tested my sons new smi muzzleloader to day.

[johnson1942]

a few months back sold some things around here so had a little cash to play with. at the advice of some one here on this site i sent my h and r buffalo classic action to smi muzzleloaders. got it back a couple of days ago so went to town this morning and bought a nice 9 power scope for it. i have several hundred mmp heavy duty sabots and a couple hundred .451 250 grain pistol bullets so we shot them today. the load was 120 grains of blackhorn209 behind this sabot and bullet. after a couple of clicks she kept center on a small pistol target at 100 yards. this gun is for my 13 year old son as he has a hard time with a sidelock being he is righthanded and left eyed in shooting. he has no problem with the buffalo classic smi gun. we figure we may be getting 2100 ft per sec. shooting at a clump of dirt in the field behind the house she hit 3 inches low and got their right now. now i hope those who like paper patch bullets read this next part. tried a couple i had swaged from 20 to one lead and weighed 550 grains. they also have a slight hollow base. i used 120 grains of blackhorn 209 and a 60 thousands fiber wad between powder and bullet. they hit in perfect alignment with the saboted ones only 6 inches lower. so this is my sons elk bullet some day. i have a nice leather buttplate pad on the gun and it needed it with the sabots. with the pp 550 grain bullet it is too much for my son and as for me i really noticed the recoil. am i going to convert to inline, no but i sure liked makeing my son happy to day. he wants to go to college and be a game warden. he now has a real good 45/70 and muzzleloader in the same gun. the barrel was made by douglas and i sure do like their barrels. would i reccomend smi, yes and im glad someone did on this site last winter

[Mike.44]

Great report. Glad the youngster can handle it. You did a really good thing for the boy, and he will repay you in kind one day.

[johnson1942]

thanks mike, they did a good job on it, it will last him a life time.

[TCLouis]

I am assuming they make some sort of chamber adapter to convert it to a front stuffer

[johnson1942]

its a new barrel, still have the 45/70 barrel. the barrels was made by douglas, a 1/32 twist, 28 inches long. the 1/32 twist shoots the 250 grain .451 pistol bullet very well in a sabot. shot it again the other day. still cut center at 100 yards. according to the charts the bullet should be going 2100 ft per sec. with the load i use. s.m.i. did a good job.

[jason f]

How come you are not using smokeless powder in a smi smokeless muzzleloader barrel. Now you still got to clean it all the time.

[johnson1942]

jason f, you asked a good question. 2 reasons. i read a while back a detailed report of a very bad blow up of a savage smokeless muzzleloader. that put caution in me. so i went with blackhorn 209 powder which i find very consistant and very clean. 2100 to 2200 ft per sec is fast enough for a 250 grain pistol bullet anyways. it will flatten and still go through a deer and plow ground. i wouldnt have to clean between rounds with 209 powder but its my habit to. second reason is this is my 13 year old sons gun. the one he will take with when he goes on his own some day. he doesnt pocess my skills and likes only modern guns. he may make a bad judgement way in the future if i teach him smokless muzzleloading as i wont be with him to help him. i am teaching him saftey in every way but young men arent old men and thats the way of life. i could add a third reason, im quite anal, i like cleaning some between rounds, my barrels are always whistle clean, the only reason i ever miss what im shooting at is me. again i want to say to every one, im very impressed with s.m.i. and their work. they build a very good gun that is easy to operate and use. i find the 1/32 twist much easier to find sabots and bullets to shoot good, than the other twists available for sabots.