new to ML

Hello, I just got new ML. Traditions Pursuit Ultralight .50 cal. The max load listed is 150 gr. pyrodex. I fired it a few times at the lease range with 240 gr. lead sabots and 150 gr pyrodex. It seems like it will take some time to get sighted in. I put a Nikon ML scope 3-9 40 on it. I'll go back and do some sighting next week. Any guidance or advice. I've shot and hunted with a 30.06 for about 45 years, but never with a ML. thanks

Ultralight with 150 grains...... Ouch!

I'm guessing you are using pellets. So I would advise purchasing some 30 grain pellets and try 130 grains. Another option is (4) 30 grain pellets for 120 grain loads.

I am also guessing those 240 grain lead bullets are inexpensive. So I will steer you to another bullet that's a good value, allowing you a little better variety, for MLs are sometimes finicky with bullets and sabot manufacturers too. Many stores sell the 240 grain T/C Mag Express XTP bullets in the green 44 caliber sabots for 50 caliber rifles. That's a good alternative choice, along with T/C Shockwaves in 250 grains. Both are easy on the wallet and have good deer-harvesting reputations.

The recoil isn't as bad as a 3" 12 ga. It's about like my 30.06. The loads are T/C target loads. Cheap to sight in with. I have some 250 grain poly tip Hornady sabots to hunt with. I expect them to shoot differently but if I get close with the 240's at the range I can fine tune with the Hornady sabots.

There is a lot of discussion concerning this but in my opinion cleaning the bore between shots will do a lot for your accuracy. You won't have any first shot fliers or fliers while you are shooting. There are numerous ways to clean between shots. I use solvent and a lubricant myself. Once you get sighted in you won't need to foul your barrel with shooting off a load or firing primers only thru your gun, before you go hunting. You can leave your gun loaded longer as you will not have any fouling in the barrel to get the first shot right.

:applause:
First off welcome to the forum :!: :!: :!:
That's a pretty heavy load your using there. I use Black horn 209, now I know it's expensive, but I never have to swab/clean the barrel while I'm at the range or hunting. I pull the breech plug after 7 or 8 shots and clean it. I've shot as many as 45/50 bullets with out swabbing. Accuracy and consistency only gets better as I shoot. The last round goes down the barrel as easy as the first. I use 110 grains, by volume, or 78.1 gains weighed on a grain scale. I weigh each and every load. If you have any questions send me a PM and I'll try to help you out and if I can't we'll post it and I'm sure you'll get an answer.

Ray............ :yeah:

I expected to have to pull a boresnake through the barrel several times every two or three shots. The scope has a BDC reticle that is calibrated for 250gr sabots and three 50 gr. pellets. The rifle also is rated by the mfg. to shoot 150 gr loads. Does nobody shoot a 150 gr. load? Some of my shots may be out to 200+ yards. I'll check again on the capacity, but I think that's O K. huckster

I think your most accurate loads will fall between 100 and 150 grains of powder. Everything changes when you shoot black powder. different bullets will shoot differently with different powders and volumes. You just have to find out what your gun likes. Sometimes it is easy and you fall into it. Other times you have to work for it. When its all said and done you feel good about your accomplishments.

One other thing, shooting pellets is going to limit you as to what you can develop with a load. Shooting Powder allows you to shoot everything between 100 and 150 grains of powder, you are not limited by pellets as to what you can develop.

Many people shoot pellets and like them, Can't complain about that. I am told that it is more expensive to shoot the pellets, myself I don't know.

Many rifles don't shoot as accurate with a max load. Only one way to find out though and if you don't mind the recoil, why not. I would recommend shooting loose Pyrodex but if that is a no go, I would do as posted already and find some of the 50 cal 30gr pellets (or just try 100gr) and experiment with different amounts until your rifle tells you what it likes.

I would swab after every shot with a wet patch followed by a dry patch, this should give you better accuracy and make loading much easier.

You mention it will take some time at the range to get sighted in, was it not grouping for you?

Nice scope :yeah: , all mine are topped with the same one. Go to NIKONSPOTON if you haven't already, you input some info and it spits out what yardages your circles are good for instead of going with the generic 100, 150, 200, 225, etc.

Congrats on getting into muzzleloader hunting.

The guy at BPS tried to bore sight it, but it wasn't even on paper at 50 yds. I may have to sight it in from inside the barn. It looks like a work in progress for a while. thanks

As others have stated, it's all about finding what the gun likes. Thats part of the fun of owning a ML.
Don't limit yourself, or the ML, to just pellets and a couple bullet choices. Of the three MLs I have, one of them being a Traditions Pursuit Ultralight, none did near as well with pellets vs loose powder.
IMO, pellets are a PITA. They required swabbing after every shot to achieve moderate accuracy, and max loads were all over the place.
I'm not pushing BH 209, but that stuff is the cats meow when it comes to running bullets down range. No swabbing between shots, just load and shoot. Clean the breech plug every 7-8 shots, mainly to get out the carbon build up from the primers. Get the proper size drill bit and it takes just seconds to do.
The only down side to BH 209, if you want to call it that, is a solvent must be used for cleaning. Beings you have a 30-06, you probably have some solvent like Hoppes #9 or equivalent.
My Pursuit Ultralights most accurate load has been 105 grains(volume) BH 209, 260 gr Harvester PT Golds and CCI 209M primer. It shoots a honest 1" - 1 1/4" groups @ 100 yds and <3" groups @ 200 yds all day long. It's also bad medicine on deer. Boom,,, flop.

