I have a traditions Lightning muzzleloader its got the fluted nickel barrel with a muzzle break Ive had it for several years now and the book on it says it`ll handle 150gr. of pyrodex but ive never even tried ive just been shooting 100gr. of 777 pellets and I was wondering if I should try 150gr.? I dont really shoot at long distances so im not real sure? how far out is 100gr. good for? will 150gr. get me some more distance? 200 yards would be a great distance to shoot at but I highly doubt ill ever shoot over say 150 yards but if 150gr. will get me some extra distance then ill try it out.
thanks,sean

In almost all cases... shooting 150 grains of powder will do a couple of things for you. It will decrease your accuracy. It will cut the life of your barrel in half. It can cause a serious flinch. And your shoulder, cheek bones, and eye brows will hate you when the rifle kicks the snot out of you, bucks into your face, and the scope comes back and smacks you above the eye.

Too many people fall into the 150 grain load hype. All they end up finding is their rifle does not shoot that well and the little they gained by increasing the powder charge makes no difference to the animal they shoot.

100 grains of powder should be fine out to 150 yards. Shot placement is the most important thing you need to worry about. If your rifle is not accurate, the most powerful load in the world will do you no good if you can not hit your target.

Thanks for the info. Im the only person I know who shoots black powder(out of me and my buddys) so anytime I have a question I basiclly have to turn here because they have no clue what im talking about Ill probably just stick to the 100gr. of 777 pellets

I think that is a wise choice. 100 grains of loose Triple Se7en is equal in strength to 115 grains of Pyrodex or Black Powder. 100 grains of Triple Se7en pellets are equal to 100 grains of Pyrodex or Black Powder. I shoot Goex Black Powder for the most part now....

good luck with your rifle.

I have the same model ,
and I never put more than 2 50 grain pellets or 100 grains loose in it .
My actual hunting load for mine is 80-90 grains loose , it gets excellent accuracy and punch with that .

I put three pellets in it when I first got it to see what it would do . It wouldn't group worth crap , but it sent a 250 grain hollowpoint straight through an 8" cedar log with no apparent difference in entry and exit holes . Three pellets also caused me to lose a buck last year , the rifle kicked too high , even with the muzzle brake on . Stick with the load it likes .