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Sighting in at the range

6K views 9 replies 6 participants last post by  hunter177 
#1 ·
Took my stepson and nephew to the range this morning to show them how to load and shoot an inline. My nephew bought a factory new CVA Buckhorn and needed some quickstart instructions. Same with my stepson who was using my Knight Wolverine. They're both in their mid-twenties and are excited as heck about going on a muzzleloading hunt for Axis deer on the island of Lanai in Hawaii.

The loads I had them shoot was the .50cal 240gr T/C CheapShots on top of two 50gr. Pyrodex pellets set off by #209 primers. I wasn't too interested in accuracy. I was more concerned about gun safety, gun handling and loading. I had them swab the bore every 5th shot or whenever it got hard to load the projectiles. They did very well I'm proud to say. After about 10 shots they became competent enough to load and shoot without close supervision.

My question. Should I use the T/C CheapShots for hunting since they (my son and nephew) are comfortable shooting that load or should I use a similar load more tailored for hunting? I'm thinking of the 260gr. T/C ShockWave with the ballistic tip. We have six more weeks before the hunt. That should give us enough time to practice.

BTW, they shot two whole boxes of Pyrodex pellets this morning. Had a blast!

ShortRanger
 
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#2 ·
ive never shot either one of those loads but you definitly gotta go with the one more tailored for hunting. they just gotta practice with the best hunting load till there comfortable with it.


BTW, shooting 2 full boxes of pyrodex is alot of shootin!! sounds like they ought to be plenty comfy when it comes time for the hunt.

all us hunters in the other 49 states are jealous of yall getting to go on that axis hunt. most of us have to wait till sept. to get to shoot at a deer.
 
#4 ·
My question. Should I use the T/C CheapShots for hunting since they (my son and nephew) are comfortable shooting that load or should I use a similar load more tailored for hunting? I'm thinking of the 260gr. T/C ShockWave with the ballistic tip. We have six more weeks before the hunt. That should give us enough time to practice.

BTW, they shot two whole boxes of Pyrodex pellets this morning. Had a blast!

ShortRanger
it's personal choice but I would suggest the 260gr. Shockwave BUT then again that would depend on how well the shooters can group them.
try using the 3 round sight in rule fire three rounds and determine accuracy.

Here's a TiP, make sure the muzzleloader is thouroughly cleaned before heading out and when you fire the first round You should Run one wet cleaning patch followed up with a dry patch THEN Load up for the next shot
shoot the second round again use one wet patch and follow it with a dry patch THEN load up for the next shot Now fire the third round. now check your target and see how well the shooter did. it only takes a little more time to run them patches between shots but, the grouping will be more accurate if you follow this procedure.

Good Luck
 
#5 ·
Thanks for the tip. We're heading out to the range tomorrow and we'll try the wet patch/dry patch combination. That ought to slow down them boys some and will probably help them be more deliberate in their aiming and trigger control instead of just blasting away as if there's no tomorrow.
 
#6 ·
i like to just shoot a 209 primer to foul the barrel before i shot.i shoot a100grain pryodex load with powerbelt rounds i gotta dig em out to see what weight but i know they have a green base.i tried shoting 150 grains but after awhile i started to flinch,a no no so i dropped down to the hundred gonna buy a box of those 30 grain pellets maybe try 80 i heard thats a good deer round
 
#7 ·
i shot some powerbelts last year but i was never happy with the grouping. it was the new ones with the platinum tip and black base. the way the base was kinda ribbed i could never get them to seat in my barrel the same i think. when i shot the green base 195 gr. i was more accurate. the base of those allowed them to just slip over the pryodex pellets.

i think im going to try the t/c shockwaves or go back to the hornadys this season. they are tougher to get in the barrel compared to powerbelts but the accuracy improvement is worth it.
 
G
#9 ·
cva



I shoot a cva buckhorn i think i have shot every load made. as for the shockwave!! could not get it to group at 100 yds.. last year i shot 100 grn pyrodex 250 grn nosler hollow pt killed 7 hogs and 5 deer ranging from 50 to100 yds.... nosler dont make 250 anymore so i went 240 grn cheap shot ????? find out tomarrow.. allways go with your first shot the barrel will be cold and clean just like when hunting... hope this helps. good luck
 
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