3 Reasons Muzzleloaders Fail to Discharge

As always, this muzzleloading blog is dedicated to modern, in-line muzzleloaders.  But I’ve been hunting with muzzleloaders for over 30 years, and I still have more time in a stand with a side lock than an in-line.  And I do still remember how fast a side lock will let you down in the critical moment you need it most.

Many of you reading this can recall a time like this: you’re on your favorite stand; it’s a still, crisp, quiet day and you hear something walking your way in the hardwood leaves; you reach for your semi-trusty side lock and think (if even for a moment), “I hope this damn thing goes off”.

Now there's only two reasons you would think that:

1. it’s failed you in the past or
2. you’ve had someone you know tell you about their rifle failing them, and you're letting that get in your head.

Let’s talk about the main reasons a rifle may fail.

• 1. The number one reason any firearm fails to fire is because it’s just simply not loaded, or in the case of a muzzleloader it’s not primed, or both.

• 2. Another, that’s pretty much unique to a muzzleloader is that the primer/powder or both has gotten too wet to fire.

• 3. But the most common reason among us muzzleloaders, is just poor maintenance. In other words, a lot of folks just don’t take cleaning their muzzleloader seriously enough.

All of these reasons you may notice are self-inflicted, and 100% preventable I might add.

So what are my suggestions of things to do?

First of all, pay attention. Make sure you are loaded and primed before planning to hunt. Do your loading procedure the same each time you hunt so that you have a system in place and you will be less-likely to miss a step in the loading process.   Take the time to drop your "marked" ramrod down the barrel to insure it's loaded and prime the rifle as soon as your butt hits the seat of your stand.

Secondly, 9 times out 10 when a modern in-line muzzleloader fails to fire, this is most likely where the problem lies: a dirty breech plug. (in my opinion, outside our selfs, the breech plug is the root of all evil). As much as my rifles are shot, I have a bench plug and a hunting plug. So when I get ready to load a rifle to hunt with, I screw in my hunting plug which is only used for hunting. When the season’s over, I put it away till next year. This is probably over-kill on my part because my rifles are cleaner than most, but it makes me feel good and gives me extra confidence when hunting. (I’ve written extensively on breech plugs and you can find articles all over my blog regarding this subject, but there are two specifically on cleaning the breech plug which you can see here: Part 1 and Part 2.

Naturally, the entire rifle must be clean, not just the breech plug. I have a very detailed post with cleaning instructions you can refer to: 13 Steps To Properly Clean Your Modern Muzzleloader.

Now while hunting in the rain, and I’ve hunted in some real down pours, I make efforts to keep the receiver under my rain gear. Beyond that I really haven’t found reason to do anything more. Course, after hunting in a real heavy rain all day, I choose not to tempt fate and will reload my rifle with a fresh load that night. But if it wasn’t pouring and I was sensible with my rifle, I leave the load in the barrel. (Maybe you’ve seen my extreme demonstration of a wet rifle in a pool in my CVA Accura video?)

It’s really not that difficult to have confidence in your modern muzzleloader’s ability to fire when you pull the trigger, these rifles are extremely accurate and dependable when properly maintained.

Keep your muzzleloader clean, shoot them enough to trust your load components, be sensible in the rain, and they will not fail you.

A Hunting Story with No End

As with all stories, this one will have a beginning and a middle, but hopefully no end. Because if it ends, I’ve lost some real good, life long friends. I don’t want it to ever end.

As many of you know, we own a game call company called Bud & Betty Hunting Calls. Bud & Betty has been a real good company and it has given us a lot of good friends over the years. This is a story about some of those friends.

I met brothers Dwayne and Russ Feltner about 11 years ago, not long after we started getting into the turkey call industry. They were our favorite kind of customers: Repeat. And they kept inviting me to come hunt with them.

After a couple of years I decided, what the heck, and took them up on it. I’ve never regretted it. It’s been one of the best friendships I’ve made in my hunting career.  Never mind my associations within the hunting industry, it’s been one of the best hunting friendships I’ve ever had.


These guys and their family are just the best people that anyone could ever want to be associated with. They are hard working and they love the outdoors. Russ and Dewayne have been in the woods about like me: most of their natural life. They’ve been through the phase of trapping, bow hunting, shooting (and their good wing shots), just anything to do with the outdoors, they are out there doing it. They are very good at it and the most important thing I think they would tell you they've done is pass it on to the next generation of Feltners. And they have done that.


