Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Muzzleloaders Cheapest bullets for meaningful shooting.

Talking modern/in line. Bullets are pretty pricey. Are there some out there that are good for 200+ yard shooting that cost closer to .50 than $1.00?
I don't mind spending money on the premium stuff for hunting but looking for a bit cheaper way to practice.

I really like the Speer Deep Curl 300g .452cal bullets

They seem to be priced right. Whose sabots do you use?

I have really good luck with the Harvester crush rib sabot. here is a link to the sabot:

http://www.harvestermuzzleloading.c...&option=com_virtuemart&Itemid=18

this combo has shot really good in the two guns I have tried them in. CVA Optima and Electra.

here is a picture of the only one we have recovered from a whitetail doe shot at 80 yards.

Bullet entered left front shoulder and stopped in ham on off side









spent slug
295.70g

OD=.898"

If your looking for a accurate long range bullet. the harvester PT gold in .260-.300 bought in quantities of 50 are priced good and are extremely accurate in most rifles.sabot make will depend on your rifles bore diameter.

Can't the in-lines shoot the patched round balls like I shoot in my 3 traditional muzzle loading flintlock and percussion cap rifles?

The costs on round rifle balls run from $6.00 per hundred (or 6� each) for commercially molded .50 caliber lead balls sold at Friendship during the big rendezvous to as much as $15.00 per hundred (15� each) for cold swaged Hornady .50 caliber lead rifle balls sold at a local gun shop. If purchased on line, cost jump up to about $23 per hundred due to freight and possible sales tax costs.

Of course, you could mold your own a lot cheaper, but you'd have to buy the mold plus some way to melt the lead like a small electric furnace designed for that purpose.

Lead rifle balls are accurate if well molded or swaged... and they're a LOT less expensive than the sabotted bullets often used in in-lines.

Jus' my 2�...


Strength & Honor...

Ron T.

I don't know of anyone shooting RB's out of a inline...

The Speer or the Harvester would be a good starting point for $$ and 200+ yard shootin. And either one of these bullets will be just fine for hunting. You may find you don't need anymore bullet then either of these.

I like the Hornady 300 gr. .429 XTP in the green Harvester Crush Rib sabot in my Knight rifles. I prefer the .429 to the .452 bullet diameter because the .429 has a better ballistic shape and higer sectional density. Accuracy has been stellar.

They are usable out to 200 yards with the right load and are a tough bullet. I have never recovered one from a deer and neither have my friends who use them.

You can buy both the bullets and sabots in bulk and save quite a bit of money. I use them for all of my inline ML shooting and hunting.

Buy bulk sabots and bulk bullets. Trash the idea of buying the $x/20 retail packages.
Cast bullets can still be bought very reasonably.

If you are limited to retail, Harvester sells a bullet and Sabot combo that I've had tremendous luck with. There used to be a bullet and sabot combo called "Cheap Shot" that worked well, too. Both could be had around the $10/20 mark.

If you are really serious about the >200 yard thing you might want to consider getting a mold for something along the lines of a heavier conical. How do you spell minie'?

Wallace - I have shot prb's out of in-lines and killed a handful of deer with them, and know others who have as well. Granted, they are a short range proposition.

X2, honestly either of these bullets are a good choice.

A lot of people have great luck with the .430 240 and 300 gr XTP..the .430 300 is on my list of bullets to try.that 300 gr PT has about a .255 BC, which is outstanding for long range muzzle loader shooting.

Thanks for all the replies. Looks like their are quite a few options out there.
The Harvester hard cast bullets look interesting too.

the harvester scorpion pt gold is an excellent bullet for low cost.

I've found the .452 XTPs to shoot quite well in 50 cal inlines and they aren't too pricey. The BC of the FTX is a bit better, but they cost a bit more as well.

MMP standard, HPH12, and HPH24 are all good sabots.

buy a mould and cast your own maxi balls

You can shoot cloth patched marbles. They're cheap.

My brother has an inline rifle and never shot a round ball till this Christmas.
He was surprised at how accurate it was and it shoots less than 100-150 grains of powder.
What was said about casting your own is even cheaper.

You may dabble with lead. May supprise yu.

I would think that ANY "muzzle loading rifle" could shoot a patched round rifle ball... be it a side-lock or an in-line.

Both of my sons hunt with in-lines, but like most of you in-liners, they've never attempted to use a patched round ball either. Their regular "deer load" is a 295 grain sabotted bullet driven by three 50-grain powder "pellets" (total = 150 grains) which yields a chronographed muzzle velocity of over 2,000 fps together with a very "robust" recoil!

BTW, you don't need a 300 grain bullet to kill a deer. The swaged .50 caliber patched, round lead rifle ball weighs 177 to 188 grains and kills deer with relative ease... often shooting THROUGH a whitetail at ranges less than 100 yards.

Then, too... you don't need those HUGE powder charges to drive a patched, round rifle ball at a respectable velocity. I use just 65 grains (by volume, not weight) of Swiss FFFg behind my .50 caliber patched round lead in my older CVA percussion cap Hawken Carbine with a 24" barrel. With a weight of only 6� lbs, I'd hate to load and shoot a 100 grains of powder in it... plus it's not necessary.

And this doesn't even mention the much lighter, more pleasant recoil of the smaller powder charges needed for the patched, round ball as opposed to those "monster" powder charges (up to 150 grains or it's equivalent) it takes to move those 300 grain sabotted bullets out at of your in-line rifles at a reasonable muzzle velocity.

Since most deer are taken at considerably LESS than 100 yards which is well WITHIN the effective range of a patched round ball of .45 caliber or greater in any "front-stuffer", you in-line guys may be missing a good "bet" by not trying out the old "solution" in projectiles for muzzle-loading black powder rifles.

It would not only be a whole lot less expensive shooting, but it would be a lot more "sporting" to "throttle back" your in-lines to a patched round ball and 70 or 80 or even 90 grains of REAL black powder or a loose powder substitute charge like Pyrodex... and if you think of it, it would completely eliminate ALL the traditional muzzle loader shooter's "objections" against the modern in-line muzzle loading rifles.

It's just my 2�... but it really is something to consider, eh?


Strength & Honor...

Ron T.

I went the round ball pour my own way, leads pretty easy to trade for or get free

Old rollingb taught me right