Traditional Muzzloader for Whitetail

[OHsneaky1]

Guys/Gals,

Do any of yall use Traditional percussion cap and round ball for whitetails. My buddy and I just ordered two kits and we are going to take the next 6 weeks to build them. Hopefully they will turn out good and we can whack a few nannies.

We both Ordered the Kentucky Long Rifle kit from Traditions. Both in .50 Cal. Just curious to see if we were alone out there or if other guys has done this and had success? What ball/patch combo do you use? Size powder?

We are both very excited about it.

Thanks

 

[Dannmann801]

Woo boy - betcha CJD3's got something he can share on this one.
Or Sam -

I'd be interested to see how your kits come along - hope you share the build.
I've been thinking that needs to be added to my to-do list...build a traditional muzzy.

 

[OHsneaky1]

Yeah it should be a good time. We are going to make it into a segment for our show. Hopefully showcase the steps of the kit. And with a little luck maybe even a doe kill this Muzzle season. I just hope they come out good. Makes me nervous i may mess the kit up.

 

[Huckleberry Finn]

Those kits are popular...and cool! I borrowed a friends and hunted with it during muzzy season one year. Missed a doe at about 40 years.

I recall I used a very low amount of powder, maybe 70 grains? Shot some round balls, but hunted with a sabot.

They are VERY heavy...and this one didn't have a sling, so it was a pain in the ass to hunt with.

 

[Carpn]

Ya might wanna try shooting maxi balls for hunting . I even shot power belt bullets out of mine with good results.

 

[OHsneaky1]

I have a friend that uses a .54 cal Hawken that he put together in the 80's. He uses patch and roundball for deer and does extremely well with them. And I think it helps keep some of the heritage we are going for intact. If that makes sense.

 

[bowhunter1023]

Calling Lundy...

I'll be interested to see how this goes as I've been considering this for a long time. Keep us posted and good luck!!!

 

[Hedgelj]

I started muzzleloading with a sidelock percussion muzzleloader. We used maxi balls rather than patched round balls but i think that was due to rifling rate b/c the true old style ones have a very slw rate of twist in comparison to what we are shooting nowadays.
70 grains blackpowder has put alot of deer on the ground for me over the last 15+ years.

 

[CJD3]

I built a Thompson Hawkin flint-lock kit many years ago. Browned the barrel and spent MANY years trying to figure it out. I can say it drove me a little nuts untill I finally workd it all out. Since then I have really enjoyed taking it afield. Carry a old style,traditional gun like that into the woods and you can't help but be wisked back 150 years in time.

I have tried the maxi balls but they are a pain to load.
I was given some "poly patches". They replace the cloth patch- I tried em one day. cool idea but the plastic builds up in the inside and was a bugger to get out. In the end I went with a cloth patch and round ball. Recovering your cloth patch 20ish yards out and looking at the charring will help you determin if you need a thicker cloth patch.
I have played around with load everywhere from 110 down to 70 gr. (of BLACK POWDER - 3F) I think right now, the last deer I took was w/ 90gr. of 3F. use 4F in the pan.
Because of flint system instead of cap, I only use black powder instead of pyrodex.(pyrodex is harder to light from a pan)
BP is really dirty though and I can usially only get 2 shots of w/out swabing out...

As Huck said, they are a heavy gun to carry all day. I have seen slings that are sort of period. They loop around the barrel and rear stock.
I pre-measure my BP into old 35mm film containers for field use. They work great.

Good Luck!

 

[Milo]

same here CJ..cept i dont use flinch err i mean flint..my dad built several muzzeloaders by hand for years. since we are mostly tagged out i think we are going to break out the .32 caliber's and hit the woods for some tree rats this winter. now thats a hoot...

im trying to remember if we used maxi or round ball...i think we used maxi as we cast our own bullets. if i remember right dad had some that were roundball only(thats whatthey shot the best) and some were maxiball only. i forgot as its been some years. i know later into it we used buffalo bullets and they shot very well.

 

[Ohiosam]

I've killed a few deer with a .50 cal T/C Renegade. Been quite a few years since I carried it. The main reason is I like a scope. But I wouldn't feel handicapped with it.

