Rookie Muzzleloader questions

[jm1607]

I am 100% new to muzzleloaders. All I know about them is what I've been learning from this forum. I'm sold on the Knight Ultralight. For the most part, I want to set it up as a rifle with no restrictions (209 primers and a scope) but I want to be able to make it western legal in the future.

1) Do they make a 209 bolt for the western edition? I've read that they do and don't so I'm confused.. Or should I get a non-western version and buy a western conversion kit?

2) What would be a good scope recommendation? Is the Leupold Slam scope a good choice?

3) What would be a good .50 load for medium size game (deer, sheep, etc)?

 

[jarheadhunter]

1) No idea
2) I am sure that scope would be a good choice. I would also look into the Nikon Omega with BDC.
3) I shoot pellets, but I think BH209 would be a good choice as everyone seems to prefer it. I would say somewhere between 90-110 gr is where most people have the best accuracy.

 

[robby denning]

hi JM,
I can't answer the question on #1,and#2 but make sure you PM sabotloader (watch for his posts on the muzz forum). If anyone knows, it would be him.

On #3, you need to decide a few things:
1) Which state will you be hunting- they all have different requirements. Some allow loose powder, some allow pellets. There is no such thing as western legal that will apply to all states. Good news is if the muzzleloader is a good gun, switching to a different type of powder to hunt another state isn't a big deal. Next thing is sabots or conicals. Same deal, some states allow both, some don't (Colorado and Idaho are conicals only).

A good resource for you would be Cecil Epp at www.prbullet.com. He's in Canada, so his shipping is a little slow, but worth the wait as his tech advice is great if you can talk to him.

My advice would be to set the gun up for the state you'll be hunting most, then worry about the rest when the time comes up. Trust me, that is what I do hunting multiple states with a muzzleloader. Keep us posted. PM me if you post and I don't answer, might have missed it.

 

[sabotloader]

I am 100% new to muzzleloaders. All I know about them is what I've been learning from this forum. I'm sold on the Knight Ultralight. For the most part, I want to set it up as a rifle with no restrictions (209 primers and a scope) but I want to be able to make it western legal in the future.

1) Do they make a 209 bolt for the western edition? I've read that they do and don't so I'm confused.. Or should I get a non-western version and buy a western conversion kit?

They do make both conversions, a Western and a 209 version. I would be my suggestion to order the rifle as a Western Edition - to insure that you get the barrel drilled and tapped with open sights installed.

Then go back and purchase a 209 bolt and breech plug which is interchangeable with the Ultra Lite or even the Mountaineer.

This thread explains the Western Edition...

http://www.rokslide.com/forums/showthread.php?6217-Western-Edition-Knight-Ultra-Lite

This shows the same rifle setup with a 209 bolt and breech plug

http://www.rokslide.com/forums/showthread.php?6330-Ultra-Lite-Conversion

This one shows me shooting the Ultra-Lite with a sabotless full bore bullet

http://www.rokslide.com/forums/showthread.php?9515-Chpt-4-Sabotless-Shooting-Ulite-in-the-Rock-Pit

2) What would be a good scope recommendation? Is the Leupold Slam scope a good choice?

The slam is an excellent choice I have and use 3 of them + several Bushnell 3x9x40 Elite 600 DOA's. On my Ulite I decided to try another scope which I really like. A Redfield 3x9x42 Revenge Hunter model with Accru Range Reticle.

http://www.huntingnet.com/forum/black-powder/378527-another-new-scope-redfield-revenge.html

http://www.huntingnet.com/forum/black-powder/378664-more-redfield-revenge-scope.html

3) What would be a good .50 load for medium size game (deer, sheep, etc)?

Personally and this is just me I would use a Knight Bloodline .458-275 gr. DOA. This is a 300 grain but the 275 looks exactly the same...





These are expensive and if you did not want to go this expensive then I would suggest the Speer .452-300 gr. Deep Curl.



Hope some of this helps....

 

[jm1607]

Thanks guys, I think that answers everything! I'll just take your word on the Bloodlines, the price seems fair to me

 

[robby denning]

sabotloader- you do not disappoint! Thanks for chiming in.

 

[sabotloader]

Thanks guys, I think that answers everything! I'll just take your word on the Bloodlines, the price seems fair to me

I can tell they really work... this is doe was shot with a 200 grain Bloodline





This is a buck that met the 275 Bloodline/Lehigh