Hunting Washington Forum
Big Game Hunting => Muzzleloader Hunting => Topic started by: tbrown68reb on February 03, 2019, 10:54:04 PM
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New to muzzleloader hunting and I want to take a crack at them with my rifle. I've got my 12 gauge for in-close with #4 buck, but don't have a varmint rifle, so it's either the .30/06 and overkill (I want the pelts in as good a condition as possible), or my muzzleloader, so there it is. My question is, what would be a good bullet/pellet combination for varmints? Shooting an entry level CVA Wolf. Thanks.
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I don't have a good answer for your muzzleloader, but maybe FMJ out of your 30-06 wouldnt do too much damage???
Good luck.
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Don’t hit bone with either and you might be fine. You’ve got a whole 8 months until fur season though and you can buy a really nice predator rifle for under $300. Armslist is amazing.
Or if you reload use the 30-06 with a sabot and a 22 cal round. Government banned the manufacturing of them but you’re still aloud to hand load them. Can’t remember the commercial name for them but it was so you could hunt small game/ predators with your deer rifle.
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30-06 FMJ would be your cheapest bet.
If you can find any 30-06 accelerator (sabot 55 gr 224 cal bullet) they got 4000 + fps
I think a muzzy would make too large a hole
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The size of the bullet doesn't matter as much as the velocity in making big holes. If you're not a reloader try buying some of the reduced recoil loads for your 30/06. A 125 or 130 grain bullet at a reduced velocity of around 2500-2600 fps will not damage the hides and will still have a flat enough trajectory to work well to at least 200 yards.
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Muzzy will work great but range s limited unless you run a scope. Pick up some .40 cal fmj pistol bullets and put them in an mmp sabot. Damage will be extremely minimal. Follow up shots wont be quick though :chuckle:
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Thank you all for your input. Some good information for me to consider.
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The 30-06 will be less damaging to the hides and you'll have more range. I'd choose the right bullet and shoot that. As mentioned above, don't hit bones and shoot a bullet that won't come apart and you're good to go. Unless of course you want practice with your muzzleloader.
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I would do a light loaded ball in the muzzleloader. Keep it within 100 yards.
Good practice and less likely to blow up the dog.
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125 psp works well,it's all I used for years.i just bought 3 boxes from buds for 14.95 a box
