How to Load a Muzzleloader for Optimum Accuracy!

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Does your muzzleloader’s performance leave something to be desired? If so, it very likely could be your loading procedure! Here’s a method that could make your gun, all it can be.

Of course, you have to start with a gun that is capable of making accurate shots. There are a number of them out there but I have been shooting the T/C Encore for a while now and it will shoot 1.5” groups at 100yds pretty easily with an occasional 1” group mixed in. Next you are going to need a solid bench to shoot from, along with some sand bags or an adjustable shooting rest. These are the basic foundation you need to begin with.

• Bullet selection is another key to accuracy and performance!

Next, you’re going to need to choose a quality bullet!

There has been some real advances in muzzleload bullets in recent years. Among the best of these are the latest designs with polymer ballistic tips like the Hornaday SST and the Thompson Center Shockwave. I can personally vouch for the Shockwaves. I have never seen a better performing muzzleload bullet, both in accuracy and game stopping ability.

My personal load consists of 118gr of loose Pyrodex, a 200gr Shockwave and Remington 209 primers. I’m getting some extremely good accuracy with this load.

I would have to say that most people seem to like the heavier, 250 gr. bullet for some reason. However, I prefer the flatter trajectory and increased velocity of the 200’s. A muzzleloader’s projectile is already a relatively slow moving bullet by nature. The more you can bump up the velocity the better the bullets expansion & performance will be on game.

The exact steps you take in loading your gun will make all the difference in the results you get down range.

Now comes the important part!

You have a great gun and quality bullets but how do you go about getting that bullet in the gun?

A muzzleloader is much like archery equipment from the respect that you must prepare and execute each shot exactly the same each time to get consistent results between shots.

I was recently reminded of this fact when I started experiencing fliers in my own groups. I had changed my loading procedure from my old tried and true spit patch method to a technique a good hunting friend of mine was using. He swabs his barrel clean between shots with a solvent patch then follows up with dry patch so he is shooting from an un-fowled barrel on each shot. He reasoned that with no fowling you should have a consistent barrel.

Unfortunately, for me it worked better in theory than in reality. My feeling on the matter is that it is difficult to remove all the solvent and any residual acts like a lubricant. The effect varies, producing inconsistent results.

Also, find some quality cotton patches, I recently purchased some CVA patches and they are terrible. They are to loose and have to be doubled and are stretchy. I expect they are not “made in USA.”

I have been pulling my hair out trying to get this method to stop throwing fliers. Finally, I decided to give up and go back to a method I know works….The Spit Patch.

This technique is pretty simple and is also something you can do on a hunt, in the field. With a fowled barrel, you simply wet a clean patch with some Sylvia, swab the barrel and then follow up with a dry patch. I like to use approximately the same number of strokes on each swab. Now you’re ready to re-load.

Shooting from a slightly fowled barrel also produces a tighter fit with the bullet and slightly more resistance as the bullet passes down the barrel. This increases the barrel pressure and bullet velocity. You will notice your point of impact is 2.5-3" higher than shooting from a clean barrel.

Another important step is seating the bullet. This also needs to be consistent. How tightly the propellant is compressed by the bullet will also effect the shot.

The adjacent photo was shot from my T/C Encore today.

All shots were at 100 yds.

#3,4 & 5 produced a 1.5” group
I adjusted 8 clicks down
#6, 7 & 8 produced a 1.25” group

I am not sure what produced the shift of the second group to the left
but I believe it is an issue with the scope itself as the groups are just to tight and consistent to suggest otherwise.

• Will your gun go bang when it counts the most?

There is one more critical step in the loading procedure that has resulted in more missed opportunities at Mr. Big than any other! Mess this step up and all your hard work and effort to get that big buck in your cross hairs is for not.

I cannot stress this point enough, if you do not clear the barrel of all solvent and oil there is a good chance that your gun will not fire when you need it most. The only way I know to guarantee this is to pour about 10-15 grains of powder down the barrel and fire off a cap. If you get a flame out the end of the barrel you know with all confidence that all residue is burned off.

Now you’re ready to load for the hunt. Just follow the spit patch procedure as outlined above and you will not have any nagging worries of the dreaded FTF.

If you are having problems with consistency with you muzzleloader, give this loading technique a try, I expect it will solve your problem.

Best of Hunts,

Larry Stephens

A Muzzleload Bullet To Die For! Optimum Accuracy and Performance!

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Is your Muzzleload bullet coming up short? Here's the cure for what ails you!

I have been hunting with muzzleloaders for a long time now, over 25 years to be exact. My first smoke pole was a .50 cal. CVA Hawkins that I built from a kit. It was as accurate as any I ever saw for open sights and round balls.

