I think that Cayugad summed it up nicely.

I am a Savage 10ML-II shooter, and in terms of practical advantage when it comes to hunting, there is none with the Savage compared to any other muzzleloader.
It is still a muzzleloader, with all the practical drawbacks that entails.

My rifle loads from the front just like a Knight, T/C or CVA, it still uses loose powder (why no objection to pellets, as they allow faster reloading than loose powder does) that must be carefully dropped down the bore. I load my Savage just like anyone else loads their muzzleloader. I just don't have to swab between shots (but neither does Blackhorn 209 shooters, and that seems to be perfectly acceptable to people like the original poster). So what's my advantage AS IT APPLIES TO HUNTING?

NONE.

Smokeless powder gives the following benefits:

It doesn't require swabbing between shots. This is great at the range, but it the woods it doesn't matter since it's unlikely that any ML hunter will get an opportunity to reload before the deer are long gone. Also, every ML I've owned has always allowed me to reload at least once without swabbing no matter which powder was used.

It doesn't require hasty cleaning, attract moisture or corrode your rifle. Again, it's a nice thing when time doesn't allow you to run home and clean right away, but it offers no practical advantage when actually hunting.

It is FAR cheaper than the "acceptable" substitutes. 10 ounces of BH 209 (again, which is VERY similar to the properties of smokeless) costs roughly $30 and is good for roughly 65 shots if loaded to 100 grains BP equivalent by volume. One (true) pound of AA 5744 costs about $19, and is good for over 150 shots at the typical load of 45 grains. Again, this is not an advantage in the field, other than the lesser price encourages more practice and can make one a better shot.

Other advantages of smokeless are that it is far SAFER to handle than BP and most of the other volumetric subs because it does not explode when burned, and requires considerable ignition energy to initiate the decomposition reaction. BP and most subs require only a tiny spark, and will burn violently and/or detonate even when uncontained. When uncontained, smokeless powder burns slowly but intensely.

Using the Savage recommended loads, my muzzle velocities are, at most, about 100 fps higher than those achievable with the "acceptable" BP subs. 100 fps gives no practical advantage for range or killing power. Now, some Savage shooters have been known to experiment with very hot loads using powders not recommended by Savage, and have achieved some very high velocities, but they take their lives into their own hands when they do (and it's a testament to the strength of the Savage ML that very few accidents happen with these "hot rodders").

It takes me just as long to reload a followup shot as it does anyone else. Even with BP it's almost always possible to reload once without swabbing, so the no need to swab between shots advantage of smokeless is only practically evident at the range (where it makes shooting the Savage a REAL pleasure, instead of a chore).

My Savage shoots the same saboted bullets as any other ML can, so there is no advantage of more streamlined bullets or such. If I can shoot a bullet out of my Savage, so can anyone else with a .50cal ML.

People talk about how certain "BP subs" are "acceptable", but this is an ignorant statement at best (at worst it's plain stupid). Smokeless powder was developed in roughly the 1880's, long before anyone conceived of Pyrodex, which was the first so-called BP substitute marketed specifically to ML shooters as a volumetric equivalent to BP. Nitrocellulose based smokeless powder IS THE ORIGINAL BP SUBSTITUTE. If you know the history, that it the undeniable truth. Not many people shoot BP in their .45-70 or .45 Colt anymore, but both were originally BP cartridges. When smokeless powder became available, people started reloading their BP cartridges with it as a substitute for dirty BP. Today, over 100 years later, most people outside the "cowboy action" sport would conceive of shooting BP out of their Marlin or Ruger Blackhawk.

The point is that it's still a muzzleloader, with all the practical drawbacks in the field as any other. And now with BH 209 out, which has almost all the properties of smokeless other than the lack of smoke and the price, I really don't understand why the anti-smokeless crowd hasn't done away with their hypocricy and gone after it, too, since it shares almost all the properties that the anti-smokeless folks object to.

Here's my proposal. All those who want to shoot a slow-twist .58 cal flintlock with buckhorn sights, pure lead roundballs and real black powder, go for it. I don't even care if you dress up like Davy Crockett, with home-made buckskins and a coonskin cap to complete the effect. Enjoy yourself and rest assured that I will leave you to your preferred style of hunting. But at the same time, if I want to hunt with my Savage and smokeless powder, why don't you leave me alone and let me be? If the anti-gun crowd gets any law passed against ML's, it won't be because my Savage shoots smokeless powder, it'll be because a ML is a gun, which is what they hate and fear.

The only thing that worries me more than a bunch of idiot anti-gunners trying to take my rights away and/or ruining my preferred method of hunting, is when a bunch of idiot hypocritical hunters and ML shooters try to do it to me! [:@] I'm not infringing on your ability to enjoy your ML season by being in the woods with my Savage just because I have it loaded with smokeless powder. Would it make any difference if I had loaded it with BH 209 or Triple 7 to comparable velocities (which is certainly possible, since the Savage 10ML can be loaded with non-nitro powder as well)? Absolutely not! So why don't you stop trying to throw your fellow ML hunters under the bus just because you don't like the type of powder they shoot, especially when, for all practical purposes as it applies to hunting, IT DOESN'T MAKE ANY DIFFERENCE.


Mike