Russ, the father of Jeremy, Brett & Jake, and Dewayne their uncle, have carried those boys to the woods since they were very young. Many of us know it’s not easy to carry a kid hunting, but it’s a necessary thing that you have to do because you want that love of the outdoors to be passed on to the next generation. And the boys hit it hard. They are young and they stay in the woods every chance they get each fall. They coon hunt prior to deer season; they scout; they hunt deer; and their trophy room at Russ’s house is second to none as far as killing big whitetails in the Midwest.

The ladies that support these men, the Feltner women, are just a super bunch of women that are also active in deer hunting and outdoor activities. They’re either born into or have embraced the farm life. The Feltner Brothers raise show sheep and they are very active with the 4-H clubs in their area. They seem to have been very good to a lot of youth in their area, helping to keep them active with outdoor activities and livestock and farming. Just a super family that’s been very good to me and my family.

We developed a relationship over the years which has led to me and my family going up for weddings and watching high school football games and just various other events and things over the years. It’s much deeper than just a hunting relationship. It has a lot to do with sharing the same values and interests in hunting. It’s grown into a good, mutual friendship between us all. 2010 was my 9th year of hunting with the Feltners in the Midwest.

So, the normal routine over the last 9 years has been I’ll take off and leave for Indiana on Thursday and about 8 hours later I arrive at the farm. Aaaahhhh. Russ and I begin the serious business of hanging out.


We ride around, check the fields, see if any bucks are starting to cruise, looking for does, and just shoot the bull, catching up in person instead of on the phone.


I think me and Russ and Dewayne all look forward to this week each year. Russ takes the whole week off and we hunt together for 6 or 7 days and it’s just exciting being there because in their area they truly do have some outstanding beautiful whitetails.


Then Russ’ boys come over and we all spend the evening together, eating, hanging out, catching up. It’s great.

On Friday morning we make any last minute preparations, which usually involves going to a hunting store to look at all the equipment that we don’t need, but we go have a look anyway. Then checking my stand, putting up a new stand (I try to put up a new stand each year somewhere different on the farmland there in the hopes of it being there the next year), one last look. We just get ready for the hunt.


Friday night before the season opens on Saturday, the house is pretty much invaded by hunting friends from the area for a big meal (mmmm, always good stuff!) that Russ’ wife Linda and Brett’s wife Danielle and some other girlfriends and wives and everyone hangs out that evening telling deer stories from the past, look at pictures of past hunts and talk about funny things that have happened over the years. Man, it’s just neat to sit back and look around the table at these young men, Jeremy, Brett and Jake and look at old pictures-Jake was only in 9th grade when I started coming here! And here he is all grown up to a young man, works in the coal mine, constructing slopes for coal mines. Brett & Jeremy work as linemen for power companies-just sit back and look at them how they’ve gown up to be good contributing members of society, good fathers, good uncles, good sons. Just sit back and look at them; it’s much bigger than a deer hunt.

Then, eventually, the red plastic solo cup comes out. Someone gets a magic marker and writes the words Big Buck Pot on the side of the cup. And all in good fun, everyone gets their $5 out and throws it in the cup. It’s only good for the biggest buck killed on the first two days of the season, Sat or Sun, winner takes all. And most of the time, it really doesn’t take a tape measure to know who the winner is.


First day of the season 2010 opened with it threatening rain.  It stayed pretty much cloudy, temperature got down into the high 30’s and warmed up during the day, pretty uneventful morning but it was evident that the bucks were starting to actively chase does and we knew the rut was just hours form starting. No bucks killed Saturday morning.


The Saturday afternoon hunt started with light but steady showers that turned into what I grew up calling a ‘butt wetter’. Rain equipment was broken out and everyone got on their stands and put up with the rain all Saturday afternoon. Not much activity but again, what bucks were seen were younger and were chasing does and we knew that the next couple of days were going to be awesome.

 As we woke up Sunday and stepped outside the boys started coming in from their houses around the area. They started telling us about the light frost on the ground, and we knew it was ON!  We ate a light breakfast and everybody hit the woods. Although there were less shots that morning, we figured less people were hunting. But Brett connected with a good buck probably in the high 140’s, maybe 150 on a farm not far from the house and his brother Jake killed a nice respectable 8 point at another farm in the area. We didn’t hear about any other good bucks riding in trucks on Sunday.  Everybody else saw a tremendous amount of buck-chasing-does activity, and that just means that the next couple of days was going to mean sitting in a tree as long as you could stand it, hopefully that meant all day.


