Muzzleloader Hunting Success Thread

[jonandy]

Utah Muzzleloader hunt 2023 with my son. His second muzzleloader deer.
CVA
185 yards
340gr eldx.

This was after a 2 hour stalk to get up to where he bedded down. Couldn’t get any closer. I told him the drop and drift. He hit him between the shoulders spine/neck base. He was laying body perpendicular to us and facing to the right and was on a little incline, so the shot was great for what was presented. He never got up! DRT. Had to haul him out 4 plus miles and a drop of about 3,700 feet elevation. It was a long day, but we made some great memories.

 

[Don Qui Puncher]

I’ve brought my son a dozen times the last 2 years and never got a shot. I brought my daughter for her first time on Saturday and we shot 2 by 7 am. Knight UL 110 grains by volume of BH veggie wad and 275 Parker BE.

 

[Farmingdale's Finest]

I’ve brought my son a dozen times the last 2 years and never got a shot. I brought my daughter for her first time on Saturday and we shot 2 by 7 am. Knight UL 110 grains by volume of BH veggie wad and 275 Parker BE.
View attachment 644266

Congrats to you both on making a great memory!


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[fishslap]

 

[swamphunter]

Sept 10 2023
Traditions VAPR
95 grains Triple 7
420 grain No Excuse


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[HighUintas]

View attachment 644300

What projectile and how many shots?

 

[fishslap]

What projectile and how many shots?

54 cal patched round ball. Unfortunately four shots. I think he would have died from the first one after closer inspection but it was warm and close to dark so I wanted to see him dead before I lost light. First shot was a bit high and forward.

 

[HighUintas]

54 cal patched round ball. Unfortunately four shots. I think he would have died from the first one after closer inspection but it was warm and close to dark so I wanted to see him dead before I lost light. First shot was a bit high and forward.
View attachment 646283

I've got a .58 flintlock I've been trying to get a cow elk with, patched ball. No shot opportunities yet. I'm really hoping I won't need more than 1

 

[fishslap]

I've got a .58 flintlock I've been trying to get a cow elk with, patched ball. No shot opportunities yet. I'm really hoping I won't need more than 1

I think if you can get solid double lung you’d be good. I have a 54 lefty flinter from TVM arriving next week, a 58 cal hawken pushing 4 years at a custom builder, and a 58 tc renegade I bought this summer and on my bench for a refirb.

 

[HighUintas]

I think if you can get solid double lung you’d be good. I have a 54 lefty flinter from TVM arriving next week, a 58 cal hawken pushing 4 years at a custom builder, and a 58 tc renegade I bought this summer and on my bench for a refirb.

4 years? Which builder? I didn't know any of them take that long unless it's some sort of obscure Hawken bench copy


My next build will be a Hawken (copy of the Sublette Hawken) but my first build took so many late late nights, I don't think I want to start another very soon haha

 

[fishslap]

4 years? Which builder? I didn't know any of them take that long unless it's some sort of obscure Hawken bench copy


My next build will be a Hawken (copy of the Sublette Hawken) but my first build took so many late late nights, I don't think I want to start another very soon haha

Brant Selb. Covid, challenges getting parts, etc. put him way behind. Due for a call next month. His website said he’s not taking orders right now which is probably a good idea. Supposed to be a top builder and super nice guy.

 

[HighUintas]

Brant Selb. Covid, challenges getting parts, etc. put him way behind. Due for a call next month. His website said he’s not taking orders right now which is probably a good idea. Supposed to be a top builder and super nice guy.

Ah I see. I didn't know he was even still building. I just saw the notification on his site. From what I hear, it's worth the wait!

 

[DWinVA]

Older T/C Encore. BH 209 and 250 grains Barnes MZs. God Bless.

 

[Red-Fin]

My first Bull, and first hunt with a Muzzleloader. This was a fun, hard, and rewarding hunt. Day 1 we found lots of elk, finally found a big bull, and made a stalk. He had 30 cows bedded around him and 2 other bulls on the side of the mountain. We made it to 250 yards before the wind shifted and those cows got up and blew out of there.
Day 2 we found another nice bull, we saw where he went into the trees, but he just disappeared we never saw him again.
Day 3 we didn’t see a single Elk all morning. For the afternoon, we went and sat up on the hill above where the elk disappeared into the trees from the day before. At just about sunset there was a bugle and we started watching cows start filing out of the forest into the flats. At the end of the line of cows was this guy. He wasn’t as big as the guy from the morning before, but I wasn’t going to pass up an opportunity.
I made my way down through the forest into the edge of the flats. There just happened to be a perfect little rise between me and the elk. I slowly made my way up until I could see the elk. The bull was at 190 yards. After waiting for what seemed like forever I finally had a shot. I sent a 290 grain Barnes TMZ into him as he was quartering towards me. He ran another 40 yards and stopped and started to stumble. I had reloaded and sent a second round at 230 yards that hit him through both shoulders and he went down.
My Nevada bull hunt was a success.View attachment 637203

That’s an awesome bull!!

 

[FB Trout]

Here are a few from over the past few years, most shot with CVA Paramount with an 85 grains of BH 209 by weight and bore sized Arrowhead 275 XLD bullets. The deer with the blood spatter on rock behind it was using a Powerbelt 225 ELR at an extended range. Some of these are terminal ballistic necropsy photos…The Arrowhead XLD is a impressive bullet with terminal performance much like a match bullet in a centerfire rifle.

 

[aheider]

Couple Oregon Whitetails. Knight Bighorn, 385 Hornady Great Plains, 100 grains of Triple 7.

 

[wtrbrdm]

Getting nerdy between seasons....going to do proper load develpment with the new Accura MR-X and Furys, Thors, FTXs and BOR Locks......after having a trophy buck give me the finger at 200yds. Still not bad for my first year East Coast after my archery buck.....bobcat, doe and bigger buck with the muzzleloader.

 

[Shamecave]

Ah I see. I didn't know he was even still building. I just saw the notification on his site. From what I hear, it's worth the wait!

After three years I received rifle that I will have to finish. Nosecap unsalvageable. I will have to finish shaping and polishing it, too much work to attempt replacement. I will have to strip the barrel, polish out the tooling marks, and reblue it. Ramrod simply slides out of rifle if you tip the rifle down, as you would carry any rifle. I will have to refinish the stock- the sanding was not completed before finishing. I can’t sell it for what I paid for it. He offered to address these issues, but I asked for a refund, as I don’t want to wait another three years for repairs. A rifle this expensive should not come out of the box with so many problems. I will keep it and repair it myself. No doubt it will shoot straight, he didn’t make the barrel.

 

[HighUintas]

As far as the ramrod goes, did he just send it with the wrong size? Ramrod? That thing is way smaller than the hole

 

[Shamecave]

As far as the ramrod goes, did he just send it with the wrong size? Ramrod? That thing is way smaller than the hole

.36 caliber Squirrel rifle. While he did offer to address the issues, I decided I would prefer to return it unfired, to which he declined and said he was not my personal ATM. I simply will not wait another year (or two? Or three?) for it to be repaired. I no longer trust his ability to produce a high-quality firearm. The pictures speak for themselves. That nose cap is simply terrible, no excuse for such poor workmanship. When I look at the hundreds of pictures of nice muzzleloaders on this site, mine is not even in the same class. It's as though three years had passed, and he simply threw whatever parts he had on hand together.
This is brand new, fresh from the box. I brought it to my Range this morning, where we have quite a number of Reenactors and experienced muzzleloaders, and the general response I got from all who inspected it was "I'm sorry..."