Muzzle loading for a newbe

Laker_Taker · May 6, 2012

Hello all,
My son just passed Gun Safety and when they had their field day they let the kids shoot a 50 cal muzzle loader. My son fell in love with if so with him making the A honor roll and passing gun safety I bought him a Wolf 50 cal. I am not sure what to do. looking for some advice. I saw at the range they were using 50 grains and a patch and ball to shoot. I know thats not a hunting load but rather a plinking load. I want to start my son off the right way and not have the kick ruin a good outing. Does anybody have a good plinking load (powder, bullet, etc) Also how much grains do I need to load up to for a hunting load for him 100 grains?

Thanks,
LT

ScreaminEagle · May 8, 2012

Laker_Taker":qpu4zcxk said:
Hello all,
My son just passed Gun Safety and when they had their field day they let the kids shoot a 50 cal muzzle loader. My son fell in love with if so with him making the A honor roll and passing gun safety I bought him a Wolf 50 cal. I am not sure what to do. looking for some advice. I saw at the range they were using 50 grains and a patch and ball to shoot. I know thats not a hunting load but rather a plinking load. I want to start my son off the right way and not have the kick ruin a good outing. Does anybody have a good plinking load (powder, bullet, etc) Also how much grains do I need to load up to for a hunting load for him 100 grains?

Thanks,
LT

The biggest problem with smokepole shooters today is overloading the gun!

Your looking at probably 85-100gr of FFF for hunting. That's if you are gonna use real black powder. I noticed the Wolf has a 1:28 twist which would shoot conicals and power belts well.
I would start with 75 grains of FFF and work up to desired velocity/accuracy. I like to work up a black powder load in the winter. If you have too much powder in the gun it will just blow out the end and is easily seen on the snow.

I grew up around black powder and have shot them for a long time. Anything else you need just PM me and I'll help as best I can.

PS. Make sure you clean the gun right after you shoot it. Black powder is very corrosive!

Laker_Taker · May 8, 2012

Thanks Eagle,
Is there any brand of powder you recommend I should buy? Thanks on the cleaning tip as well.

LT

IdahoCTD · May 8, 2012

Depending on the ignition source I'd try regular Pyrodex or triple 7. If your shooting 209 primers triple 7 is a little cleaner but it doesn't light real well in some rifles with caps. I would try to shoot 80-100grs but I would keep the bullet weight down to help with the recoil. Rounds balls don't kick much because they are light. I'd try the same 60gr load to start with the lightest Powerbelt and see how he handles it. If it's too much he might have to shoot sabot's and lighter pistol bullets.

ScreaminEagle · May 10, 2012

Laker_Taker":3k29afxw said:
Thanks Eagle,
Is there any brand of powder you recommend I should buy? Thanks on the cleaning tip as well.

LT

I think GOEX is the main brand of black powder. Comes in a red can. FFFg should be just the ticket. Others use the fake stuff, but I like the original.

Another tip: When you load the ball/bullet, don't bang the crap outta it with the ramrod like some dipsticks do! This just smashes it. Remember, it's soft lead! Just seat until it won't go any further. You can scratch a mark on the ramrod at the muzzle, so you can seat it the same every time.

Good Luck

Elkman · Jun 29, 2012

Laker

Welcome to the group. My traditional MZ load is 100 grains of FF with a maxi hunter, or maxi ball. That will be a stout load for a young man. For fun and pratice I would recommend the round ball. Its not so great for hunting but is a lot lighter (less recoil) and will get him a good start. I cannot buy black powder any more so the last I bought was the stuff that Jim Shockey sells. I cannot remember the name. It has worked for some practice rounds but have not had a MZ tag for three years now.

tddeangelo · Jun 30, 2012

50gr of FFFg would be a pretty pleasant plinking load. Not sure how a patched round ball will shoot from the fairly fast twist of an inline, but some report decent accuracy...at least, enough for plinking purposes.

I used to hunt groundhogs with a PRB and 50gr of FFFg in my T/C Renegade flintlock (50cal). Was pleasant to shoot, for sure, and killed more than one or two woodchucks, too.

Guy Miner · Aug 2, 2012

Good info here. I hunted with 80 - 90 grains of either black or Pyrodex and the 385 grain Hornady "Great Plains" .50 cal bullet. It worked just fine on two mule deer.

tddeangelo · Aug 2, 2012

For hunting, Hornady makes a "PA Conical" that works superbly from a slow-twist barrel. I use 80gr FFg from a Lyman GPR and get great accuracy and terminal performance.

When my long rifle is done, I'll be shooting a 0.600-0.610 ball and probably 80-90gr FFg. That should be a deer stomper!

onlymuzzleloaders · Sep 6, 2013

ScreaminEagle":2ctrxysv said:
Laker_Taker":2ctrxysv said:

Hello all,
My son just passed Gun Safety and when they had their field day they let the kids shoot a 50 cal muzzle loader. My son fell in love with if so with him making the A honor roll and passing gun safety I bought him a Wolf 50 cal. I am not sure what to do. looking for some advice. I saw at the range they were using 50 grains and a patch and ball to shoot. I know thats not a hunting load but rather a plinking load. I want to start my son off the right way and not have the kick ruin a good outing. Does anybody have a good plinking load (powder, bullet, etc) Also how much grains do I need to load up to for a hunting load for him 100 grains?

Thanks,
LT

Click to expand...

The biggest problem with smokepole shooters today is overloading the gun!

Your looking at probably 85-100gr of FFF for hunting. That's if you are gonna use real black powder. I noticed the Wolf has a 1:28 twist which would shoot conicals and power belts well.
I would start with 75 grains of FFF and work up to desired velocity/accuracy. I like to work up a black powder load in the winter. If you have too much powder in the gun it will just blow out the end and is easily seen on the snow.

I grew up around black powder and have shot them for a long time. Anything else you need just PM me and I'll help as best I can.

PS. Make sure you clean the gun right after you shoot it. Black powder is very corrosive!

This fellow knows his way around a muzzy

You also dont need to spend thousands of dollars on a muzzy to have a good time hunting or to be a good hunter.

If you fellows are surprised at Tommyboy following my posts, its not new. He has always been interested in my advise on muzzys and has wanted me to make him one for years. one of these days, if he is a good boy, I might just put one together for him