On the scope, don't go by what the BDC "says" its supposed to be. Shot it at those distances to verify. My guess is you're going to be surprised at where the actual points of impact are vs what the BDC claims, especially on the 200 and 225 yd reticles.

huckster said:

Does nobody shoot a 150 gr. load?

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You certainly can, but most folks will typically shoot somewhere between 90-120gr, depending on what the rifle likes. 150gr is definitely not necessary for great accuracy, or 200yd shots.

Good luck with your new rifle, and welcome to the board and to ML

huckster said:

The rifle also is rated by the mfg. to shoot 150 gr loads. Does nobody shoot a 150 gr. load? Some of my shots may be out to 200+ yards. I'll check again on the capacity, but I think that's O K. huckster

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While you can shoot 150 grain loads that is just the Maximum charge rated by the manufacture for the rifle. It does not mean you must or even have to shoot that much powder. I have taken deer out to 206 yards with a 300 grain bullet and only used 100 grain of powder to do so. In most cases 150 grains of powder is too much and lowering the charge makes the rifle/load more accurate. I'd rather have the most accurate load for the rifle, then practice shooting at those ranges to learn the hold I need. If the load is accurate and you don't mind the recoil, well then have at it. Shooting steady diets of Max loads like that can be hard on some rifles. As mentioned above most shoot 90 to 120 grain loads and find them more accurate.

Hello All,

Don't mean to hijack the thread. But I'm new to muzzle loading. I just bought a CVA Accura MR Nitride. Got the (Black) Blackhorn 209 plug. Some Lehigh Defense 250XPs with Harvester black smooth sabots. Got a DNZ 30mm mount. CVA shim kit for firing pin bushing. Waiting on the arrival of my gun. I have a dilemma with scopes.....I have a Vortex Diamondback 2.5-10x44 Dead hold BDC and Leupold VXR 3-9x40 laying around. Everybody tells me there both to much scope for a muzzle loader...especially for hunting here in Michigan where I live. People tell me I need a Leupold Ultimate Slam to accommodate my gun. Are the scopes I have good enough or would you recommend something else? I'm open to advice opinions etc...I just want the best setup I can have. I have other guns I can put those scopes listed above on....I'm not against buying something else. Thank you all for you advice as I'm new to muzzle loading an this forum. Looking forward to talking to you all!

Mike

sounds like a great fit to me. you may not ever need the 10x magnification, but sometimes its nice to have. Ill typically leave my scopes set on a lesser magnification when hunting (3-4 power) for the wider field of view at close range. but sometimes its nice to be able to crank it up for a better view. For years I was a huge fan of ultimate slams. I still love anything Leupold, but last few years ive decided i dont really like the big center circle reticle blocking a lot of my center mass out of view. so the last few purchases have been VX 1/2/3.... its all really personal preferance, and up to each particular set of circumstance. I typically hunt very short range, but if your average shot is a longer range, the magnification is nice to have

Thanks for your response...I never used a Vortex optic...heard great things but didn't know if I would be better suited to purchase a new scope. Here in Michigan can't shoot much past 175 yards. Most shots under 100yards to be honest.

Not a thing wrong with either of the scopes you have. There is not a thing wrong with using standard rifle scopes. If some one tells you that you have to use a "Muzzleloader Specific" scope, I would take what they said with a grain of salt.

ShawnT is right on.. you should use the scope that you want. I have had Leupolds on my inlines for years and just put a 3X9 Sightron Mildot scope on my
Knight .45 inline... I'm shooting a 400gr paperpatched bullet that I cast. Sighting it in for 50yds I can use the mildots to shoot accurately out to 200yds. I have a blackpowder scope on a .50 inline and it is my least favorite.

TheMoose

Thanks Shawn T and Moose I appreciate your input. I'm going to put the Vortex Viper 2.5-10x44 bdc on my muzzleloader. I figured out how to use Vortex's ballistic calculator and able to match up the bdc options with my load and gun. I'll put the VXR on a .450 Bushmaster. Thanks again everyone.

I'm going to put the Vortex Viper 2.5-10x44 bdc on my muzzleloader

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I say go for it and enjoy. That is a good power range. Use the High power at the range and low for hunting. If sitting a field you can move to the mid range.

I have Leupold 3x9s, a Nikon Monarch 4x and a Leupold Vari-XIII 3.5 x10 on mine. I think the next one I pick up will be one of the Leupold's with the CDS dial.
I am not a big fan of scopes with lots of Circles and lines in them for hunting scopes. Lots of circles and lines is too "busy" of a scope for me when hunting it's too distracting. Just one or 2 dots/lines would be OK. That is just my personal preference. Now for a long range Varmint rifle it would be different story.

I have never used more than 110 gr of powder in 30 years of shooting smokepoles. I know a guy who killed an elk at over 250 yards with 90 grains of pyrodex P powder. My current elk load is 95 gr of BH 209 which has plenty of power. However, BH 209 is aprox 15% stronger than pyrodex, so it is aprox = to 110 gr pyrodex. Read my lips: the "150 grain magnum rifle" is marketing hype

As stated, your trouble sighting in may be using too much powder.

It has been said before but I want to emphasize that you can't take a new gun out and expect it to shoot whatever you decide you want. The gun tells you what IT likes. This is not like a centerfire rifle, there are so many variables with a smokepole, you have to experiment with multiple powders/bullets and even primers and find what your gun likes.

I would try 100 gr the next time you go out and see what happens. You can always play with the load after you get used to how to shoot. And at what pellets cost, you would save quite a bit per shot. Also, I am also a proponent of loose powder for the reasons stated above (can customize a load and it is cheaper)