Black Powder beginner

[Shine Runner]

Looking into my 1st black powder gun and 1st hunt with black powder. Searched the threads and there is a lot of different opinions on the guns. Need to know where to find some info to help me learn to safely use a black powder rifle (loading/cleaning/shooting). Also, can a black powder rifle be unloaded without shooting it:confused:? I don't get much time to do the research I need to do:O. Hope ya'll can help me out! Mainly looking at hog hunting and if I like it I will be trying to deer hunt with it too.

[Bernard goldsmith]

Get on modern muzzleloaders. If you want to know about them.

[hawgrider1200]

A muzzleloader is considered to b unloaded when it does not have a primer on the nipple or in the case of a flintlock no powder in the flash pan. As far as taking out the ball and primer it can b done but why would ya want to? I believe there is an attachment on the market that one can use to clear the ball and powder from an inline muzzleloader that involves a CO2 cartridge. The old timey gun u r gonna need an attachment that screws onto ur ramrod called (get this) a ball puller. U screw that ball puller right into the lead ball and yank away. It is my belief that when u screw that ball puller into a soft lead ball it would cause expansion and make it very difficult to pull. I've always pointed mine to a safe position and shot it into a clay bank or just right into the ground if I wanted it empty for some reason. Say I went hunting and shot a deer and thought I might need a follow up shot and reloaded without cleaning first, U know if ur putting that gun up overnight even, the chances of corrosion are great.

So I might want the gun unloaded bcuz of that. I just shoot mine and clean it. There are many documented cases of black powder rifles, shotguns, and pistols that were put away for years with a powder charge and a ball in the barrel. They fire just fine the next time they are called upon.

[tv_racin_fan]

Shine Runner: The first thing you have to ask yourself is what style of black powder gun are you wanting to shoot. The second thing you need to ask yourself is the projectile you want to use. I myself prefer the old fashioned sidelock firearms and patched round ball but some people prefer the modern inline firearms and sabotted bullets.

A good example and one I would recommend for a first purchase sidelock version is the Lyman Great Plains rifle. (there are versions designed for Patched Round Ball and conicals and sabbotted bullets)

http://www.midwayusa.com/viewProduct/?productNumber=533107

Here is a modern inline muzzleloader.

http://www.midwayusa.com/viewProduct/?productNumber=579472

As for unloading a muzzleloader without shooting it, it can be accomplished a couple of different ways and again it depends mainly on the different type of firearm. An inline firearm you can simply take the breechplug out and pour out the powder then using the ram rod push the projectile out the breech. For the sidelock you can either unprime and use a ball puller as Hawg mentioned (by the way I had no issue using one the one time I was forced to do so). Or they make a CO2 system which can be used with either style firearm.

http://www.dixiegunworks.com/product_info.php?cPath=22_99_322&products_id=9299&osCsid=acd6c3f08b04a9325041d4d069f525d1

Hawg: The one time I used a ball puller my son didn't do a good job of drying out the bore before loading so we were mostly forced to use the ball puller. We called the ball the we pulled a "screw ball" and used it to destroy a dead hard drive. The difference in the damage enflicted between the patched round ball and that screw ball was enormous. I used to keep a black powder revolver loaded at all times for home defence(it was the only one I had), never had an issue of it not firing when I pulled the trigger except when I didn't have the cap on correctly. The sons cap n ball rifle was loaded for a couple months after hunting season with no issue and my flintlock is still loaded today (can't locate my pan charger).

[Jim Thompson]

in general...yeah I know some of yall have strong feelings about brands...you cant go wrong with most modern inline smokers for decent accuracy and dependability. spend what you can afford on the gun and scope (if you get one) and get and absorb all of the advice you can get.

you can make black powder as easy or as difficult as you want. I personally prefer easy, but either way will kill deer.

here is a great read on the basics and getting started. the only thing it is missing is the introduction of BH209 powder sub.

http://www.huntingmag.com/guns_loads/PHunt_1107_11/

although I now shoot blackhorn 209 and some of these steps no longer apply, this copy/paste is what will get you started.




Most likely your gun will shoot fine with 250gr yellow tip TC shockwaves that wally sells for $11 a box and with 100 gr 777 and any brand name primer although each ML is different and it may take some playing with. I have NEVER had luck with powerbelts and accuracy.

Things you need…
A lot of dry cleaning patches
Pre-saturated cleaning patches
Breech plug grease…make sure to put on breech before going to the range
A cleaning jag (will also be used to seat bullets at range)
Either a good range rod or at least a T handle that you can screw onto your rod
Couple of brushes that are good for cleaning the breech plug threads inside the gun and the plug itself.

Make sure the scope is mounted properly with good quality bases and rings and at the very least boresighted.

When you load for the first time make sure the range rod is marked at the level it sticks out when powder and bullet is seated. You never want to load twice and this will keep it from happening.
At the range…shoot a couple of primers into the gun to make sure it is “fouled” and dry. Then shoot at 25 yards to get close to the bulls before moving to 100 yards.

BETWEEN each shot take a saturated cleaning patch (or use a dry one with windex on it) and your range rod and cleaning jag and run it down the barrel paying close attention to the crud ring in front or the breech. Take out patch, flip over and do again. Then run a couple of dry patches down. Do not take the breech out for this. This needs to be done between every single shot at the range. This will make sure that you are getting as much consistency as you can get from your gun and your combination.

Shoot and repeat swabbing and move the scope as needed every 2-3 shots.

This should get you pretty accurate, which with this combination should be a normal deer sized group at 100 yards…pending your ability as a shooter this might be 5” groups or 2” groups or even less.

To clean, take out breech plug and put it in a cup of hot soapy water to soak. While soaking it use the little brush to clean the threads inside the barrel. Run a patch or two down the barrel to get it clean enough to put the breech back in. Clean breech plug with toothbrush and make it shine! Put grease on plug threads and put back in. Then clean the barrel with the saturate patches or a bore brush as needed just like you would a regular rifle, making sure to use dry patches until COMPLETELY dry. Clean the rest of the gun the same as normal.




when I still shot 777 with the same bullet combo I was getting about 2" groups at 100 yards. when I moved to BH209 my groups shrunk into less than an 1"!

finally for a more detailed ML forum check out www.modernmuzzleloading.com

[Shine Runner]

Awesome info guys! Thanks and keep it coming....I will check those links too

[Flintrock]

Go to a muzzleloading rifle match and see and talk to some experts. There is a match in Griffin this Sunday. Some of those guys do more B/P shooting in a month than most folks do here in years . You can learn more in 30 minutes of watching and asking questions than you can ever read.

[Jim Thompson]

Go to a muzzleloading rifle match and see and talk to some experts. There is a match in Griffin this Sunday. Some of those guys do more B/P shooting in a month than most folks do here in years . You can learn more in 30 minutes of watching and asking questions than you can ever read.

very good advice as well. I only go through a couple of cans of powder a year which is very small beans compared to some of these folks

[CamoCop]

if your worried about being able to unload, stick with a breech opening inline like the CVA Optima, T/C Encore, Traditions Pursuit, etc. all you do is break the action open, remove the breech plug and push out the powder and projectile. i have been using the Traditions Pursuit Pro for years with great success. i shoot 3 fifty grain Pyrodex pellets behind a 295 grain Powerbelt with accuracy comparable to moder centerfire rifles. most modern muzzle loaders are safe and good shooters. the only thing to remember is muzzle loaders tend to be more finicky with loads. you'll have to shoot different powder/grain combinations along with different projectiles to find out what your muzzleloader likes.