Monday the day was even colder than Sunday, just a nice, cool, crisp morning. A lot of deer activity and I think that everybody knew that the rut was in full swing and had pretty much committed to staying in their stands all day. I know my pack was full of snacks and I intended to go the distance.

On that morning I went to a stand that I’ve come to call the “Money Stand”. The Money Stand is located on a small farm not far from the house that is primarily all hardwoods. On the top of the ridge, there is a lot happening with terrain: there is a big CRP field behind the stand, on top of that ridge there is an old logging road, and a little lane winds down the top of the ridge. Sitting in the stand facing the logging road to the right is a big draw, that is fairly thick and it borders a field of grown-up little hardwood saplings and brush and a small pond. To the front is a beautiful hardwood ridge that runs a couple of yards to the property line and all along the right side of that ridge is a thick area that makes a good travel corridor for deer to come up the ridge towards the stand. To the left you can see about 150 yards; all mature hardwoods, fairly open, but not a lot of deer activity on that side usually. Back behind the stand a thick connector ridge that connects the CRP field to the ridge where the stand is. It is one of those true stands that a guy has in his career as a deer hunter that he thinks about all throughout the off-season, day-dreams about just getting back in that stand and staying there as long as you can. And this morning is the morning I’d spend in the Money Stand.

As I’m sitting there and daylight is coming on, activity is starting, wildlife is starting to move around. This ridge is notorious in that area that we hunt for having some of the biggest, prettiest fox squirrels. And as any of you know fox squirrels, when they are active, are LOUD. They are just so big and pretty to watch, and for a Southern boy everything in the Midwest has more fur on it. It’s just neat to watch the squirrels, but they can get aggravating cause every one of them that moves sounds like a deer!

The first (real) sign of a deer that morning was just a glimpse of something, just a flash off to my left and down a big valley where the open hardwood ridge is. I heard a squirrel just break out barking and even though we hear a lot of squirrels bark, if you’ve been in the woods long enough you can tell when one barks that’s been surprised. Shortly after that bark, I saw a little movement and looked and a big doe came walking up the ridge and took a right and turned directly in front of me and walked broadside about 20 yards. She fed in a big half circle and went into the big CRP field on top the hill.


Not long after she disappeared, here came a nice young white-horned 8 point and he had his nose on the ground and started trailing this doe. And this is when things really started happening. As he got in the middle of the road with me at about 15 or 20 yards, 4 does stepped out in the logging road in front of me close to the grown-up field. As far as I could see, the buck immediately took off after the does and as he took off running they scattered in all different directions. It looked like a covey of quail flushing, he pushed them so hard.

From that point, small bucks pushing does and does running from bucks kept me entertained all morning. It was one of those mornings where I just knew it was a matter of time before what I was looking for came down the ridge.  The one 8 point had made his appearance 4 or 5 different times chasing different does, just having a big time and you could always tell he was coming cause he was grunting about every step.


At some point he picked up a big doe, she was noticeable larger than the others and he pushed her down the logging road away from me. They’d been gone about 5 minutes and I heard a big commotion in front of me just out of sight in the hardwoods. A couple of minutes later this young 8 point with his nose to the ground as always, came running down the logging road at a fast trot and disappeared back towards the gravel road in the draw to my right.

All morning I had dedicated myself to taking digital photos of the deer coming through the area, the does, the 8 point. I photographed him several times and kept trying to get him from the rear cause that deer was kind of odd, he only had about a three inch tail.  So as I looked up, I heard something coming and it was the big doe coming down the hardwood ridge directly to my left. As she came in my sight, I picked up the camera and started photographing her as she walked by at about 30-40 yards. I caught movement behind her (which should have been expected), and saw the white tips of some tines coming through the woods, so I turned my camera to the left, expecting it to be the grunting deer that had been chasing her all morning and started snapping pictures. As I was taking some photos of this deer, he got closer and closer and he’d stop behind trees and I’d wait for him to come out and take a few more pictures and when he got broadside about 30 yards to my left in the open hardwoods all of a sudden I decided the camera was not the best option in this case.

