6 Criteria to look for in a Modern Muzzleloader Bullet

In the very beginning, most muzzleloader bullets were really not bullets, but round balls. 

As history went on rifling was added to our forefather's barrel, and the bullets got longer and less round and were bore-sized. As the years went on, the rifles improved and evolved, but the basic design of front-loaders stayed the same, as did the bullets.



And then came Tony Knight.  The tide had been turned, and not in the deer's favor.  In my opinion, no matter who actually made the first in-line rifle, Mr. Knight was the one that really put them in everyone's hand.  And from that point on, the inline rifle was here to stay.

The one item that took a while to catch up to the evolving technology was the bullet.  When the first in-line came along most of us started shooting the good ol .44 caliber pistol bullet, fit down into a sabot, as our projectile of choice.   And actually, these bullets took us to levels in accuracy that we as muzzleloading hunters had never been able to achieve before. 

We were happy campers!

However, the problem with these bullets was that they were made for pistols.  They were designed to expand and group at pistol velocities.  The expansion was the real problem; they were falling apart in game at the speeds we were pushing them from our rifles.  These bullets were designed to perform at about 1200 feet per second (fps) which is still pretty quick from a .44 mag pistol, and it is a handful (in recoil I mean)!  I loaded and shot a great deal back in the day, and remember those loads very well.

But now there are many great bullets.  Not only are they designed to give us great flight paths from our new in-lines, but they are constructed  to expand at modern muzzleloader velocities:  1700 to 2100 fps.  And most do a great job on big game....but the choices are now overwhelming. 

I've taken my experience in hunting and shooting, velocities and ballistics and come up with a list of 6 criteria a bullet must meet to make it into one of my loads: 

     1.  weight range :  240 to 275
     2.  shape - ballistic coefficient
     3.  saboted (in most cases)
     4.  expansion
     5.  weight retention after expansion
     6.  ballistic tip, or even rounded tip (not hollow point)

  Everyone pull up a chair and I'll explain.

1.  Weight Range - I like a bullet weight to be from 240 grains to 275 grains with a ballistic tip.  Especially for long range shooting.  The reason for this is because we can only push a muzzleloader bullet so fast.  In most cases, the heavier the bullet, the slower the speed.  The speed, mixed with the bullet's shape, and the shear diameter, greatly effects the bullet's flight path. 

You can find bullets in these weight ranges from many manufacturers.  Ones I like include: Barnes, Hornady, Parker, Powerbelt, Precision, and Thompson Center.

2.  Shape: Ballistic Coefficient - Any given bullet's ballistic coefficient is a number assigned to a bullet that gives us a very good indication as to how well it will be able to overcome deceleration while in flight.  What this means is: less drop and a flatter flight path over a given distance. 

What kills ballistic coefficient (BC) in a muzzleloader bullet faster than any other thing is the big diameter that comes with these big bullets.  Remember, a bullet with a higher BC will shoot flat longer than one with a lower BC.  So a bullet with a BC factor of .210 will not fly as well as a bullet with a BC factor of .240.  The higher the BC factor, the better the flight path. 

3.  Saboted Bullets - The reason I like a saboted bullet over a bore-sized bullet is because the diameter is reduced somewhat because you have to leave room for the sabot, therefore increasing the BC factor just a little.  And YES!  Every little bit helps! 

(Now, if you are not a sabot person, or hunt in a state that doesn't allow sabots, then the PowerBelts are a good choice for a bore-sized bullet.  I would choose the PowerBelt 245 gr. AT or the PowerBelt Platinum 270 gr. AT.)

4.  Expansion - the opposite of good bullet expansion is a bullet that blows to pieces on impact.  We have put A LOT of bullets to the test (see a few below) in ballistic gel to observe their expansion. 

( * fyi - we use the same ballistic gel for our tests as is used by the FBI labs for terminal ballistics.  Ballistic gel is the standard medium used by law enforcement because it most closely simulates the density and viscosity of human and animal soft tissue.  It is used as a standardized medium for testing the terminal performance of firearms ammunition because of it's approximation of tissue.)

There are several bullets that perform VERY WELL for my standards as you can see below:

However, there are two bullets that have always come apart instead of expanding in my tests.  I was actually surprised by the results, and double-checked them.  I avoid both of these bullets in hunting situations now:

Any of the bullets shown above will serve you well on almost any big game, with the exceptions of the plain, yellow tipped TC Shockwave or the Harvester PT Gold 260. I would suggest that if you are using either of those, you may want to consider switching to another bullet for your loads.

