Special muzzleloading seasons can increase the outdoor enjoyment of any hunter. Depending on the state, they begin as early as September and end in January for a great, mixed bag of primitive opportunity. For the past two years, I’ve hunted in central South Dakota with black powder in mid-December when Arctic clippers dump knee-deep snow and temperatures plummet to make hunting near-magical in a winter wonderland. Muzzleloading in extreme conditions makes hunting a challenge and I’m always on the look-out for gear that can weather inclement conditions, no pun intended. Here’s what I’ve found:
Remington Ultra-Muzzleloader
This rifle is the muscle car of muzzleloaders and can handle up to 200 grains of powder and boasts accuracy and lethal energy out to 300 yards. Built on Remington’s heralded 700 platform, the bolt action rifle has the mass to handle magnum loads.
The ignition system is perhaps its most unique feature. Although it uses a “primer” ignition like many that use shotgun primers, the Ultra-Muzzleloader chambers a half cartridge case with the primer installed. This not only seals out moisture and bad weather contamination but provide a total powder burn.
The Achilles heel of most black powder guns is the length of the barrel just ahead of the ignition point. Here’s where the powder explodes, and powder residue quickly builds up. This region can quickly become so fouled that the bullet will not ram atop the powder charge, causing performance inaccuracy. I’ve fired the Remington Ultra-Muzzleloader nearly 100 times and have never experienced this. The ignition completely burns the powder charge providing maximum projectile performance. Check out more at www.remington.com.
Thor Bullets
Remington sells a line of excellent hunting bullets. My preference is the all-copper projectiles with expanding petals that cut their way through tissue and provide complete penetration on almost any shot.
Unfortunately, Colorado does not allow the use of saboted bullets and I needed to find an alternative for an upcoming Colorado elk hunt. Several internet searches turned up a small company that produces “Barns-like” copper bullets that do not have a sabot. You can’t buy these bullets in stores or online so here’s the process.
Go to their website www.ThorBullets.com and order a test kit by e-mail or phone the company. It’s owned by a husband and wife, and they will answer questions and take your order. The test kit contains bullets in four sizes: .50, .501, .502, 503. Test the bullets to see which works best in your rifle and call them back. There are several informative posts on YouTube explaining how this process works.
The .50 slid down the barrel with its own weight so I knew it was too small. The .501 seemed to be just right and the .502 would not load. I ordered 100 300-grain bullets, shot about half of them and have been exceedingly impressed. These bullets have a polymer tip and with the Remington magnum loads fly nearly flat from 50-150 yards. Check out more at www.thorbullets.com.
Triple 7 Fire Star
Just as Remington’s unique ignition is a huge benefit to shooters, Hodgdon takes a page from their playbook with the new Fire Star pelleted powder. Instead of cylinder-shaped pellets, the new Fire Star pellets are gear-shaped, which allows for a more complete black powder burn, less fouling, and greater ignition.
Formerly, with pellets in 50-grain increments, a shooter had to choose between 100 and 150 grains in hunting situations. One hundred grains if enough for most whitetail deer situations, but 120 grains are better. Three 50-grain pellets often provided more black powder than most rifles could burn, which led to excess fouling. Fire Star pellets are 33 grains each, which means you can create the most efficient load for your rifle.
To test how much loaded powder burns, place an old sheet in front of your shooting bench and see how much powder is expelled for various loads. You may be surprised. Finally, Triple 7 eliminates the rotten egg smell, which makes cleaning your rifle in the house much for tolerant for nonhunters. Check out more at www.hodgdon.com.
Traditions New Line of Bullets
Traditions has been a pioneer in the quest for long range muzzleloading accuracy. Their rifles are modestly priced and are available in long barrel lengths than most offered by competitors. A longer barrel allows for a more complete powder burn and greater bullet speeds. In keeping with this technology, they recently introduced three new bullets for 2018:
Smackdown “Bleed” projectiles are encased in “Ridgeback” sabots, designed for easier loading and a greater gas seal. The Bleed series weigh 170 grains, are of hollow point design, and launch at 2150 fps from a load of 115 grains of Blackhorn 209 powder. The 170-grain bullet size is like that of many center-fire cartridges, has low felt recoil, and is ideal for whitetail deer at moderate range.
Carnivore and XR bullets are tailored to longer range shooting out to 200 yards, thanks to a Polycarbonate tip that provides a greater ballistic coefficient (.262). Both bullets weight 250 grains and are cradled in the Ridgeback sabots to maximize gas seal and maximum power. A load of 120 grains of Blackhorn 209 creates a muzzle velocity of 2150 fps and more than 1600 fps at 150 yards. Check them out at www.traditionsfirearms.com.