I set the camera down, reached around and got the rifle off the tree step, spun and immediately cocked the hammer, got the rifle on the deer’s shoulder and fired. At that moment I couldn’t believe that I had just about let this buck walk off standing there taking memories of him with a camera! It would have been a tragic morning had I not come to my senses!

Near tragedy turned into a great morning in the woods: as the rifle went off, the deer dropped. As always, I stood there for a minute, looked up and said thank you God for this. Seeing what I had seen all morning and knowing that I was the only one in the world that had witnessed it…that’s pretty awesome.

Then I got nervous. Nervous about how close I’d come to letting this deer wander off, and then I thought that maybe I’ve just matured as a deer hunter. Maybe photographing them and seeing them is what it’s all about and to kill one is pretty fun too. Hmmm. Well, either way, I had had a great morning photographing deer and was just glad it ended with a good shot.

I gathered up all my stuff, packed up my backpack and got ready to go down. I called Brett and Jake to come help me get this deer (they are young and strong) cause this deer was at the bottom of a gully. I didn’t even approach the deer until I knew they had made their 15-20 minute trip to me.

I saw them come in off the ridge by the CRP field. They dropped down the ridge and I started walking to the deer and I pointed to them to look and they looked down and they immediately knew that I’d killed a decent Midwest whitetail.

We all approached the deer together, got down, and of course grabbed his horns. Everybody took their turn holding on to him and turning him and looking him in the face, checking out this beautiful Midwest 8 point.

We had about a 15–30 minute photo session, then I gutted the deer and the two young men drug him to the top of this steep hill while I went and got the truck. We loaded him up and took him back to the Feltners farm. As we were riding back me and Brett were in the truck together and just talking about all the past and just really hit me how many memories I’d shared with this family.

I’ll never forget the memory Nov 12th, 2005 when Jeremy, the oldest boy, had gone to the same farm where I’d just killed this 8 point and he come rolling back into the barn that night and you could see horns sticking up out of the back of his big ford diesel truck. Man, in the back of that truck was 197 inch non-typical whitetail, now listed in the Boone & Crockett record book.


Now maybe many of you have been in a camp when a true Boone & Crockett rolled into camp, but it was my first time to experience someone truly killing a once-in-a-lifetime deer.


I remember us all looking at that buck and just congratulating Jeremy. His dad, brothers, uncle, his mom, his wife even his little boy Coleman (maybe 2 years old), -everybody was there, sharing in and enjoying the excitement.

The next morning I remember getting the deer out of the barn and taking it to a cut corn field for pictures and having a big lengthy photo session. There were a couple of other deer killed that year, but of course that one still hasn’t been knocked off the top!

I could tell more stories, and might in the future. But ya know, of all the memories that I’ve had with the Feltner Family, I never remember a bad one. Maybe you are lucky enough to know people like this. As deer hunters you understand each other and you kind of stand for the same things in life outside of hunting. You believe in the same things, in the same value system.

So as you develop these relationships with friends that you meet though the great sport of hunting, cherish and treat them well. The friendships and the bonds are much deeper than a deer hunt, it’s a relationship that is built over many years and will last for many years to come.

If you’re a true dedicated deer hunter you know many stories like the one I just told, but the most important part is that the story doesn’t have an ending, it’s a story I hope I can tell more next year and still not have an ending.

Oh, and on Monday morning before I went out to the Money Stand, we were sitting around the kitchen table talking, having coffee, a little bit of breakfast. As we sat there the money from the Big Buck Pot was still in that red Solo cup. And Russ told Brett, “there’s your money”. Now I told you already, these are super guys with a lot of integrity and Brett totally could have gotten away with it, but didn’t try. “Ya know, I don’t remember putting $5 in the cup, I don’t think I put my money in”. Silence. Little brother Jake reached over, grabbed the cup, took the money out and stuck it in his pocket. He knew that even though he had taken the second biggest deer, his brother had been a cheapskate and that made him the winner! We all just broke out laughing. Accounting for all who put money in the cup, sure enough Brett had failed on this one year to cough up his five bucks! Lesson learned.

Hunting with Kids: Memories in the Making

Like a lot of guys this year, I am sharing my hunting season and love of the outdoors with my child.  Morgan is my youngest, having just turned 9 a month ago, so this is not my first child to introduce to my love of hunting.  I've been through this before, but it's been a while as my oldest, Mitch, is now 28 and my daughter, Lacy, is 25 - Morgan is our "bonus round", if you know what I mean.

