eldeguello

IF one were to compare a .45/70 firing a 405-grain bullet at around 1300 FPS, or shopoting a 500-grain bullet in the vicinity of 1200 FPS, (the original ballistics of .45/70 ammo using black powder, and to which current ammo is loaded using smokeless powder and intended for trapdoor SApringfields and the like), then yes, a modern-steel muzzleloader can equal or exceed this performance level. However, a sidelock made of modern barrel steel can do just as well as an inline in this respect!

This 370-grain Maxiball load is going 1742 FPS at 10' from the muzzle. This equates to an energy level at 10' of 2493 foot-pounds - over 2500 at the muzzle! But with its poor ballistic coefficient, this load will run out of steam long before a modern centerfirerifle bullet that starts out with the same energy!!

Paul L Mohr

I always get the "an inline is cheating, you might as well use a high powered rifle, it's the same thing" argument from people. Well I have owned high powered rifles and I'm here to tell you it's no where close! Can it equal that of some centerfire cartridges, probably depending on what they are and how you load the ML. I bet it will not be as accurat though. Just because you can shoot 150 grns of powder out of your ML doesn't mean you should. Most are not that accurate with that much powder unless you are using a pretty heavy bullet. They are better than most shotgun slug offerings, although they are getting much better. That is why they are so popular where I live. They shoot better than an average slug gun. Where I live you can either use a shotgun or ML, no centerfires. And for quite a while the Inlines offered a better trajectory than the shotguns. You just don't get an easy follow up shot. Of course if you do it right you shouldn't need one.

I shoot a remington 700 ML with a synthetic stock and variable scope. It looks like a 50 cal snyper rifle, especially with the bipod on it. Some shotgun hunters feel an inferiority complex when they see it and traditional blackpowder shooters spit on the ground when you walk by. Sort of like using a crossbow in archery season. Basically it's just a high tech looking Muzzle loader though. You can do the same to most side locks if you buy a green mountain barrel or something. Mine is just easier to clean is all. Some of the shotgun guys feel I must have a better weapon since they empty a magazine at a deer and it runs a way. I take one shot and go get my deer. It can't be that I spent more time learning how my weapon works and what it likes, or that I take my time and wait for the right shot. And there is no way I might actually be a better shot. That is just not possible is it? It must be that the inline ML is a far superior killing machine and magically drops deer when you point it at them. Much like the rep a crossbow has in many ways, although the crossbow does offer the advantage of not haveing to draw on the deer. The inline offers no such advantage over a shotgun, if anything it has dissadvantages.

Even if the ballistics are comparable, they are still not the same thing. A center fire is most likely going to shoot more reliable and have a better designed bullet. For muzzle loading we are basically using pistol bullets, and shooting them over thier intended speed, possibly hurting the performance of the bullet. Of course now we have the PR bullets that are designed for inlines and I would think perform better. But they are still not the same thing as a well designed centerfire bullet.

And then you have the weight, the ease of loading and cleaning. Not to mention you can actually see what you shot at after the shot. Shooting a muzzle loader is like doing a magic act. Sometimes you have to wait for the smoke to clear to see what happened. And you pray the deer didn't do a hudinni on you while you couldn't see. And you better be on the mark the first time, because I doubt you will get a second shot with a muzzle loader.

And this is comparing it to some big slow centerfire that really doesn't get used much any more. If you are trying to compare one to a 30-06 or something you are nuts, there is no coparison at all. Heck a .243 is superior to a modern inline.

In my opinion most that make these claims are ignorant and have not used both weapons they are comparing.

Just my opinion any way.

Paul