?' s after first outing
Just shot my new hunterbolt for the first time this weekend. This is my first muzzleloader so I have some questions.
First, when I snapped a couple caps thru it, I noticed sparks and smoke flaring from the breech. Once I actually fired several real loads thru it, I notices more breech flaring, and the shotgun primers were very deforme, (center blown back from the copper outside.) There is a gap of about 1/64 of an inch between the bolt and the breech plug. If I unscrew the breech plug about 1 turn, it fits tight, but then the breech plug isn' t snug. Should I leave it as it is? Is that gap and the flare ups normal? It makes me flinch a little, so if I could avoid it I would like to.
Secondly, I' m using triple 7 powder with 360 grain maxi hunters. I worked up to 80 grains of powder, the kick was light, and the patterns were ok, but I wasn' t shooting great. I' ll be hunting elk with open sights, so I won' t shoot over 100 yards. Do I need to increase the powder charge, or is this adequate for my situation.
I appreciate the advise. I' ve been hunting all my life, but this is my first time with a muzzleloader, and there is a learning curve I hadn' t expected.