2 years ago I did get a very nice full stock flintlock .54. Ive carried it some but haven't taken a shot with it yet.

 

[Lundy]

Calling Lundy...

I may be old but I'm not much old school when it comes to muzzleloaders

Not much I can offer on this one, I am a rookie. I do have a .45 cal sidelock percussion that I have shot a a few times and my father killed his first and only MZ dear with it many, many years ago. I know we loaded it with lubed maxi balls but don't remember much beyond that.

The Columbus Muzzleloading club is less than 1 mile from my home and I often go down and watch them when they have their weekend shoots. A bunch of nice guns there, many home built and all traditional. My smokeless powder, scoped MZ's don't fit real well with that crowd. A lot like the traditional archery and crossbow guys

 

[brock ratcliff]

Round ball and patch is an awesome combination! I never like the buffalo bullets or maxi balls. They are a pain to load and make the recoil less than enjoyable. Most guns have rifling that is not considered perfect for either projectile... 1:48. A little fast for round ball, and a little slow for maxi's. Still, my guns shot both fairly well, but the round ball was less painful to deal with and I got pinpoint accuracy out to 100 yards. As CJ said, use REAL black powder with a sidelock, even percussion caps. Pyrodex is hard to ignite, and the slightest blockage or moisture will cause a hangfire with that crap. Black Powder either goes boom immediately, or it does not go boom at all.

One of the best shots I ever made on a whitetail was with a roundball slinging muzzleloader. I could only see her head and part of her neck over a little rise. She was looking at me as she had caught me still-hunting towards her. I aimed at the corner of her throat patch and put the round ball right there at 76 steps! I love that gun, and may have to dust it off if I still have a tag in muzzle loader season!

Have fun, you are about to take on an incredibly enjoyable experience!

 

[Ohiosam]

if you are shooting a patched round ball you will need to do a little experimenting. I'd start with .490 roundballs and a .015 patches. if that isn't tight or too tight you can go to a thicker or thinner patch.

For powder I'm guessing you are going to use Pyrodex RS. 70-80 grains is a good PRB load in a .50.
If you use black I like 3f but many use 2f. Once again 70-80 grains is good.

DO NOT use pellets, 777, blackhorn or other substitutes, they are for inlines.

a good resource http://www.muzzleloadingforum.com/fusionbb/index.php?

 

[MK111]

I have taken couple deer with the 50 cal. TC Hawkin and always used the Maxiball. They shot great and never found them hard to load.
Couple years ago I took a TC Encore 45-70 barrel and had the breech threaded to except a TC breech plug. I use Lee Real bullet in it and have taken couple nice bucks with it. I do use Shockleys smokeless powder tho.
After 30 years of blackpowder shooting I have had enough of it so switched to Shockley smokeless.
I also have a 54 caliber TC carbine but haven't used it.
Frank

 

[OHsneaky1]

Yeah. I was going to start with a .490 ball and .10 corton patch both dry and lubed. Then try .15 cotton patch dry and lubed then try a .15 pillow ticking patch bet and lubed.

I'm
Wanting to go with the FF Goex powder. And I'm
Going to use the #11M caps. I figure I'll try the slightly hotter caps for more consistent ignition.

Am I on the right track?

Of course all this is after hours of filing/sanding/sweat and tears. Haha

 

[Ohiosam]

Yes sounds like you are on the right track.

Take pics so we can see the work in progress.

 

[OHsneaky1]

Sam, I am planning on making it a full segment on our website. Basically explaining everything I went thru as a first time builder. And during the muzzloader season the plan is to try and take a big fat nanny doe on camera with it. (Or a little doe I'm not picky). I'm so excited about the build!!! I'll make sure I take some pics and post a little bit of the progressions on here as well!!

 

[OHsneaky1]

Well I'll be starting my page about this soon. I've done a little bit of work on it. And let me tell ya. This kit isn't that easy. Least not the one I got isn't. Haha. It's a lot of fun. I'm glad it's more on the difficult side!

 

[hickslawns]

I have a taste for deer. I have a taste for killing deer with every legal means I can. Fortunately, I have not gotten the taste for traditional muzzle loaders. . . . yet. I respect you guys with the trad bows and trad muzzies a bunch though. Best of luck to you Sneaky!