Hunting prep

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brewer12345

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How much range time do you spend in the off season with your chosen black powder gun for hunting? I shoot bp all summer, but have only had my deer hunting rifle of the year out once. I have a known good load with round ball and the rifle is accurate, but I like to do field position practice and quick reload drills with the specific rifle I will hunt with.
 
I don't like shooting when it is so hot so most of my shooting is in the spring and fall. We usually have a couple of days where all we shoot is black powder and I enjoy those days
 
brewer12345 said:
I like to do field position practice and quick reload drills with the specific rifle I will hunt with.
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I don't do quick reloads. It is possible to scare a deer that has a death wound into getting up and running. Once the deer is down. I pour my powder from my horn to my measure, then pour it down the bore. Next I pull a strip of patch cloth and lay it across the bore. Then I take my round ball and press it into the bore about halfway and cut the patch and ram it down. Cap the rifle and then go check on the deer. Once a deer is down give it time to bleed out.
 
hawg said:
I don't do quick reloads. It is possible to scare a deer that has a death wound into getting up and running. Once the deer is down. I pour my powder from my horn to my measure, then pour it down the bore. Next I pull a strip of patch cloth and lay it across the bore. Then I take my round ball and press it into the bore about halfway and cut the patch and ram it down. Cap the rifle and then go check on the deer. Once a deer is down give it time to bleed out.
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Quick reloads are chiefly for when you miss. If I think I hit a deer I do nothing for half an hour except reload at a leisurely pace and keep quiet.
 
QUOTE="brewer12345, post: 12366162, member: 235708"]How much range time do you spend in the off season with your chosen black powder gun for hunting? [/QUOTE]

About an hour at a range supervised by Missouri Conservation Department employees. I shoot a few shots to confirm that I haven’t bumped the sights out of alignment, or to correct any misalignment.

I don’t use my Hawken every year, just if I have been unsuccessful with my Ruger #1 .270.

Forget quick reloads with a muzzleloader. If you hit with the first shot, take a deep breath, wait for the animal to bleed. If you missed, bummer. Track it as best you can, to convince yourself that it was indeed a clean miss (no blood found after an honest tracking effort.) Another will come along. A deer will not stick around to watch a hunter frantically recharging his rifle.
 
A deer will not stick around to watch a hunter frantically recharging his rifle.
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Generally not, but I have had more than one instance where a deer did do just that, when I missed with the first shot. However, I'm not frantic. Also had several deer stand and look at a downed deer. I've gotten two deer in 2 minutes once with a muzzleloader, once with a shotgun (slugs), and once with a center-fire rifle. If you've never experienced this, rest assured it happens.
 
Our ML season is so short most don't hunt it or go back to using a bow because it is right after gun season & everything has gone nocturnal. I do try to hunt ML season but I know I only have one shot & I spend time at the range to make sure from a cold fowled barrel I can hit dead center target from 100yds.
 
I shoot my revolvers more often in the off season than my Rifles or Musket. Once I get a rifle sighted in, with a chosen load, patch, lube, powder, etc., I might shoot it a few times when season is approaching. Once I'm happy with the accuracy, and it's sighted in, I really don't do much target shooting with any of my rifles. Same with the musket, although right now I need to do some experimenting.

I usually carry a cap-N-ball revolver when hunting now, so I'm always trying different loads in them, and just generally experimenting with them and fine tuning them, making sure they are reliable.

On deer hunting, you guys are right about follow up and quick second shots, but I would suggest having quick reloads if you go bear hunting. When a wounded bear goes into the brush, you have to go in after it. Otherwise it's a danger to others, and that ain't right. DSC07512.JPG
 
Ugly Sauce said:
I shoot my revolvers more often in the off season than my Rifles or Musket. Once I get a rifle sighted in, with a chosen load, patch, lube, powder, etc., I might shoot it a few times when season is approaching. Once I'm happy with the accuracy, and it's sighted in, I really don't do much target shooting with any of my rifles. Same with the musket, although right now I need to do some experimenting.

I usually carry a cap-N-ball revolver when hunting now, so I'm always trying different loads in them, and just generally experimenting with them and fine tuning them, making sure they are reliable.

On deer hunting, you guys are right about follow up and quick second shots, but I would suggest having quick reloads if you go bear hunting. When a wounded bear goes into the brush, you have to go in after it. Otherwise it's a danger to others, and that ain't right. View attachment 1093173
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I'll be bear hunting with Dad's Marlin. Shouldn't be tough for quick follow up shots. Hmm, maybe I should think about one of the 58s for bear season.
 
I hunt elk with a 50 cal TC Omega inline muzzleloader. If I hit an elk I want to hit it again as soon as possible, if possible. Sometimes when one is hit it will give you another shot before disappearing. Elk are a lot harder to kill than deer and can be hard to find if they don't die pretty quickly. It's rare for a muzzle loader to shoot all the way thru an elk's chest cavity. So having a good blood trail is unlikely sometimes.
So... I practice using speed loaders. But the main thing for hunting prep, once the rifle is sighted in, is to get in shape. A lot of elk are shot by road hunters just driving around in their trucks. But I seem to always wind up hunting steep rough country, and that takes some legs and lungs. And I'm getting too old for this stuff (73).
 
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A grizzly bear can run up to 40 MPH and his head will always be bobbing up and down. Whatever you decide on make sure it can punch through thick hide and muscle and dense bone cause you're probably not going to get a second shot.
 
hawg said:
A grizzly bear can run up to 40 MPH and his head will always be bobbing up and down. Whatever you decide on make sure it can punch through thick hide and muscle and dense bone cause you're probably not going to get a second shot.
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No grizz here, just blackies.
 
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