winchester_1300

how far does a .50 cal muzzle loader shoot. more precise a cva buckhorn 209 magnum. also should i get the gun with a scope or not.

PhoenixMA

I think that you should maybe ask yourself how far you feel confident shooting that rifle. Is a bit of a different question but far more important. I limit my shots from my inline to 100 yds or less and try to shoot the hawken at ranges from 75yds and under. Not because those guns cant shoot farther out but I hunt crowded public land and want to be real sure of what I'm shooting at. Also I dont get to shoot as much as I would like to so I keep shots in the field to short ranges.

As for scopes, I have one on my inline. Its a leupold fixed 4x. and on the Hawken I have Williams Fire sights. My eyesight is awful so the added benefit of optics is the only responsible thing for me to do.

I guess it all boils down to how familiar you are with the gun and how well you shoot with a scope and without.

rockytop

I don't know about your smoke pole but I practice with mine out to 200 yards and have taken deer at that distance. I hunt a power line alot and long shots are required. I practice and shoot out to 400 yards with my 7mm mag. Over 400 yards and I don't see like I use to so I don't do it.

cayugad

I think a good point was already made by PhoemixMA and that is how confident you feel you are with the use of the rifle. A lot of your ability to shoot long distances well depend on how much you practice. Face it, if you do not practice to more then 100 yards how could you be confident that you could hit further then that. I really dislike seeing people take shots they are not really qualified to make. Luck is one thing, practice is a whole different matter. If you feel your shots might reach 150 or even 200 yards then I encourage you to practice to those distances. I would bet 99% of the shooters that made these long shots if asked, will admit they practice to those distances and practice a lot. Confidence to make the shot will only come from practice. Also practice under conditions you might encounter in the field. I do a lot of stick shooting and tree leaning shooting before hunting season.

Another thing that will limit your range is your ability to work up a good projectile and load. If all you can work up is a projectile that will group 4" and under at 100 yards off a bench rest, I can bet you would not do to well to shooting out to 200 yards under field conditions.

Your rifle should produce a good group. I see no reason why it will not. I will guess that it is possible to find a load off the 100 yardbench that will group (with a scope) to 2" or even better. At 200 yards that should mean you can hit 5" or better. That is still well with in reason of a kill zone on a game animal. The deciding factor whether you pull that trigger at that distance will again fall back to confidence.

Beside having confidence and a good load worked up, if you're going to shoot long distances and it is legal of course, get some good optics. A good multi powered scope is the best insurance for long distance shooting. I used to think a 1.5 x 4.5 was enough but I have since changed my opinion to a 2x7 or even a 3x9 power with good clarity.

If you have good optics and a good projectile and your shooting skills and practice are all in order, I see no reason why that rifle would not reach out to 150-200 yard shots. Again, pulling the trigger will be your decision. It's better to let one walk away untouched then to wound one because your not sure of the shot. Muzzleloaders are usually a one shot deal. With that in mind it also gives us a bigger responsibility to take only high percentage shots. I limit my scoped shots to 150 yards and I practice a lot. I limit my open sighted shots to 100 yards. Thank goodness the majority of my shots are well under the 100 yard range.

Good luck with your new rifle. I have a CVA Staghorn Magnum and it is a great shooter. I use a RED DOT because scopes are not legal here, and limit the rifle to 100 yards, but it will place them at that distance...

eldeguello

Maximum range depends on two factors: 1. What bullet are you using?

2. What powder charge (eg., muzzle velocity) are you obtaining?

Unless you can provide this data, your question cannot be answered.

As to scoping your rifle - you can't shoot any better tthan you can see your target - anything that helps you see the target better will improve your shooting.I put a scope on every rifle I own that will permit one to be mounted-including sidelocks!!



Maximum range will depend on the bullet you are using and the MV of your load - effective range will be limited to not much over 200 yards if you are a crack shot and everything is just right when it goes "BANG"!! For me, effective range is no more than 125 yards AT MOST under perfect conditions, with a full broadside to aim at, and a target that is absolutely still on a windless day!

So far, the farthest I've actually killed a deer was 80 yards with a .500"patched round ball and 90 grains of FFg. That was before I scoped the rifle.....

Paul L Mohr

I sight mine in at 130 yards and shoot out to 150. I use 95 grn of 777 fffg powder and a Precision Bullet 350 grn saboted polymer tipped bullet. I group around 1-1 1/2 inches at 130 yards and about two inches or so at 150. The gun shoots flat enough with that load that I can put the cross hairs in the middle of the vitals and have a lethal shot any where from 25 to 150 yards on deer sized game.

I will admit it took some playing with the powder type and amount with different bullets to get it that good. I shoot a remington 700 inline with musket caps. I have buddy that gets decent groups at that range with a Knight wolverine loaded with the same powder and charge behind a hornady 300 grn XTP. Except his is sighted in for 100 yards so he has to hold over at that yardage a little. Mine would not group well enough with he XTP's so I switched to the all lead boat tail PR's and they work absolutely great.

I use a variable power scope. Mine will shoot one ragged hole 3 shot groups at 100 yards. Like I said though, it takes some playing to get some of them to shoot really well. Sort of like working up a load when hand loading.

Paul

goarmy

Frontiersman were whacking buffalo from different time zones with lesser equipment. 200 yrds is do-able with modern inlines. However, The guys that make these shots regularily - spend hours at the range,have intimate knowledge of their equipment, and are darn sure of the distance (i.e rangefinders) before they even bring the crosshairs up.

The alternative to spending the off-season time atthe range is that sick, hollow feeling you get in your gut when you wound an animal.[:-][&o]

HuntAway

And having done it once over 20 years ago. It still bothers me. [:@]
Practise and be confident in your abilities or don't try the shot.

Roskoe

Two years ago, I had a group of cow elk walk out from the far side of the meadow I was hunting. They appeared unwilling to come closer, even after some coaxing with the call. I ranged one of them at 260 yards and, from the bipod, set the green dot of my front sight on the top of her back and began lining up the shot. After a couple of seconds, I stopped and said to myself outloud "What do you think you''re doing - you have never even fired a round on paper at this distance". So I tried to sneak closer and they got nervous and went back into the trees.

When I got back from the hunt, I went to the range and set up a 28" X 28" (mature cow elk is 28" from back to brisket) piece of cardboard 260 yards from the bench. Set the green bead on the top of the target. Fired. The 250 grain Barnes Expander made a neat hole almost in the exact center of the target.

Still don't regret not shooting . . . .

randyh

Roskoe - congratulations. You absolutely did the right thing. Hindsight aside, imagine how you would have felt if you had wounded the animal and been unable to recover it.