I killed my first muzzleload buck with that gun on the opening morning of my first muzzleload season. I don't think the hunt even lasted an hour. I had climbed up on a massive downed live oak in the middle of a big hardwood swamp in central Florida. The tree was over 3 feet in diameter and the trunk was clear of the ground by almost 4'. I set up with my back against the fan of roots sticking up in the air and it gave me a good vantage of the open swamp, a prettier place you never saw!

It was a cool October morning and there was just a bit of fog hanging in the swamp. I hadn't been sitting there long when I heard the sound of running deer and they were coming my way. I cocked  my hammer and got turned that direction. About that time three does came into view and they were hauling the mail! Not far behind was a big cow horned spike. As he neared I tried to stop him twice but he was so involved in the chase it did not phase him. By this time the Buck was just getting to the limbs of the downed oak I was in. I had to do something quick or he was going to get by me. I just hollered out....HEY!  The buck stopped in his tracks at about 15 yds, I dropped the hammer and he hit the ground where he stood!

I don't think I could have dreamed up a more classic muzzleload hunt.

The old round ball did the job that day and I am sure it has probably killed more than any other bullet to date. The only problem is that many of the deer shot with round balls are not recovered. They just don't leave much, if any of a blood trail. I can't tell you how many deer I helped other hunters track back in those days that were never found.

There has been a lot of different bullet designs since then but some real advances have been made over the last few years. Among the best of these are the latest designs with polymer ballistic tips like the Hornaday SST, Thompson Center Shockwave and possibly the Power Belts though I have not personally seen many deer shot with these. It is my understanding that Hornaday actually builds the Shockwave for T/C and I can personally vouch for the Shockwaves. I have never seen a better performing muzzleload bullet.

I get some extremely good accuracy with the .50 cal., 200 gr. Shockwave bullets and the performance on game is un-matched, bar none! Some of the blood trails I have seen these things produce have been nothing short of incredible, comparable to any weapon, even modern high powered rifles. As a matter of fact, most of the deer I have shot with these bullets left a blood trail better than any I can remember from my Browning A-Bolt in .30-06.

I have all of my friends shooting the Shockwaves now and they are reporting the same results that I have been seeing. Great accuracy and even better blood trails! At least when one is able to run off.

I would say that most people seem to prefer the 250 gr. bullet for some reason.

A number of years ago I purchased a new Thompson Center Encore from Bass Pro Shops. I decide to go with the stainless model just to save myself some headaches with the corrosiveness of the propellants.  We were leasing a farm in Illinois where you could really stretch your barrel at times and my Remington 11-87 Premier just wasn't up to the job, even with a fully rifled slug barrel. I tried evey slug you can imagine and the accuracy was terrible. The bullet performance on the deer I shot with it was even worse with the Remington Copper Solids I was using. They were the only thing that even shot close to good and that was a 2.5"-3" group at 100yds.

I needed something with better performance than that and I found it in the T/C Encore. It will shoot 1.25"-1.5" groups at 100yds and has an effective range of over 200yds. Twice that of most shotguns. It really likes the Shockwave Bullets though the 200 gr. are a snug fit. In my friends T/C Omega they were really tight while the 250 gr. bullets fed much easier.

My personal load consists of 118gr of loose pyrodex, a 200gr Shockwave and Remington 209 primers.

While researching the Hornady SST bullets I see that they are considerably less money than the T/C Shockwaves and come in a box of 25 rather than the 15 you get from T/C. They are pretty pricey when you think about it. The Shockwaves are almost a buck a bullet. Unfortunately, other bullets just can't provide the performance these bullets can.

If your muzzleload bullet has been letting you down give the SST's or the Shockwaves a try, I guarantee you will thank me for the advice!

Best of  Hunts,
Larry Stephens

I could only find the Super Glides on Amazon though I shoot the regular Shockwaves with the blue sabots myself. You can get some info on these bullets at the links below.

Remington Copper Solid Slug Review

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Remington Copper Solid Slug Review:

I have been contemplating taking my Remington 11-97 Premier with a fully rifled slug barrel on a hunt to the farm I lease in Illinois. The only reason I would really consider it is that we will be doing some drives to try to thin the doe population down, at the insistence of the Farmer and some quick follow up shots might be in order.

I spent a lot of time and even more money trying every type slug I could find the first year we hunted there. I was pretty disappointed in the results I got at 100yds. Some could hardly hit an 8"x11 1/2" paper at that distance. Others tumbled through the air and went through the target sideways.

