Some helpful tips for those getting ready for the muzzleloader hunting seasons

[longcruise]

I only use Pyrodex. BP is not available around here and is banned by law here (NM has some funny thoughts about explosives due to a couple of criminal actions years ago).

Yes, Pyrodex is part of the problem. I do not swab between shots. If I get a delay I clean the rifle and 'start over'.

When cleaning I use a .32cal brush to clean out the breech area.

My point was, for hunting, 5 shots is way more than adequate. I rarely shoot more than 10 shots in a session.

I can't find any indication that New Mexico bans BP. In fact a major distributor is located in Hobbs. You can buy it via mail order. You will notice superior performance immediately with actual black powder. You might even find yourself shooting more than ten shots per session!

[longcruise]

[charlie b]

Not all of NM, just here in my area. I don't shoot enough of it to justify ordering it.

[John McCorkle]

I can't find any indication that New Mexico bans BP. In fact a major distributor is located in Hobbs. You can buy it via mail order. You will notice superior performance immediately with actual black powder. You might even find yourself shooting more than ten shots per session!

It is getting tougher and tougher to find....storage regulations are easier for substitutes but if any business wants insurance the storage for black powder is much more complex. Places like Cabela's and bass pro (both the same company I know) no longer carry it, only substitutes

Louisiana is nearly bone dry. After laws for primative firearms season changed to allow any single shot rifle with exposed hammer and over .35 caliber ....everyone went with 35 Whelen, 444 Marlin, 45/70 ECT. Went to alot of sporting goods stores around and nothing to be had at all.... matter of fact they said they gave their last muzzleloader away years ago with the sale of a 4 wheeler because it had been sitting collecting dust for years.

I may start making my own just to have something to shoot

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[rfd]

most of us will never have local access to BP as we enjoyed decades ago and have to go the mail order route, which adds to the cost for hazmat fees and shipping ... and still hafta pay state taxes. group buys are the way to go. my personal minimum order is 25lbs.

[megasupermagnum]

most of us will never have local access to BP as we enjoyed decades ago and have to go the mail order route, which adds to the cost for hazmat fees and shipping ... and still hafta pay state taxes. group buys are the way to go. my personal minimum order is 25lbs.

I'm fortunate to be only 25 or so miles from Track of the Wolf, and can buy Goex or Swiss whenever I want. Unfortunately their prices are not competitive. Just like smokeless, I wait for a sale of some kind. Last time I bought my blackpowder when a free shipping sale happened for primers. Even with hazmat, price per pound for Goex was something like $20. TOTW sells Goex for around $27 per pound in store pickup, Swiss is WAY more. Just tack a few pounds on your next order, most places that sell smokeless or primers, also sell blackpowder. They are covered under the same hazmat fee.

I've said it before, but Pyrodex is the stuff you shoot when you can't get anything else. It has no redeeming qualities besides availability. 777 is what you shoot when you want power, as it has the most velocity to powder volume of anything available (777 pellets do not, and are relatively weak). The downside is reliability. If you like reliability and accuracy, real blackpowder is the real McCoy.

I went shooting today, and made one small change. With a clean and lubed barrel to start with, I then ran a single damp patch through it, using spit just as though I was swabbing the bore between shots. I intended to snap a couple caps too, but completely forgot. I also forgot my powder measure, as I had it with another rifle I had been shooting. Thankfully I had a plastic vial of powder from hunting, which I knew was 80 grains. I cut this off just over that, to approximate 90 grains. I marked the first clean bore shot on target at 100 yards, about 3" low and 1" left. Right about where I expect the shot to go, being as I'm sighted in for about 75. I then fired two more shots, and checked. They were right next to the first shot, for 3 shots no more than 1 1/2" apart! I should have stopped there, but send a fourth just outside the group, and pulled the 5th shot for about a 5" group. That was all the balls I had weight sorted, else I would have tried for more. The key feature, is the first shot was well inside the overall group.

I'll try this technique again another day, to see if it works reliably. I've seen where guys have ran an alcohol patch through for the same reason, so it isn't an original idea. I got my bear bait sites out. I picked the spots as best I could, cleared shooting lanes to get back as far away from the bait as possible, yet both sites I'll be shooting from a measly 36 or 40 yards away. There simply isn't any way to get farther away in these woods, and still get a clear shot.