The South Carolina Muzzleloader Season opened on October 1st, but Morgan doesn't know that.  But what he does know is that if the weather is getting cooler, it must be about time for deer season, and he'd already started asking me "Hey Dad, when are we going hunting?".

Well of course, like all young'uns, he outgrows his hunting clothes every year, so very first thing, we started our season with a trip to our local Academy Sports for a set of new duds.

On Saturday morning, I got up early and went in to wake him up - he almost jumped out of the bed he was so excited!  I told him to go have some cereal while I got dressed, and when I got back to the living room, there was Morgan, completely dressed in his new camo - with all the tags still hanging from everything!  He looked like a regular Minnie Pearl! 

After removing all the price tags and with a bowl of Frosted Flakes behind us, armed with beef jerky and Gushers, we set out through the dark, clear morning.  There's something special about being outside that early, when the stars are still out, something real special about a crisp, fall morning.

We parked at the barn, took one last bathroom break, and headed out through the woods in the dark.  I was surprised that Morgan didn't want his own flashlight, but I think he was worried about spooking the deer, so he just followed me closely to our stand.  And our wait began.

You remember being small in the stand?  Remember how slowly time passes?  It's not an easy thing to keep a young kid occupied in a deer stand, but this year I've got a secret weapon: Morgan is working on his Cub Scout Whittling Chip, so he's happy to whittle away the time making pointy sticks.

I love dawn in a deer stand.  Clear.  Cool.  Crisp.  Quiet, but not quiet.  Listening to the woods waking up, birds and small game stirring around, coming alive in the morning air.

Not long after daylight, we had a young spike come out in front of us about 70 yards away in our food plot.  He entertained us awhile feeding, then wandered off.  Morgan was excited to see his first deer of the season and he vowed to come back and get that one himself next time. (Morgan didn't bring a rifle, opting to ease back into it by just watching me this first morning).

For a while Morgan entertained himself with my binos, like all kids, he enjoyed examining the world at high magnification.  Then more whittling.

Then we saw a couple of deer running around, all playful.  Sure enough, a doe ran out with a little buck chasing her, they ran around in circles a bit.  Morgan asks "Dad, why is that buck chasing that doe?"  "Well, this time of year the bucks are picking themselves out a girlfriend, then they get together and make little baby deer for next year." .....long pause....then Morgan says "dum dum de-dum"...oh yeah, he's quietly singing the wedding march with a knowing look on his face. 

At one point, Morgan's head jerked up and he looked out towards the left.  Excited whispering:  "Dad!  Do you hear that buck?"  I listened.  "No buddy, was it a bird?"  "No Dad, it was a buck!  He's rubbing his horns on a tree!  I HEAR him!"  I listened again, but nothing.  Then about 30 minutes later I did hear it, the distinct sound of a buck rubbing a tree.  Morgan had been right!  I looked to the left and sure enough, a buck raised his head and it was a pretty decent little 7 or 8 point!

"Morgan, don't move!" I whispered, "You were right, it's a buck - a good one!"  Morgan couldn't see him for the brush, but he saw me raise my rifle and knew it was time to be extra quiet and extra still.  I reduced the power on my scope and got in position for my shot.  I was using my CVA Accura V2 and had it loaded with 100 grains of Blackhorn 209 powder and a Hornady SST 250 grain bullet.  I had to wait a few minutes for the deer to turn just right for a good shot, and I glanced down at Morgan.  His sat with his fingers in his ears in preparation for my shot, eyes big as saucers.  I put the crosshairs on the buck's shoulder and squeezed the trigger.  That buck dropped right in his tracks.

Morgan jumped up and started straining to see the buck on the edge of the woods.  He started bouncing up and down in the stand, he was so excited!  Luckily for him (and me), there was no need to wait, so we got down and headed over to see our prize.

It was a good deer for South Carolina, not the biggest rack, but his body was sizable and Morgan was beside himself with excitement!  We took pictures with my cell phone and sent them to his mom and some of my buddies that I knew were out hunting that same morning.  We had our little kill-sight celebration, and began to walk to the truck dragging the deer.

No more bird song in these woods; no more playful squirrels or any other animals of any kind making any noise or moving, cause Morgan was just buzzing with chatter about the deer, the hunt, what he saw, what we did, what the deer did....he must have asked me a million questions before we got that deer to the truck.  I finally let him call his mother to tell her all about it so I could concentrate on getting that buck up into my truck.


