New to muzzleloading - practice powder/bullets/other questions

1. If the scope can handle heavy shotgun loads, it will be fine on your rifle. What is your rifle anyway, other than a purpose-built "slug gun"? Just be sure that glass is legal in your area during muzzleloader season, 'cause it isn't insome places.

2. Haven't used White Hots, but the of manufacturer recommends it, give it a try. Any black powder substitute in the appropriate granulation will work, as will real black powder.

3. You can use any type of muzzleloading projectile that fits properly, but you will find that some work better in your gun than others, or prefer different powder charges. Casting your own is a good way to shoot cheap, if you have the inclination.

4. I've had good results with Pyrodex RS and Goex FF black powder. Haven't tried anything else.

5. Use only solvents designed for use with black powder and bp substitutes (they're water-based). Oils for modern firearms are usually, but necessarily always) a bad idea in a muzzleloader. As for cleaning; that's opening a can of worms, as every ML shooter has his own methods and materials. Traditional method is to stick one end of the barrel in very hot, plain water and pump it through with a patched jag., then swab dry and apply Bore Butter or similar grease - not oil. Better to follow manufacturer's instructions for starters.

6. Clean the bore when it gets hard to load. Depending on the propellant used, and the fit and type of projectile, to may have to be cleaned for every shot or it may go many shots. I find a wet patch (with a little BP solvent or even just a little spit) removes BP fouling very well.

Read and read and read the various threads on this forum and you'll find somewhere that all your questions have been hashed to death (and then some) many times over.

It owuld be good to know the twist rate of your barrel's rifling, expressed in inches per turn. That will gove you some idea of the projectile weight that might be best to try for accuracy. Faster twists, in the 24" range are better for stabilizing heavier bullets, whereas the slower twists in the range of 60 to 70 inches, are for round ball, 48" being a compromise twist between the two. The in-lines typically have a very fast twist for stabilizing the heavy conicals and sabots, but I couldn't see that they listed your twist rate on their web site.

Blackhorn209

Swabbing the bore between shots is recommended or loading becomes difficult.
Read the section of the thread below titled:

LET’S SHOOT A RIFLE

Inline...

http://www.huntingnet.com/forum/black-powder-help-forum/355475-cayugad-did-couple-years-ago.html

The expensive part of practice for you is going to be your primers, other than that go with 80 or 90 grains of loose FFF & a patched round ball, a little cheaper that way..............

3 50 gr777 pellets

Are the way to go,along with a hornady 250 gr sst sabot,accurate and leathel on deer hogs and bear and elk out to 200 yrds add your double checked load and mark your ramrod and make sure you never double load it,and that you dont shoot the load when the projectile is not all the way seated on the charge,use the ml 209s, change your load after cold sweats(temp change) of the gun metal or get ready fer clicssssbooom, omega is the best ml inline made.wolf is a close second in accuracy

I guess that's the new battlecry...."just chunk three pellets down the pipe!" Not trying to start a fire here but there are a lot of variables spoken as gospel there buddy. First, if you're talking about 3-50 grain pellets(I don't know and you don't say)you're potentially suggesting a dangerous practice as not all inlines are meant for 150 grains of anything. Even the 50 cal so-called "Magnums" I'd bet are wasting powder by using that much. My 58 Hawken won't burn all of 150 grains with a larger caliber and considerably longer barrel.
Second, I haven't seen any appreciable amount of consistent accuracy in any inline(possible exception is the Savage shooting smokeless) out to 200 yards and certainly not enough to proclaim DRT at those distances on larger game....

" buddy"

Ive owned a wolf,and have taken many deer at 180 -220 trds 2 running shots,neck shots with 3 777 pellets and a 250 gr sst sabot and 209 primer = 2200 fps mv= better than 45/70 centerfire ammo can do,and I can reload as fast as a trap door........hawkens are fine iffin yer danil boon.....but I like venison mich.deer are 300lbs plus,it kills em dead,as much muzzel energy as a 30/06 if your pellets are fresh, try it youll like it buddy