Best Bullet and Pyrodex Pellets for Traditions Pursuit II Muzzleloader
 

I have a Traditions Pursuit II XLT Extreme Break-Open Muzzleloader .50 Caliber and just started shooting last fall. I did not have much time to try out different bullets as I hunted with it a few days after purchase. But this summer I would like to find a good combo of bullets and pellets. Currently I have Jim Shockey's Gold brand square stick pellets - I use two 50 grains and Power Belt bullets. I was not really impressed with the accuracy, however I shoot the open sites (for now). I would like to put on a low power scope and then stick with one ammo type and get this gun sited in nicely, at least for 50 yd shots in our muzzleloader season.

Suggestions?

Well if you want to shoot pellets.. try the Pyrodex RS. And pick up some 250 grain shockwaves and 250 grain Hornady XTPs and try them with 100 grains of pellets.

If you want.. get loose Pyrodex RS and try 90 grains and those same two bullets suggested. For 50 yard shooting the XTP is all the hunting bullet I would think you need for deer.

I'll second the XTP. But I use the 300 grain. I don't know about your breech plug but it its compatible I'd try Blackhorn 209.

Is the bullet shown at http://www.sportsmansguide.com/net/c....aspx?a=434666 the correct one to use? Jacketed or unjacketed?

Thanks for the replies!

Those are the right ones. However its cheaper to buy the bullets and sabots separate. Look for pistol bullets hornady xtp mag with .452 dia. Find a sabots that fits that dia. Mmp or harvester.

The Pursuit I had shot great with 100 gr (volume)T7 fffg, or 2 50 gr pellets I never tried Blackhorn in it before I sold it.I shot 250 gr TEZ s with these loads and the did very well .

I have posts all over this board regarding the Pursuit. Check them out and you will see targets with load data on them. I just posted some targets from yesterday in my last post. But to make a long story short, I found that 2, 50 grain Pyrodex pellets under a 240 grain XTP with a Thompson Center Mag Express sabot seems to shoot the best out of my Pursuit. You can find the bullet and sabot in a combo pack or you can buy them seperate. Here's one of the better targets.
The shot to the left was the first shot and was a bad load. The 3 shot group by the bulls eye were shots 2, 3, and 4.

pluckit, that is a pretty nice group for a muzzleloader at 100 yds! Are you using a scope?
Would the product shown at https://secure.tcarms.com/store/mag-...t-no-8246.html work? I think I will get the pellets at a local supply store - the shipping cost for them is crazy with the new laws governing shipping such things.

That's them. Just different packaging. They are really not that expensive in the combo pack like that. What, 50 cents each? And XTP's put a hurtin' on a deer.
I should order some myself, I'm all out.
Yes, I have a scope on my Pursuit. It came with one. A 2x7x32mm.
It has a 28 inch 1 in 28 inch twist fluted and ported barrel.

Here's what you should be doing at the least at 50 yards with open sights with that load.

http://www.hpmuzzleloading.com/NAMHAhome.html

Scroll down to the articles where he shoots the Traditions.

Try this one.

http://www.hpmuzzleloading.com/RifleReview.html

He has a few articles where he shoots the Traditions Vortek.

Thanks pluckit! BTW, I am using Remington STS primer caps used for reloading - I assume that is not an issue?

It could be. It's even hard for me to believe, but different primers can make a big difference.

To be on the safe side, I will get the muzzleloader primers too. Thanks pluckit for taking the time to so clearly lay this out. Now, I just need to get the stuff and start shooting.

It was my pleasure and you're welcome. Make sure you keep in touch to let me know how everything works out. There are other people here that have a Pursuit but they rarely seem to shoot them. I seem to be the only one who gives the rifle any play here. It will be nice to have someone else to compare notes with.

I don't shoot a Pursuit, but I'm a big fan of the Fusion 300 Grain Bullets as well as the 300 Grain Speer Deep Curls with a Harvester black sabot. I shoot these with either 100 grains of loose Pyrodex or 2 50 grain pellets. They shoot well at 100 yards in everything I've tried them in.

