What brand/caliber/bullet/powder are you using this fall for the upcoming big game seasons?

My own choice is going to be a TC Omega, 50 Cal., Hornady SST, Clean Shot, 209 primer, optical open sights. Primary game is whitetails.

Flintlocks and patched balls

TC Encore 209x50, TC maxi-balls, Triple 7, peep sight.
tom

Mr. Bighorn,
We are using a flintlock N.W. Trade Rifle .62cal smoothbore with Patched RB and 100gr 2F.
Best wishes

My T/C 50 cal renegade caplock with 80 gr FFg, and 180 gr Ball and patch.

I used my 333 gr maxi ball last time, and it did a superb job. But it may have been a bit much so I think the ball and patch should do just fine!

T/C System 1, .50 carbine. Rem. 209s igniting 90 grs. of 777 under 275 gr. HP T/C Maxi-Hunters. Not that impressive on paper, but the rifle just hits where I look and the results on impressive.

On the wish list for next year is a trad. front-stuffer with BP and patched balls... just 'cause... <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif" alt="" />

T/C Hawken flintlock, black powder, My own hand-cast Maxi-Balls, for whitetail deer.

Or, Traditions Shenandoah Flintlock (if I can get it on the paper) with black powder and patched round balls for whitetails.

Aqualung

I'm going after elk with my TC Black Diamond XR, 375 grain Buffalo SSB's, Musket Caps, and 90 grains of Black Mag3. Oh, will be using the standard fiber optic sights.

T/C Renegade 50 cal with 370 Maxiballs for elk, 54 caliber custom Hawken with roundballs for deer

Old .54 CVA Hawken (sorta, kinda, vaguely Hawken-ish) cap lock, patched ball, black powder. Finally gave in to a peep sight on the barrel now that I'm into reading glasses, don't know if it's a keeper yet. The opposite of fancy but it shoots well.

T/C Renegade. Patched RB over 95gr FFG. .54cal.

I gotta report component changes from my original post. I've been shooting a lot, getting ready for season, and my saboted bullet supply has gotten dangerously low. My powder supply of Clean shot was also very low.

Now, I live in Colorado, a non-sabot state, which makes it nearly impossible to replenish one's supply locally. Cabela's had my brand of stuff backordered. I also couldn't find a pound of Clean Shot anywhere in town. What to do? Hunting season opens in a week.

I made a trip to one of the local gunshops, and they introduced me to the Power Belt bullets. Legal for Colorado, without the sabots that have proven difficult to seat in my rifle, anyway. They also had a supply of Hodgdon's Triple 7, which I had not tried before.

So, I bought a supply of Power Belts, a pound of Triple 7, and off to the range this AM, along with 50 other folks sighting in for the upcoming season.

Man, these bullets are good!! Three shots with the new bullets and 100 gr. of Triple 7 to adjust my sights from the previous load, and I had the PBs shooting Dead Nutz at 100 yd. Four shots into 3", this with open sights. Bullets seat easily, being slightly underbore, and it was possible to seat bullets after several firings without wet-patching the bore. The Triple 7 cleans up easily, but not as well as the Clean Shot I have been using.

The Triple 7 is considerably hotter than either Clean Shot or Clear Shot, but its accuracy potential over the others is apparent.

Hope the next post has a whitetail picture attached!!

I guess I'll buy a H&R Handi Rifle in .45-70. I was told in MS that is now considered legal to use during their primative weapons season.

www.mdwfp.com


J Scott

.54 Caliber Renegade with 100 grains of 2f behind a hornady 425 grain great plains bullet

Subject To Change...
Been over 80 degrees here for the past 12 weeks.... closer to / or above 90 degrees mostly. I won't shoot above 75 degrees & I would like to change my Omega bullet.

So as of right now...

