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I intend to try the .45 maxi-hunters in my .45 Accura, 1:22 twist. (Found some NOS, also have a mould) I believe that the .50 maxi-hunters should shoot well in any 1:28 or 1:30 twist inline. I also believe that there are much better bullets available.
 
Slow it down a little and it should have no trouble being accurate in a faster twist in-line.
Have fun.
 
I intend to try the .45 maxi-hunters in my .45 Accura, 1:22 twist. (Found some NOS, also have a mould) I believe that the .50 maxi-hunters should shoot well in any 1:28 or 1:30 twist inline. I also believe that there are much better bullets available.
Which bullets do you think are a lot better?
 
So many good ones. You can fling a cat and hit some good bullets. Bought or home cast.
That Lyman 330 HP mould is a great one and IdahoLewis's I bullets from Accurate moulds are my first choices.
Thor and Fury have great bullets.
No Excuses, Hornady XTPs...
 
I would stick to Powerbelts for the 1/22 twist with loose granulation 777.
 
You could take 10 brand new inline/sidelock barrels from the same manufacturer, same batch of steel, same boring run, same rifling run, same caliber; as close as possible to being exactly the same.

4-5 of the 10 will end up shooting similar/same loads to the same point of aim, with approximately the same degree of accuracy. Probably, sub-M.O.A.

The other 5-6 barrels will be all over the place, requiring different powders, different weight powder charges, different bullets, different bullet weights, different sight settings, etc.

That's because barrels are made by humans with machines & tooling that wears, & NO TWO ARE EXACTLY THE SAME.

Barrels don't come out of STAR TREK, THE NEXT GENERATION replicators.

No one bullet/powder/powder charge/wad combination IS THE ONLY ACCURATE ANSWER.

There are MANY accurate answers. You just have to be willing to pay for components, go to the range, experiment, & shoot until you find them
 
As previously stated, it's best to try different bullets and powders.
A week or two ago there was a discussion about shooting a patched round ball out of an inline rifle. Surprisingly, there are a number of people who have good results using a round ball.
 
So yall are saying is that there positively is a combination that that will make any rifle accurate as long as you are willing to try enough combinations of charges and powders?
 
So yall are saying is that there positively is a combination that that will make any rifle accurate as long as you are willing to try enough combinations of charges and powders?
As with anything in life, there are no guarantees. But without trying, one never knows. Muzzleloaders are quirky, so you really have to experiment. Even the type of powder can make a difference. I shoot mostly real black, Goex, Old Ensyford and Swiss. I have discovered that each one shoots a bit different out of the same gun.
 
Actually I was asking... Are there any of today's modern ones that are just not capable of shooting a group? How expensive is too expensive on having a selection of 3 or 5 different powders and then you add 6 or 14 different weights of projectiles and wads or so on and so on and so on. I can easily see an upcoming rabbit-hole adventure beginning to take place.
 
I believe every muzzleloader takes some testing to find the best load. My .54 cal T/C Thunderhawk loves Maxi-balls and Hornady Great Plains with 80 grains of Pyrodex RS. If I shoot 90 grains they fly all over. When I go to 100 grains they settle down again. You just have to find what your rifle likes.
 
Actually I was asking... Are there any of today's modern ones that are just not capable of shooting a group? How expensive is too expensive on having a selection of 3 or 5 different powders and then you add 6 or 14 different weights of projectiles and wads or so on and so on and so on. I can easily see an upcoming rabbit-hole adventure beginning to take place.

Oh it's a rabbit hole alright. A long and surprisingly addictive rabbit hole. Hang around here too long and like most of us, you'll walk into your gun room and realize you have 8 or 10 different boxes of bulk bullets because one of them might work, between 4 and 10+ packs of the more expensive bullet/sabot packs because they were on clearance, more primers than you'll likely shoot in the next few years plus a few tins of caps because you do want to get a sidelock. And while you're putting away the 2 more boxes of XTP's you just bought because, well, they're XTP's, you'll look around and think "I probably need a second muzzleloader in case some of these bullets would shoot well in it. "

Yeah. Welcome to the rabbit hole. You're in good company.
 
Most modern barrels are capable of sub-M.O.A. accuracy. Period. Most shooters are incapable of eeking out the total potential of a modern muzzleloading barrel. The occasional bad barrel gets past the inspection teams, and fitted to an action. This is rare, but NOT UNHEARD OF.

Idaholewis laps every barrel he purchases, new & used, using the Lee Shavers Barrel Break-In method of lapping. This is a good place to start.

The second is the crown, making sure that it is smooth, but most importantly, EVEN ALL THE WAY AROUND THE MUZZLE.

Third, is the action's bedding. Is it solid? Is there a recoil lug? Is it loose? Does the action/recoil lug need to be glass bedded? Are the action bolts torqued to the correct amount of torque?

Fourth, is the barrel as it exits the forearm. Some barrels require solid contact for the entire length that the barrel contacts the forearm. Other barrels need to be free floating. Still other barrels need upwards pressure on the underside of the barrel at the tip of the forearm approximately the length of a playing card.

Fifth, is your breech plug. Is it correct for the type of powder you are trying to shoot? Does it leak? Does it need to be replaced? Is your ignition system hot enough for BH209, if that's the propellant you are using? Is your ignition system TOO HOT, especially if you are using traditional black powder?

Sixth, is your trigger. Is the length of pull correct for YOUR BODY? Is the length of pull CORRECT WHEN YOU WEAR YOUR HUNTING CLOTHES? Is the length of pull correct when you are wearing your COLDEST WEATHER HUNTING CLOTHES? Is the trigger pull TOO LIGHT? Is the trigger pull TOO HEAVY? Does the trigger pull have creep? Does the trigger pull have over travel? Does the trigger pull have roughness to the point where the trigger catches, stops momentarily, like a staged trigger? Does your firing pin spring need replacing? Does the firing pin itself need replacing? Are there any seals in the action that need replacing?

Seventh, do you habitually pick the flame channel/vent liner/flash hole/whatever name you want to call it, when shooting BH209?

I know that most people say that this is not necessary until the carbon starts to build up, but based on my experience with flintlocks, if you PICK EVERY SHOT, then the buildup NEVER HAS THE OPPORTUNITY TO CREATE A PROBLEM.

In 20 years of shooting flintlocks, I only had a couple of hangfires/misfires. They were early on at the beginning of my learning to shoot my first longrifle. Picking EVERY SINGLE TIME that I loaded the rifle, ensured that the gun fired 99.9999999999% of the time I pulled the trigger.

So, before you start obsessing about bullet, wad, & powder choices, make sure that you have eliminated as many variables as possible from the rifle & yourself as you can.

Don't drink stimulants like coffee, tea, energy drinks, cocoa before going to the range to shoot seriously. Don't get hyped up on tons of sugar, either.
 
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