New to Muzzle loading

[bwuebbels]

Hey all,

I am new to forum and also gonna muzzle loader hunt white tail deer in Illinois for the first time this year.

I currently hunt with a Savage 220 shotgun with Leupold FX freedom and love it!

Curious what you all recommend for muzzle loaders? I have been looking at the Remington LSS but seems impossible to find. Also looking at CVA. I am pretty certain for Illinois we need 50 cal. only. Anyone know this for certain as well?

I appreciate any insight?

Thanks!

 

[GMB54-120]

You can use a 45cal in Illinois but not with sabots because of the projectile minimum. 45cal conicals and Powerbelts are legal because they are 45cal and the minimum is 44cal.

 

[bwuebbels]

GMB54-120 Thanks!! That opens up the options then! Thanks.

 

[mckbcat2000]

If you want to muzzleloader hunt I'd highly recommend checking out smokeless. Smokeless is where it's at...in my opinion. A mild build smokeless gets you to push 275 grain bullets in the neighborhood of 2,700 FPS which is a 400 yard gun. I have 2 of them but mine are more than mild. One was built by Luke at Arrowhead and Jeff Fisk built another for me. One pushes 325 grain bullets 3,025 and the other is over 3,100. Accuracy, you won't believe it till you actually shoot one. These shoot 45 caliber bullets. Smokeless is for sure more money up fron but having used 777, Blackhorn 209, and now smokeless it's worth it. There's some good reading on Hank's Message Board. If you're on Facebook there's a Smokeless Muzzleloaders group. Lastly, you can PM and I'll be happy to share what I know.

 

[bwuebbels]

Thanks! Yes those are some sweet muzzleloaders! I have been looking at the smokeless as well. I will send a PM once I have done a bit more research and can ask some intelligent questions

 

[Jfields9]

I have always been partial to CVA muzzle loaders. Just recently was able to get a CVA Optima from https://muzzle-loaders.com/. They have a great selection at very affordable prices. I would highly recommend looking there for a new muzzle loader.