T/C Omega 50 1-28" twist inline
90 gr. 777 FFF with 180 gr. Cabelas/Precision Extended Range sabot/bullet

T/C Renegade 58 1-70" twist sidelock
75 gr. 777 FFF with 280 gr. Hornady roundball & D & L Permatex Hand Cleaner-lubed patch (.015 cotton)

Traditions Deerhunter 50 1-48" twist sidelock
80 gr. 777 FFF with 240 gr. Hornady PA Conical

Same thing I have used since 1978, TC Hawkin 50 cal round ball gun. 95 gr 3f patched ball and CCi caps, only thing new this year is the replacement Green Mtn barrel. Otherwise same old rifle.

Bullwnkl.

Hey
I use T/C renegade 54 cal PRB thrusted by 90 gr of 2f goex.or a modified REAL with 100 gr of 2f depends where I hunt.
Bearbeater

My savage MLII, 250SST, MMP sabot

fills the freezer well

A T/C Renegade in 54 caliber with 430gr. Maxi-ball and 100gr equivelent of Pyrodex RS, but not till December.

Another Savage user here. I made it out to do some shooting last weekend after a long hiatus. My Savage had a load (smokeless) in it from two years ago. It shot to within 2" of the bullseye at 100 yards. The next three shots, with time out to cool while other guns were shot, went throught the same hole. The next two shots opened up the entire group to the size of a quarter. I was using 180 grain Precision bullets with a sub base and Lee dippers out of N110 powder. Attempts with 195 grain duplex sabots were good at 2" but not anywhere close to the 180's. I'll try both loads at 200 yards and see if the bullet design makes a difference in drop or group. All in all, I'm pretty pleased with the Savage. Not sure about velocity this time but similar loads have chroned around 2700+. Shot three deer with the 180 grainer and performed perfect on all. One little doe was shot stem to stern for total penetration at over 24" and more like 30" with a recovered bullet showing perfect mushroom and about 85% weight retention. Now if I can just find the time to use it this year!

You are doing well then,,,,the lead bullets would not shoot worth a darn for me over 2000 or so,,,,,lighter weights either

Homemade Underhammer, .62cal with a patched hard round ball infront of 125 grains of Goex FFF, short 25" barrel with Voo-Doo Peep sights. [Glow in the dark]

Big game (whitetail in this part of the world):
T/C Hawken, .50 cal., 90 gr fffg 777, PRB,

small game: Traditions Crockett .32 cal., 10 gr. Pyrodex "P", .310 PRB. This is quickly becoming my favorite rifle, out of all that I own.

Since its legal in my state to use a scope, my T/C Omega rifle will be stoked with Knight's 180gr all copper sabots on top of 150gr. T7 powder. Its the samething as having a centerfire single shot rifle so why not use it?

54 cal TCA Renegade, 110 grns. Black powder, patched round ball.

T/C Omega w/Leupold 4x shooting 295 gr. Power Belt Hollow Points.

Knight MK85 with an fixed 4x B&L Balfor, 3 Pyrodex pellets and 250 gr SSTs with a 209 primer. Quarry will be whitetail and probably will take part in the muledeer herd reduction hunts this year. The only change from the previous several years is the SSTs. I never really believed that a pointed bullet could make much difference in trajectory at muzzleloader velocities, was I every wrong!

TC Omega, 50 cal., with breech plug converted from 209 to small rifle primers. My load is a 300 gr. Dead Center Sabot over 110 gr. Triple 7. I have a Leupold VX-III 1.75-6 mounted on it. This combination provides MOA at 100 yds., and is deadly out to 150 or more. I have taken three deer with it in the past two years.

I've been thinking about converting my Omega to the small rifle primer system, in the off season. Are you using the .25 ACP case version? Does it help with the dreaded 'crud ring', as advertised?

Lyman gpr .50 caliber, 70grs. of 2f Swiss and patched ball.

No, mines a 22 hornet, and yes it makes a diference. The ring is much less. I still swab with a damp patch between shots though. I really think it aids in consistancy between shots, and provides maximum accuracy.

I just heard Remington has a new primer coming out that is best for pyrodex ignition and avoids the ring. I guess it's a 410 primer. I'll keep using smokeless.

.54 custom flintlock, 100gr 2ff with patched round ball

RWL99,

That rifle is GORGEOUS!

How about some details (made by whom; when; barrel length, configuration, stock, etc.) and SOME MORE PICS!

