Looking for a little guidance on a new BP for Colorado Elk season
05-24-2012, 06:08 AM
#22
Nontypical Buck
Join Date: Aug 2008
Location: Rapid City, South Dakota
Posts: 3,732
South Dakota does not allow glass during our muzzy season(s). Even so, it seems to me an inline offers an advantage over a traditional rifle.
Personally i like to be able to remove the breech plug. I have removed the breech plug more than once to remove a double load. I have removed the breech plug more than once to remove a bullet sitting a way down there at the end of the barrel with no powder behind it. It seems convenient to me to remove the breech plug to clean the rifle.
Personally i like the ability to modify the breech plug. Many of my plugs utilize a vent that can be removed for cleaning. The vent can also be removed to be thrown away. The size of the flash hole can be increased or decreased with a new vent.
My inline have to utilize iron sights during the muzzy season, but i can readily install a scope to use for the regular rifle season, or for shooting at varmints. The scope can also be used for load development, and then can be readily replaced with iron sights for hunting.
The inline also allows one to use BH209 powder. BH seems to be the most reliable powder available for hunting. It isn't hygroscopic. To my knowledge BH is the only muzzy powder that isn't hygroscopic. This means it will not absorb moisture from the air, and will always go boom when the primer is popped. One can load one's clean rifle with BH at the beginning of hunting season, and when using sensible precautions, 'know' it will ignite on the last day of the season.
An inline offers me advantages over a traditional, here in SD, where i live and hunt.
Personally i like to be able to remove the breech plug. I have removed the breech plug more than once to remove a double load. I have removed the breech plug more than once to remove a bullet sitting a way down there at the end of the barrel with no powder behind it. It seems convenient to me to remove the breech plug to clean the rifle.
Personally i like the ability to modify the breech plug. Many of my plugs utilize a vent that can be removed for cleaning. The vent can also be removed to be thrown away. The size of the flash hole can be increased or decreased with a new vent.
My inline have to utilize iron sights during the muzzy season, but i can readily install a scope to use for the regular rifle season, or for shooting at varmints. The scope can also be used for load development, and then can be readily replaced with iron sights for hunting.
The inline also allows one to use BH209 powder. BH seems to be the most reliable powder available for hunting. It isn't hygroscopic. To my knowledge BH is the only muzzy powder that isn't hygroscopic. This means it will not absorb moisture from the air, and will always go boom when the primer is popped. One can load one's clean rifle with BH at the beginning of hunting season, and when using sensible precautions, 'know' it will ignite on the last day of the season.
An inline offers me advantages over a traditional, here in SD, where i live and hunt.
05-24-2012, 07:18 AM
#24
Dominant Buck
Join Date: Feb 2003
Location: Wisconsin
Posts: 21,193
Personally.. if you want to hunt elk and sabots are not allowed, loose powder is required, and in some states even a #11, musket or flintlock ignition is required, why not purchase a rifle that will do all of that. So the best rifle made that I have found that shoots conicals, uses loose powder, and can use a #11, Musket cap, or 209 ignition, is a White Muzzleloader.
Now in all fairness, my White is equiped with a 2-7x32mm Nikon Pro Staff scope.
While the White is set up to accept a Lyman Peep sight my eyes are not that good. So a scope is really helpful to me. Before we were allowed magnification scopes in Wisconsin, I used a Nikon 1x20mm scope and it worked very good for longer ranges.
I have shot this rifle with 100 grains of 2f Triple Seven powder and a 460 grain Bull Shop conical bullet. The accuracy is still there but the recoil has increased.
with only 65 grains of Triple Seven 2f, this is the kind of penetration these large conical bullets can achieve. Now is you were to kick that up to 80 or 100 grains.. well you can guess what it does to flesh.
lead conical bullets expand very well. This was the conical that came out of that chunk of wood.
One other thing.. if your State does allow scopes, throw a good scope on your White rifle and load it with sabots. These rifles will shoot sabots as well as any other the other rifles on the market. I use my inlines during the modern seasons. I have never felt at a disadvantage. But I might add, my long shots where I live are 50 yards. But I know the large conical bullets will plant these deer and not let them back into hard to drag places. Some of the White shooters, with scopes, have shot out to 200 yards with conicals and I am guessing sabots. So you technically have another hunting rifle for modern season as well.
Also while they have an open breech design, and they might get dirty more so then the Triumph or Omega, or say the Accura.. all it takes is a few minutes more of cleaning. The rifles are made like tanks. They are well balanced. They just shoot! These are my favorite inline rifles as you might tell. I could purchase any inline rifle I want. And I have last count 11 of them .. but if I were going elk hunting.. it would be with this White rifle.
that is my .451 caliber White M97 with the 22 inch barrel.
Now in all fairness, my White is equiped with a 2-7x32mm Nikon Pro Staff scope.
