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Old November 29, 2002, 01:51 AM   #1
rlgarman
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Join Date: January 21, 2000
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200 yard accuracy

Can I get a front loader that is truely accurate at 200 yds? How much range work is needed to get there. Would I have to fire 20 rounds of every bullet, sabot and other combinations of powder, charge weight to find out. My brother has 3 rifles, all in-lines with scopes. and he can't seem to get consistant, reliable, kill the deer results with any of them. Would .45cal. be better than .50cal? I currently have a .45 H&R that I have had for over 30yrs. and can shoot it with maxi hunter bullets very well up to 75yds with the iron sights, but I have a deer hunting area where long shots are common. I pass them up now, but sometimes the long shot is the only shot.
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Old November 29, 2002, 11:20 AM   #2
4V50 Gary
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I think they're called "Punt" guns and are modern day descendants of the target rifles carried by Co. E & I of 1 U.S.S.S. (Berdan's Sharpshooters). 30 plus pounds, they have barrels that are about 2" thick and are shot from a rest. Of course, they're impractical for anything other than range work. Even the Sharpshooters had them boxed and carried by wagons though in one early battle the Second Andrew Sharpshooters were made to march with them - they straggled onto the battlefield along with all the other stragglers.

If you really want a muzzle loader that is accurate (and relatively mess free when it comes to all the meticulous work required), go with a Civil War era minie rifle. The best of the bunch are the first generation Parker Hale Enfields and they'll cost you about $600.

Now, turning back to your gun, it may be inherently accurate but you, like the rest of us (including me) may be too lazy to find out what is optimal. Weigh your balls and put them in separate bags. Next, find material of varying thicknesses for the patch. Try out different powder charges/patches/ball weights until you find the optimal one for your gun. Then it's a matter of KY windage for drop.

The frontier riflemen did this and could hit a man's head out at 200 yards and the figure of a man at 300. Beyond three hundred though, they rested it on a log.
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Old December 1, 2002, 08:23 AM   #3
Iggy
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Killing power???

You can probably hit a deer with a muzzle loading rifle at 200 yards, but I question if the projectile will still have enough power to guarantee a clean kill..

I won't do it.. My guns are sighted in for 100 yards... I don't hold over.. If they are beyond that range I am going undershoot them.
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