45 or 50 Ultralite

[Defender]

First off I am a long time lurker but hardly ever post. I would really like to thank everyone for the wealth of knowledge available here. I have had a tc pro hunter fx for a number of years now but the knight Ultralite has always been on my wishlist. With the current prices I’m gonna pull the trigger on one.
Elk are not on the menu. Primarily Midwest whitetail and a rare occasional mule deer hunt. I can’t decide between the fast twist 45 or the 50. Whichever one I order I’m gonna get the 2 piece Bestill plug before I even shoot it.
I wanna go 45 but I need someone to talk me into it. I shoot BH 209 with federal 209a primers. Currently in my fx I shoot 250 Barnes Tez. They have been fantastic. Big Barnes fan here even in my center fires. If I go 45 I’m thinking about trying the 195 Barnes expander mz or the 200 grain bloodline with supplied sabots. Any input on these choices would be greatly appreciated. I realize that shooting a bullet to bore sabot less is probably the better way to go. Just not interested in that right now. Maybe someday. Would this be a reasonable whitetail set up say to 250 yards max. More than likely 200 or less.
I am also setting this up for my son to shoot so I am really interested in keeping the recoil to a minimum.
I apologize for the lengthy post but I am a research nut and this is a lot of coin for me to spend. One last thing. How are the triggers? I have been spoiled over the years by the factory trigger on my Tikka rifles. If a gun doesn’t have a great trigger I just can’t warm up to it.
Thanks in advance for any input I might receive. Lay it on me. I love info. Especially from people with more knowledge and experience than me.

 

[dwm]

I have both 50 and 45, the 50 sits in the safe, i only deer with it being from Jersey, i shoot 90 grains 777 fffg 240 cutting edge maximus smooth blue harvester sabot. its one hole accurate at 100 , I haven’t killed anything past that yardage yet,but very deadly on deer size game, i plan on shooting black horn at some point but i have quite a bit of powder to burn up first. Knight recommended that load to me, I believe that guy from knight has killed elk at 200 with that load bullet and 90 of bh

 

[fishhawk2700]

It's a no brainer. If you don't need a .50 to be legal, .45 is way to go IMO.

 

[dbowling]

.45 hands down

 

[HV-Muzzleloaders]

The .45 usually has a thicker barrel on some rifles, but I am not sure about this brand, and therefore can withstand more pressure.

There are a lot of 45 bullets now available from Arrowhead Rifles and others, and a sizer is less than $200 to make them just barely go down the bore.

You can also use the 40cal to 45 High Pressure sabots from Harvester to shoot 200 grain 40 caliber bullets like the Hornady XTP.

 

[52Bore]

Go with the 45 fast twist (1:20), just like 150 years ago when they killed everything with it at any distance.

 

[GM54-120]

The only reason i even has 1 50cal left is i love that particular rifle. I wont ever buy another as long as i can buy a fast twist 45. A 50 just cant match the versatility of a 45 but a 45can do pretty much anything a 50cal can do. Bullets like the Fury 40cal 250gr will breath new life into 45s for guys that dont want to shoot sabotless. A good 40cal 250gr is better than a 45cal 250gr in every way. Better BC, better SD and more than likely better speed with the same amount of powder vs shooting the same bullet in a 50x40 sabot.

Other than stores not stocking 45cal sabots there are no negatives IMO. Once you get a adjustable sizing die, the sky is the limit. Want a thumper?.....Well a 45 1-20 will shoot a 350gr sabotless bullet at nearly 2000fps with just 120gr by volume of BH209. Thats about 3100fpe at the muzzle. Virtually the same as the max load from a Knight 52cal

 

[Defender]

Ok. Thanks for the reply’s. I guess I was just over thinking it. I’m gonna order the 45.
Im planning on trying the 195 Barnes mz expander and the 200 grain bloodline. Does anyone have any experience with either of these bullets?Has the supplied sabot worked well in the Ultralite? I have been searching but can’t find any ballistic data on the bloodline like BC or SD.
Are there any other bullet sabot combos you would recommend. Like I said I’m not getting into the sizing bullet to bore game at this time. Maybe someday. Currently it looks like the best prices are right from knight. Anywhere else I should check?
Thanks again.

 

[ENCORE50A]

...................... Like I said I’m not getting into the sizing bullet to bore game at this time. Maybe someday.......................

It won't take long I'm bet'n.

 

[Rick Dillard]

I have been shooting the 200 gr. Knight Bloodline bullet in my CVA Firebolt .45 for the last 4 or 5 years and I ABSOLUTELY love them! They work totally as advertised. Petals from the bullet produce radiating wound channels with the main core of the bullet exiting the animal. Most of the deer I have shot either dropped in their tracks or ran less than 20 yards before collapsing.

Lehigh (maker of the Knight bloodline bullet) also has the CF (controlled fracturing) muzzleloader bullet available on its website. It is basically the same bullet as the bloodline but does not come with a sabot. If you choose this bullet, I recommend getting the Harvester Smooth Light Blue Sabot. Out of the different sabots I tried, this one provided the best accuracy. I have also harvested white-tailed deer with these with equal results. Also, if you choose this bullet, I recommend going with the 215 gr. bullet. Since your gun has a fast 1:20 twist rate, this bullet will provide better accuracy than the 200 gr. bullet.