I settled on the Remington Copper solid as it produced the best accuracy in my particular gun at 100yds. The groups were in the 2 1/2" - 3" range. Not great but not terrible either. Of course that is only if you don't mind being limited to about 125-150 yds max. range.

Well, everything was smooth until I actually shot a deer with one of these things. Actually, I should say 3-4 of these things. This buck sucked them up like they we spit balls!

The first evening of the hunt I had climbed a cherry tree just off the corner of a long corn field that was about 650yds. long. Deer had been filtering into the field all afternoon but about 45 minutes before dark I spotted two big dark deer enter the far end of the field. I knew from their size and dark color they were both bucks but I could not make out what they had for horns for the longest time. Finally, they got just right and I was able to tell at least one was a shooter and larger than the other.

I knew my only hope for a shot was to climb down and try to put a sneak on them but it was going to have to be quick as light was fading fast. I jacked down the tree and dumped all my gear but the gun, glasses and a couple extra shells and beat it through the bottom to the edge of the field.

I had closed the distance about 200yds and now I could see the smaller deer was also a decent shooter.
It was dark enough that I decided to hunker over and shuffle down the tree line and hope I did not get picked off. There was just no time for a slow, stealthy approach. About half way down that side of the field there is a gap in the tree line that connects a smaller field to this one. Just before I reached that spot a doe walked out and slowly started to pick her way out into the field and never knew I was there. That was a stroke of good luck for me. The smaller buck saw her and started her way. He was clipping right along and in just a minute he was within a hundred yards. As he approached I could hardly believe how wide he was. I remember thinking, "man, that deer's horns are 2 feet wide!".

I had already got down so I could shoot off one knee and it was time to go to work. I leveled the scope on him and fired. The buck took off running, slightly quartering to me. I fired again as fast as I could and he stopped! He was standing there broadside at about 60yds with his head down? I held fire for just a minute thinking he was going to tip over any second but he just stood there. I decided I had better put another one in him and finish this.

I fired a third shot and the deer mule kicked and ran about 20yds and stopped again! Still on his feet but head hung low???? I thought, "What the hell!" About that time there was a truck coming out of the woods all the way across the next field on the adjoing farm and on the other side of the deer. There was no way I could shoot that far but wanted to wait until he cleared before I shot again.

I loaded my two backup rounds and waited for the guy to get out of his truck, open the gate, get back in, drive through, get back out, close the gate and drive off.

If you can even believe this.... The deer was still standing there! "I guess I'm gona have to shoot him again." Boom! I sent another copper solid down range. The deer took off running and made it about 60yds before his horns caught the dirt and he did an endo and piled up. It was quite a sight! Finally, he was on the ground. I still couldn't believe what had happened. I have never seen anything like it, before or since.

I ran out to the fallen buck and he was indeed wide, 22"+wide. He was a little weak on his right side compared to his left but a pretty nice buck none the less. He scored about 132 and would have been about 136 if he had not broke off a couple points.

Then I had to make an inspection to get to the bottom of the mystery of how that animal was able to take so many shots without going down. I was really thinking the gun must be off until I started finding each bullet entrance.

Two were text book.....one right behind the elbow, in the heart and one was upper shoulder, thru the paddle. The third was a paunch hit, probably the running shot and the reason he did not want to run to much. The fourth was just a graze across the point of the front shoulder that did not enter the body.

Copper Solids just do not expand!

All in all he was riddled with holes! The problem was simple, the copper solids just do not expand, period. The exit hole looked just like the entrance hole. No expansion means little energy delivered to the animal. It just punched a hole right thru and kept on smokin'.

Later, when I got back home I shot some more at my 100yd target and recovered them from the dirt back stop. They never even opened up and a couple looked like you could clean them up and put them back in a shell and shoot them again.  At the most, a couple had the forward side crushed in just a little.

Have a look at the pictures:    (pulled from dirt backstop at 100yds.)

Also note that they all impacted somewhat on the side.

I have since abandoned the shotgun for a Thompson Center Encore! It can shoot out to a distance that the shotgun can only dream about and is 2-3 times more accurate. Also, some of the newer muzzleload bullets are devastating on a deer. I have been shooting the Thompson Center Shockwave bullets in 200gr for quite a while now and they typically leave a blood trail that is as good or better than I have seen from anything, bar none! I will make a post as soon as I can with some pictures of some of the blood trails these Shockwaves make. That's on the rare occasion when the deer is not dropped in his tracks.

I probably don't need to actually say this but I don't recommend "Copper Solids"!  If you some experiences with them to share, send me a note and I'll add it to the post.

Good Huntin'
Larry S.

Photo by Capt. Rick Ruebel

Illinois 11pt, 132 0/8

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