How accurate and how long will a muzzleloader shoot accurately. i am debating on getting one. ?

Question

just tryin to learn more about them. anything i should know, mainly how far will they shoot. how are they compared to a 30 06? thanx

Answer 1

muzzle loaders are very accurate. distance and velocity, like cartridges, depend on the load grain. what makes a muzzle loader more difficult to shoot is the delay between the pull of the trigger and the firing of the bullet. you need to hold your aim for a bit longer after the trigger pull.  

Answer 2

You can't really compare a muzzleloader to a .30-06.  it is like comparing aplles to orrages.  The muzzleloader shoots black powder or blackpowder substitute and cannot achieve the velocities of a .30-06 which shoots modern smokeless powder.  There is a wide difference between the two.  Accuracy in both depends to a very large degree on consistancy.  The .30-06 ammo is completely loaded and the shooter has only to place the cartridge into the chamber and fire it.  The muzzleloader shooter must load each round in the field as he shoots them.  He must make sure that each powder charge is exactly the same. the projectile weight is exactly the same, each patch is exactly the same. the barrel is exactly the same with regard to fouling, and so on.  In the end, the muzzleloader, while it can be very accurate, will be far more difficult to get the maximum accuracy from than will a .30-06.  All this being said, I shoot muzzleloaders and love them and I have seen some remarkable shooting done with a muzzleloader.

If you have the time and patience to work up the best load for your rifle and can be very precise with each and every shot, you will fine that you can do some remarkable shooting with a muzzleloadere.  but if all you want to do is to load and go, you had better stick wiht a modern cartridge gun.  The compromise is to get one of the modern in-line rifles and load it with modern bullets and premeasured powder pellets.  It's a far cry from my idea of muzzleloading but I am a purist and will only shoot traditional style muzzleloaders loaded with black powder and patched round balls.

Answer 3

The inline muzzle loaders are very accurate but your standards of accuracy are skewed... you can't compare a modern rifle with a muzzle loader... a better comparison would be the difference between a shotgun with a sabot slug or plain deer slug - I believe that the inline muzzle loader would be more accurate than either of them, but only marginally more accurate than a sabot slug being fired out of a shotgun with a rifled barrel - only because of the delay after you pull the trigger on the muzzle loader...

Hope it helps...

Answer 4

Muzzle loaders are VERY accurate! Much of the accuracy depends on the user. You can count on reaching out about 225 yards without sacrificing accuracy. With the Thompson Center Black Diamond we have, 150 grains of black powder, 250 grain bullet, you should expect dead on accuracy from 125 to 150 yards which will take care of most of the shooting needs you will have. We have a 9x12x40 scope mounted on the gun. We have killed many deer in both clear and wooded areas. I actually look forward to muzzle loading season more than rifle.

Answer 5

The answer to your question isn't a simple one.  With a cartridge (like the .30-06 you mention), there are fairly precise standards in terms of bullet weight (varying from around 120gr up to 220gr, I believe, for the .30-06) and the amount of charge (powder) used.  It is fairly simple to find a ballistic chart for any given cartridge, mostly because of the relative uniformity of production for a specific round.

This same assumption cannot be applied to black powder firearms.  While there are some standards in this field, most of the art of shooting a muzzle-loader is self-driven.  The shooter measures the powder (and you get to decide how much to use, within reason), and the shooter decides what kind of load to use (lead ball, maxi, shot...).  With each variation, the shooter can expect a differing result, no matter how drastic.  

With all of that said, I load for deer every season with an old Hawken my grandfather gave to me when he thought I was big enough to handle "The Ol' Fifty."  While it is not the choice for target shooting all day, especially since I don't have the heart to put a scope on it, I am more than confident that it (maybe not I) could hit target at well over two hundred yards. Loaded properly, the .50 cal muzzle-loader (or the .40, or the .45...whatever floats your boat, I guess) is suited to take nearly any game.          

Answer 6

The vast majority of Big Game is Harvested within 100 yards or less.* A 30-06 would be more useful, and a better investment of $$$.* The muzzle loader or the 30-06 will harvest Deer, but the 30-06 is a all around better choice, because you will get more use out of it, and it has a higher resale value, and is more desirable.*~

Answer 7

I shoot a knight extreme  in 45 caliber. With 150 grains of triple 7 pellets and 190 gr power belt bullet, I killed a deer at 230 yds. i held at the top of his spine. You can also  play around with bullet weight and loose powder and find the load that shoots best for you. The key is to make sure you can shoot accurately even if you give up some distance.