I’ve been muzzleloader hunting for more years than I care to admit. I was shooting smoke-poles long before the advent of in-line muzzleloaders and I was shooting muzzleloaders long before sabots, pellets and 209 primers. Back then, muzzleloaders were an effective 100-yard weapon — in the right hands, that could be stretched to 150 yards. But shots of 200 yards and beyond were ludicrous and only attempted by those with no understanding of the firearm they were shooting.

Times have changed. Technology has taken muzzleloaders to places never imagined 10 years ago and now 200-yard shots are commonplace and for those willing to put the time in, shots of 250 and even 300 yards are not only possible, they are ethical. But these are not shots for the casual muzzleloader shooter. They should only be attempted by those willing to put time in at the range and in front of their computer learning exactly how their muzzleloader performs at these extreme ranges. Being a competent shooter is not enough to be a long-range shooter with a muzzleloader. You need to have an intimate understanding the ballistics specific to your front-stuffer.

Firearm Inspection

The first and foremost consideration with a long-range muzzleloader is to ensure it can produce velocities high enough to deliver sufficient downrange energy to ethically take down your quarry. Opinions vary on how much energy is enough — but 1,000 foot-pounds are certainly sufficient and for deer-sized game; some feel 800 foot-pounds is adequate.

There are several factors that come into play for producing high velocities from a muzzleloader. The first is that you can load it with large charges of powder. While a couple small manufacturers offer rifles capable of shooting of 150-grain-plus loads, this seems to be the industry standard for maximum loads — and, with the right bullet combination, it is certainly sufficient.

When looking at a long-range shooter, inline muzzleloaders are the obvious choice, as is one capable of using 209 primers for ignition — big loads of powder require considerable spark to reliably ignite them. And after considerable time spent shooting over the chronograph, it has become obvious that long rifle barrels are also essential. All of my long-range rifles have a 28-inch barrel. I’ve seen a minimum of a 10 per cent increase in velocity by going from a 26-inch to 28-inch barrel — when you are talking about velocities in excess of 2,200 feet per second with the 26-inch barrel, gaining another 200 fps is significant. The highest velocity I’ve been able to hit, while staying inside manufacturer-recommended loads and still maintaining accuracy, is 2,479 fps with a 200-grain projectile.

While it seemed as though the .45 calibre muzzleloaders were going to be the speed demons of the new millennium, the trusty old .50 calibre has just kept on performing. After shooting several different models of the .45, I’ve yet to get accuracy and speed that can match a .50 calibre rifle. Calibres such as the .52 and .54 have great long-range potential, but with limited bullet selections, I’d put my money on the .50.

Loading Up

The section can be pretty short and sweet. I have yet to find a blackpowder or blackpowder substitute that produces higher velocities than the plain old Pyrodex pellets. Due to their construction, pellets produce seven to 10 per cent more velocity than an identical amount of the same loose powder and out of my muzzleloaders, no other powder can match Pyrodex pellets for all-out speed. Triple Seven was touted as being the powder to replace Pyrodex but similar loads of it simply do not produce the velocities of Pyrodex pellets — and I have not experienced as good of accuracy either. Most of the serious long-range muzzleloader shooters that I know shoot three, 50-grain Pyrodex pellets exclusively.

Bullet Choices

While opinions will vary wildly on what is the ultimate long-range bullet, there are several factors on which most agree. The first is that pure lead bullets just can’t handle high velocities. They obdurate excessively under the pressure produced by high charges of powder, adversely affecting accuracy. They also perform very poorly at close ranges and high velocities so when the subject of long-range muzzleloader bullets comes up, we are talking about jacketed or pure copper bullets in the 200- to 260-grain range, encased in a plastic sabot.

The second factor that most agree upon is that the bullet must have a high ballistic coefficient — this determines how efficiently the bullet flies through the air. Bullets with low ballistic coefficients decelerate rapidly, while ones with a high ballistic coefficient maintain their speed, producing a flatter trajectory and greater downrange energy. Look for a bullet that has a ballistic coefficient of .200 and preferably higher. Most muzzleloader bullets for a .50 calibre rifle are actually .44 calibre with the plastic sabot taking up the extra space. A couple manufacturers also offer .40 calibre bullets in a thicker sabot. I’ve had great luck with the 200-grain Hornady SST or Thompson/Center Shockwave. This .40 calibre bullet has a great ballistic coefficient and produces velocities never imagined with muzzleloader. I saw a mule deer buck knocked down flat with one of these bullets at a measured 309 yards.

The Ethical Question

No muzzleloader hunter should attempt a long-range shot without knowing the exact ballistics of his rifle and load. The first step to this is in knowing your velocity. The only way to truly be certain is of this by shooting it over a chronograph. I chronograph each and every load out of each rifle and record the average so I can run it through the ballistic calculator later.

Once I know the velocity of my load, the weight and ballistic coefficient of the bullet and where it strikes on a 100-yard target, it’s a simple matter of entering all this data into a ballistic program on my computer and it will give me my downrange trajectory and energy for that load from that rifle. That 309-yard shot on the mule deer buck I mentioned was no fluke — at the measured range; the shooter knew exactly where she had to hold the crosshairs to make a killing shot.

Other obvious tools required for consistently placing long-range shots where you want them are a scope of at least 9x and a shooting rest — such as a bipod or shooting stick. It’s also essential to sight your rifle in using a bench rest. A rifle must be perfectly sighted in at all ranges with no human error to truly be an effective long-range weapon. Even though the ballistic calculator will give you near perfect data for your downrange performance, it’s still critical to shoot the rifle at all ranges you plan on shooting. I would never attempt a 300-yard shot with my muzzleloader unless I’d actually shot it at the range at that distance.

Shots pushing 300 yards certainly are possible with modern day muzzleloaders, but those without an intimate knowledge of their rifle should not attempt them. While muzzleloaders may no longer be the primitive weapons they were back in old Daniel Boone’s day, they do have their limitations and it is critical, as an ethical hunter, you understand those.

Written by T.J. Schwanky