5.  Weight Retention after Expansion - Bullets must be built well enough to stay together, or maintain at least 80% of their weight after expansion and during penetration.  The reason this is best is because it gives us our best chance to have a complete pass-through wound channel.  This results in more blood trail, which helps when tracking is necessary.  On top of that, a bullet that stays together will deliver it's kinetic energy deeper into the chest cavity.  

If you will look closely at the photo below, you can see the wound channel created in ballistic gel. 

6.  Ballistic Tip (or even rounded tip) - Bullets with a ballistic tip or a well-rounded point add to the ballistic coefficient factor of a bullet.  A flat-nosed or hollow point bullet will have a lower BC factor. 

From a 100 yard zero to a range of 200 yards, you will find a drop from approximately 9 inches to approximately 15 inches depending on the bullet. It seems like a lot, but it's easy to compensate for. As always, it's the wind that kills us!


The flight of all bullets will vary based on a number of things:  speed and the ballistic coefficient factor being two of the biggest.  All of the above bullets that I have listed will provide not only a good flight path but a controllable and accurate flight path. 

Keep in mind there are only two ways that a bullet kills and they are both equally important. 

1.  Soft tissue tearing - a path created by the bullet itself and is not much bigger than the bullet diameter.  The tearing of tissue creates damage that could not be repaired even if a surgeon was present. 

2.  Soft tissue displacement - the displacement of internal organs and tissue caused by kinetic energy.  Kinetic energy displaces this soft tissue to a point that it cannot return to it's natural position.  It also creates bruising and clotting in this tissue and organs to the point that it cannot be repaired.

And with all this said, remember nothing substitutes placing the bullet in the proper location. A bad shot is a bad shot even if it's shot with the best of bullets.



I hope I have given you some guidance in this post that will be helpful in your selection of not only an accurate bullet, but a bullet that will perform on big game. 
Look for a future post on one little thing that can be the worse culprit to killing accuracy; one commonly overlooked!

3 Muzzleloading Components for Your Big Game Load

While hating to start off with the same line of options, options, options…I can’t help it, it’s even more true with load components than anything!

1. Bullets, 2. Powder, 3. Primers…within the categories, the choices are endless. In this post, I want to give you a few things to think about that will help you find loads that will provide you with consistency, accuracy and big game performance. Let’s start with bullets and what to look for.

BULLETS - First, lets talk about bullets that will hold up while shooting big game. The main thing here is to look for a bullet that will maintain most of it’s weight after impact and while penetrating the game. A bullet that comes apart on impact will not have much of a chance of penetrating in one side and exiting the other; not giving us the chance of having two holes for leaving a blood-trail out both sides.

Second would be a bullet with a good ballistic coefficient or BC. As most of you know, this factor is a number based on a few things: weight, length, shape, etc. Most muzzleloader bullets have a BC factor of between .180 to .240. Some muzzleloader bullets go over .300, but not many.

The BC factor gives us an idea as to how well a bullet will overcome the urge to decelerate due to air drag while in flight. The higher the BC factor, the better the flight we can expect from a bullet. What this comes down to is this: the higher the BC Factor, the flatter the flight path.

Flat flight path = less bullet drop = what you want.

There are a couple of things that really affect muzzleloader bullets and keep their ballistic coefficient low:

          1. bullet weight
          2. diameter
          3. length

In other words, they’re heavy, fat and short.

These things are a fact, it’s science. There is nothing we can do about it, so we just have to deal with it and compensate for it.  It’s not a problem but these factors, along with slower velocities, is what restricts and limits the range of even modern muzzleloaders.

In our testing, I’ve always opted to pick the higher BC Factor bullets and that will provide less drop and deliver more controllable and predictable flight paths at a range of 250 yards, and in some cases, 300 yards.

The bullets that will provide these results on a consistent basis are 250 to 270 grains, usually have a ballistic tip and have a BC Factor of .210 to .240 (with the right velocities).

This is a big subject, and I want to get into it much deeper, but it will have to wait for a future post. In the meantime, just keep a couple of brands in mind: Barnes, Hornady, Parker, PowerBelt, Precision, and Thompson Center.

POWDER - The next big factor in a load is Powder. Again, a lot of options. But in the case of powders they have been the easiest to figure out which ones are worth spending money on. What we look for in a powder is one that will have:

          1. reliability to ignite
          2. produce good consistent velocities
          3. resistance to moisture

After testing all the powders on the market (and I do mean ALL), the only two we trust for our hunts at this time are Blackhorn 209 and Hodgden Triple 7.