Wow!

The rifle was made for me in 1978 by Judson Brennan when he lived in Michigan. Jud moved to Alaska in 1985 and is still building custom guns but I can't afford his guns now.

My rifle is a Pennsylvania style. The tiger maple stock is inlayed with silver wire, ivory and buffalo horn. It has a 42" swamped GR barrel, left hand siler lock that has been modified and engraved. The nose cap is moose bone and the tapered ram rod cap is buffalo horn.

Here's a picture of me with the rifle shortly after I got it and a recent picture showing that the gun is still in service after 27 years.

TC Hawken .50 with a Maxi Ball over 80 gr. Swiss 1.5 for Elk and Antelope... maybe Coues Deer as well.
Mike

Georgia opened a 1 week ML season 3 years ago and I have been successful each year using a 50 cal inline. This year though I am quite excited about a 50 cal Thompson center Hawken I bought from a pawn shop. I will be shooting 85 gr of triple 7 behind a 385 gr hornady great plains bullet. It was the first load I tried and it was dead accurate so all I had to do was adjust the sights to suite me.

If I have time to work up another load I may hunt some with a .490 prb.

I like the hawken a whole lot more than the inline I was shooting.

Weagle

Good for you Weagle <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/cool.gif" alt="" /> You're putting the challange back into your hunt. Good luck to you.

Another Savage ML10II user. 44 grains of IMR SR4759 and 250 Hdy SST w/ supp. sabot. Shoots one inch and less at 100 and only drops 4" at 200. It's been working great so, I'm not laying here down just yet.

I may drag out my CVA and some Pyrodex if I do some hunting in the woods just to bring alittle more sport back to it.

Reloader7RM

awesomely georgous stock.

You actually shoot it? <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/smile.gif" alt="" />

Game is whitetail deer
TC Firehawk
Knight hi-pressure sabot
Hornady 300gr .429 XTP
musket cap
90gr Pyrodex RS
1626fps
extreme spread 12fps
1.2" groups at 100 yards
Has worked very good with this set up last few years. reflex264

Fantastic rifle RWL99. That gun has soul.

I'll be using my old T/C Renagade Hunter .50 loaded with 90 gr. of Triple 7 and a T/C maxi-hunter. I did cave in this year and put a set of fiber optic sights on it to help my old eyes.

Jeff

>50 cal Knoght American with a 1x T/C Hawken Hunter scope 70 gr. 3f Triple 7 lit by #11 caps MMP black sabot and a Winchester 230 gr jhp( read that flying ashtray).1500 fps over my F1 Chrony and they expand to nearly 1 inch and they dont suffer jacket/core seperation. My 15 year old daughter will use her Tradirions Tracker with 4x Redfield and a T/C cheap shot sabot over 40 of 3f 777 lit by musket caps.1300 fps a very nice VERY deadly load out to 100 yards or so.

Fine looking rifle RWL.

T/C Encore 209 x 50 with .245 GR aerotip powerbelt over 2 50gr triple7 pellets with a Nikon 4x.
Although it does not seem very primitive when you can shoot 2" groups @ a 100 it is verrry effective. <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/smile.gif" alt="" /> <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/smile.gif" alt="" />
MCS

Yet another Savage 10ML-II shooter here. Not sure which load I'm going to use this year, as I've been evaluating a number of bullets for an upcoming article. Might be hard to find something to replace my "ol'reliable" load though (43gr SR4759 under a 250gr SST).

TC older Pennsylvania Hunter. 50 caliber, 31 inch barrel, 1-66 twist. I'll be using .490 roundballs that I cast, canvas patches that I cut, and TC patch lube. My powder will be 95 grains of Goex FFG.

Long Land Brown Bess - .75 cal with a .735" ball and 110 grains GOEX FFg. Not exactly a Whitworth for accuracy but shoots "minute of mulie" to 70 yards or so. 46" barrel is kind of awkward in a ground blind though...........

Knight Disc w/2.5X20mmWeaver scope
295gr Powerpoints in front of 100gr loose 777 w/209 primers.