When it comes to whitetail hunting around the end of the year at prime season. While it’s fun to hunt with a muzzleloader, it’s not always sunshine and glory. Often it will bring unwanted problems that you cannot comprehend.
The most asked question with muzzleloaders is about the range. When you buy a new car, the most asked question is the mileage then the top speed. The same applies here as well. So, how good are they at shooting? Let’s find out.
What Is A Muzzleloader?
A muzzleloader is a firearm that can be loaded through the muzzle only. Yes, the same reloading style you see in classic movies about how the British conquered the world and things. But as a trend, the gun still has use in modern days and we have a season declared for muzzleloaders.
When Is The Muzzleloader Season?
Muzzleloader season starts and ends differently in different regions. Your local rules and regulations might be different. But in general, it starts around late September and ends in early October.
During that period, it’s prime time to bag some whitetails. If you are an early adopter you can hunt for around 10 to 14+ days depending on when you begin and how many units you end up hunting.
Now that we know a bit more about muzzleloaders, how about we find out the speed now and what to be cautious about?
Powder’s Aren’t Equal
You don’t need to be a muzzleloader user to understand that not all gunpowder is accurate. Some are smokeless and some use smoke. For whitetail hunters that shoot within 100 yards, any 50 gram pelletized power will be enough to push a 250-grain muzzleloader at 1700 FPS velocity.
The accuracy will be really good as well. If you want better performance then you might want to look into loose powder and Blackhorn 209-like powders. They are known to give a boost in velocity.
Primers Can Affect The Quality As Well
Primers will affect the impact force of a muzzleloader bullet. If you want to use a 209 muzzleloader powder with primers, then you will not get the desired effect. You should look into whether the grain you are using is better with hot primers like shotshell primers or cold ones.
Choosing The Right Bullet
Choosing the right bullet is one of the most important things to do while shooting a muzzleloader. If the bullet grain you are using is not compatible with the primer and powder you plan to use, then you will not get an effective result.
For example, the .50 cal muzzleloaders are capable of laying whitetail flats at 100 yards. There you go, you got your answer on how far can a 50 cal muzzleloader shoot. Anyway, that was my point. Depending on the caliber, your maximum range and impact force will vary largely.
Know When To Call Quits
You will need to understand your limit. I get it, your gun has a scope and the scope is accurate for over 200 or more yards. But come on, you are shooting a muzzleloader. You are not shooting a lever action or a bolt-action rifle. Their range is quite higher than muzzleloaders.
If you are a hunter who mostly hunts deer-sized animals in an open muzzleloader season, then I see no reason to aim at 100 yards. You can get up close around 100 yards and land an accurate shot with the 50 cal to get your hunt done.
Just keep in mind to use around 250 grain or heavier bullets and pair that up with a powder that can push that pellet at 1700 fps or higher. That setup will not cost you a ton of money but will land you with hunts that earn you a ton of money.
Conclusion
Muzzleloader shooting mostly depends on finesse. You find your sweet spot and then you master the speed and impact force to figure out the right tools for the task. If you know how much FPS and force your grain will give you, you will understand if that much is enough to land you your desired hunt or not.
And I know it’s a bit confusing, choosing the right powder and then the right primer to match with the powder. It’s a process of trial and error. Unlike rifles, every bullet of a muzzleloader might not have the same intensity. As powder affects the result, the amount of powder will also dictate the final result on each shot.
With that said, enough about muzzleloaders for now. Hope you found the answer you were looking for. That’s all for now, see you next time.
Hi, I’m Brent Hansford. A writer turned hunter & now sharing my love for the sport through writing. As I practically breathe weapons, I firmly believe I’m capable of providing you with new knowledge about firearms and hunting. My mission is to help more people get better at hunting & master the weapons. Let me help with unleashing the beast within you!