We recommend no one, ever, use pellet-type powders (another complete topic for another day).

Whenever I do this sort of thing, I always go in alphabetical order, so let’s start with Blackhorn 209. Blackhorn has been on the market for 3 years now and it is my powder of choice. It provides very consistent velocities, packs in the barrel very tightly, burns extremely cleanly, holds up very well against moisture, ignites very well, has an almost indefinite shelf-life and best of all, numerous shots can be fired without cleaning between shots without any loss of accuracy. It is best cleaned up with normal solvent-type barrel cleaners, which are much better on your rifle than water-based cleaners. And it cleans the other parts of your rifle much faster than any other brands, to include the breech plug and frame. About the only problem you can have with this powder is having to wait between shots because you can re-load and fire so quickly your barrel will heat up and affect accuracy.

Hodgdens Triple 7 is another good power. It provides great, consistent velocities and ignites well. It is lower in price than Blackhorn 209, but can clump up in the can during the off-season, so it does not provide as good of results the next year, so the lower price is a trade-off. We always replace Triple 7 while testing if the powder sits around for several months between our testing sessions. This tells me that is does not resist moisture well. Triple 7 is a mess to shoot, it leaves a lot of residue behind, however, it does clean up well with water-based cleaners. The barrel must be cleaned between shots to get consistent velocities and it is also very hard to load a second shot on top of a dirty barrel without swabbing because of the crust ring left behind in the breech after firing. This is not a problem on the range, but could be a real problem in a hunting situation.

PRIMERS - Primers are often over looked as being a solution when accuracy problems occur, but are most likely the culprit. We have a standard primer test we conduct on all primers before we ever use it to work up a load.

Our testing has shown this: for Triple 7 Powder, use a low impact primer such as the Winchester Triple 7 Primer or, my favorite for Triple 7 powder, the 209 by Fiocchi. Both of these primers will provide good results. The problem with the Fiocchi primers is they are super hard to find.

For Blackhorn 209, a higher impact primer is needed, or per Blackhorns manufacturer recommendations, a full-strength 209 shotgun primer, such as the “Blue Box” 209 by Winchester or the one Blackhorn themselves recommend (and per my findings, I have to agree), the CCI 209M.

So, there are the components that have proven, in our testing, to provide the requirements we demand: consistency, accuracy and big game performance.

As mentioned before, I’ll be posting on the some of the individual bullets and how they performed for us. But my next post will be on my recent trip to Miles City, Montana to visit the Blackhorn 209 facility there. You are going to be surprised at what I found! (hint-hint: powder vs pellets)

Muzzleloader Bullets - Reviews from the 2010 Shot Show

While at the Shot Show 2010, one of the many items I was looking for was new bullets. Over this last year, there doesn’t seem to be much that is new or different. 

In the past, Barnes (an outstanding bullet by the way) has been, and still is, selling their main line of muzzleloader bullets with the boat-tail shape and yellow sabots. I have found that this bullet-sabot combo is very accurate and performs well on big game. My favorite choice from them is their TMZ. I think Barnes may have been having some complaints on the combo as being hard to load, but my finding was that the bullet was just nice and (very) tight, which I like. I could see where the bullet would be hard to load in a dirty barrel, but on the range, after cleaning between shots (which I always do) I had no problem whatsoever. I further found no problem loading this bullet while using the new Blackhorn 209 powder.

In any case, Barnes now offers a new bullet-sabot combo called their TEZ Line. The difference is that the bullet has a flat base and a blue sabot. The blue sabot is just a few 1000’s thinner for easier loading. The bullet having a flat base vs. a boat-tail should not have any effect on it’s accuracy because the fact is, a boat-tail on a bullet of this size is, in my experience, not really helping much in the aerodynamics at 2000 FPS + anyway. In short, I believe this was a good move on Barnes’ part.

Other than that, there is nothing new and exciting out there that I could find. Thompson Center has come out with a new 250 grain bullet that is an all copper called the “Copper Crusher”. It looks like it is made by you-know-who!

I did make it around to all the companies that produce muzzleloader bullets, all were helpful in answering any of my questions. The Hornady Company people were an especially knowledgeable group.

As always, we are on the search for new bullets, even though there are a lot of good ones already out there. If any of you knows of anything new that we missed, or something you’d like to see us research, please let us know. Till then, we will continue to watch the muzzleloading industry for information on new and exciting products to pass on to you!