We headed to the house and my wife met us in the driveway with a hot cup of coffee for me and hot chocolate for Morgan.  You could tell he thought he was big, sipping warm liquid on the back of the truck-bed telling his mom the whole story again, Spiderman cup and all.

 

A real photo session followed, then we headed out to the processor.  Again, Morgan was zero help actually moving the deer, but he put forth good effort.  Turned out that deer weighed 200 lbs!  That's pretty big for a deer in our area, no wonder I was struggling with him!

 Again, full of questions and excited chatter with the guys at the processing place, the only time Morgan was quiet was when he did his (thorough) examination of the deer's head once the processor cut the horns off for him.  You all remember that don't you?  Sure brought back memories of being with my uncles when I was his age.

Then on to Waffle House, the way we end all our morning hunts.  We called my buddy who'd been bowhunting that morning, and he met us for breakfast and listened intently to Morgan's excited version of our morning.  He's a good friend and treats Morgan like he's grown, which Morgan loves.  We all enjoyed our late breakfast, although it's a little hard to watch Morgan eat waffles, bacon and pickles together at any time of day.

Well you'd have thought Morgan would be ready to head back into the 3rd grade world of cartoons and video games, but nope.  He wanted to spend the afternoon getting HIS muzzleloader ready so he could go back after that first spike we saw at the food plot.

Having never shot a muzzleloader before, I chose a Thompson Center Omega for him, loaded with 70 grains of Blackhorn 209 with a 200 grain Shockwave bullet.  I restrict his range to 70 yards right now, and after initially sighting in his rifle, just check out the next 1/2 dozen shots!  That little spike will have a problem if Morgan gets him in his sights!

That night, reflecting on our day together, I don't think I could have wished it be any different.  It was a perfect day spent with my son making memories to last a lifetime, and I think we are both truly excited about the rest of deer season.

 

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 Scopes - How to Choose?

This post has not been an easy one to write for a few reasons:

1. The number of options available
2. Price range
3. Not wanting my readers to feel they may have made a bad selection

The reason for the last one is only because some of the rifle optic manufactures have made some options look a little more appealing than they actually are (imagine that).

Rifle scopes can make or break a hunt quickly! This is not the place to cut corners! But it’s also not an item we all need to go broke over either. As far as price range goes, only you know how much you can afford. I have always been the kind of person that tried to make it hurt when buying rifle scopes; I believe in quality optics.

The market has a lot of options for under $200.00 but I truly don’t believe you’re getting more than a tube that magnifies a target and has crosshairs; that’s about it. Most of the companies that offer a scope in this price range will give you a lifetime warranty on their products. But how satisfying is that guarantee when you’ve been sitting in the same stand hunting a particular buck all season and on the last day he walks out and you can’t find him in the scope? Truthfully, I’m not the one to review this type of scope - I’ve just never trusted them to one of my hunts. So moving on…

Now today’s market does offer a lot of good options in the $250 to $300 range. Some of the brands I really like for both quality and trustability are (in alphabetical order): Burris, Hawke, Konus, Leatherwood, and Nikon. If you can go above $350 to around $600, then add Leupold to the list. Leupold does have some lower priced options, but the one I really like is around $500 - $550. However, the others I listed are very serviceable scopes and should be considered – I would trust them to any hunt in North America.

Before going any further, you have to know a little something about the scopes I’ve chosen to write about. First, all are of one piece tube construction. All are also known as second focal plane scopes vs scopes on the first focal plane. Second focal scopes seem to be what the American market has accepted. The difference between the two is easy to recognize: the retical in the second focal plane scopes stays the same size when the power is changed and only the target changes. Scopes in the first focal plane design show the reticule growing in size with the target as the power is changed. Almost all scopes offered to American hunters are 2nd focal plane scopes.

The second focal plane design has a lot to do with the type of reticule we choose, but usually only when choosing BDC-type reticles. As far as what the reticule actually looks like is up to you, and what is available in the model of scope you’re looking at buying.

I’ve always just opted for the good ol’ duplex, thick to thin. For hunting and getting on game, sometimes quickly, I just don’t prefer a lot going on or too much to look at in my scopes. I really don’t care for the circle-type reticles in scopes such as the Nikon Omega. They do not provide a precise aiming point for zeroing and practicing with the rifle and cover up a lot of the vital area on big game. As far as Mil Dot reticles, I don’t find much use for them in hunting scopes, especially with the affordability of modern-day rangefinders.

