Hunting Washington Forum

Big Game Hunting => Muzzleloader Hunting => Topic started by: high voltage on March 06, 2014, 05:48:08 PM

Title: black powder pellets or powder???
Post by: high voltage on March 06, 2014, 05:48:08 PM: just bought my first muzzy. picked up a knight disc extreme. love the feel of it. im an archery hunter but pretty un happy with the late elk ruts in recent years so im gonna try this. brand new to the black powder world so i got alot to learn. curious if any body has an opinion of whether i should go with the pellets or the powder. guy at the store is tellin me that the pellets are selling like crazy but a buddy told me he had trouble with them.
Title: Re: black powder pellets or powder???
Post by: Kuduman on March 06, 2014, 06:06:53 PM: Its really a matter of personal preference. I know for me I like loose powder which gives me the flexibility to experiment with different load amounts. I shoot a disc extreme with Barnes TMZ's with 110Gr pyrodex select. typically I see guys shooting pellets at either 100 or 150 GR based on the number of pellets they load. I've been told that pellets stay on the shelf longer and loose powder sells faster so its more likely to be fresher than the pellets that stay on the shelf year after year, :twocents:

Good Luck

Kuduman
Title: Re: black powder pellets or powder???
Post by: trophyhunt on March 06, 2014, 06:11:37 PM: I've shot nothing but pellets in my t/c .50 cal, never have had any problems. I like the ease of using pellts, especially when reloading for a second shot.
Title: Re: black powder pellets or powder???
Post by: oneshot12 on March 06, 2014, 06:47:11 PM: seems like to me the powder ignites faster pellets seem to be just a bit slower but really still comes down to what you want to shoot .i have always got better accuracy using powder . :twocents:
Title: Re: black powder pellets or powder???
Post by: jrebel on March 06, 2014, 07:06:30 PM: Pyrodex select loose powder has never failed me. Loose powder all the way. :tup:
Title: Re: black powder pellets or powder???
Post by: couesbitten on March 10, 2014, 05:52:56 PM: I've never used anything but pellets and have always had instant ignition. Pyrodex is available in 50 or 30 grain pellets, so you can experiment for the best load for your gun.
Title: Re: black powder pellets or powder???
Post by: Heredoggydoggy on March 10, 2014, 05:58:40 PM: Rule of thumb: Pellets for inlines, loose for sidelocks.
Title: Re: black powder pellets or powder???
Post by: Dan-o on March 10, 2014, 06:23:46 PM: :yeah: :yeah:

I love shooting pellets out of my inline. Just so easy and they work great.
Title: Re: black powder pellets or powder???
Post by: mtman on March 10, 2014, 08:18:28 PM: Loose powder night and day between the two for me. pellets do not ignite as easy.
Title: Re: black powder pellets or powder???
Post by: SnakeEyes on March 10, 2014, 08:29:53 PM: I started with pellets and they worked fine. I killed my big bull with pellets. You would think they would be better for a quick reload but not when you are shaking so bad from all the adrenaline. They still hit the ground. You should use the German musket caps. I think they are a little hotter. They tend to work better for the pellets. I have switched to powder. Less of a delay for ignition. Occasionally I would get a hangfire with the pellets. Not a good feeling.
Title: Re: black powder pellets or powder???
Post by: Heredoggydoggy on March 12, 2014, 08:48:44 AM: Quote from: SnakeEyes on March 10, 2014, 08:29:53 PM
I started with pellets and they worked fine. I killed my big bull with pellets. You would think they would be better for a quick reload but not when you are shaking so bad from all the adrenaline. They still hit the ground. You should use the German musket caps. I think they are a little hotter. They tend to work better for the pellets. I have switched to powder. Less of a delay for ignition. Occasionally I would get a hangfire with the pellets. Not a good feeling.

You don't tell which kind of muzzle loader you have, but the reason the old style sidelocks work better with loose powder, is that some of the smaller grains of powder and the dust travels down the primer passage and aids in firing. In sidelocks, the fire has to turn 90 degrees and run down the hole to get to the powder in the barrel. With the pellets, you don't get the dust... :twocents:
Title: Re: black powder pellets or powder???
Post by: SnakeEyes on March 12, 2014, 08:58:52 AM: I have a Knight Bighorn.
Title: Re: black powder pellets or powder???
Post by: Heredoggydoggy on March 12, 2014, 09:07:00 AM: Quote from: SnakeEyes on March 12, 2014, 08:58:52 AM
I have a Knight Bighorn.

Ah, inline. You might notice that most pellets have a hole down the middle--that's for the primer fire to travel through! :tup: