Muzzleloader Accuracy Tips

[Idaholewis]

This is to try and help you achieve the most out of your rifle, and what i feel makes the biggest difference in Accuracy With Grease Groove bullets.

No. 1, Is Your Rifle itself, Make sure you have your Rifle as clean as you can possibly get it, Take the time to clean your Barrel down to Bare Steel, I do NOT believe in the “Seasoning” your bore method with Bore Butter, or any other type of Stuff, Clean your Barrel down to Bare Steel, Make sure there is no lead or Plastic in your bore, Copper Chore boy wrapped tightly around an old Wore Bore Brush works very well, make DARN SURE it is the pure Copper stuff! Refer to my video on Cleaning in the Sticky section Above.

No. 2, Is your Powder Charge, I shoot Swiss 2 and 3F powder Exclusively, I prefer to Weigh my Powder Charges By weight on a Dependable Powder Scale, I have 2 really nice Volume measures but i NEVER use them to weigh my Charges, The ONLY time i ever use them is to Find out What Volume is Weighing in Weight Grains? (This is VERY important, NEVER guess this!! Some powders Will Vary substantially in Weight vs Volume) A Volume measurer was designed to get you “Close enough” for field use, That is NOT close enough for me, I want my Powder charges to be as identical to eachother as i can possibly get them!! Whatever powder you choose, Take the time to make each Charge as identical as you possibly can to eachother, The Most Accurate way to do this is on a Beam Type Powder Scale. I get my powder charges to a 10th of a Grain of eachother. Does this really matter? I absolutely believe it does! Would you trust your Centerfire Rifle Cartridges to “Close Enough”? I sure WOULDN'T! I treat my Muzzleloaders the EXACT same way as i do my Precision Centerfire Rifles. I have Handloaded my own Custom ammo since i was 15 years old, I have setup Rifles, and Taylored handloads for MANY MANY of them, I have shot out to 800 Yards VERY SUCCESSFULLY, I could easily Hit Gallon Jugs of Water at 800 Yards With my 7Mag And Handloads. Again, i treat my Muzzleloaders the Exact same as i do my Centerfire rifles.

No. 3, Is the Over Powder Wad, I want to Create a Solid, Repeatable Gas Seal behind my bullets. I have tested Several different Over Powder wad Materials, and Thicknesses over the last few years, Cork, Vegetable Fibre, Poly, And Wool, My ABSOLUTE Favorite Material is 1/8” thick Wool Felt, it has been the Clear winner for me with every type of Bullet (Except a Minie Ball, You don’t want to use a Wad of any kind with a Hollow Base Minie)
I prefer my 1/8” Wool felt Wads to be oversize, For a .45 Cal Rifle i use .50 Cal Wool Wads, for a .50 Cal Rifle i use .54 Cal Wool Wads, and For my .54 Cal Rifles i use .58 Cal Wool Wads. You have 2 options here, You can Buy Them, The ones i Buy are Oxyoke Brand and they Come in packages of 100, You could also Buy Bulk Wool Felt Material and Punch out Your Own Wads, Durofelt online is a good place to get Wool felt in Bulk, Make sure and get the 1/8” Thick stuff, I believe that to be important.


No. 4, The next thing is Your bullets. We want our Bullets PERFECT!!! If you are a bullet Caster take the time to weigh EVERY SINGLE bullet on a dependable Scale, When you have Casted with a Particular Mold and Alloy or pure lead you will know what to expect for Bullet Weight from that Mold. Lets say your mold Throws a Bullet weight of 400 Grains with pure lead, Weigh each and every bullet after your casting session and ONLY keep the bullets that Hit your weight of 400 Grains (Remember Different Alloys will Change the Bullet weight, Along with Casting technique) I shoot for Plus or Minus 1 Grain but usually get better than that when the Mold is up to temp, and running Right. So with a Mold that is Throwing a 400 Grain Bullet of Pure Lead i will keep bullets that weigh 399.5 to 400.5, If a bullet weighs 399.4 or 400.6 it goes back in the Lead pot, Be PICKY here! As a Caster you can do this! The other thing to look for, (I learned from Lee Shaver’s) is your Bullet bases (it is the base of your bullet that steers it, NOT the Nose) Make sure your bullet Bases are “Sharp” at the Edges and Completely filled out, Meaning Completely Flat across the Mold. A common thing i see is slightly Rounded Base edges, They might all weigh the Same, But the edges are not sharp, THROW THEM BACK and re Cast until you are getting FULL “Sharp” filled out Bullet bases. Keep playing with Casting techniques until you get this Down!
If you do not Cast your own bullets and are forced to Buy them you are limited here, But stil Do the same thing with them, Weigh EVERY single bullet and Sort them. I have seen Store bought (especially casted) bullets Vary LARGELY in weight, Nothing you can do about that besides Sort Through them.

No. 5, With a pile of PERFECT Bullets the next Step is Lube, I have found Lube to be EXTREMELY important! Lube can Make, or Break a Good Bullet!! I have shot Groups that were HORRIBLE, Pie plate size and Worse, And Just by Switching Bullet Lube i have had that EXACT same bullet/load Combo Shoot a true 1” or better Group, Lube is VERY IMPORTANT! I personally make my own Bullet lube of Bear Grease (rendered bear lard) Lanolin, And Beeswax. I understand that this is Not something everyone can do, The only commercial available Lube i have tried and had REALLY good luck with is Bullshop’s NASA lube, That stuff is REALLY GOOD and i highly recommended it! You can purchase this Lube From Bullshop Bullets. Your lubing technique doesn’t matter (Pan Lube, Or By hand) just fill the Grooves evenly, When you push the Bullet down the Bore wipe off any Excess Lube that was “Cut” From the Crown of your Bore.


Once you put the Above together, Sit down at a good SOLID Bench on Sand Bags, Or Something Similar, Settle the Rifle in ROCK SOLID, make sure the Rifle Can naturally Slide When it Recoils (AVOID Lead Sled type Rests!) Once you are SOLID on a Bench, Shoot your Group.
I have had people tell me that they just can’t seem to get a Good consistent Group no matter what Bullet/powder/Wad Combo they try? One of the first things i ask is What type of Rest/Bench were They were shooting from? Was it Solid? The reason i ask this is simple, The answers i have gotten NEVER CEASE to Amaze me, Most of them were shooting off hand :lol: :lol: :lol: Here’s your SIGN Buddy!! Now what good do you think that did Besides Waste powder and Lead? You accomplished nothing!! When you are working on a Load for a Rifle, and trying to get the ABSOLUTE most out of that Gun, You need to be Shooting from a SOLID REST!! AFTER You get the Rifle/Load figured out and are Shooting Tip Top, Then by ALL means Practice Away Off Hand, etc. But for God Sake when you are trying to Develop a Load for a Rifle GET ON A SOLID BENCH! DON’T expect to Stand off hand and Drive Nails, Ever heard of human error?

Hopefully this is helpful to Folks, You have nothing to lose by trying the above? NOTHING! But possibly a WHOLE LOT to Gain! Good Luck! Aim Small, Miss Small

 

[Idaholewis]

My Post above is to the Guy’s/Gals Looking to get the Most out of their Rifles, If you are ok with Backyard Plinking at Pie plates, and feel good if you hit them, then the Above is probably a Waste of your time, But don’t complain about accuracy, You are getting what you put in this.

Some might think it takes me a lot of extra time to do the above? NOT SO! It takes me just a few minutes to Weigh my Charges as described above, And when i Cast bullets why not take the time to make perfect ones? It takes me no longer to make Good bullets than Not Good ones. Again, it’s what you put in this stuff that can Pay off BIG! Look at my Targets, My Videos, I am no better than you, I just take the little extra time to make all of my stuff the Same

 

[Idaholewis]

Good example of how important Bullet Lube is, Here is a Group with Original Bullshop 460 Grain bullets Lubed with Dan’s NASA, This is what inspired me to have this Mold Made

Here is a Group with The bullet i had Made (Copied from the Bullshop Bullet) The Lube i was using was Gatfeo (Stiff Lube) As you can clearly see Dan’s Original Bullshop BLEW my new bullet Away?? I contacted him through email and sent him pics of my New bullet, and My Targets, Wondering if he had any Suggestions as to Why his Bullet Outshot mine so badly? The VERY first thing Dan Noticed was my Bullet Lube, And Questioned it! He told me that Lube was VERY VERY important.

Here was my Last outing with my Bullshop Bullet, and my Knowledge of the importance of Bullet Lube This Group is in 1 of my Videos. Look at this Group compared to the Group above where i was using a Stiff Lube, NIGHT N DAY difference. My new bullet shoots EVERY bit as good as Dan’s, It just needed the Right Lube, My Bear Grease Lube is Second to NONE!!

 

[Idaholewis]

And here is a good example of what different Over Powder Wad Materials can do, Everything about these 2 targets are identical EXCEPT the Over Powder Wad. Same rifle, Same bullet, Same Powder charge, same yardage. Just 2 different Over Powder Wad materials

.060 Vegetable fibre Over Powder Wad, Nothing great at all!

