Bought first muzzle loader?

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Palmetto-Pride

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Hi everyone I just bought a new T/C Impact muzzle loader and I have some questions about using Pryodex Pellets. First some general feedback. Also in the load data that came with them there is no load that has more than two pellets, but in the T/C manual that came with the rifle they have some data that uses three pellets and it does say that these are max loads. I do want to use max loads, but I don't want to put me or anyone else in danger. Has anyone used three pellets before with no problem?

Thanks for any input guys!!!!
 
Awesome.....Good Luck with it.

Start off first with just shooting only less powder and wad through the barrel to break the gun in, and too check the overall performance if it.

I personally never liked shooting pellets. Just ball.

Those Smoke Poles can become very addicting.
 
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Greysmoke thanks for the reply, but I think I didn't explain it right. The pellets I was referring to is the Pryodex black powder substute not the bullets or balls for the ammo.
 
OK....I have used Pyrodex with no problem....The benifit of it is it burns faster with very less smoke.

And I do believe today, they make it were any outdoor damp conditions does not effect it. As to appose to regular powder you have to keep it dry.

But I like the smell of those clouds from Black Powder.....Just me.
 
Once again, I'll reinterate the basic rules of muzzleloading.

CONSISTENCY, CONSISTENCY, CONSISTENCY.

If you want accuracy, you must achieve absolute consistency. The means same amount of powder, same amount of force when seating the bullet, same cleanliness of the barrel for each shot, etc.

1. Loose the pellets. They are notoriously inconsistent. Plus, you can't fine tune your load. Sometimes as little as 5 or 10 grns plus or minus will make the difference between a 2" group and a 1" group.
2. Use a bullet with a good BC. My favorite are Hornady SSTs which are the same as the T/C shockwaves. There are others that shoot just as flat. Some people have good results with Powerbelts but others (me included) can't get them to shoot for crap.
3. Be patient when sighting in. I remove the breech plug and clean the bore with EVERY shot while target shooting. That is because a real hunting shot will always be on a clean barrel.
4. Learn to clean it properly. The stuff you use to clean your regular guns will not work on a muzzleloader. Black powder (and substitutes) are water soluable not oil soluable. Therefore, you have to either use the stuff made for BP or just juse ordinary warm water with some dish soap (it's cheaper and works just as well).
5. Don't try to go for a max load. If you could see a graph of the extra velocity you gain when you go over 100 grns and compare that against the extra recoil and muzzle blast, you'd see that you are running into the law of diminishing returns. Plus, you generally start to loose accuracy. Unless you are trying to shoot elk, 100 grn +- is plenty.
 
Once again, I'll reinterate the basic rules of muzzleloading.

CONSISTENCY, CONSISTENCY, CONSISTENCY.
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First thanks guys for the help. I do realize that consistency is the key to accuracy no matter what type of rifle you are shooting. I have a pretty good grasp for marksmanship with standard rifles I can shoot 1/2" MOA groups with my .308, but I will admit I am a total newbie when it comes to muzzle loading rifles. The reason I chose the Pyrodex Pellets is because I figured that with each pellet being equivalent to 50gr of black powder they would be more consistent than actually using black powder....(seems logical, but what the heck do I know)

Another question I have is what is the proper way to safely recharge the barrel without worrying about the previous shot igniting the new powder charge?
 
Another question I have is what is the proper way to safely recharge the barrel without worrying about the previous shot igniting the new powder charge?
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See my other rule - clean the barrel between EVERY shot. When I go to shoot, I put a patch in my mouth to get it good and wet. After the shot, I pull the breech plug and use the wet patch to swab the barrel, turn it over, and run it again. If it is still really dirty I'll do it again, then follow with one dry patch.

As to the pellets being more consistent than pouring -it might seem that way but in actuality it is just the opposite. If you put 10 shots with pellets through a chrono then 10 shots with carefully measured loose powder though the chrono, you'll see less variablity in velocity with the loose powder.
 
Another question I have is what is the proper way to safely recharge the barrel without worrying about the previous shot igniting the new powder charge?
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cock the hammer/striker and knock loose the stuck cap if any. drop your pellets in(i get just as good accuracy from pellets as loose powder in my knight wolverine) with the muzzle pointed away from your face.

add sabot/bullet, and seat, making sure the muzzle is away from your face.

the wet patch between every shot is fine for plinking at the range, but out hunting it just burns time when you might need to make a follow up shot.
 
