fisherguy Posted October 26, 2005 Report Share Posted October 26, 2005 Well i had never shot one until 3 days ago, but decided to try out my dad's old one for a few days before rifle season. He showed me how to load, shoot and clean it, i fired a few shots, and since I was bang on out to 75 yards i went doe hunting. It was a short hunt to tag my first muzzleloader deer, and it was a blast! Check out the story and pic here.first muzzleloader deer Now for the question. It is an old sidelock Thompson Center Arms .54 cal muzzleloader. The load i used was 110 grains of black powder, and 400 grain lead slugs. (Simply because that is the load he had used in it to take a few moose and he knew it would shoot dead on out to at least 75 yards). This is no modern gun, and has iron sights, so for deer i would say i am sticking to a max range of ;75 yards. It was clearly overkill on that fawn, and has made short work of adult moose. For deer up to say 300 pounds, should i leave the load as is, or experiment with saboted lighter bullets, and less powder? A hit in the ribs like that it doesn't really matter if the exit wound is huge, but if i got into the shoulder i suspect there would be a lot of waste. I appreciate any advice from you more experienced blackpowder hunters. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ZooBear Posted October 27, 2005 Report Share Posted October 27, 2005 Re: Muzzleloader rookie questions You have a GREAT rifle there. The 54 is good on deer with a patched round ball out to 100 yards easy. PRBs have a lot less recoil and are cheaper than what your shooting now. 110 grains of powder is a fine load. I would not shoot sabots in a 1 in 48 twist barrel, which is what your rifle is. It can be done but none of mine have shot well with them. I would stick with PRBs or conacals and stay below 120 grains of powder. PS Let me know if you want to sell it. LOL Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RangerClay Posted October 27, 2005 Report Share Posted October 27, 2005 Re: Muzzleloader rookie questions [ QUOTE ] You have a GREAT rifle there. [/ QUOTE ] You got that right! I have the same T/C rifle without all the brass. It's called the Renegade and mine is .50 caliber. I shoot 80 grains of Pyrodex and .348 grain HP Powerbelts. I can drive tacks with mine. Ranger Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gator Posted October 27, 2005 Report Share Posted October 27, 2005 Re: Muzzleloader rookie questions Good questions there fisher. i will be getting my dads ML in a couple of weeks, I beleive it to be the same as yours, I will be watching this topic closely. Think dad may have shot 80gr pushing 450gr maxi balls if memory serves me right Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BuckNrut Posted October 28, 2005 Report Share Posted October 28, 2005 Re: Muzzleloader rookie questions I'm no expert, but I've read here that if you have an exit wound you may not be getting full benefit (shocking power) of your load. The "perfect" scenario is to have the bullet lodge against the skin on the opposite side of the entry wound. That said, I might start with a slightly lower powder charge, adjusting sights as necessary. Maybe reduce the charge by 5%, or 5 grains to round off. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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