Now with an Oversize 1/8” Wool felt Over powder Wad. BIG difference huh?

 

[Idaholewis]

The .45 Cal is my Green Mountain LRH Barrel which has a 1:30 Twist. The .50 Cal Targets are also Green Mountain LRH Barrels, they have a 1:28 Twist. All 4 of my GM Fast Twist Barrels are 1” Across the Flats, And are in TC Renegade, and TC Hawken Stocks. They all have Tang Mounted peep sights, with 17 Series Globe Front sights, i use Lee Shaver’s Fine BPCR inserts in my Globes. A VERY VERY Big Key to putting all of this together and getting STELLAR results is your Sights! The Old Saying “You can’t hit what you can’t see” Holds very true! I have a REALLY tough time with a Regular Bead Front Sight, I would be BUMMED without my Fine BPCR inserts.

My Bullet Drops at 460 Grains

30-1 is 30 parts of lead and 1 part of tin (97% lead, 3% tin) I get mine in Certified Chop blocks From Buffalo Arms, i shoot more 1-40 Than anything, But I have had VERY VERY Good luck with Both 1-20, and 1-30 Alloys. I believe there is GOOD reason that the Majority of World Class Competition shooters use 1-20, even 1-16, I don’t buy Pure lead at all anymore, The only bullets i shoot that are Pure lead are Buffalo Arms Swaged Cupped Base Paper Patch bullets, i have no choice With them, That is what they are made of. I now have Molds, I will pour them of an Alloy.

https://www.rotometals.com/1-to-30-bullet-alloy-5-pounds-97-lead-3-tin/Scroll down to the bottom of the page and you can read the make up of the other Alloys

Buffalo Arms
https://www.buffaloarms.com/30-1-al...llet-casting-alloy-priced-per-pound-30-1alloy

 

[Idaholewis]

I believe Swiss to be a Very important part of getting the Most out of your Rifle, I recently tried Goex Ole Eyensford against Swiss with a PROVEN load, The Olde E shot HORRIBLE, Swiss cut Bullet holes! As for Triple 7, I have only used it 1 time, Accuracy was great with it (Horrible Nasty Crud Ring Though!) Triple 7 requires a Hotter Spark to reliably ignite it, this is my understanding from Guy’s on here that Know, and understand the Powder. The Nipple Flash Hole should be around .033, I use Treso/Ampco nipples 4-5 bucks a piece, they have a tiny .028 Flash Hole, They are the Most Durable nipple i have ever used (Besides Platinum lined at 60 bucks a piece) But these Treso’s would require Drilling out to .033 in order to get Reliable ignition, One must be REALLY Careful here and NOT open them up to much or you create a Dangerous situation! As long as you understand the Requirements of Triple 7 I believe accuracy is there, But again i have only shot it 1 time.
If you want a Powder that is RELIABLE, Is NOT finicky, and is EXTREMELY Accurate, Swiss is in a Class of it’s own! Look up Scores from Top Rank World Class Shooters and See what is Winning? You will find Swiss at the TOP! These guy’s could no doubt afford to Shoot any powder out there, There is a Reason they shoot Swiss, It WINS!!

As for a Heavy Bullet and Velocity, Big Lead around 1350-1400 FPS is DEVASTATING on Big Game Such as Elk!! I don’t do much Chronograph Work, I hate messing with them! I shoot for Accuracy and could Care less what the Actual Velocity is? But i have Tested enough from my beginning in this Stuff to have a pretty darn good understanding of what my Guns are Doing. Here is 1 example, my 28” 1:28 Twist Green Mountain LRH .50 Cal Barrel, 95 Weight Grains of Swiss 2F, pushing a 460 Grain bullet Yielded 1,460 FPS. Another example, A Common Velocity of 1300-1400 FPS with a 530 Grain Bullet in a .45 Cal is what they Use in Competition ALL the way out to 1,000 Yards. Big Heavy Lead Carries itself EXTREMELY well!!

Here are 2 .50 Cal Bullets that I believe are as good as it gets for Elk, Both of these bullets Shoot equally well, bullet on the Left is 460 Grains (My copy of Dan’s Bullshop Bullet) And Bullet on the Right is 485 Grains. Both of these Molds were made By Accurate Bullet Molds in Utah. Take either of these bullets Lubed with a Good Soft Lube Such as my Home made Bear Grease Lube, or Dan’s Bullshop’s NASA, and put it on Top of 85-95 Grains of Swiss 2F Powder, With an 1/8” .54 Cal Wool Felt Over powder Wad Between the Powder and Bullet Base, I don’t think you can find ANYTHING Better for Elk

 

[Idaholewis]

Question asked

Idaho:
Ok, after reviewing your post you say you are shooting the 51-450M. In looking at the specs I see the bands bottom to top 504, 504, 506, 507. Is it hard to start this bullet? I know this is a tight fit in a Hawken. Why tapered? Why not a straight. 502 or 503 or 504? Reason I ask is on my cast bullets mine are .504 and I been sizing down to 502. They still fit semi tight but a little easier to load in my Hawken.


