Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Muzzleloaders Muzzleloader zero for deer

What is a good zero for the following?

CVA Accura LR 50 cal
82.5 gr by weight Blackhorn 209
Federal 209 A primers
300 gr Harvester Scorpion bullets, black sabot

My goal is to shoot 200 yards without using a hold over.

Will only take the long shots with a rock solid rest. The Accura LR is very accurate out to 120 yards so far.

Any suggestions will be appreciated.

My suggestion is to shoot it at 200 and see what the drop ACTUALLY is with your current zero.



I rather know for myself than guess or go off what someone else's gun does.

Well, I use Maximum Point Blank Range method, assuming 6 inch vital zone using 3 in above line of sight and 3 in below line of sight. With my load 77 grains of blackhorn and 250 gr Thor bullet I get 1943 fps at the muzzle. Get a ballistic calculator (I use Federal Premium Ballistic Calculator online) and figure out the best setting. In theory, I can put the crosshairs on target and hit plus or minus 3 inches up to 181 yards. I am dead on my line of sight at 156 yards. At the range I am 3 in high at 100. This method works for me as I feel confident I can make a quick shot without much thinking out to 181 yards. If I have time, I can dial my scope or use the mil hash marks to compensate, particularly out past 200 when the bullet is dropping like a stone. Your setup will be different... a chronograph helps a lot.


Velocity target clicks mils
0 1943 -1.6
25 1854 0.6 7 0.67
50 1768 2.1 12 1.17
75 1686 2.9 11 1.07
100 1606 3.0 8 0.83
125 1530 2.2 5 0.49
150 1456 0.6 1 0.11
175 1388 -2.2 -3 -0.35
200 1325 -6.1 -8 -0.85
225 1265 -11.1 -14 -1.37
250 1211 -17.6 -20 -1.96
275 1163 -25.6 -26 -2.59
300 1121 -35.1 -33 -3.25

Sorry, my table did not show up correctly

Why not just zero it at 200 yards?

JMHO- I'd never take a shot at a game animal
without some practice at the range I intended
to make the shot, regardless of the firearm
being used. Every gun and load is different to
a degree

I agree with you.
I will get to the range and see what the drop is at 200 yards with a 100yard zero. I want to set the zero where I can get great groups @ 200 yards and shoot enough to know where the bullet will hit consistently. Taking the guess work out of the process is my goal.
Thanks for the input.

Looking at stillkicking's chart...

Looks like he's 3 inches high at 100 and still over 6" low at 200.


The weight and low BC and slower velocity of muzzleloaders just cause them to drop like a brick...


Different loads, barrel lengths etc all come into play...but physics can't be beaten. Wise to go out and learn what your gun is actually doing.


Zero for the range your most likely to shoot. Know where it impacts at different ranges and compensate accordingly. Or just keep it "simple" and zero at 100yds and you can compensate as needed from there.

I sight my muzzleloader for a 150 yard zero and I’m still almost 6” low at 200. Muzzleloader bullets have terrible BCs. Gotta verify at the range.

Good, sensible posts here. Anyone that trusts tables without verifying with actual shooting is dreaming.

You could always buy a ballistic reticle scope. I put a Leupold 2-7 on my Omega with the SAbot Ballistic Reticle a few years ago. Zero the gun at 100 yards and it has aiming points at 50, 150, 200, 250 and 300 if you want to try shooting that far. Sighted in and hit the 200 yard gong on the next 2 shots.