk so I doubt they will drop every time even when hit well. I would not shoot big bears with a muzzleloader as the second shot is sometimes a little slow and big bears "shoot back". Maybe little black bears might be OK but big brown bears are too mean for me. Generally most muzzleloaders will shoot better with a powder charge in the 100 to 120 grain level and when you go up to 150 most start losing accuracy and the extra powder is really unnecessary. 90gr. of Black Mag'3 with a 300gr. bullet passes completely through the chest cavity of a fair sized Elk. Cleaning by the way can be made a lot easier by selecting the powder that requires less to clean. Black Mag'3 is one of those types that leaves very little residue in the barrel and what is left is not corrosive so cleaning is fairly easy. A couple of patches run through with some windex (the non-amonia kind) followed by a couple of dry patches and then a patch with some kind of anti-rust oil and you are done. After multiple shots you will have to clean the breechplug as well but it is pretty easy.

cayugad

Impossible to answer. The idea of drop on the spot has too many variables to say out to this distance they will fall over dead. Deer have been shot at over 300 yards with a scoped muzzleloader and recovered.

Yes muzzleloaders are more then adequate for moose. A charge of 150 grains is not needed to kill a moose. The main thing will be shot placement. Also the drop on the spot will not happen in most cases. Worry more about a good blood trail and your better off..

How you exactly clean a muzzleloader will depend on the make, model, and accessories you have on the rifle. Also the kind of powder you shoot and the projectile you shoot in most cases. Most of the time the proper cleaning of the rifle is covered in your instruction manual that comes with the rifle...

The use of a muzzleloader and the projectiles will be a learning process at best. Look over the different rifles out there. Find one that you like and one that fits you. Also get the idea of the 150 grain load out of your head. They are not usually needed and seldom used by many...

Do not overlook the tradtional rifles if you want to add an extra boost to your hunting experience. They really can add a lot. The trouble is most of the inlines are now more cost effective to get shooters started, so they overlook the flintlocks and cap locks....

Good luck in your search for the perfect rifle...

Triple Se7en

Deer have been shot at over 300 yards with a scoped muzzleloader and dropped dead. Inlines works fine at 200 yards on calm days with moderately, magnum powder loads that usually manufacture a 8-14 inch drop.... dependent on bullet/weather/powder & rifle steadiness.


I would never hunt a bear with a single-shot muzzleloader unless I was packing a repeater pistola of at-least .357 capabilities.

Goose_Getter

Your replies were great thanks so much.

Tahquamenon

Your first question is pretty tough to answer. A well placed shot is everything, so range is limited to the point you no longer have sufficient energy to humanely harvest the animal. How's about iron sights to 0-75 (100 if you really practice) yards. Optics 0-150 (200 if you practice) yards. I'm not in favor of hunting beyond 200 yards as windage becomes a real issue.

You don't need 150gr charge for anything in North America. Odds are, you will be hard pressed to find a load combination what will group with 150gr Black Powder.

Cleaning? Basically long term lube with or without petroleum based oils. It's up to you. Follow the manual and use the search utility here for key words. My cleaning methods are posted as an example, you can search on my name for instance and find what I've written with respect to anything.