Effective Black Powder Range

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Posted essentially the same thing in the blackpowder forum, but thought I might post it here since it is hunting related

I'm new (this year) to muzzleloader hunting. Went out yesterday for the start of Maryland's deer season and spotted what looked like a healthy 8 pointer about 350 yards away late yesterday afternoon (here's a hint kids - get good glasses and keep em scanning! I saw his antler amongst the stover before I knew he was there - if it wasn't for my Steiners I'd have never known he was out feeding) - upwind and across a corn field from me. He clearly wasn't coming any closer to me so I got out of my stand and started stalking over to him.

Got within about 150 yards, but couldn't get much closer and indeed spooked him when I tried.

He was certainly within my range on a center fire rifle, but I just don't know about a muzzleloader.

I've got an inline - a 50 caliber Remington 700 ML that I purchased earlier this year. I have sited in out to 100 yards, and am very comfortable with it at that distance. My question is how much further can I trust it to take down an animal.

I'm shooting .45 caliber saboted hollow point slugs out of it using Triple 7.

Appreciate your thoughts
 
Mine's sighted in at 200 yards, capable of 2" groups. Since we can also hunt with handguns, I'm not concerned at where it hits if less than 100 yards. A good scope will help accuracy at longer distances. The tradjectory is about like a rainbow, so figure out what is a good point of impact you desire and set your sights accordingly.
 
With an inline, I wouldn't hesitate to take a 150 yard shot. I don't know about 350, but anything under 200 is supposed to be do-able with an inline. But then, are we hunting or sniping at that range?

My last shot was a neck shot taken from 25 yards (on the ground). 50 cal drops 'em quick at that range :)
 
My Encore is sighted 3.5 inches high at 100 yards. Last fall i shot a buck at 160 yards. The shot was low, through the shoulders and a finishing shot was needed. From that same deer stand i shot a hog at a measured 192 yards. For that shot i held just above the back of the hog. The bullet hit just to the rear of the shoulder and the hog fell, kicked for a minute and expired. Have made several more long shots on hogs under ideal conditions-good light and little or no wind.

i will be the first to admit that one is pushing the envelope when shooting deer or hogs at ranges beyond 150 yards with a muzzleloader. There is no substitute for practice. When the hunt is over i sometimes like to sit down, find a rock at 150-200 yards, get into a good sitting position and take a crack at it. Get out and shoot at long distances under field conditions before making long shots on game animals.

Good luck on the MD buck. i miss hunting in Charles county, MD and miss the big bucks there.
 
At what range does it magically switch from hunting to sniping?
Click to expand...
189.53 yards is the official distance for entry level sniping--hell I don't know where the line is drawn. I'll grant that in some cases you practically need long range shots (plains with vast open fields and such). My personal preference is not walk a quarter mile to find the tracks of what I shot. That's probably going to hit a nerve, especially with prairie dog and groundhog hunters. Either way you generally won't be doing that with a muzzle loader. But with some modern inlines that take in the neighborhood of 200 gr of powder it's possible if you know the ballistic drops...
 
bout 3" high (sighted at 100 yds.) should do it at 150 yds with 2 pellets and a 240-250 gr bullet. That's about my limit with a muzzle loader. really starts dropping in a hurry after that.
 
If your eyes are good deer should be do-able out to 150 yards with iron sights.
At 200 yards a scope is a definite plus.
A modern inline muzzleloader is like a hot loaded 45-70.
300 yards should be no problem with a 200 yard zero. Just practice and adjust your load, bullet weight, etc as needed till you come up with a accurate load that groups about 6-7 inches at 300 yards.
 
I have a good friend that got a nice buck at a measured 206 yards. He had watched that buck travel the same route about every day, and there was no good way to get set up closer. He had the gun sighted at 200, and practiced quite a bit at that range.

I'd suggest getting one of the life sized targets and trying it out first. You find out the +/- leaves a pretty small margin for error. If you are going to try it, I'd also strongly suggest a laser range finder. Being off by 20 yards at that range could make a big difference.
 
I shoot flintlock and 75yrds is MAX
My brother shoots inline
and can put 2 rounds 1" apart
at 200 yards
so to each his own
 
I shoot a caplock .50 and consider 75 yards a long shot which I would hope to have some sort of rest to take. I practice offhand at .50 and occasionally 100 off a rest. the area I hunt 100 yds is about as far in this bush as you could get a clear shot.
 
I shot *at* a doe once with my muzzleloader when I estimated that she was about 100 yards off. I had crawled towards her for about that far. I had a good 100 yard zero, and was prone. She flicked her tail, and walked away. I found a bullet track in the alfalfa of the field that started about 50 yards short of where she was standing, and actually hit the dirt about 20 yards short of where she was standing. I paced off the distance -- she was about 180 yards off. This was on my first or second deer hunt.

Not estimating the distance right, or picking the wrong spot to stake out for your afternoon hunt, means eating a lot of ramen later in the year.
 
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