ORIGINAL: statjunk

Hi Guys,

I am new to muzzleloading and I have a bunch of questions. I have a knight master hunter II with the thumbhole stock and stainless barrel. It uses the orange primer disk. Here goes.

Every how many shots do I need to clean my muzzle loader if I am using the 777 pellets that claim to be ultra clean? You should be able to shoot all afternoon with T7 pellets without having to clean the bore. For me this would be perhaps 20 rounds or so.

Every time I clean it do I need to grease the breech bold? Do you mean "BOLT"?? If so, use Birchwood-casey SHEATH (spray-on) as a rust preventative on all steel parts after cleaning. BUT, use Gorilla Grease or a similar compound on the threads of your BREECH PLUG! T7 tends to freeze up breech plugs and make them hard to remove for cleaning! Try to avoid getting grease or oil into your rifle's bore and the flash channel the primer flash goes through.

How much grease?A liberal quantity, on the threads only!!

How do I clean the little hole in the breech plug? I use a wet round-type toothpick![/b]

How much effect does having a dirty barrel have on your shot with a muzzle loader? This depends on the gun-each rifle is different. If you are using T7, test your rifle to see if it shoots to the same point of impact after you have fired the first shot ("fouling shot"). If it does, you will have to zero using the group you shoot after fouling the barrel. Then, when hunting, you will need to fire a fouling shot before you load up for the actual hunt. However, it is possible that your rifle will shoot the same for every round from the first to the last. Use of real black powder makes it more likely that the subsequent shots will go someplace else than the first one. This is because real BP fouls the bore something fierce. But since you have T7, this is not a problem for you.

I am shooting bullets with a plastic tip. I notice that when I force them down the barrel that I have to tug up a bit to get the rod out. Is this causing decreased performance or does it not matter? (ie I believe I am crushing that plastic tip on the way down the barrel?I doubt that this will matter much - accuracy is not spoiled by a deformed bullet POINT, but a damaged BASE on a bullet will throw it wild.

After so many shots I find that it is much harder to push the bullet and sabot down the barrel. Is this because the barrel is dirty or because the barrel is hot?Because it is DIRTY! It is the buildup of fouling that causes this. Wet a patch with spit, and swab the barrel with it, followed by a dry patch. Your loading will be easier again.

Could someone please discribe the best way to start a bullet down the barrel? I have a hunting T-Handle that I am using.There is no easy way! The T-handle gadget you have is as good a method as any.

What is typical accuracy that I should be getting out of my muzzle loader using a premium hunting bullet at 225 grains?According to Knight's propaganda, that rifle should be able to shoot 1" groups at 100 yards. I know it is possible. Here's a group I shot with a 370-grain Maxiball from a regular .50 cal caplock rifle, and one from a.45 caplockas well, using a 250 grain Maxiball.

Any additional info would be great. You mightr have to experiment with powder charges to get your best accuracy. Despite the fact that your rifle can use up to three (150-grains equivalent) of T7 does not mean it will give its best accuracy at that level. It probably won't. You'll PROBABLY find your rifle shoots best with LESS powder. It probably will shoot better with two p[ellets instead of three - and it will certainly build up fouling a lot slower with two instead of three - and two pellets with the bullet you are using is plenty powerful enough to kill any deer that ever walked out to at least 100 yards.

Thanks
Tom