Getting into muzzleloading
 

Hi everyone I just recently shot a muzzleloader at the range and liked it a lot. I am going to order the Wolf 209 Magnum .50 from gander mountain tonight but I had a few questions first. Ive read every review I could find about it and everyone seems to really like it for the price. The only bad thing people say is that other hunters wont take you seriously because they think its a cheap bad rifle. I dont really care about that I just want a good functioning muzzleloader.

What do you guys think about this muzzleloader its 180.00 right now is there anything else you would recomend?

What type of powder do you guys recomend I like the pellets for now since Im new?

What grain of bullet would you all recomend because they have so many different kinds?

What kind of primer cap to get I hear the 209s are the best?

What all will I be needing besides the muzzleloader to go out and shoot asap?

Anything other comments you have feel free to post them I want to hear everything about muzzleloading.
Thanks for any help.

I havent shot our wolf in a while but it loves 90gr blackhorn209 with a 295gr powerbelt.

Its next best shooting load are 2 T7 magnum pellets and a 245gr powerbelt. That load is smokin!

Well, it sounds like you answered some of your own questions about it's stigma.

Use any blackpowder sub with Power Belts in the 300 grain area. Use a 209 primer of your choice. And you will kill deer.


I also would get some speed loaders while hunting.


D

No matter what rifle you purchase, someone is not going to like it for one reason or another. If you are happy with the rifle, that is all that is necessary.

Powders - Blackhorn 209 is a good powder but if you can not find it in your area, then go to Pyrodex RS or Triple Seven 2f. Actually I would shoot the Pyrodex RS. It is a good consistent powder. Granted it is dirty, and you have to clean the rifle after a day of shooting, but then I clean all my rifles after a day of shooting. No matter what kind of powder I get.

Projectiles.. Get some 250 grain Shockwaves for now. Then if you can find them on line order some 250 or 300 grain XTPs or Speer Deep Curl. Both of them are .452 diameter and usually shoot well from all inlines.

Tools you might need.. powder measure, lid for the powder jug, primer extractor tool, anti seize, loading jags, cleaning jags, a range rod if you want to spring for it, and a dog bone capper. You might also want to pick up some gun oil, cleaning patches and black powder solvent, and a bore brush would not hurt either.

Wouldn't you be afraid of that bullet fragmenting with that much umph?

MountainDevil54

Two T7 Magnum pellets - is like a 120 grains of loose T7 or 150 grains of BP/Pyro. Are you telling this guy that is OK - even OK for any powerbelt let alone a light 245 grain lead bullet? That should blow it up pretty good...

Even your new supper duper PB thay put a 1800 fps limit on...

If I was going to buy a MLer and was a newbie, I'd look for some good deals. Im kinda partial to the CVA ACCURA and now if you look you can find some of the Original ACCURA's out there for a Great Price. I think if you look you can find one for around $250. Now for the money and it also comes with a SS Bergara Barrel you cant find a better MLer for the Money (New that is) Mabey all you have to spend it what you have now, if that's the case and you want to Hunt with it still this Season then go for it, but if you can afford the extra $$ think about the ACCURA.
Now I even get the same looks as you shooting CVA's, but after owning many of them and taking lot's and lot's of Deer and never having one let me down, and being as accurate as any high priced MLer, Im Happy with them. Could I afford a much higher priced MLer, yes, but that's not why I chose a CVA ACCURA, it was all I got for my money that mattered most and how it shot that sold me.
But no matter what you buy down the road you'll buy more and more once the Bug hits you. Dont worry about what anyone else says about what you shoot, just have fun, that's what matters most.
Pellets are fine for now, use 2 50gr it's all you'll need. I use 240gr XTP's and Winchester W209 Primers or Triple 7 Primers are good choices. Just get a cleaning jag, a brush for the bore and some Oil for the Barrel and some patches and you can go shoot. Oh plain old soap and water will be all you'll need to clean the barrel if you use pellets, and some Windex Patches for inbetween cleaning at the range.
Best of Luck and Enjoy!
(BP)

One thing I've learned in my days of muzzle loading is I much much prefer a stainless steel muzzle loader. I don't think I'd buy another one that was blued unless I got a smoking deal. The stainless is just soo much more forgiving when it comes to cleaning and easier to clean too. The blued ones rust way too easily if you don't clean it right away imo.

I also prefer 209 primers over #11 caps, but most muzzle loaders now use 209 primers.

As for bullets, I don't like the Powerbelts all that much. I've tried them and they are great in everything I've tried them in when it comes to accuracy. Infact, I couldn't believe how well they shoot in some of the guns I've shot them in. That being said, when I tried to deer hunt with them, I found that I wasn't getting a blood trail at all, but I'd usually find the deer 30 yards or so away. After losing a deer that I know I hit as it fell over and started flapping then jumped up and took off, and I only found a few specs of blood on a tree it had rubbed up against, I finally decided to switch. I've been testing some Fusion bullets, and they seem to expand great in dirt, and perform great. I got to try them out on deer this year, as well as have a friend shoot a deer with one. I've been super impressed with these bullets although they are fairly expensive. Another good choice is the Speer Deep Curls which in my testing seem to perform similar to the Fusions, only I've never tested them on a deer. There are also several other great bullet choices that I've never had any experience with.
So, I'd try something else in addition to the Powerbelts. If you use the Powerbelts, I think the key is to use them with a light charge as they don't seem to like the 100 grains I was pushing them with. They are very accurate though as I said.

As for powder, it's all a personal preference too. A lot of guys like BH209 and I'd like to try it, but haven't yet. Some guys like pellets, and some like loose powder. I'm sure I will get bashed for this, but I like pellets. If I was shooting at the range 100% of the time, I'd use loose powder as it's a lot cheaper as you get about twice the amount for the same price. However, when hunting and out in the field, I've found messing around with loose powder to be more of a hassle than just popping in 2 pellets. Hunting situations is where I see a big advantage to the pellets and since I mostly hunt with my muzzle loaders, I use pellets. This is just a personal preference though as I know quite a few guys who use loose powder out in the field. I've also found my gun prefers Pyrodex over T7 pellets, but that's just my gun and since it's cheaper and shot better I stuck with it. You really need to test different types in your gun and stick with what it likes as every gun likes something different. This is the same with bullets. If one doesn't shoot accurately for you, try another.

As far as primers, it's all a personal preference too. Winchester W209 primers are pretty good as are the T7 primers. I've also had great luck with the Fusion primers, but at the same time I've seen no difference in the field between them and W209's so who knows if it's worth the extra cost.


Also make sure you clean your gun after shooting it as they will rust quickly if you don't. Be careful as muzzle loading is an addictive hobby and the more you get into it the more I expect you will experiment with different bullets and powder.

sabotloader

You should have seen the explosion from the 45cal 300gr PB Plat. It hit low and caught some bark on a log in front of the target.

It literally looked like a grenade went off. I have a pic of the target that got splattered somewhere. It destroyed the target.

That same 45-300 though did pretty good with 80-95gr but the huge PR Ultimate 360gr poly tipped conical was awesome with 80-90gr and a tad less expensive.

Ive shot both 120 and 150gr pyrodex RS loads in the past with the 245gr Aerotip and both deer had pass throughs.

I aint scart!