The only problem I have with the .45 caliber bloodline bullets is their difficulty to find and the price. Muzzle-loaders.com apparently doesn't carry them anymore. Most of the other sites don't offer them. They are available at Knight's website (muzzleloaders.com), but the cost ($20.99 + $15.00 shipping) is rather high in my opinion.

For target practice I use the Hornady SST 200 grain bullets (a lot cheaper!). I have also gotten good results using them on deer. I also found that using the Harvester Smooth Light Blue Sabot gave me better accuracy than those supplied in the package

 

[52Bore]

You might consider casting and teaching your son a lifelong skill - rewarding as well.

 

[edmehlig]

There are a lot of great 45 cal ML bullet molds that you can obtain either from Accurate Molds or Lyman just to mention a couple of places. If you are looking for just a bullet for deer hunting, you won't go wrong with the Lyman 330gr HP Gould bullet. My mold with Pure lead (Highly Recommend Pure Lead) casts at about 347gr's. My two grandsons harvested an 8 and 7 pointer this year with them. Or you can purchase the 45-340I mold from Accurate Molds. You can check the post from Idaholewis in the Sidelock forum on his test results with it. If bigger game is what you are after, we'll be glad to recommend other bullets to you.

 

[teambuffalooutdoors]

My recommendation is 50 cal ultra lite Colorado FPJ version with a mountaineer .45 fast twist barrel kit. Best of both worlds. Flexibility and everything

 

[Ninering62]

I have been shooting the 200 gr. Knight Bloodline bullet in my CVA Firebolt .45 for the last 4 or 5 years and I ABSOLUTELY love them! They work totally as advertised. Petals from the bullet produce radiating wound channels with the main core of the bullet exiting the animal. Most of the deer I have shot either dropped in their tracks or ran less than 20 yards before collapsing.

Lehigh (maker of the Knight bloodline bullet) also has the CF (controlled fracturing) muzzleloader bullet available on its website. It is basically the same bullet as the bloodline but does not come with a sabot. If you choose this bullet, I recommend getting the Harvester Smooth Light Blue Sabot. Out of the different sabots I tried, this one provided the best accuracy. I have also harvested white-tailed deer with these with equal results. Also, if you choose this bullet, I recommend going with the 215 gr. bullet. Since your gun has a fast 1:20 twist rate, this bullet will provide better accuracy than the 200 gr. bullet.

The only problem I have with the .45 caliber bloodline bullets is their difficulty to find and the price. Muzzle-loaders.com apparently doesn't carry them anymore. Most of the other sites don't offer them. They are available at Knight's website (muzzleloaders.com), but the cost ($20.99 + $15.00 shipping) is rather high in my opinion.

For target practice I use the Hornady SST 200 grain bullets (a lot cheaper!). I have also gotten good results using them on deer. I also found that using the Harvester Smooth Light Blue Sabot gave me better accuracy than those supplied in the package

I finally decided to try the 200gr .40 SST's out in my Accura V2 .45 this yr & was thrilled to find them for 12.00 per pk. They didn't group well IMO with the MMP sabots & I never found a single sabot between my bench & even the 50yd target, none. I got LBCR's & kept pushin them with 84gr BH209 2360 avvg mv sub moa on paper out to 200yds all great, or so I thought. I put a shot on a quartering away shot 60-70yds the shot broke exiting shoulder, it ran 80yds, stopped a few sec then ran off another 200-300yds thru the thick pine forrest I never found it after over 7hrs looking. Then a wk later I put one of my fav shots - high behind shoulder & below the backstraps, normally even with under weight, under performing PB's was a bang/flop shot and this shot at maybe 35yds, it took off for the county line & never slowed down that I could ever find. So them 200gr SST's from now on can punch paper or these dang armadillos, but no more deer & dang sure wouldn't shoot a pig or a black bear with them either. Not after what I just saw & did.

 

[Defender]

Thanks for the info. Once I find a bullet sabot combo that I am happy with accuracy and performance wise I’m gonna stock up on them.

 

[Ninering62]

Thanks for the info. Once I find a bullet sabot combo that I am happy with accuracy and performance wise I’m gonna stock up on them.

I caught some Precision Rifle Bullets ( PR Bullets ) Dead Center 220gr .40/.45 sabots. I switched out the MMP's again, for the LBCR's & they shoot fantastic with a 84gr BH 209 charge & back to my BangFlop der hunting again. I killed a nice fat healthy 1.5yr old 5pt a cpl days ago. Neck shot around 70yds. Exit wound was the size of my fist. They are expensive IMO, but on sale they hit hard & shoot great. I'm glad I got 8 pks of them. New Fan of the Dead Centers bullets. Use their bullet/barrel twist chart to choose the best weight for your gun. And they are not hard to find either. PRBULLETS.com DeadCenter bullets.

 

[Defender]

I hope this doesn’t sound like a dumb question but what are the LBCR’s.

 

[Defender]

Light blue crush rib?

 

[HC]

Yep.

 

[Ninering62]

Light blue crush rib?

You got it bud. No dumb questions, just questions.