My Response

VERY Good point! And glad you asked, The reason i had this Mold, and at least 2 others Made Oversize is i was using Pure Soft Plumbers lead at the time, and thought i needed to use Pure lead in Muzzleloaders? When using pure soft lead the Bullets would start to “Give Up” about Halfway down the Bore When Loading, and by the Time they reached the Powder Charge they were Loose, Loose Enough that i did NOT trust them to stay put on the Powder, i feared a Bullet slipping off the Charge in a Hunting situation, pulling up and taking a Shot, And VERY possibly “Ringing” My barrel.
But even after having these Molds cut this LARGE oversize the problem stil occured When Loading Pure Soft Lead?? It was after this that i came up with the idea of going to 1-40 Alloy, i picked up a 9 pound Chop Block of it, After pouring these bullets of this 1-40 Alloy they Held the Bore like a ROCK!! In fact they were on the TIGHT side to load! But i knew i had found a Cure to “Loosening bullets” When Loading. I then started working on Custom Sizer dies for each of my Guns, For example my .50 Cal LRH has a .501 Bore, For hunting i size my bullets to .502, they Start good n tight, but i can push them in with my Thumb, They Stay good and tight all the way Down! Same thing with my 45s and 54s, I Customized Sizers for Target use, and Hunting use. For target use in a controlled environment (Shooting Bench) i prefer my bullets to “Bore Ride” so in my .50 Cal with .501 Bore, i size my bullets to .500, This way they just “Kiss” the Rifling on the Way down. But for hunting i want a Good tight fitting bullet that will NOT budge off the Powder Charge unless i ask it to! (Pull the trigger)

In conclusion, If i had known then what I know now (1-40 Alloy) i would NOT have had these Few molds cut this Large oversize, there was simply no need. For my .50 I would have went .503 all Bands, This would have made the Sizing a bit easier. Though I don’t have any problems Sizing these oversize bullets as it is, I lube them well and they Slide right through no problem! I have several rifles of all Calibers, and each has it’s own unique Sizing needs, the Largest 50 Bore i work with is .503, i run my bullets through a .504 For this Rifle. If you are only working with 1, or 2 Rifles this makes it much easier, if you know the Bore diameters (Say .501, and .502) you would be PERFECT with a Mold Cut to drop bullets at .503-.504 then Lube and push them through a .502-.503 Sizer
Hope this clears this up, and makes sense. Pure lead was my Problem from the Very beginning! After switching to 1-40 Alloy I solved the “Loosening” problem, But i had already had 3 oversize Band Molds Made. After going to 1-40 Alloy I have not looked back at pure lead again, in fact I don’t want any of it! Look at our World Class BPCR shooters, The VERY LARGE majority of them use at least 1-30, With 1-20 and 1-16 Alloys being the most popular. If pure lead was so great, Those guy’s would DEFINITELY be using it! But fact is they are NOT, and these guy’s compete to 1,000 Yards. Accuracy is EVERYTHING to them!! And they get just that with the Harder Alloys

 

[Idaholewis]

There are 2 Lubes that i have tried other than mine that Work EXTREMELY well, That is Bullshop’s NASA, and forum member edmehlig’s “Super Blue .451 Lube”
My Bear Grease Lube is nothing more than an added ingredient of Ed’s “Super Blue .451 Lube” without the Blue Candle Wax Dye. I have Shot Ed’s bullets that he Sent me already lubed, They Shot REALLY well! I shot both his Hollow point Lyman Gould, and His Solid Gould, both lubed with his Blue Lube, and both Targets were a ranged 100 Yards.

Bullshop’s NASA Lube is the best stuff i know of that you can Purchase, I HIGHLY recommend Dan’s Bullshop NASA Lube to anyone looking to Buy a good Quality Bullet Lube, Bullshop Dan is who explained to me the importance of a Good Bullet lube, He saved me a lot of Head Scratching! Dan definitely knows his Stuff!

 

[Muleyslayer14]

What a wealth of knowledge!

 

[100percent]

Good info! Thanks for sharing

 

[Hunthigh1]

Awesome info thanks for writing this up. I’ll be trying Swiss powder