Why Not Try Blackpowder?

By Denny L. Vasquez

Today, one of the fastest growing segments of our sport is that of blackpowder or muzzleloading shooting and hunting. This rise in popularity is due to several factors of which the two main ones are the additional hunting opportunities that the extra blackpowder seasons offer and the technological advancements that have been made in the blackpowder firearms industry.

Most states now recognize that blackpowder firearms are viable hunting choices and thus have opened up more seasons and hunting opportunities intended for this type of hunting. A fine example was the introduction last year of a first time ever blackpowder whitetail doe season in Texas. Though somewhat limited in scope, only 26 counties, this is seen as a monumental step forward for those of us whom advocate a separate black-powder season here in the Lone Star state.

These new seasons and hunting opportunities have not gone unnoticed by the manufacturers and distributors of muzzleloading related firearms and supplies. Upon conducting a survey for a recent article that appeared in Straight Shooting magazine, I found that most of the major distributors have been experiencing a 15-20% yearly increase in blackpowder related sales. Another related trend has been that many archery pro shops have started carrying blackpowder items as complimentary to their more traditional product lines. This means better access to supplies for those of us whom choose to pursue this sport.

On the development side we have seen many innovative changes in manufacturing and design techniques for not only firearms but also for the accruements that are required in the field. Everything from plastic speedloaders to enhanced projectile designs to weather impervious firearms.

A pair of the more recent and interesting new products is the blackpowder replacements, Clear Shot and 777. Like Pyrodex, these are intended as a substitute for blackpowder that can provide enhanced performance characteristics. The main benefit of these products are that they are significantly cleaner burning, almost like a smokeless powder. This can be a boon when it comes to cleaning your firearm after a shooting session. But if you shoot a firearm that requires some fouling in the barrel to achieve it’s best accuracy, then these products can be a distracter from accuracy.

The major strides in blackpowder related developments of the last few decades have been in the area of firearm design. Specifically, the trend toward inline actions and the utilization of 209 primer ignition systems. The advantages of an inline action over a traditional side hammer percussion cap or flintlock rifle are an imperviousness to most weather conditions, consistent ignition and better terminal ballistic performance down range. But let’s back up a minute and discuss the options available to today’s blackpowder hunter.

Today there are 3 basic kinds of muzzleloading firearms that the blackpowder hunter has to choose from. They are the flintlock, percussion cap side hammer or under hammer and the inline action percussion cap.

Due to the slow rate of twist, 1 turn in 66 inches, that the barrels of most of the traditionally styled firearms in flintlock and percussion cap side hammer have, they are intended for using a roundball type projectile only. This slow rate of twist is necessary in order to stabilize the round ball during its flight, consequently, the round ball just lacks the terminal ballistics necessary to cleanly take game out past the 100 yard range. At least, that is, with loads that would be safe to use in a firearm of this type. By the way, you should always follow the manufacturers recommendations when it comes to the maximum loads to use in a particular firearm. They built it so they should know what it can handle.

Several manufacturers are also offering a version of the side hammer guns with a faster rate of twist in order to try and overcome the limitations of the round ball as a hunting projectile. Examples of firearms with a faster rate of twist are those offered by Thompson Center, Traditions, CVA and Dixie Gun Works that come with a rate of twist of 1 turn 48 inches.

This faster rate of twist is really a compromise of sorts as it is faster than that required to stabilize a round ball, and may (according to several recent studies) even provide too much spin to the ball, while it is too slow to impart the necessary spin to an elongated heavy lead conical. Many of these big bullets need button rifling and a rate of twist of around 1 in 24 to stabilize them while in flight.

Most of the more traditionally styled firearms come with browned or color casehardened metal and have brass, German silver or plain metal fittings. Some of the more modern imitations will come with blued steel and there are several stainless steel offerings available now. Traditionally styled hardwood stocks are the norm but it is becoming more common to see synthetic stocks on both the browned/blued metal and stainless steel versions that are intended for hunting use.

The rear sights on this type of rifle can run the gambit from traditional buckhorns to the more modern sights by Lyman or Williams while the front sights can range from the traditional silver blade to a modern hooded target sight. Aperture sights can also be seen in use as they are starting to make inroads in this market.

Some of the sources for these “traditional” styled firearms are Thompson Center, Navy Arms, Dixie Gun Works, Mountain State Muzzleloading, Tennessee Valley Manufacturing, The Hawken Shop, EMF, CVA and North Star West, among others. And this does not include the hundreds of custom Gunsmiths around the country who produce premium firearms for premium prices.

There are several types of the inline actions to choose from. The first resembles a modern lever action rifle with an exposed hammer that is “cocked” with the thumb prior to firing. The hammer then falls on the exposed nipple, thus igniting the powder charge. Examples of this style or firearm are the UFA Teton rifle, the Markesbery KM-94 rifles/pistol and the Thompson Center Scout rifle/pistol.

The second type of inline action is the “straight pull-back” action. These actions have a “plunger” type hammer that is pulled straight back into the action, leaving the hammer exposed, in order to cock it. This cocking is done by means of a handle that sticks out from the side of the action or by a straight pull mechanism similar to the ‘03 Springfield. When the “bolt” handle is used, these firearms have the look and feel of a modern designed bolt-action cartridge rifle. Most also have the safety located on the side of the action, much like a modern rifle or shotgun.

Examples of this type of rifle are the White Shooting System’s Super-91 and Whitetail, Gonic Arms GA-93, Modern Muzzleloading’s Knight Grand American and BK-92, Thompson Center’s Firehawk, CVA’s Apollo and the many version’s of Pedersoli’s inline carbine that are sold by, among others, Dixie Gun Works, Cabelas and Traditions.

