Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Muzzleloaders Combination for CO elk

We're planning our first Colorado muzzleloader hunt this fall. I need to purchase an inline muzzleloader. With Colorado's "no sabot" regulation, what weapon/bullet combination has performed well for you?

That early CO BP season is absolutely a great hunt. You guys will really enjoy it.

I will tell you what we came up with.

For a rifle I like the Knight MK-85. It has a fantastic trigger. It shoots very well, and is very "handy", along with being lightweight. And you can pick one up for a decent price. However what I like most about them is that they shoot conicals very, very well.

I cast a 525 grain conical with the RCBS HotchKiss adjustable mold in 50 caliber. I realize this is a big bullet, but it is extremely effective on elk. Now I will admit that I did not measure the length of this bullet when we used them in CO, and bullet length is a parameter for legal projectiles in CO. But at the time I hunted and casted those bullets I did not know that law. But that was my problem if I had got caught.

I backed the 525 grain Hotchkiss bullet with 120 grains of 3F BP. And that was one stout load. Probably too stout. But it would cut the X at 100 yards off the bench. This really is too stout of a load, but I did shoot it, and it kicked the he** out of me, but I wanted an elk. I shot one 5X5 bull at a lasered 148 yards, and the bull went sick. He did not go 10 yards and fell over dead with a "boiler room" shot.

I sighted the rifle dead on at 125 yards. That gave me a point blank range out to about 160 yards. But I was practiced and would not have hesitated at a 200 yard shot as long as it was lasered.

The other great thing about the MK-85 is that they come with great factory sights. I actually upgraded mine to a peep sight. I do not know now if that peep upgrade is legal, you may want to check into that. But if not-no worry. The original MK-85's come with excellent Williams sights.

I hope you draw your tag. Do you have any preference points built up?? I have drawn a couple on my first try. In the Paonia, and White River Forest area. Tom.

Any Thompson Center gun with a QLA (false muzzle) is probably NOT a good choice. They build them to be sabot shooters and it is hit or miss whether they will shoot a conical.

That said, you can pick up a knight extreme or knight long range hunter that should do well. Company is not making rifles any more, but plenty out there to buy and they are currently still supporting the rifles/making accessories.

Also, good reports on the CVA Accura and any other rifle they make that comes with a barrega barrel.

As far as bullets, I have been using the Hornady FPB (350 gr) on elk with good results). It is made with a lead alloy that tends to stay together better than a pure lead bullet. Also, the new Thor bullets will get a good look this year and I may start using the 300 gr Thor. They are a pure copper Barnes type bullet. Colorado did have a restriction in the length of bullet you could use in the past, but that has been removed.

Also, people rave about the No Excuse and the Bullshop bullets in 460 gr for elk.

I like my T/C triumph for mountain hunting, lightweight and handles very well. It shoots Powerbelt 348's and Hornady FPBs very well with both 777 and BH209. Some will tell you not to use Powerbelts on elk but they've worked for me on elk and deer.

If you want to save some money look for a T/C Thunderhawk, Firehawk or System 1 rifle. They have a 1-38" twist barrel which seems to shoot the big lead conicals better than the 1-28" barrels.

I went to CO in 2006 and took my Omega and my son's Thunderhawk as a back-up. Both guns had aperture sights on them and while I was sighting the guns in the Thunderhawk was more consistent than the Omega with every bullet I tried. I finally settled on the T/C 370 gr Maxi-Ball over 100 gr of 777 ffg. When I got to camp the aperture sight on the Omega had come loose during the flight so I ended up using the Thunderhawk and killed a 5x5 bull at 70-80 yards on opening day. He was quartering towards me and the bullet went thru the shoulder, lungs and ended up under the hide at the back of the off side rib cage. He went maybe 40 yards downhill and ended up against a tree which kept him from sliding down into a swamp.

any decent in-line will work. i know folks who use those "package" muzzleloaders, the ones that come with rifle, quick loads, some cleaning stuff, etc. enclosed in the clear plastic. i've used a tc black diamond and a tc renegade. both easily killed elk. i used 348gr hollow point power belts in my in-line to kill several elk. i use maxi-balls in the renegade with the same effect. i use either 90 or 100 gr of 777 in the in-line.

I'm with smokepole. I actually used the Triumph/Hornady FPB/BH209 combination last year on my first muzzleloader hunt in Colorado. Bagged a decent 5x5 public land bull.

I kinda want to give Thor bullets a shot, but it would be a tinkering thing as I have no real reason to deviate from the formula that worked for me last year.

Best of luck to you.

CVA Accura without a doubt. Heres my set up,

everything from powerbelts, tc maxi balls, lee minie conicals, Thor conicals, all shoot excellent.

Hey thanks for all the input! Very helpful!! Does anybody have experience with a Remington 700 in this scenario?

Jester,

Colorado eliminated the bullet length requirement this year, but you still need to shoot a .50 cal (or larger). I use the Bullshop 460 gr, and it was OK under the old rules and of course still good now.

I have a bias to the While inline ML rifles. They are out of production too, but still around.

jim

I have killed elk with both a 50 cal TC maxiball in a TC Hawkin and Powerbelts in a TC Inline
My Black Diamond inlne has the countebore at the muzzle,but still shoots the Powerbelt extremely well.A tech at TC told me the inlines usuallly require a more precise diamenter bullet than the std cast maxi ball and thy one I have has a differnt twist than the Hawkin .When I changed to the Powerbelt, it really settled down,and shoots 2" groups at 100yds, with 100 gr of T7.
If you are going to put a peep sight on it,it needs to be as close to your eye as possible,not one that fits in place where therear sight goes

Once again,even with muzzle loaders,it is where you hit them more so than with what.

Jester,

Just go knock one down with your Lyman GP flint and the PBs.

Tundragriz,
Are you sure that's Colorado??

Very nice!

No, it's northern NM but doubt a Co elk would act any different if hit with a PB out of your flint.

Are you saying patched ball?

No, PowerBelt

I figured that out about midnight . I got a decent deal on a TC Omega. I'm going to try T7 and Hornady FPB's. Hodgden recommends a fiber wad on top of the T7 before a conical. Has anybody done this with or without the wad?

A few years ago I talked to a rep at TC and his claim was the over wads did nothing.

No Wad needed in my Omega with the FPB's