muzzleloading bullets

[outdoorsmen]

just was wondering what is a good setup for deer. i just got a Knight master hunter and a burris signature 3-9x44 electro dot scope with burris rings and bases.

I was thinking about the barnes red hot bullets with 777 powder

any suggestions on gr of bullet or brand

[clearanceman]

I really like tripple 7 with Barnes Sabots.. Penetrate well and expand also.. Deadly and accurate. I have a .54 call TC thunderhawk and am using 100 grains 777 and 325 grain barnes sabots..

[Mark whiz]

outdoorsmen,

First off - YES on the 777 powder. You' ll like it. It' s very consistent and VERY Powerful - 15 to 20% hotter than any other powder, so you' ll have to reduce any Pyrodex or Black Powder loads you want to duplicate.

As far as bullets go - there are many options. The Barnes work well and it' s hard to get too far off with the Knight bullets. The Hornady XTP bullets work well too for a more economical price. But for the absolute best performing & most accurate muzzleloading bullets - go visit these guys:

http://www.prbullet.com/

Call ' em up and talk to Cecil - the guy is the absolute wizard of muzzleloading. Tell him what you are shooting & what game/target you' re after and he can tell you the exact bullet & load you need. I' ve had exceptional results with their Extreme HPs and QT polymer-tipped bullets - drop dead kills and penny-sized groups at 50meters!

One word of advice on bullets - don' t be afraid to shoot the heavier bullets (especially if you bought a .50cal rifle). Small, light bullets offer impressive muzzle velocities - but rarely offer target-class accuracy. These fast-twisted, wide-landed barrels really seem to need longer bullets for stable flight and good accuracy. My Knight USAK (.50cal) just refuses to shoot what I consider to be good groups with any bullet under 300gr (" good" groups being 2" or less at 100yds).

Good luck - that is one sweet rifle you got!!

[Pro-Line]

Mark is right on bullet weight. I bought a batch of 180gr Hornadys...thinking that the light little bullet would be wonderful. They shot terribly. I believe it was 3" groups at 50yds, with a scope.

Then the 240' s I shot sub-1" groups at 50....and 3" at 100yds...and when they connected on a real whitetail they did the job.

This was in a cheap Traditions .50

[handloader1]

For hunting I would go with Barnes Expander MZ Sabots; with your 1-28 twist you should have no problem stablizing them. Good shooting!!

[skeeter 7MM]

I have been using 240 Hornady XTP' s Sabots with 100-120 Grains of Proydex and they fly and group great out to 150. I have been experimenting with lighter weights and loads but haven' t found one as accurate as the load combo above in my setup. The only true way is to trial and error, what might work for my setup may shoot horrible in yours or vice versa.

[popeye]

I would suggest experimenting with not only several bullet weights and styles but also change powder charges. Most if not all sabot bullets, as well as conicals, on the market today will give good performance on deer. The old saying about trying several bullet styles and weights holds true for muzzleloaders just like centerfires. When you find a bullet or two or three, that you like then adjust the powder charge and tighten up the groups. My experiance is that high powder charges often result in less than acceptable accuracy. Pick a bullet, start with 80gr of powder and work your way up from there. Happy Hunting.

[TREEDOG]

Isnt 120grains of triple 7 suppose to be max load?

[Bobdale]

I use the 50 cal. 295 grain Black Belt bullets by Big Bore Express, Ltd. with 90 grains of Pyrodex. They are non-saboted conicals but do have a plastic base ring that expands upon firing. They have been incredibly accurate and effective in killing deer in my Traditions 50 caliber. Try them and you' ll like them! They' re the best that I have ever used and I' ve tried many brands.

[Mark whiz]

Treedog,

120gr of 777 might be the actual max load, but 110gr is more like the functional max load - as it is the rough equivalent of a 150gr Pyro pellet load.

But to be honest, even firing 100gr of 777 borders on Masochism. I' ve fired 400gr sabots with 100gr 777 and it nearly ripped my arm off [] . The ideal load on my rifle is 90gr 777 with 350gr bullets and 80gr 777 with 300gr bullets.

Bobdale,

I like the PowerBelt bullets too. I' ll shoot the 348gr aero-tipped model into the same group as the 350gr PR bullets I mentioned above. But they haven' t grouped as tightly for me as the PRs. Also I' ve found that the 3fg 777 works better with heavy bullets (350gr+), but not with PowerBelts. For some reason the 3fg' s pressure tends to prevent the powercheck cups from falling off of the bullets - ruining their accuracy.