Third there are those actions that resemble modern bolt-action rifles such as the Austin Halleck rifle, Savage’s 10MLII, Remington’s Model 700 MLS, Ruger’s 77/50, Traditions’ Lightening and CVA’s Firebolt 209.

The fourth type of action is the break over action. This action works similarly to a single shot shotgun in that the nipple is exposed by tipping the barrel and action down which results in the action being tipped up, thus giving the shooter access to the nipple. Examples of these types of firearms are the new gun being made for Marlin by H & R and the Buckwacka by Millennium Muzzleloaders.

Though there are other action designs available such as the new Omega with its drop block action from Thompson Center, the author has not had a chance to review them and can not comment on their operation.

Stainless steel, chrome-molly steel or blued steel with glossy, anodized and brushed satin finishes with synthetic, epoxy painted and laminated wooden stocks that can have various kind of recoil pads attached dominate this market. The stocks of these firearms closely resembles that of a shotgun or modern bolt action hunting rifle in shape and styling. They come glass bedded and pillar bedded with enough free floated space around the barrel that you can see light. Like many of their modern cousins, several models offer the advantage of being impervious to the climatic changes in the weather.

Rear sight options that are available are the traditional buckhorn, the Lyman\White or Williams fully adjustable hunting sights, aperture sights, deep V, shallow V and others. Front sights include beads, ramps, blades, globe sights with changeable inserts, posts, almost whatever style that the individual can dream up. However, where they are legal, riflescopes seem to be the predominate sighting system of choice. I personally like a compact model in the 1.5 to 8-power range. Since you shouldn’t be taking shots at over 175-200 yards with this type of firearm, these power levels should suffice.

These inline action firearms also deviate from those of a more traditional design by the types of projectiles that they shoot. These projectiles come in two types, the heavy elongated lead conical bullets and a sabotted pistol or rifle bullet.

In order to properly stabilize this type of projectiles, the barrels on these firearms sport a rate of twist of 1 turn in 24 inches or faster, while 1 turn in 14 inches is not unheard of. This faster rate of twist coupled with an elongated lead or sabotted projectile traveling at faster speeds will provide a flatter trajectory within the limits of ethical hunting ranges. Thus more energy and greater killing power is delivered to the game than is possible with a round ball.

The heavy elongated lead conical bullets come in many styles and sizes. There are the Thompson Center Maxi-Hunters and the Hornady Great Plains that has very pronounced grease grooves. The offerings from Buffalo Bullet Company, Pb Custom Bullets and Buckskin Bullets come knurled instead of with the grease grooves. Big Bore Express offers their Black Belt big game bullets with a plastic skirt attached to the base, which is supposed to seal the bore upon ignition and thereby eliminate gas blow by. White Shooting Systems’ SuperSlugs offer an easy loading conical that engages the rifling upon ignition rather than when first loaded. Accuracy Unlimited offers the copper plated Copper Tipped Solids and Barnes offers their pure copper X bullets for muzzleloaders.

The range of weights offered by these bullets is truly a blackpowder hunters dream. Depending upon caliber, weights will range from a low of around 250 grains to a hefty 600+ grains. Therefore, the inline action hunter has the option of working up a load that can handle any game in the world today. From those on the small side such as the jackrabbit or prairie dog to those that are dangerous such as the cape buffalo or brown bear.

The bullets designed for use with sabots, with the exception of the White Shooting Systems’ patented ShootingStar which has been designed as a boat tailed spitzer rifle bullet that has a star shaped hollow point and a superior designed sabot, are primarily pistol bullets designed for use in cartridge handguns. An example of these is the XTPs from Hornady.

These “lighter” modern bullets, as light as 125 grains, can be pushed at much higher velocities than the heavier lead conicals. This trade off of speed for mass is a choice that is left up to the shooter. You will have to decide what works best in your firearm, though I personally would not go after a brown bear or lion with one of the sabotted pistol loads. However, this versatility of choices in the type of projectiles is another benefit that these firearms have over the more traditional models.

I have heard and read of ballistics in the 2000+ fps. range at the muzzle and of phenomenal 200+ yard shots. I personally have never developed ballistics over 1825 fps. at the muzzle and had not taken an animal past the 175 yard mark. This is not because of a lack of accuracy but because of my self imposed range limitations for what I consider to be an ethical shot that can retain terminal ballistics out to the predetermined range.

With the proper load combination, I have been able to achieve one ragged hole groups with most of the inline actions that I have tried at the 100 yard range, and this was not always with the fastest load possible with a particular firearm and bullet/powder combination. While the tightest group that I have achieved with a traditionally styled rifle will rival this, the velocities at which they were shot are well below my personal lower limits for a hunting load. I want you to note that I work up my hunting loads with accuracy in mind not necessarily speed. After all in a hunting situation, proper shot placement is more important than speed.

This article was not meant to give you an all-inclusive education into the world of the muzzleloading hunter, but rather to simply perk up your interest so that you would look into it further. There are plenty of resources out there that can be of help. Such as the National Muzzleloading Rifle Association, the International Blackpowder Hunting Association, Muzzleloader magazine, Blackpowder Times magazine or books such as the “Muzzleloading Hunter” by Rick Hacker. Even some of the “cartridge” guns hunting magazines now have good blackpowder columns.

So go buy a muzzleloader, learn how to properly use it and maybe I’ll see you at the range or in the woods.