From the top post go left until you are in line with the left post and make a dot. Take a small square that will cover the fine cross hairs and make a dot at the upper left hand corner and you should be about right on. A lung shot is good. A heart shot will get your game, but, believe it or not they will frequently travel some after the shot. Ahead, neck, or spine shot will usually drop them where they stand.

I was at a gun show here in Montana. I was there yesterday, but there was no place to park. I got there today and it was wall to wall people. I still had to park a 1/4 mile away.

There were 6 tables inside that were empty. They had been selling ammo. People are so afraid of Obama. There had to be well over a thousand people on the grounds just while I was there.

But there were a at least 3 of those 50 cal sniper rifles. One was using a 461 slug and one was using a sabot with a 30-06 slug. Those are the ones the press will report on, not the spectacular Hawkins replica for 3 grand, or one of the original ones for far less.

Note the pictures. Any better?

Would this shot be OK? Or is it better to wait for the side shot?

Go 1-2 inches to the right and I think you will be pretty much dead on!

You can take that shot, but I would move to left and make a spine(neck) shot out of it and drop her in her tracks.

Right between the ears !!!

That will work just great,too!!

I've been hunting deer for at least 15 yrs and learn something everytime. most of the shots where I live are less than 100 yds alot of them are less then 25yds so decisions have to be made quickly. I'd take your legitimate shot any day It's called a raking shot and usually does catastrophic damage as the bullet is in the the animal longer than a profile shot. Deer are built pretty light and the only 2 bullets I ever found were 1 a .270 130 g ballistic tip I shot it under the tail and found it in his throat. the other was a 30-06 150 in the spine it was a raking shot also and it "shrapneled" two vertebrae and stuck in the third. if you have to take a profile shot and lack the confidence for a neck shot {which I love} I like your impact low like the practice _deer_ii.jpg. if your using a muzzleloader range is critical so again if you don't have confidence in going low center up and blast away. It'll go down.

I finally got to shoot my used Traditions Pursuit II XLT rifle which has a 28 inch barrel and 1 in 28 twist. I use the 300 grain Shock Wave bullet with the blue tip and 777 granular powder. It did take a long time to properly get the breech plug cleaned properly. I ended up having to use a drill bit to get the burnt on crud out of it.

I used 80 grains of powder to start off. I got it sighted in on 50 yards. I then moved the target to 75 yards and was surprised to see them all over the place. So I started adding powder. I'm now up to 100 grains of powder. Both the 50 yard and 75 yard targets are with-in a one inch square, but when I moved the target to 100 yards, again the bullets are all over the place. Do I keep adding powder or maybe start over with a different bullet? I did try 250 grain bullets and never could them in a close pattern. I did notice that when loading, they loaded a lot easier than the 300 grain bullets. In fact, when loading the first bullet (no matter what caliber) they load very easy.

I usually don't shoot more than 5 or 6 times in a day. Then everything is cleaned. I usually "waste" a bullet (I have some 250's left over) I then use one wet patch using both sides with a lot of emphasis on the breech end, where I can really feel the crud. I then use a dry patch, also on both sides. I then put a patch in the barrel end and shoot a primer.

I have a nice rest so I'm certain that I'm aiming correctly and very steady. I'm now used to the trigger pull... almost a two stage trigger. I don't have a range partner to see if they can see any errors I may be making.

It was my original intention to keep increasing the powder till I got very good accuracy at 100 yards (1 to 2 inches with 3 rounds with no wind) and then see how accurate it was beyond that. I would really like to see a 4 to 6 inch group at 150 yards. Or is that beyond the capabilities of the rifle?

I have found a couple of the spent sabots and they look very good. You can plainly see it is staying in the rifle grooves.

The only problem I have seen so far is that the 5th and 6th time I shoot it, the primers can get stuck. When I shoot the "dry" primer, I can see it leak out. Is that usual?

I just love shooting this rifle. It has some kick, but I am already used to that. The sound and the smoke are awesome. Any help or advice would be appreciated.

is it stuck on the nipple or in the striker\hammer?

Here is where the problem is. I don't know if the crud is coming up through the tiny end of the breech plug from the 777, or it's coming from the Winchester primers I am using. I can see leakage when I fire just a primer, so I assume it's mostly from the primer.

The one picture shows the plug without the primer and the other is a close-up of the primer in the plug. It looks like it sticks up too far, but it has to stick up some so that it can be removed. The camera angle exaggerates a little bit.

Other than sticking, it seems to light the powder every time.

There are definitely more knowledgeable around here than I with the frontstuffers..... but that looks to me as if it should set flush!!!

Use the Remington primers made specifically for muzzleloaders. They seem to burn alot cleaner than other primers. They also aren't as powerful as regular shotgun primers which can push the projectile slightly before the powder ignites.

Either of those shots you show above would drop the critter in its tracks. I'd skip the 2nd picture though as if it was a buck the antlers would be in the way.


-DallanC

I'd contact Traditions and show them that photo of the primer in place. That just doesn't look right to me.

I believe its like that for easy removal after firing. I have seen several CVA's like that.