I'm going to sight in my MuzzleLoader this weekend and I'm heading to the store this afternoon to get some supplies. Now this gun is new to me so i haven't even had a chance to shoot it yet. Bought it from a guy at church with the scope still on it.... He said he shot a deer at about 100 yards last time he had it out... So i'm thinking it should still be dead on or at least very close... I'll find out.

One question though, the guy i bought it from used 100gr loose powder and saboted bullets 145gr...... I figured i'll just buy the same type of bullets he was using (actually he gave me several he had left) but I was thinking about getting the pellets instead of loose powder... i could just drop 2 50gr pellets and that would be the same amount of powder he was loading...

Any suggestions on getting one over the other????

Keep in mind i will only be using this gun maybe 3-4 weekends out of the entire season.

Already added my reply on the porch.

ME personally I like the powder, it compresses better and allows for faster lighting than the pellets. Also, it is easier to get the powder down the barrel. Just my two cents worth.

I prefer the pellets but im lazy when it comes to muzzleloaders our season is only 2 weeks long, so as long as the thing shoots decent enough to quickly and cleanly kill a deer at a max of 100 yds im happy with it.

I like the powder better also, i tried the pellets once and they crumbled up in the tube i bought to carry them in, didnt like that at all.

Dale.

powder is cheaper.

Okay, so what did you decide?

Ok, I ended up going with the pellets. My gun was quite a bit off. Dont know that it was the pellets over the powder though b/c it wasn't high or low... just really off to the right. So anyway i got it back on and i'm good to go. The only thing that I had happen that i didn't like was one time when i was packing the load in I could tell that one of the pellets broke. It was getting really tought to get the load all the way down and i was pushing hard and then it slipped about half an inch so i figured the pellet crumbled.... well when i shot I could feel the cap burst and then the load ignite just a millisecond after the cap popped... but that made it hit about 6 inches low at 50 yards.... Other than that i really liked them. It was convienent and easy to load..... that one didn't break though until i had shot about 10 times already so it was probably all gunked up down there.

To each his own, but the powder IMO is the best way to go; burns hotter and less residue; has more accuracy as well;

I use pellets also, you may want to run a patch down the barrel with Wonder-Lube between 3-4 shots @ the range,it will clean the barrel some what and the grouping will be better.

I tend to use pellets as my preference it is faster for me to reload. I know that loose powder is a little cheaper. You do have more waste with pellets than loose. Just remember these are my thoughts on what I have observed at the range testing my ammo.

Good luck,
Chris Vollmer PPS IL

I use pellets, quicker and easier. Powder does ignite better, but since I went to shotgun primers I have not had problems with ignition. They seem to be easier to me.

I run one wet patch and one dry patch after each shot. Its easy to do, makes loading easier, and I think it keeps groups tighter.

Good idea.

Defiantly go with pellets. I have used both triple seven and some others and have had nothing but success. I also use powerbelts, so just tip my speed loader up and ram the rod home once and that IT. So much faster, with no loss of speed or accuracy.

I use powder. It is much easier to seat the round reliably each shot (to achieve proper powder compression). I have read that pellents burn more consistantly when three are used as there is more resistance coming out of the bore (back pressure) but still do not burn as consistantly as granulated powder.

I still want to try some of Jim Shockey's Gold. They say it is non-corosive and needs no cleaning in between shots. In fact, the web site says to NOT clean as a small ammount of fouling provides a better seal between bore and projectile.