50 cal. investarms muzzel loader
 

i bought this 50. cal investarms muzzzeloader from my brother, its got a 28 inch barrell on it.,its made in italy. i've never shot it yet but plan to tomorrow. is there anyone that can advise me of how many grains of powder i should use.

RE: 50 cal. investarms muzzel loader
 

Don't know what kind of powder your using. But a good starting point is 80 gr of FFg or Pyrodex RS or 70 gr of FFFg or Pyrodex P. Work up in 10 gr increments and watch group size. You may find the sweet spot right at the begining or as you work up. (groups may get tighter then begin to open back up). Finding the sweet spot may take a few range sessions so don't get frustrated.
Be sure to swab between shots either with a spit patch or alcohol patch.

RE: 50 cal. investarms muzzel loader
 

I had one of those in 45 cal
Shot real good
It liked 80 graind Pyro RS,I was shooting a Powerbelt AT,cant remember the grains on it

RE: 50 cal. investarms muzzel loader
 

thanks, i've got both types. do you recomend witch one is the best? the ffg i have is GOEX, and the fffg is pyrodex.
season opens tomorrow here in tennessee for deer, so i guess the first shot i'll be shooting will be at a deer i hope.
once again i say thank you

RE: 50 cal. investarms muzzel loader
 

i've got some Hornady 50 cal. sabot bullets, and some 245 gr. hp copper-clad powerbelt bullets for it that i got with the rifle. witch ones do ya recomend i use. and is there a differance in grains of powder i should use with them

RE: 50 cal. investarms muzzel loader
 

That Cabela's (Investarms)Hawkins has a 1-48 twist. That twist is meant to shoot roundball and conical bullets. It will shoot sabots but you need to play with powder charges and loads to find the right powder charge.

As for a powder, the Goex would be my choice. And with the two projectiles you mentioned I would start with the powerbelts in about the 80 grain range. Then on your next trip to the store get some .490 roundball and some patches and shoot that out of the rifle.

Make sure to check the rifle tonight and clean it real good with solvent and then dry patch it. Pop a few #11 caps through the nipple before you load it. That will clear the fire channel.

As for the first shot being used on a deer, I find that a little strange. I believe (or at least hope) your kidding. I personally could never hunt and shoot at something when I have no idea where the rifle shoots, or how it shoots.

I shoot a Lyman Trade Rifle that is basically the same thing. If you're determined to hunt with it without some range time, center the rear sight on the incline, load 90 grains of Goex and that powerbelt. And then pray that you don't wound a deer. Mine shoots powerbelts real well and that is approxicately where my sights are set. If this is a used rifle the sights might be best left alone as who ever owned it probably sighted it in.

RE: 50 cal. investarms muzzel loader
 

I'm no expert but the sabots may be for a fsater twist barrel but could work
Of the two you listed I would try the Powerbelt 245's
I killed two deer with them last season.
It should shoo full bore conicals and patched round balls pretty good also.

RE: 50 cal. investarms muzzel loader
 

I have the same gun in the 54 cal. It shoots real nice with 80 gr. Goex and .530 round balls with .015 lubed patch.

Have a good hunt!

RE: 50 cal. investarms muzzel loader
 

Man you need to sight that thing in before you attempt to shoot an animal with it. You don't want put a bullet in the guts and have it run off to die an agonizing death without being found. As a hunter you have a responsibility to take an animal a humanely and quickly as possible.

RE: 50 cal. investarms muzzel loader
 

I have to agree with Bronko and Dave. If you don't know where or how that gun is going to shoot, you don't have any business pointing it at anything other than paper.

Vince

RE: 50 cal. investarms muzzel loader
 

I've got the same thing just in left hand. Mine like 50grs of BM3 and a PRB. Granted, I don't hunt with this load, for punching paper at 25yds it's great.

RE: 50 cal. investarms muzzel loader
 

Pleasedonot shoot a rifle at an animal, without first sighting in the rilfle. The Bible says this truth:

Proverbs 12:10 (Whole Chapter)
A righteous man regardeth the life of his beast: but the tender mercies of the wicked are cruel.

Soo...lets apply this truth to our situation of hunting, if we have regard for the beast we shoot good bullets, adequate loads and have the gun sighted in, if we don't then we shoot poor bullets, light loads so we don't hurt our shoulder and we don't sight in our rifle. I hope God's truth is clear in this situation, you get too >>choose<< to be righteous or cruel.
Best Regards,
Chap

RE: 50 cal. investarms muzzel loader
 

just to let everyone know!!!!!!!!
i didn't shoot at the deer a saw,beccause of not knowing how it shot. but after i came in i did shoot it at a target at aprox. 50 yards. it shot beautifully. no misfire, and at a 6in. round target on a piece of plywood that was 3 ft. square i hit 3 inches to the right and about perfecthorizonally
i feel confident now with it and the next time i see a deer i'll let jesus guide my bullet.

I have a Ml exactly like yours I have competed with it and won 4th place out of 35 shooters two weekend ago in Rocky Mountain House, Alberta, Canada. I use Hodgedon triple 7 FFG
40 gns with a spitpatch and ball worked for me. I up it to 80 gns for deer. With a 28" barrel, you'll find that there will be alot of unburnt powder if you go above 80 gns. I chronographed my loads and the 80 gn load sends that ball out at 1721 FPS. That's more than enough to drop Bambi's father at 50 yards. Your smoke pole should be accurate to 100 yards. I tweaked my sights and installed a orange fiber optic sight and mounted a tang peep sight on the tang. I kept the original sight and use that for competition as the regulations say open sights only. I just use the peep for hunting.
I absolutly love my rifle and I'll recommend this make to anyone.... Good choice mate!
Cheers,
A.T.

If you get the chance, shoot it a little more. Confirm that it is hitting where the first shot went. I would get it hitting on-center horizontally, and be 2 inches high at 50. With a load of at least 80 gr, you'll be good out to 100 yds.

It doesn't sound like you have much muzzleloading experience, so be careful to clean the gun thoroughly. Then, when preparing to hunt, be sure to get all traces of oil out of the bore/bolster. Load her up and get yourself a deer with your new gun.