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: 178

BOT: 1

Total: 179

Who Is Where:

Visitors:
01: Your Account
02: Forums
03: Home
04: Forums
05: Forums
06: Home
07: Forums
08: Forums
09: Forums
10: Your Account
11: Forums
12: Forums
13: Forums
14: Your Account
15: Forums
16: Forums
17: Your Account
18: Forums
19: Forums
20: Your Account
21: Your Account
22: Home
23: Forums
24: Home
25: News
26: Photo Albums
27: Forums
28: Photo Albums
29: Forums
30: Your Account
31: Forums
32: Forums
33: Your Account
34: Photo Albums
35: Forums
36: Home
37: Forums
38: Forums
39: Home
40: Forums
41: Home
42: Forums
43: Photo Albums
44: Photo Albums
45: Forums
46: Forums
47: Forums
48: Forums
49: News
50: Forums
51: Home
52: Forums
53: Your Account
54: Home
55: Photo Albums
56: Articles: Submit New
57: Forums
58: Your Account
59: Home
60: Home
61: Forums
62: Home
63: Forums
64: Forums
65: Home
66: Forums
67: Forums
68: Forums
69: Your Account
70: Forums
71: Your Account
72: Forums
73: Forums
74: Forums
75: Forums
76: Forums
77: Home
78: Forums
79: Photo Albums
80: News
81: Forums
82: Forums
83: Forums
84: Forums
85: Home
86: Your Account
87: Forums
88: Forums
89: Forums
90: Photo Albums
91: Home
92: Home
93: Your Account
94: Your Account
95: Home
96: Your Account
97: Forums
98: Photo Albums
99: Forums
100: Forums
101: Your Account
102: Forums
103: Home
104: Home
105: Forums
106: Photo Albums
107: Forums
108: Forums
109: Home
110: Your Account
111: Home
112: Your Account
113: Home
114: Photo Albums
115: Forums
116: Photo Albums
117: Forums
118: Forums
119: Forums
120: Forums
121: Forums
122: Forums
123: Home
124: Forums
125: News
126: Forums
127: Forums
128: Your Account
129: Your Account
130: Home
131: Home
132: Forums
133: News
134: Forums
135: Your Account
136: Photo Albums
137: Your Account
138: Forums
139: Articles: Submit New
140: Photo Albums
141: Forums
142: Forums
143: Forums
144: Your Account
145: News
146: Forums
147: Forums
148: Forums
149: Forums
150: Your Account
151: Forums
152: Your Account
153: Forums
154: Forums
155: Forums
156: Forums
157: Forums
158: Forums
159: Your Account
160: Your Account
161: Home
162: Forums
163: Forums
164: Home
165: Home
166: Home
167: Forums
168: Your Account
169: Home
170: Forums
171: Home
172: News
173: Your Account
174: Forums
175: PointBlank Ballistics
176: Forums
177: Forums
178: 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) (31439 reads) [ Administration ]