OK....I have used Pyrodex with no problem....The benifit of it is it burns faster with very less smoke.
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I really can't tell that much difference in the amount of smoke between Pyrodex and gunpowder (aka black powder). Maybe the smoke doesn't smell exactly the same. There are even some substitutes, such as the discontinued Goex Clear, that seem to make MORE smoke than black powder does, the smoke just doesn't have that sulfur odor.
I use real gunpowder almost exclusively now because I have a reliable supply and the more I use it, the more I appreciate just how terrible it is not.
 
Pyrodex pellets can produce very good accuracy in some guns, and sometimes better accuracy than if using loose powder.
That's because they are compressed with more consistency at the factory than when loose powder is loaded and rammed by hand.
It's worth giving them a try especially for the sake of convenience.
However loading three pellets is nearly universally shunned for not being able to produce the best accuracy and performance.
If wanting to load over 100 grains of powder then it's probably better to increase the powder charge in small increments of 5 - 10 grains at a time to determine the best maximum load. Rarely does a gun require more than 110 grains or so of powder. And there are other brands of powders and pellets that can also be tried such as White Hots, 777 and Blackhorn 209.
 
How To Load a Muzzleloader Safely

I have been shooting Rifle-Muskets in the North-South Skirmish Association since 1968. These are "Rapid Fire" matches and I can usually get off three or four rounds per minute.

In all of these years, I have had only a few "Cook Offs." This is when the gun accidentally fires when a powder charge is dropped down the bore in the first step of the reloading process.

This is usually caused by a burning ember down in the barrel. Generally, I have only experienced "Cook Offs" after I have fired 20 or 25 rounds "Rapid Fire" and they all occurred on hot, humid, summer days. In 1984 I quit using Crisco in my lube formula and haven't experienced a "Cook Off" since.

How to Safely Reload a Muzzleloader:

1. After firing, LEAVE THE HAMMER DOWN ON THE FIRED CAP. You don't want fresh, oxygen bearing air entering the breech that could possibly keep a burning ember alive-so that is why you leave the hammer down on the fired cap.

2. When reloading a muzzleloader, ALWAYS keep the muzzle pointed AWAY from your body.

3. Never "Thumb" the bullet when inserting it in the muzzle-use only two fingers to set it in the muzzle.

4. Use only two fingers on the ramrod to seat the bullet on top of the powder charge in the breech.

5. The last part of your reloading sequence should be placing a fresh cap on the nipple.

BE SAFE!!!
 
Not all, but MOST ML rifles don't shoot 150 grains of powder worth a crap. They will shoot pretty well out to 50 yards, but for some reason they don't do well out past that very far. I have done quite a bit of load testing with 5 or 6 different rifles I own, and seems like the best Maximum load for any of them is between 90 and 130 grains.
When I get above 130 grains, my sabots start to come apart, and I loose the accuracy I want. I get so much "blow by" around the sabot, that it loses it's accuracy.
Doyle is telling it right. If you want the maximum accuracy from your rifle, use loose powder. The pellets are anywhere from 5 to 8 grains different from one to the other, and will shoot through a chrony at very different velocities.

Now that being said, I am talking about a saboted load. If you shoot a conical then it may be better or worse. Since I don't shoot anything but sabots, I will leave the conical thing for others with more experience.
 
southron, i was always told opposite for the reason to open the hammer, so the fresh oxygen burns up any embers before you dump powder in there.

interesting. lol, i beleive after some research your way me be safer. thanks.
 
I have never had a charge cook off while reloading, but then, my shooting is about accuracy, not speed and a shot is almost always followed by a damp cleaning patch on my cleaning rod followed by a dry patch to dry the bore before reloading.

When I shoot shotgun, I don't clean between shots but the pace of shooting is so leisurely that not only have I never cooked off a charge, I have never seen anyone else cook one off either.
After missing the bird, there is a long walk back to your loading bench and any embers have time to go out.
 
See my other rule - clean the barrel between EVERY shot. When I go to shoot, I put a patch in my mouth to get it good and wet. After the shot, I pull the breech plug and use the wet patch to swab the barrel, turn it over, and run it again. If it is still really dirty I'll do it again, then follow with one dry patch.
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That patch has to taste pretty bad the second time around. Why not just use a new clean one?:p
 
some data

some data

some have found it difficult to get a 10 -11 percussion cap to ignite a pellet thats why some have further gone to using musket caps for better ignition and AND W pellets some even go further to say taht pellets are or were designed for inlines i believe
 

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