Bullet choice for knight ultra lite .45

[wind gypsy]

I just ordered a nitrided knight ultralight .45 this weekend for my first muzzle loader and I’ve wasted hours already researching bullet options. Expected use will be in MN for whitetail, CO muley, and NM elk if I ever draw. MN and NM both allow scopes and sabots, CO does not.

My initial thought was to find one setup the rifle likes that would work in all three situations in which case NM elk would have the longest shot opportunities and require the most firepower. It seems like some of the Pittman Aeromax or AccuMax bullets offer a good combo of ballistics and terminal performance. Do you folks think that would be a good place to start in my ultra lite or have alternative suggestions?

 

[corbhenrie]

I would start with some parker productions black max 327 gr or lighter with 90 gr or so of blackhorn 209 and work up from there. It may be a little on the heavy side for whitetail but they pack a punch on big muleys and bulls. I shoot the flat base out of my CVA accura and they shoot great but the a .45 cal you will need the hollow base for bullet to bore. Goodluck cant wait to see how she shoots. Any ideas on what scope you're gonna put on it?

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[wind gypsy]

I would start with some parker productions black max 327 gr or lighter with 90 gr or so of blackhorn 209 and work up from there. It may be a little on the heavy side for whitetail but they pack a punch on big muleys and bulls. I shoot the flat base out of my CVA accura and they shoot great but the a .45 cal you will need the hollow base for bullet to bore. Goodluck cant wait to see how she shoots. Any ideas on what scope you're gonna put on it?

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Thanks for the response. I looked at the parkers and got the feeling the ballistic extreme might be a little soft for elk. I saw people advising that the thicker jackets on match hunter and black max were more for smokeless ML velocities and might not obturate well with BH109 or 777 or expand on game. Have they expanded well for you or do you think it’s not that important with a .45 cal chunk of lead?

I’ll probably put a SWFA 3-9 or LRTS/LRHS 3-12 on it unless I find something in that realm that is a little better on low magnification. Honestly the UL is a bit on the light side for me so I’m not afraid to put a heavier scope on it. I might add some weight to the stock.

 

[ENCORE]

Check out the Fury line of bullets. Excellent hunting reports. Fury is now making bullets more designated towards BH209 rifles, with .015" bonded jackets.
I just some of the Fury 250gr - .015" jacketed plastic star tip bullets, which are extremely accurate with 84/120grs of BH.
Many SML hunters use Fury bullets for their performance on game.

 

[LWH723]

If you're looking for good expansion with a high BC, check out the Arrowhead XLD bullet line. 0.028 thick jackets definitely have expansion issues, especially when you slow them down to the velocities you're going to see out of that Knight.

 

[wind gypsy]

If you're looking for good expansion with a high BC, check out the Arrowhead XLD bullet line. 0.028 thick jackets definitely have expansion issues, especially when you slow them down to the velocities you're going to see out of that Knight.

Thanks Luke. Do you have any links you could share that would help me get educated on how I should size the XLD bullets to fit my Knight bore?

What weight would you start with if you were me?

 

[LWH723]

I would run the 275gr with a veggie wad. Recoil is going to be the real deal in that light of gun.

Here's video on how to size. With an ignition system like the Knight that isn't as efficient as my gen2 system, I would lean towards a tighter fit to help with ignition consistency.

 

[Sam Aspacher]

wind gypsy, have you had a chance to shoot your UL yet? I just bought a nitride .45 UL as well. Planning on trying the fury star tip 2, Arrowhead LR and XLD with bh209. Would love to hear what you've found with yours so far.

 

[wind gypsy]

wind gypsy, have you had a chance to shoot your UL yet? I just bought a nitride .45 UL as well. Planning on trying the fury star tip 2, Arrowhead LR and XLD with bh209. Would love to hear what you've found with yours so far.

I haven't shot it yet. With an unsuccessful NM draw result today it's looking like the rifle might only see action a couple days in MN this year where my max shot would be 100 yards so I'm not overly anxious to get the bullet sizing die and start messing with it. Maybe if I had all my centerfires dialed in.. but i don't.

I bought some of these for now https://cuttingedgebullets.com/40cal-240gr-mzl-maximus-12ct
If they shoot well enough I might postpone the real experimenting until next winter.

 

[Sam Aspacher]

I haven't shot it yet. With an unsuccessful NM draw result today it's looking like the rifle might only see action a couple days in MN this year where my max shot would be 100 yards so I'm not overly anxious to get the bullet sizing die and start messing with it. Maybe if I had all my centerfires dialed in.. but i don't.

I bought some of these for now https://cuttingedgebullets.com/40cal-240gr-mzl-maximus-12ct
If they shoot well enough I might postpone the real experimenting until next winter.

I looked at those too and may still try them. They also sell a ballistic tip that fits the 240gr. You have to buy it separate and drives the cost up some. They claim it adds 0.050 BC.

 

[wind gypsy]

I looked at those too and may still try them. They also sell a ballistic tip that fits the 240gr. You have to buy it separate and drives the cost up some. They claim it adds 0.050 BC.

I wondered about that because gunwerks guys had bullets from CEB with tips.. thanks for the heads up. 0.050 adder to the BC would make them pretty competitive.

 

[Sam Aspacher]

Here's the link they sent me. Let me know if you get a chance to shoot them. I'll let you know how things go smooth sizing the arrowheads.

Tips for .44 Caliber MAXIMUS - 25ct

25pcs Plastic tips for use in any of our .400 and .44 Cal MAXIMUS bullets.

cuttingedgebullets.com

 

[wind gypsy]

$1.17/bullet and for $1/bullet you can even add a tip

If they shoot well without tips I'll probably give em a whirl!