While the White is set up to accept a Lyman Peep sight my eyes are not that good. So a scope is really helpful to me. Before we were allowed magnification scopes in Wisconsin, I used a Nikon 1x20mm scope and it worked very good for longer ranges.
I have shot this rifle with 100 grains of 2f Triple Seven powder and a 460 grain Bull Shop conical bullet. The accuracy is still there but the recoil has increased.
with only 65 grains of Triple Seven 2f, this is the kind of penetration these large conical bullets can achieve. Now is you were to kick that up to 80 or 100 grains.. well you can guess what it does to flesh.
lead conical bullets expand very well. This was the conical that came out of that chunk of wood.
One other thing.. if your State does allow scopes, throw a good scope on your White rifle and load it with sabots. These rifles will shoot sabots as well as any other the other rifles on the market. I use my inlines during the modern seasons. I have never felt at a disadvantage. But I might add, my long shots where I live are 50 yards. But I know the large conical bullets will plant these deer and not let them back into hard to drag places. Some of the White shooters, with scopes, have shot out to 200 yards with conicals and I am guessing sabots. So you technically have another hunting rifle for modern season as well.
Also while they have an open breech design, and they might get dirty more so then the Triumph or Omega, or say the Accura.. all it takes is a few minutes more of cleaning. The rifles are made like tanks. They are well balanced. They just shoot! These are my favorite inline rifles as you might tell. I could purchase any inline rifle I want. And I have last count 11 of them .. but if I were going elk hunting.. it would be with this White rifle.
that is my .451 caliber White M97 with the 22 inch barrel.
05-24-2012, 07:37 AM
#25
Giant Nontypical
Join Date: Feb 2011
Location: Colorado
Posts: 9,557
In my case. I can use a scope. I want a gun that's light, can easily mount a scope, use BH 209, 209 primer, is light to haul around the Rockies, and shoots Thors accurately.
An inline fits that list perfectly for elk.
A sidelock is my choice for BP shoots, rendezvous, and hunting deer later in the year when they come down to lower altitudes.
An inline fits that list perfectly for elk.
A sidelock is my choice for BP shoots, rendezvous, and hunting deer later in the year when they come down to lower altitudes.
05-24-2012, 12:35 PM
#26
Typical Buck
Join Date: Jul 2011
Location: northernwestern south dakota
Posts: 722
idk you guys, jeremiah johnson sure knocked the piss out of that elk with a hawken in the movie lol. But in all seriousness i would not be afraid one bit to take my gpr shooting roundballs out elk hunting. It is not that tough to waterproof the caplock ignition, and a heck of alot cheaper than buying a new rifle. I would use the hawken and save the money to pay the taxidermist when it is all said and done. I know greenmtnboy on the muzzleloadingforum has killed a few elk using primitive equipment. You dont live to far from him do you muley? You could probably vouge for that huh.
Last edited by sdhunter11; 05-24-2012 at 12:42 PM.
05-24-2012, 12:59 PM
#28
Giant Nontypical
Join Date: Feb 2011
Location: Colorado
Posts: 9,557
idk you guys, jeremiah johnson sure knocked the piss out of that elk with a hawken in the movie lol. But in all seriousness i would not be afraid one bit to take my gpr shooting roundballs out elk hunting. It is not that tough to waterproof the caplock ignition, and a heck of alot cheaper than buying a new rifle. I would use the hawken and save the money to pay the taxidermist when it is all said and done. I know greenmtnboy on the muzzleloadingforum has killed a few elk using primitive equipment. You dont live to far from him do you muley? You could probably vouge for that huh.
I've talked to him a lot in private. A PRB will certainly get the job done. It did for me last year, but my eyes have gotten worse since then. I have to use a scope. You can't pay me enough to put a scope on a sidelock, but that's just me.
If i'm going to use a modern scope. I'll put it on a modern muzzleloader. It makes me feel better.
05-24-2012, 01:21 PM
#29
Banned
Join Date: Dec 2008
Location: Boncarbo,Colorado
Posts: 9,186
On a sidelock its extremely important to put some white teflon tape around the nipple threads. A couple years back when i was testing APP, I was doing the normal hunting set up I always do. Go out in the field for half a day, bring the gun inside and put it in the closet or what ever. The sweat that did happen, worked its way into the bolster and turned that powder into a solid chunk. Still went off perfectly but a little teflon tape did the trick to sealing out the water/moisture.
05-24-2012, 02:36 PM
#30
Typical Buck
Join Date: Jul 2011
Location: northernwestern south dakota
Posts: 722
I've talked to him a lot in private. A PRB will certainly get the job done. It did for me last year, but my eyes have gotten worse since then. I have to use a scope. You can't pay me enough to put a scope on a sidelock, but that's just me.
If i'm going to use a modern scope. I'll put it on a modern muzzleloader. It makes me feel better.
If i'm going to use a modern scope. I'll put it on a modern muzzleloader. It makes me feel better.
Is that why you got rid of that perfectly good gpr, lol. That had to be a tough one to part with.