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Late Muzzleloader


Kevin J Legg

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Maybe Legacy will chime in here. Maybe it was someone else but I remember seeing a pic of a shockwave that looked just like yours Kevin, maybe even more intact.

I started using Barnes after I saw that.


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Kevin, I’ve had really great experiences with the expansion of Barnes muzzleloader bullets.

This is a pic from the web, but I’ve recovered two over the years that looked pretty much identical.

IMG_4019.JPG



I have some that I’m no longer using because I switched bullet weights. I could probably be convinced to donate them to a fellow north country sportsman if you are interested.

Rusty


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When i was shooting a encore with bh209 Barnes were by far my first choice for a bullet.  Was shooting the Barnes Expanders.. most of the time they dropped in there tracks and if they did run there was always a heavy blood trail.. never had one fail to open up as intended and exit side was impressive

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When i was shooting a encore with bh209 Barnes were by far my first choice for a bullet.  Was shooting the Barnes Expanders.. most of the time they dropped in there tracks and if they did run there was always a heavy blood trail.. never had one fail to open up as intended and exit side was impressive

I’ve been using 3 triple7 pellets (150 gr) with Shockwaves and they shot great. Might have to do some experimenting to see what works with Barnes.


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I've been shooting Barnes exclusively for a long time on multiple guns and recovered many rounds. There has only been 2 that didn't "petal" out, I shot through alot of stuff on those. Here is a pic of a few of what have been recovered. Right side is 308 rifle, Middle is muzzleloader, left is 12 gauge. 20210101_195430.thumb.jpeg.200d7453a2ea4902d7b2ce44fa7c4247.jpeg

 

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15 hours ago, steelie said:

I've been shooting Barnes exclusively for a long time on multiple guns and recovered many rounds. There has only been 2 that didn't "petal" out, I shot through alot of stuff on those. Here is a pic of a few of what have been recovered. Right side is 308 rifle, Middle is muzzleloader, left is 12 gauge. 20210101_195430.thumb.jpeg.200d7453a2ea4902d7b2ce44fa7c4247.jpeg

 

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Steelie, would you mind saying what your .308 load was?  Factory or handload?

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1609707065154507010409.thumb.jpg.1e8379542881334d0c294eae2e63ed48.jpgI've hated every muzzleloader bullet I've ever tried until I tried the parker productions 275 grain match grade hunters.  This year I tried a new loading in my other smokeless, the hornady xtp 300 grain and my results were awesome.  I shot an 8 point and 3 doe between 150-300 yards and every one was in the ribs not the shoulder and every one sprayed a phenomenal blood trail.  Bullets designed for longer ranges will open up at lower speeds and so will pistol bullets.  40+ inches of snow is no joke to get around in and miserable to drag deer thru!  Snow was so deep when  I came to the end of each blood trail I had to scuff my feet to find the deer...they disappeared under the powder.  I can't say enough good things about my savage smokeless muzzleloaders with the XTPs. My second savage came with this loading and it blows away the one I was using.

160970617142686125121.jpg

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Justin,
I have shot 158 and 180 grain Hornady XTP in .357 Maximum TC Contender pistol. They seem to work well although I haven shot anything since switching to the 180 grain.
Many years ago when they first allowed use of bullets rather than round balls I shot Hornady XTP pistol bullets in my grey hawk.
I just discovered a few I had left. They are 240 grain. As I remember you could buy a box of 50 pretty cheap. I believed they performed well.
IMG_2022.JPGIMG_2021.JPG
I guess I got caught up in the accuracy and distance claims when I went to the Shockwaves.
May need to try the bullets you recommended.
What are you using for powder and how much? I been using Triple 7, 3 pellets.



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Is the new Traditions Nitro Fire system legal in NY (the bullet still needs to be loaded down the barrel). Can you order a muzzleloader by mail in NY since it is not considered a “firearm”?

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I'm using 44 grains of Accurate Arms 5744.  This is SMOKELESS powder do not use it in any muzzleloader not designed for smokeless powder.  I would use my crossbow before I went back to black powder.  My savage holds 1.25 moa accuracy out to 400 yards and under 1 moa to 200.  Powder is free compared to triple seven or pyrodex.  Box of 50xtps is cheap.  I have to get special sabots and magnum primers, but they aren't any more expensive.  The gun itself is the expensive part if you can find one.  Savage can no longer make them as part of a lawsuit settlement.  The gun is safe, but apparently people couldn't follow the simple instructions and there were accidents.  

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I ordered my first savage new for $500...got the second one used last year and it was double that, but I got an extra Boyd's thumbhole stock with it... I may very well buy another one if I stumble into one.  Still need to send my ballistic info to leupold and get my custom turrets, but I wanted to make sure I was thrilled with the loading first as the first set of custom turrets are included in the purchase of the vx5hd's I bought.  Another set is like $250 more 

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I'll bet the xtps shoot well with the 3 pellets of triple seven but there is only 1 way to find out!  My parker productions match grade hunters are much higher ballistic coefficient and designed to be a 500-600 yard bullet, and pricey... I'll have to find time to do a lot more shooting to buy more of em! 

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27 minutes ago, Kevin J Legg said:

Guess I’m have to see if they shoot in my Pro
Hunter and figure out a load that works. Anyone have suggestions?
Still haven’t ruled out the Barnes 250 grain as I believe they should be similar to the shockwaves my gun likes.


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Id suggest tryin the barnes first

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Well, thanks to Rusty I have some Barnes Bullet to try! I have been fortunate to meet some great people on this forum that are generous sharing information. Also made some terrific friends.

I’ve decided to switch to BH 209 powder. With a bit of testing I believe I will find a very good preforming load!

 

 

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