driftrider

Wow Coondog, you need to relax a bit don't you think? He didn't say he didn't plan to work up a load and sight the gun in before he hunts with it either. Did you consider that he may have just bought this gun and maybe he's new to muzzleloading and just want's to get off to a good start? You're right that he probably hasn't taken his gun to the range yet because he'd like to know what type of load to start off with, so he doesn't make beginner mistakes. He may already be a very good centerfire rifle shooter, but muzzleloading can be a little intimidating for someone who is used to shooting factory cased ammo. Cut him some slack, everybodys starts out a beginner, or don't you remember?

VAboy,

The best load you can use depends a lot on the rifle you're shooting and what you want to use it for. You said that you have a Hawken .50cal and you want to use it for Whitetails, which is a start, but really isn't enough info about the gun to be very specific about buttet/load suggestions. The most important characteristic of a muzzleloader that determines what it (probably) likes to shoot is the rifling twist rate.

If your Hawken's twist is in the 1 turn in 48" through 1 in 66" then it's probably going to best like shooting roundballs or a limited selection of lighter maxi-balls. This slow of a twist rate usually will not properly stabilize sabots or longer conical bullets. For roundballs start at about 50 to 60 grains of powder and work your way up in about 5 grain increments until you find the most accurate load for your rifle. With roundballs you'd be best to stop at about 90 grains of powder (any more with the light roundballs is a waste), and most guns shoot roundballs best with 70-80 grains. This is more than enough to kill whitetails.

If the twist rate is faster than 1 in 48" but slower than 1 in 32" then your gun will probably best like the somewhat heavier lead conical bullets in the 300-400 grain area with either a flat nose or hollow point. Start out with about 70 grains of powder and work up until best accuracy is achieved or until you reach the max load for your gun (probably 100-120 grains, see your owners manual).

If the guns twist is faster than 1 in 32" it'll probably shoot sabots (240+grain) and long heavy conicals (385grain+) the best. Start with the same 70 grain load and work up to best accuracy or max load, whichever comes first.

There is always some overlap in bullet stabilization, i.e. a 1 in 32 barrel might do ok stabilizing a very heavy conical, but will severely overstabilize a round ball. The above suggestions are just basic guidelines, but unfortunately every muzzleloader is different and there are some that are just downright picky eaters. Pick the projectile you'd like to use that as closely suits the rifling as possible and go out and try it. It way shoot very well or it may not group at all. If not you'll have to try different bullets until you find a suitable load.

One other word of advice. When I had my Hawken I tried Pyrodex in it and found out that it made the ignition somewhat slow and unreliable unless it was very carefully loaded each time. Pyrodex is just harder to light than black powder and the flame from the cap might not be hot enough to light the pyrodex off quickly every time. I found that straight black powder (FFg) worked the best in that gun and made it very reliable.

Good luck and have fun,

Mike



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