Ultralight Arms (NULA) Model 20 45 Cal

[iowawhitetailnut]

Hello All, I am new to this forum and looking for some information and advice. I am considering buying a used Ultralight Arms Model 20 45cal smokeless muzzie. This is an older model before the company was NULA. It appears to be in excellent condition and barely shot. Black stock and black barrel. I can find very little information about this rifle so hoping you experts can help. Following are some questions I have, please let me know if there are other things I am missing that I should know.
Any idea on what this is worth?

What would the barrel twist rate be?

Recommended load recipes (primer, powder, bullets/sabots)?

I have shot blackpowder for years, but this would be my first smokeless. From what I have been able to find, it is suggested to use sabots and not bullet to bore on this rifle. Do you agree with this? What is a reasonable velocity that I can obtain with smokeless powder and a saboted bullet?

Should I go after this 45cal or shy away from it since it is not a 50cal?

Thanks all for any help you can offer.

 

[GM54-120]

Ok, first off you have a SUPER rare ULA Model 20. The 45s are insanely rare. Melvin quit making them fast. I bet less than 20 and probably no more than 12 were ever sold. My ULA is also an early model but its a 50cal. One of the first 40 made. The 45s are so rare ive only seen one come up for sale. I think it sold for over $1500 but new they sold for under $1000 way back then.

The guy who still has one and probably knows more about it is Del at MMP Sabots. He is a great guy. I think the load he shoots is around 54-56gr of 4198 behind a 200gr sabot. DO NOT SHOOT IT SABOTLESS WITH SMOKELESS......The barrel contour is far too light for that. The barrel should be a Douglas Prem XX 1-32 twist. I THINK Del shoots the Precision Rifle Dead Center 195gr or 200gr with around 54gr of 4198 for his pet load. Now with that said you can shoot Blackhorn 209 and some lead conicals. I bet it will shoot conicals upto 400gr fantastic. 70-80gr by volume of BH209 and mid weight conical will be cheap and very deadly on deer.

With 54-56gr of 4198 and a 200ish grain bullet you will be in the 2400fps range. You could also use Reloder7 in slightly larger amounts or slightly less N120. Probably about 50gr of N120 to start. Keep the loads low to moderate and sabots ONLY for smokeless in ULA 45s. You can also use Blackhorn 209 for sabot loads and get about 2300fps with the max recommended load.

If the supplied sabots dont work for you, get some Harvester smooth light blue sabots. Just swap the 40cal bullets into the Harvester sabots.

 

[iowawhitetailnut]

Very informative and thank you very much! I will definitely contact Del at MMP Sabots to discuss further. Thank you!

 

[GM54-120]

Im almost certain Melvin quit offering the 45s within the first year. So info on them is a pain to dig up. Its possible the twist is 1-28 because i know Douglas did offer a 1-28 as a common twist for the 45s. A couple guys on the forums had customs built using the Douglas 1-28. Anything faster would almost certainly be a custom order. My ULA is a custom order 50cal. Longer barrel and slightly heavier contour. So i know Melvin did sell some besides the regular offerings.

There is a chance Del will have some time to talk to you about it. He loves his. Ive talked to him about it many times. Connie will probably answer the phone. Tell him or her you heard about the info on MML.

 

[lwh723]

GM54, They seal on rim of primer, right? Were they setup for a specific primer? I think I saw the same 45cal come up for sale. And it wasn't very expensive. I thought about snagging it just to check out, but hesitated a little long.

IWN, where in Iowa are you?

 

[GM54-120]

Yes, the NULA seals on the rim of the primer. The rim is sandwiched between the bolt face and breach plug. So primer selection is pretty critical. CCIs have all fit mine correctly. Win209s did not. Bolt wont close on a Win209.

 

[iowawhitetailnut]

IWH, Located in SE Iowa near Burlington. GM54, any idea how to get in touch with Del at MMP Sabots? I have tried calling twice, first time left him a voice mail, second time talked to another fella and he was going to have Del call me. Neither yielded a return call. I also have an email into them but no response yet. I would sure like to talk to him. I have not bought the muzzie yet, really wanted to get his input before doing so. Thanks again for all your help.

 

[GM54-120]

If the rifle is in good shape i would not hesitate. With the "rona" and running a business you will just have to be patient with Del getting back to you. That was probably his son that answered the phone.

The model 20s are extremely well made rifles except for the ramrod sucks. I would be all over that sucker in a heart beat if i could inspect it first.

 

[iowawhitetailnut]

So I talked to Melvin at NULA today. He said he had only produced and sold 3 of these model 20’s in 45cal!!! This thing is rare! I did buy the rifle now and ordered a set of scope mounts from NULA. Cant wait to try it out.
Sounds like i might want to replace the ramrod. Did you find a replacement that fits in the ramrod holder?

 

[GM54-120]

Did he say what the twist was? The 50cals are a 1-32 but im not 100% certain the 45s were.

 

[iowawhitetailnut]

He did not but i am supposed to call him back in a few days and i will ask. Either way it is probably a very slow twist to stabilize any of the higher BC bullets. You agree?

 

[D55]

Sounds like a rare gem, GOOD FIND.

 

[GM54-120]

He did not but i am supposed to call him back in a few days and i will ask. Either way it is probably a very slow twist to stabilize any of the higher BC bullets. You agree?

Faster twist stabilizes long bullets better. A 1-32 will struggle with some of the newest 40cals for sabots. Even a 1-28 will run out of steam shortly after the bullet gets over 1" long. Fury however has a few that should be ok. The 200gr SST/Shockwave should also be ok.

You can hit a little over 2500fps safely with Reloder7. It will take about 60-61gr but that load with a 200gr bullet has a very low peak pressure. I would probably try less powder and a 225gr Fury 40cal if you want to try a better bullet than the 200gr SST/Shockwave.

The 3 powders ive mentioned are just a tad slow for a 200gr. IF you look at pressure traces and MV you will see the slightly heavier bullet actually loses no speed. That tells me you are getting a better burn with the heavier bullet. The NULA plug though is very efficient at igniting powder. Not as good as LRMP with a shorter flash channel but quite good for a 209 plug.

These traces are with a 27" Pacnor 1-20 IIRC and a Savage MLII plug so they are not gunna be exact. NULA barrel is shorter but the plug is more efficient. This is just for a reference.

4198-Good all around powder for about 2400ish fps. Maybe a tad more. Usually easy to get and fairly temp stable.

Reloder7-Rather dirty but its double based. Lower peak than 4198 and very easy on sabots.

VV N120-Super clean powder and great speed. A little more temp sensitive and can be much harder to find. 58gr with a 200gr bullet will break 2600fps no sweat but i probably would not go that hot in the NULA.

 

[iowawhitetailnut]

I did finally talk with Del at MMP Sabots. He does love his 45cal model 20! He is shooting 57gr of IMR 4198, a 175gr bullet from PR bullet, and getting 2,150fps to yield his best groups. I did also confirm with Melvin at NULA that mine would be a 1:32 twist.

Any suggestion of tools or good way to load the primer? Kinda difficult to get the primer slipped in by hand, maybe nearly impossible with cold hands during hunting situation?

 

[GM54-120]

I think the loading tool that worked best was either from CVA or Traditions. Might need to put a slight bend in it.

Looks like this

The newer Traditions capper is plastic but should work
https://www.amazon.com/Traditions-Performance-Firearms-Muzzleloader-Capper/dp/B0013RD6LO