200 yard shot with my inline.

[strong eagle]

my 18 year old son talked me into getting a muzzleloader permit so i did. he did the scouting for me and knew where the deer were and what time they came into that area. the gun is a custom inline i had made. it is a H and R 10 gauge action with a douglas barrel and a 1/32 twist .50 cal. the scope is a reconditioned old tv screen weaver 9 power. the bullet is swaged by me .451 pure lead 335 grain bullet. the sabot is a magnum heavy charge mmp sabot. the powder was 135 grains of black horn 209 powder. the 209 priimer was a cci. the range was 215 yards through the neck. the deer is a very large white tail with a large 5 x 5 rack. dropped it where it stood. the man who put together my gun said i could use smokeless powder in it safely but i never have and never will. blackhorn 209 is good enough for me and even through it is rated for smokeless i cant bring my self to do it. i cant tell you what feet per second the bullet was doing  but the gun was sighted in for 100 yards and in the 200 plus yard shot it only dropped a couple of inches. the bullet went through the neck. the gun is extemely accurate but to aide it i put 50 fat o rings on the barrel in front of the forestock and wrapped them with a good electrical tape. this take all vibrations out of the discharged barrel and reduces the barrel whip to almost nothing. my 200 plus yard shot what spot on and only a couple inches lower than point of aim. thanks for listening, it was a good hunt. strong eagle.

 

[reinholzrudy]

SOUNDS LIKE QUIT A GUN. THAT SURE IS A LOAD OF POWDER YOUR SHOOTING  GOOD SHOOTING  NOW WE NEED PICTURES

 

[Smokin' Joe]

Congrats on a great shot!!  Strong eagle, you are a better man than me.  135 grains of BH209.... WOW!  Do you prop it up against a tree to absorb some of the recoil?    
If possible could you post a picture of your inline?  I'd like to see it.

 

[strong eagle]

recoil on a lot of muzzleloaders including mine isnt as harsh as when the same load is in a cartridge rifle. i have a aftermarket stock front and back on the gun that comes with a recoil pad. also over that i put a recoil pad that slips over it and laces up. the gun is nothing to look at and is built for use only and it is super accurate and reliable. if anyone wants one like it and they have a old H and R shot gun laying around it isnt that expensive. go to smokeless muzzleloader.com and check out their services. thats who built it for me and they use the best barrels out their. they use a 1/32 twist that is a lot more usefull than the 1/28 twist on all the other store bought inlines. the 1/32 twist allows a 250 grain to 350 grain .451 or .452 pistol bullet in a magnum sabot to be used behind a large powder load and will send that bullet 2000 or more ft per second. accuracy with a 1.32 twist is very very above average right out of the box. i also shoot a 545 grain paperpatched bullet with extreme accuracy in this gun encase elk are being hunted or moose or bear. i can get 1 hole ragged at 100 yards from a shooting bench with the paperpatched bullet. i use about 100 grains of 209 powder behind the bullet. if you prefer fast twist side locks that have a 1/32 twist the lyman fast twist hawken has that kind of barrel. i had one i worked over and so does a friend. we set a 5 gallon pail in the field behind my deck and put a one inch black circle on it as it was a white pail. both of us hit that circle using a 250 grain .451 bullet in a magnum mmp sabot using the railing of the deck as a rest. those lyman fast twist sidelocks with this load really really shoot. back then we used pyrodex 100 grains behind that combo. i dont recommend pyrodex but it worked in that type of gun and with that bullet sabot combo. i saw my friend take a huge buck antelope at 100 yards with a head shot with his lyman. as i get older as we all do i like a scope to hunt with. im still a side lock man but i love my custom plain looking inline. i havent sighted that gun in in 3 years and it still prints perfect. as to pictures if i can get my wife to do the gun and the deer i post some as i dont know how. she is prepareing for a final test, it is her 9th year of college. she will be able to practice medicine next summer and see patients. her days are pretty full. the reason the deer are so plentyfull around my place is my neighbor planted thousands of acres of sun flowers and he lets us hunt them. deer come to sunflowers by the dozens and dozens. hope some of my info helped some one get better accuracy and better hunts. strong eagle.

 

[patocazador]

Congrats. How about a picture?

 

[johnfg]

Congrats!

Sounds like you did a great job!  I'm sure you thanked the Lord for allowing you to harvest what sounds like a fine animal and make the great shot you did.  I'm kinda surprised that this one wasn't paper patched   I've read your article, and will be talking with you about specifics in the near future (should the Lord tarry).

God bless and congratulations!
john

 

[Huntin_Dawg1215]

Great story strong eagle, congratulation on the deer. When possible please post photo of gun and deer.

 

[strong eagle]

the reason i didnt shoot the paperpatched bullets is 545 grains is over kill for deer. would have done the job but i was thinking a flatter trajectory and increased ft. per second is what i needed for the land i was hunting. i much prefer pp bullets as they load so easy and are so reliable but havent done much beyond 200 yard shooting so would be guessing at the trajectory. i think the most fun any of us can have as muzzle loader shooters is go to a range and do better than those with modern rifles. i know this is off subject and forgive me but a shooter i designed a barrel for, for a specific pp bullet is getting hands size groups now at 300 yards. he has two reactions at the range he goes to too shoot. shooters who want nothing to do with him as their ego wont allow it and the other is they want to know all about his side lock and the way he loads it. he built the gun him self around the barrel specs i gave him. the oregon rifle barrel co. cut the barrel for him. most shooters dont realize how accurate a muzzle loader can be. even the round ball type. always remember, the first shot fired at the battle of new orleans was a 216 yard shot with a off hand flintlock rifle from a man from tenn. whose name way morgan. he put a ball through the head of a british officer who was yelling and swearing at the americans. around 3400 brits dropped that and none of the brits got closer than 98 yards and the large percentage was head shots. not to revel in the bloody details but it is a way of letting us see the accuracy that can be obtained by a muzzleloader. if they can shoot that well back then, so can we if we learn the right way. the shot i made on my deer can be made by anyone if their gun is understood and loaded right. that pure lead bullet made quite a exit wound on the other side of his neck. lights out and no pain, the way i like it. i do not like anything to suffer. dont have to track them down either.

 

[Marty1]

:cheers:

:cheers:

-------------------------------------------------
p.s.  Nice read strong eagle.   Can you show us some pics of your custom smoker :?:

 

[strong eagle]

my wife got a A minus on her final test and may have some time for pictures. it is nothing to look at, just a old H and R 10 guage with a modern after market composite stock and wrapped in a lot of electrical tape. solid and a shooter. barrel is a douglass barrel. i will see tonight if she has time. what i like about the gun is the power, accuracy, and i dont have to worry about field use, nothing will hurt it with normal use. sabots and .451 bullets for deer and antelope and 545 grain paper patched bullets for buffalo, moose, elk and bear. if anyone wants to see the work i can do on a good piece of wood go to my web site pineridgeblack powder.com. thats my .50 cal sidelock target rifle. some day when i get the money im going to rebarrel it to a 45 cal 1/56 twist barrel. then i will shoot holes in holes at 100 yards, use much less powder and alot less lead, and very little recoil.