HuntingNut » News » How do I load my Muzzle Loader?

Home • Community Forums • Photo Albums • Register

Modules

• Home - Top 30
• Treasury
• Tell a Friend

Articles: Submit New
• Articles: Topics
• Contact Us
• Community Forums

Members List
• Photo Albums
• PointBlank Ballistics
• PointBlank Online
• Privacy Policy
• Private Messages

Reloading Database
• State F&G Agencies
• Statistics
• Your Account

User Info

Welcome Anonymous

(Register)

Membership:

Latest: IPutMoInYoA

New Today: 0

New Yesterday: 0

Overall: 13131

People Online:

Members: 0

Visitors: 149

BOT: 1

Total: 150

Who Is Where:

Visitors:
01: Forums
02: Forums
03: Home
04: Photo Albums
05: Forums
06: Forums
07: Forums
08: Forums
09: Photo Albums
10: Forums
11: Forums
12: Forums
13: Your Account
14: Forums
15: Your Account
16: Forums
17: Your Account
18: Your Account
19: Home
20: Forums
21: Home
22: Forums
23: Forums
24: Forums
25: Forums
26: Forums
27: Forums
28: Forums
29: Your Account
30: Forums
31: Home
32: Home
33: Your Account
34: Photo Albums
35: Forums
36: Your Account
37: Home
38: Forums
39: Photo Albums
40: Forums
41: Forums
42: Home
43: Forums
44: Forums
45: Home
46: Photo Albums
47: Forums
48: Home
49: Forums
50: Forums
51: Home
52: Your Account
53: Your Account
54: Home
55: Forums
56: Forums
57: Home
58: Home
59: Forums
60: Forums
61: Forums
62: Photo Albums
63: Forums
64: Home
65: Forums
66: Photo Albums
67: News
68: Forums
69: Home
70: Your Account
71: Forums
72: Your Account
73: Home
74: Forums
75: Forums
76: Forums
77: Forums
78: Forums
79: Forums
80: Your Account
81: Your Account
82: Photo Albums
83: Photo Albums
84: Forums
85: Your Account
86: Your Account
87: Your Account
88: Forums
89: Forums
90: Photo Albums
91: Home
92: Forums
93: Forums
94: Forums
95: Forums
96: Home
97: Forums
98: Home
99: Home
100: Forums
101: Photo Albums
102: Forums
103: Forums
104: Home
105: Forums
106: Forums
107: Your Account
108: Forums
109: Home
110: Photo Albums
111: Photo Albums
112: Forums
113: Forums
114: Forums
115: Photo Albums
116: Photo Albums
117: Forums
118: News
119: Forums
120: Home
121: Home
122: Forums
123: Forums
124: Forums
125: Forums
126: Forums
127: News
128: Home
129: Photo Albums
130: Photo Albums
131: Forums
132: Forums
133: Home
134: Your Account
135: Forums
136: Forums
137: Your Account
138: Photo Albums
139: Forums
140: Photo Albums
141: Forums
142: Your Account
143: Home
144: Home
145: Forums
146: Home
147: Tell a Friend
148: Forums
149: Forums

BOT:
01: Home

Staff Online:

No staff members are online!

Coppermine Stats

Photo Albums

• Albums: 308
• Pictures: 2452
  · Views: 824614
  · Votes: 1316
  · Comments: 86

How do I load my Muzzle Loader?

Loading a muzzle loader is a relatively simple process. The first step is to gather the nessasary components (some unneeded depending on projectile type): Gun, powder, projectile, patch, cap, powder measure, bullet lubricant, ramrod, and short starter.

First, safely inspect the rifle and make sure it is already unloaded. An easy trick to determine if a rifle is loaded or not is to place the ramrod into the unloaded barrel and to mark with a pen or marker where it exits the barrel. A loaded gun can then be determined by placing the ramrod into the barrel and seeing if the mark on the ramrod lines up with the barrels crown. If the line is above the crown then there must be something already in the barrel.

Next prepare your powder charge. Muzzle Loaders use either Black Powder or Black Powder substitutes like Pyrodex. Using smokeless powder in a muzzle loader will destroy the rifle and probibly cause serious injury or death! Black Powder or a substitute requires measurement by VOLUME not by Weight. This is because not all powders weight the same amount. They are manufactured however, to take up the same amount of volume. Set your powder measure to the amount you desire (example: 80 grains) and carefully fill it up with powder. Next carefully pour the contents of the measure, into the barrel of the muzzle loader.

Now prepare your projectile. There are 3 basic types: conicals, roundballs and Sabots which we will describe how to load here.

Conicals come either pre-lubed or not. If your conicals are not lubed, apply a coating of bullet lubricant to the flat sides of the conical. Lubricant is not needed on the base of the conical nor the front. Take your lubricated conical and place it squarely over the crown of your barrel. Skip down to the section on starting the projectile.

Round Balls require a lubricated cloth patch. Patches come either pre-lubed or not. If not, saturate your patch with lubricant. Place the patch evenly over the barrels crown. Push a roundball into the exact center of the patch (which should also be the exact center of the barrel as well) with your thumb. Skip down to the section on starting the projectile.

Sabots are usually plastic and resemble a shotgun wad. It acts as a carrier for a smaller caliber bullet such as a jacketed handgun bullet. Push the bullet into the "fingers" of the Sabot until the flat base of the bullet is flush against the bottom of the sabot. This will usually push the fingers outward from the bullet which is normal. Next, carefully start the sabot into the barrels crown keeping the bullet facing upwards. Press the sabot unto the barrel with your thumb until the Sabots "fingers" are pressed against the bullet, holding it in place.

Starting the projectile is usually done with a short starter but can be done just as well with the main ramrod. Push the projectile into the barrel carefully keeping it aligned with the barrels bore (conicals/sabots). Once you have pushed it as far as possible with the short started, switch to your main ramrod. Push the projectile the rest of the way down the barrel with a steady motion. Once you feel the projectile contact the powder, apply more pressure to seat the bullet tightly against the powder. Generally, tight pressure from the projectile against the powder will result in better ignition. Hodgdon who makes Pyrodex recommends a minimum of 40lbs of pressure for best ignition and accuracy.

Finally, point your muzzle loader in a safe direction and pull back the hammer to the half-*****ed position. Place a cap snugly on the nipple. That's it! Your muzzle loader is now loaded and ready to fire. Take aim at your target, pull the hammer to the fully *****ed position and shoot!

It should be noted that with each shot, the powder burns and leaves a residue on the barrel wall. Each projectile will appear to be harder and harder to load and accuracy will deminish. At this point the firearm must be cleaned. For utmost accuracy with some muzzle loader, cleaning between shots is mandatory.

Posted by DallanC on Tuesday, May 10, 2005 (23:29:57) (31435 reads) [ Administration ]