All of this brings me to what I had asked you to research in my last post about what it was that all the manufacturers I had picked had in common. Well, the answer is: They all have True Point-of-Aim, Point-of-Impact capability. That’s right, as fast as you can read a range finder, you can adjust your scope as to where your bullet will impact the target at the same place your crosshairs have come to rest. The problem that most hunters have with the scopes needed to make this happen is that the turrets are too tall. In most cases I would agree that they are tall, but they come with true point-of-aim, point-of-impact results and to me are worth the extra height. The most compact version I’ve found in this type of scope is Leupold’s VX-3 CDS scope. Once you have the turrets on this scope engraved to your ballistics, it’s as simple as this:

1. Range the target
2. Turn the turret to the appropriate range
(example: if the target is 250 yards, turn the turrent from 0 to 2.5)
3. Aim & Fire

That is it.


The other scopes, Burris, Hawke, Konus & Leatherwood, also have this simple of a solution to the bullet drop problem inherent to muzzleloaders, just in a little taller package. I tested all of the above scopes to date, with the exception of Hawke, and that is on the way. I will have a future post as to how to get each of the others to do the same as Leupolds and just as easy at a later time. My instructions will be easy to understand.

Another option we have, and I’ve used for years, is simply good ol’ Kentucky windage or hold-over. Nothing special, just know what your bullet drop is out to any given range, know the range, lift the crosshairs up “bout” that much and fire. This is my second most favorite pick or option.

My last pick, if you haven’t noticed by now, is the second focal plane BDC reticule-type scopes. Here’s the reason (and I’ll give you the links to check behind me): First of all, keep in mind that the main crosshair will maintain the same impact no matter what the power of the scope is set on. i.e.; if your rifle is zeroed at 100 yards it will be good at any power setting within the scopes’ magnification range. Other than that main crosshair, the yardage hashmarks for the different ranges are only valid if the scopes are set on a specific power. Most are set-up to only work with your ballistics with the scope set on maximum power. Some of Leupolds’ scopes, such as the Ultimate Slam, do have different power ranges that fall within different ballistics ranges, but again, the bullet drop compensation (BDC) values are only valid at that power. If you read the links on Burris and Leopold web sites, they will tell you this. To get an idea as to how much lowering the power changes the bullet impact, go to Nikon Hunting Spot On. Spot On is an easy ballistic program to use and it allows you to see how much changing the power effects your impact (and it’s FREE!). Here’s an example according to Spot On:

1. Scope 3x9x40 Omega BDC 250
2. 250 gr. Shockwave at 1850 fps
3. Zero at 100 yards
4. First circle under main crosshair on 9x is 135 yards
5. Change the power to 3x, first circle zero is now 193 yards


Another point about these scopes is that they are designed to use 150 grains of pellets. The best accuracy from any manufacturers’ rifle is NEVER at it’s best with pellets, much less 150 grains!

The BDC reticle and concept sounds good and has been around a long time, but the truth be known: it wasn’t excepted back then and if you do your homework, you should make sure it’s what you really want now. Not to beat a dead horse, but there are just too many lines in those scopes. With the right deer walking out, you could get confused about which hash-mark to use real quick on maximum power unless you practice a lot.

Tube diameter is another option we need to look at. I prefer a 30 mm tube scope for three reasons:
1. It is more durable because it’s a bigger diameter,
2. They have a few more clicks of elevation or windage in them if needed,
3. I just believe the bigger tube lets more light get from the lens to eye.

But still, most of my scopes are 1 inch tubes.

Here is my normal speech about objective diameter since 50mm objective lens started getting popular: In most cases, you have to use higher mounts. The higher the mounts, the higher you have to lift your cheek off the stock. This destroys what is known in marksmanship skill terms as “stock weld”. The better the stockweld, the better control you have over the rifle. Also, with a 50 mm scope, people say that because it is larger it gathers more light. Well, the truth is a lens only transmits light, it does not gather it. In my opinion, it’s just not worth the trade-off. You will also hear that you get a better field-of-view from a 50mm. Again, not true. You actually get a few feet less. Here’s an example:

1. Burris FullField II 3x9x40mm – 1 inch tube, 33 ft on 3x and 13 ft on 9x at 100 yards
2. Burris FullField II 3x9x50mm – 30 ft on 3x and 11 ft on 9x at 100 yards

One option we’ve had for a long time that has always been a great one is the variable power scope. By far the most popular is the good ol’ 3x9 and on a muzzleloader, I believe it’s all we need. Or if you’re only hunting close cover, a good 2x7 power scope will serve you well and I own a few of these myself.

