I am new to muzzleloading this year.
I picked up an Encore last year and I have enjoyed the gun. I’d heard that there had been some real advancements in muzzleloader technology and I saw a used barrel go on sale last winter. Long story short, I ended up selling the barrel and buying a new endeavor barrel last spring.
I spent some time on the range and did a lot of research online. I spent WAY more money on different powders, primers, sabots and bullets than I ever did on the gun itself.
I finally settled on this combination: 100 gr. BH209, Federal primers, CR sabots and 300 gr. XTP. In Utah we are not allowed to have any magnification on our sights for muzzleloader, so I went with the Vortex red dot strikefire.
I don’t know how it’s possible, but I have spent many hours at the range and I can shoot that gun better than any other rifle I own. On average, I can shoot 1.5” groups at 100 yards. I have done better, but on average I get 1.5”.
Our muzzleloader season in Utah is early. This year, I was all set for a hot hunt in middle September because weather leading up to the hunt had been very hot and very dry. Then, about a week before the hunt, some pressure moved in and brought cold. It brought wind and snow in the high elevations.
I had a fried with me on the hunt. Two days before the season opener his Optima blew up in his face at the range. Rather that throw in the towel he came with me and we agreed that if we saw a buck, he would shoot my gun.
Morning of the first day we spotted a small herd across the mountain with some small bucks. We hiked into range, but because it was open sage brush, we couldn’t get closer than 300 yards. (He ranged 301, I ranged 314.) We had a dead rest, no wind and a clear shot. I had charted the ballistics from spending all summer at the range. He held 39” high and dropped this little buck on the first shot.
The next two days were spent scouting and trying new areas. This was a public land DIY hunt in northern Utah. On the morning of the third day we spotted two decent bucks on a ridge line above us. They had been sparring. We were at 6400 feet elevation and the ridge line was 8200 feet. The mountain was so bare that there was no way we could sneak into range so we had to go over a small drainage in the next canyon and come in from the ridge top behind them. Again, we could not get very close. We made it to a small clump of trees 208 yards behind them. It had taken an hour and 40 minutes to get this close. The bigger buck was bedded down by now and was lying down quartering away. We waited for him to stand up. The second he stood up he turned slightly broadside and I took the shot.
The shot went in the rib cage toward the rear and exited just underneath the front shoulder. The deer tried to run and made it about 20 yards before sledding to a face-first stop down the steep part of the mountain we had just finished hiking. See pictures of the buck and the recovered bullet below.
In Utah, the public hunt season is very short and the general rifle hunts can be very crowded. After experiencing years of crowds and seeing orange vests on every ridge top, I got really tired of watching people tear up the land on their fourwheelers. I would get really sick of vying for a camping spot weeks in advance. The muzzleloader hunt allows me to get away from the crowds and the people. I feel like I am not hindered at all by the weapon, maybe slightly by the scope. All in all, we had a blast, we filled our tags, didn’t see too many people and can’t wait to go again next year.
https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/-A2OTDpYhWGk/UqKnR8rYBxI/AAAAAAAAILs/56Je26Zmb4g/h77/IMG_1944.JPGimg]
Photo of the other buck that was sparring with the 3 point I shot. We hiked back up and found him for my dad the next day. Taken with a CVA Apex, 110 gr. BH209 and 250 gr. ftx
[img]https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/-oj-Xsz1W-rs/UqKnS-2XuTI/AAAAAAAAILw/3kcLQSZ94Is/h120/IMG_1955.JPG
I picked up an Encore last year and I have enjoyed the gun. I’d heard that there had been some real advancements in muzzleloader technology and I saw a used barrel go on sale last winter. Long story short, I ended up selling the barrel and buying a new endeavor barrel last spring.
I spent some time on the range and did a lot of research online. I spent WAY more money on different powders, primers, sabots and bullets than I ever did on the gun itself.
I finally settled on this combination: 100 gr. BH209, Federal primers, CR sabots and 300 gr. XTP. In Utah we are not allowed to have any magnification on our sights for muzzleloader, so I went with the Vortex red dot strikefire.
I don’t know how it’s possible, but I have spent many hours at the range and I can shoot that gun better than any other rifle I own. On average, I can shoot 1.5” groups at 100 yards. I have done better, but on average I get 1.5”.
Our muzzleloader season in Utah is early. This year, I was all set for a hot hunt in middle September because weather leading up to the hunt had been very hot and very dry. Then, about a week before the hunt, some pressure moved in and brought cold. It brought wind and snow in the high elevations.
I had a fried with me on the hunt. Two days before the season opener his Optima blew up in his face at the range. Rather that throw in the towel he came with me and we agreed that if we saw a buck, he would shoot my gun.
Morning of the first day we spotted a small herd across the mountain with some small bucks. We hiked into range, but because it was open sage brush, we couldn’t get closer than 300 yards. (He ranged 301, I ranged 314.) We had a dead rest, no wind and a clear shot. I had charted the ballistics from spending all summer at the range. He held 39” high and dropped this little buck on the first shot.
The next two days were spent scouting and trying new areas. This was a public land DIY hunt in northern Utah. On the morning of the third day we spotted two decent bucks on a ridge line above us. They had been sparring. We were at 6400 feet elevation and the ridge line was 8200 feet. The mountain was so bare that there was no way we could sneak into range so we had to go over a small drainage in the next canyon and come in from the ridge top behind them. Again, we could not get very close. We made it to a small clump of trees 208 yards behind them. It had taken an hour and 40 minutes to get this close. The bigger buck was bedded down by now and was lying down quartering away. We waited for him to stand up. The second he stood up he turned slightly broadside and I took the shot.
The shot went in the rib cage toward the rear and exited just underneath the front shoulder. The deer tried to run and made it about 20 yards before sledding to a face-first stop down the steep part of the mountain we had just finished hiking. See pictures of the buck and the recovered bullet below.
In Utah, the public hunt season is very short and the general rifle hunts can be very crowded. After experiencing years of crowds and seeing orange vests on every ridge top, I got really tired of watching people tear up the land on their fourwheelers. I would get really sick of vying for a camping spot weeks in advance. The muzzleloader hunt allows me to get away from the crowds and the people. I feel like I am not hindered at all by the weapon, maybe slightly by the scope. All in all, we had a blast, we filled our tags, didn’t see too many people and can’t wait to go again next year.
https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/-A2OTDpYhWGk/UqKnR8rYBxI/AAAAAAAAILs/56Je26Zmb4g/h77/IMG_1944.JPGimg]
Photo of the other buck that was sparring with the 3 point I shot. We hiked back up and found him for my dad the next day. Taken with a CVA Apex, 110 gr. BH209 and 250 gr. ftx
[img]https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/-oj-Xsz1W-rs/UqKnS-2XuTI/AAAAAAAAILw/3kcLQSZ94Is/h120/IMG_1955.JPG
