Mibowman

Hi guys i recently inherited a remington 700muzzleloader (2 years old, if that), its .50cal with leaupoldXXII rifle scope..its sweet!![8D] I was wonderin if this gun could cleanly kill deer out to 200yards? With the magnumest load and sabot bullets? or round ball in cloth?

powderburns

U don' t say if your ml can safely fire the magnum powder load or not. If it can,
150gr of powder, pushing 4 example 240gr hollow-point (sabot) out to 200yds is not a problem if U can hit what U aim at. If not a magnum, 100gr of powder with 240gr bullet will kill a deer out to 120-150yds no problem. I use pyrodex pellets.
For sighting in your rifle check out www.chuckhawks.com

RKenSprac

200 yrds is a long shot for any ML. If you can hit a deer at 200 yrds in the kill zone you would be eating venision, but ML velocities being what they are you must be able to accurately judge distance, or it will be real easy to wound the deer and not kill it. If you' re going to take 200 yrd shots practice, and practice out in the field where you don' t always know the range. You need to know where you are hitting at all ranges in which you plan to hunt.

You asked about sabots or roundballs. The Remington ML has a fast twist so it will handle sabots much better than roundballs. Second roundballs shed velocity pretty fast and are really a sub-100 yard projectile. Go with the sabots, a 240 gr. sabotted bullet will work great for you. If you' re inclined check out my site for some good info about getting starting in MLing.

Happy shooting
-Rkensparc

1950KID

Don' t believe everything you read. I guess it' s possible to get a deer at 200 yards,
but you better know your rifle very well. 125 yards will be no problem.

eldeguello

It certainly WILL kill a deer cleanly at 200 yards...If you can hit it in the right spot! This means a lot of practice to learn its' trajectory well, and practice judging distances or the purchase of an accurate rangefinder, so you know where to hold to hit it!!

cayugad

Hit in the right spot, yes it would kill a deer. The question is are you that comfortable with your rifle and setup to attempt such a shot. As others have said, if you practice and are sure of your ability, it could be done. I personally would not try such a shot. In fact I like to keep my shots 100 yards or less, and the more less the better.Then again, I do not shoot using a scope, and I seldom load over 90 grains of Pyrodex Select. Good luck with your new rifle and have fun shooting it...

round ball

I have never needed to shoot that far normaly my shoots are not over 100 yrds. Then I am sure of it and not just guessing if I hit it or not scout and find a good path they are moving through and the shot will be shorter.

skeeter 7MM

I have a 700MLS, just to show you how much bullet drop their is between 100-200yards. I am sighted in 1" high at 100 and hit on average about 10 low at 200. It will do it but you must know your gun and load to a T. My longest shot have been 157 Mulie buck and 147 WT doe. I think until you get to know your gun and what load it likes you better keep your expectation lower, like max 125-150. If you can develop a load and feel then you shouldn' t have a problem taking deer further.

BTW, I use 100Gr Pyrodex, 240 Gr XTP sabots and #11 caps. I have experimented with higher powder loads but lost accuracy in doing so, so I have reserved myself to approx 150 yard max shot with this setup. Which in most cases is not a problem. The two deer I mentioned were not the norm, I have taken several other big game animals with a ML and most were in the 30-100 yards range.

They are fun to practice with so get out and shoot.

eldeguello

I just finished reading in an older muzzleloading book about George Washington, during the Revolutionary War, commissioning the building of several long-range flintlock rifles for use as sniping weapons. They were 8-gauge, firing a round ball weighing 1/8 of a pound. These guns were required to deliver sufficient accuracy as to place four out of five shots into a " piece of note paper" (10" X 12" ), at " 80 rods" (440 yards). This is 1/4 of a mile, and would certainly kill a deer (or man) at that distance. And, these were flintlocks shooting round balls with the powders available in 1777!! I assume the trajectory would have been very steep, and would require a very good judge of ranges to make hits!!

Ruger-Redhawk

I personally would keep my shots 125 yards or less using a scope. Using iron sights I would never attempt a 200 yard shot.I would limit my shots 100 yards or less.I believe in humane kills.If there is a chance of just wounding the game I won' t fire until I' m sure I can make a clean kill.
Ruger Redhawk