Remember a few things when picking a muzzleloader scope:

1. the range of a modern front-loader
2. the higher the power, the less field of view you have
3. we use a scope to shoot game, it’s not made to replace a pair of binoculars or a spotting scope

I hope this information can help you use your scope bucks wisely. We’ve done a lot of research on scopes, I’ve bought and used more scopes than I can count. I would urge all of you to take a look at all your options that will allow you to shoot Point-of-Aim, Point-of-Impact. I truly believe it’s the most simple and effective option of all.

I will have future posts on each of the scopes we’ve tested that will help you accomplish Point-of-Aim, Point-of-Impact as I get a chance to write them and
I will continue this Saving Your Buck$ series with future posts covering loads, bullets, powders and primers to help you achieve MAXimum accuracy from your modern, in-line muzzleloader.

Keep What You Need - Share What You Don't

I felt the need to write a quick post about the duty I believe we, as hunters,  have to give something back.  And I don't  mean to only the sport and resource we need to be able to hunt, but even to those that don’t.

My family has had a company involved in the hunting industry for over 14 years now.  First with our game call company, Bud & Betty Hunting Calls, and now with MAX.  We have always done as much as we could possibly do to support the various organizations and foundations that comprise everything from our gun rights, habitat and hunting resources to the various organizations that help make it possible for special groups such as children, veterans or handicapped people have opportunities to hunt, etc.  I’ll be the first to admit that these organizations generally need a “time” commitment about the same time of year that we are at our most busy work-period, so our support is usually in the form of products to be used by the groups or to help with raise funding.

But one of our favorite organizations is our local chapter of Hunters & Landowners for the Hungry (maybe they call it something similar in your area).  Not only does this organization help our local area with herd control and conservation, it reaches out to help people outside our sport. 

There are many people in our community that are not as fortunate as we are to have food on the table every day.  This is not news to any of us.  1 in 8 families in my state are impacted by hunger, and ½ of those are children!  That’s enough to send a shiver down my spine.  To date, our local chapter has been able to donate close to 400,000 pound of deer meat over a 5 county area to homeless shelters, soup kitchens and food pantries to help individual families in need.  Now that is news - good news worth sharing!

How does it work?  Hunters for the Hungry and other organizations like it across the country raise money to pay  local processors to process deer donated by local hunters to feed local people.  After picking up the processed deer, Hunters for the Hungry then physically take the meat to distribute to organizations which help people in need.  They are a non-profit organization, run by very dedicated, hard-working volunteers which are supported financially by fundraisers, grants and individual donations of money to pay for the processing fees. 

You can help in one of three ways:  Donate a deer, donate funds to process a deer, donate time to deliver the meat to a local shelter or soup kitchen – or do all three!   

This year our chapters' banquet had more than 450 attendees and was held at a local church.  The guest speaker was Hank Parker, who now resides in our area.  (If you ever have a chance to hear him speak, go do it!  He has a great message for us as hunters, and a great deal of valuable insight on being an American and a Christian.  Not to mention he’s a great story-teller!).  Several of our local hunting businesses were in attendance.  Wildlife photographer, Michael Bibb, had a booth set up displaying pieces of his work.  (I’ve known Michael for several years and he’s a very talented and up-and-coming wildlife artist.  You can check him out at www.wildlifeimp.com).  Gary (Chip) Sayre, CEO of theHuntConnection was also there with a beautiful display of big game mounts from his adventures from all over North America.  (He is still building his website, but it looks like it will be a great resource for hunters.)  It appeared our chapter volunteers, vendors and speakers raised a lot of money for such a worthy cause.

As we go into this fall’s hunting season, find out about your local version of Hunters for the Hungry and remember, we should all give something back.  Not only within our sport, but to others outside the hunting community that could use our help.  It’s a great opportunity to witness to the non-hunters out there. 

Keep what you need, but share what you don’t.  It does make a difference.