Traditional Muzzleloader tips

[Geezy Rider]

Good luck with your smoke pole.

[kmack]

... and the other is a Lyman’s Great Plains with a 1/66.

I have the exact same rifle! I hunted with it for years and have a really nice Axis buck hanging on my wall from an 85 yd shot!

If yours is a 1/66 twist I would stick with roundballs and believe me they are quite deadly punching big holes in animals. I switched over from BP to Pyrodex many years back as BP was just getting too hard to find. Best thing is to just start with some decent but not overpowering loads and find one that gives you the best results.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M_GlBwpjJ6E

Lot of good info on what to carry in the field with you in that video. The "loading block" is a great tool. I have one just like it, but shorter. Also have a small, circular piece of leather that holds all my primer caps. Carry what you need, but learn to carry light!

tx_basser, what's your opinion on the switch from BP to Pyrodex? I've been looking to start hunting again with my Great Plains, but I'm in short supply of BP and have wondered about using Pyrodex as an alternative. I know the biggest challenge will be getting back out to the range to reconfigure all my load parameters, and to see where she shoots again. I have everything from my past setups with BP written down, but it was all based off FFF.

Edit: There's nothing quite like the smell of black powder early in the morning!