Thanks to you guys and a few others, I’ve come a long ways since drawing my CO elk tag for muzzleloader… never before having fired a muzzleloader.
Though time has been short, the road has been long! I started out with a Lyman Mustang Breakaway which I fully intended to learn on. Unfortunately, I soon found the bore was oversized and unsafe for the full bore conicals I intended to shoot. So a month in, I finally found myself at the starting line.
The silver lining of that finding was it caused me to research rifles and ended up with a Knight Mountaineer from a gentleman off the classifieds here. As much as I’d rather have a Ultra-light for mountain hunting, the price and timeline was right.
Fast forward to a month later, and I’ve driven all over the 3 state region to locate primers and powder, and about $100 of stuff I’ll never use now that I’ve tested my options out. I feel like I’m finally getting dialed in on what’s solid equipment and worthy of packing along this Fall.
On to load development: I mounted a 18x scope to be certain of my accuracy with full intentions on removing it once I’m confident in the load. I’m shooting BH209 and decided to start at 80g (v) and work my way up to 100g (v) based on the maximum recommendation on the BH can. Through a lot of money and time, I learned that charge volume was too low to yield consistent results… some bullets would literally miss the target or hit it flying sideways. Lesson learned. More questions asked and I learned I am safe to load 120gr (v) of BH209 even with my 320gr Fury bullet. Back to the range I went, and soon found the gun absolutely loved 115-120gr (v). Bullets touching at 100yds and consistent results.
I have a lot more to learn, but the journey has been a lot of fun. I have to admit that I was a bit disappointed I drew a ML tag, having hung my hat on archery for over a decade. This experience has humbled me, and I look forward to getting into the field with it!
My setup, as of today:
Knight Mountaineer 0.50 caliber
Kruger Optical Carbon Fiber 3-18x56mm scope
Bestill 2pc custom 209 breech plug
BH209 115gr (v) w/ Federal 209A
Fury Universal Fit bullets
Spinjag and GiRamrod
Iron sights: Williams FP and front globe with Lee Shaver reticle (TBD if I stick with this, concerned about low light)
Though time has been short, the road has been long! I started out with a Lyman Mustang Breakaway which I fully intended to learn on. Unfortunately, I soon found the bore was oversized and unsafe for the full bore conicals I intended to shoot. So a month in, I finally found myself at the starting line.
The silver lining of that finding was it caused me to research rifles and ended up with a Knight Mountaineer from a gentleman off the classifieds here. As much as I’d rather have a Ultra-light for mountain hunting, the price and timeline was right.
Fast forward to a month later, and I’ve driven all over the 3 state region to locate primers and powder, and about $100 of stuff I’ll never use now that I’ve tested my options out. I feel like I’m finally getting dialed in on what’s solid equipment and worthy of packing along this Fall.
On to load development: I mounted a 18x scope to be certain of my accuracy with full intentions on removing it once I’m confident in the load. I’m shooting BH209 and decided to start at 80g (v) and work my way up to 100g (v) based on the maximum recommendation on the BH can. Through a lot of money and time, I learned that charge volume was too low to yield consistent results… some bullets would literally miss the target or hit it flying sideways. Lesson learned. More questions asked and I learned I am safe to load 120gr (v) of BH209 even with my 320gr Fury bullet. Back to the range I went, and soon found the gun absolutely loved 115-120gr (v). Bullets touching at 100yds and consistent results.
I have a lot more to learn, but the journey has been a lot of fun. I have to admit that I was a bit disappointed I drew a ML tag, having hung my hat on archery for over a decade. This experience has humbled me, and I look forward to getting into the field with it!
My setup, as of today:
Knight Mountaineer 0.50 caliber
Kruger Optical Carbon Fiber 3-18x56mm scope
Bestill 2pc custom 209 breech plug
BH209 115gr (v) w/ Federal 209A
Fury Universal Fit bullets
Spinjag and GiRamrod
Iron sights: Williams FP and front globe with Lee Shaver reticle (TBD if I stick with this, concerned about low light)
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