I want to try Blackhorn 209, but I haven't yet.

Not knowing the actual bore dia of your rifle and considering where you live shots are probably 100 yds or less. i would do the following, purchase several types of .250 gr bullets. the XTP or Gold dot to start with and 1 pack of .452 harvester crushed rib sabots and one pack of MMP-24 sabots. that should cover you on sabot to bore fit. and the 2 bullets are reasonably priced and effective. as far as powder is concerned loose is always better and cheaper. nothing wrong with pyrodex and you can always change later if you feel the need. start with 85 grs and work up in 5 gr increments until you find the sweet spot.if you don't want to buy a box of .250 gold dots just ask someone here to send you a few samples.either of those bullets is all you will need to hunt deer. Ray

Just an update: I ended up going with the 300 gr xtp bullets and triple 7 primer caps you suggested pluckit. I decided, however, to go with triple 7 powder by Hodgdon instead of the pyrodex pellets. Everywhere I read that powder gives more consistent results. Also the gun shop refused to carry Pyrodex pellets - they say they are too corrosive. The gun shop guy also said the triple 7 powder has a shelf life of a few years where as the pellet sticks I had from last year may not shoot the same one year later. So now I need to learn how to load this gun. I bought the needed equipment for that task. The gun shop guy said 85g of powder is equivalent to 100 gr of sticks so I will probably use 85 gr.

I asked the guy about the primer caps - he said that muzzleloader caps provide proper heat. Regular shotgun primer caps can provide too much, resulting in inconsistency.

Now I want to get a scope before I actually do any shooting. Thanks for the help everyone!

Good luck with the Triple Se7en powder. I just purchased some Thompson Center 300 grain XTP's with Mag Express sabots myself. I don't have any Triple Se7en powder but I have some Triple Se7en pellets. Keep in touch in this thread and we'll compare notes.

Like i mentioned to the poster, in most cases having a pack of crushed ribs and mmp-24's cover most rifles and are good to have on hand.. Ray

I bought a Pursuit XLT 2 just before muzzle loader season last year so I didn't have time to experiment. I used the same load I was using in my Omega. 110 gr. of loose T7, Win. T7 primer, and T/C 250 gr. Shock Wave. Shot good enough that I will stick with this combo.

I know this is an old thread but I love my TPII. I have not tried a ton of different combinations but I have some tinkering under my belt.

240gr XTP(.430)
90gr BH209
Green MMP
CCI209

This is the first load I settled on a couple of years ago. Very accurate at 100yd. I was afraid that I would be pushing the limit of the non-mag XTP at close ranges so I moved away from it.

Barnes 225gr XPB(.429)
Crushed Rib Green

Never found the sweet spot with this one. When I say that, it was still a 3" shooter at 100yd. I would get two good and it would(or I would) throw one. I felt like it just loaded too easily with the crushed rib. I didn't have any mmp at the time. I may go back and tinker with this bullet. It has a great BC for a .429.

Barnes 250 Expander
110gr BH209
Crushed Rib Black

I started this load development with MMP sabots because of my experience with the XPB/CR combo and the fact that's what comes with them in the package. :-) They were terrible, I mean terrible to load. Like before, I would get a decent two shot group at time but never felt great about it. This coupled with me being exhausted after reloading turned me back to the CR sabot. Again, it loaded so I easily that I had zero expectations of the sabot switch working out. I was really, really wrong. You will see some of the patched holes in the target from mmp sabot loads. The target will show the only three shot group I made with the CR sabots. Now granted, this is off of a Caldwell lead sled so don't go praising my marksmanship because I truly am a terrible shot.

http://flic.kr/p/b9N9Xa

Buy a pack of the harvester "smooth" sabots and give them a try, since the CR was to loose and the mmp don't seem to do the job either.