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thoughts on the up coming muzzleload season

Hedgelj

Senior Member
Supporting Member
7,145
178
Mohicanish
I will be recovering from surgery, wish I could make it out, wanted to take my son out in a ground blind with me and the farm has a few too many does still.
 

Bigslam51

Dignitary Member
Supporting Member
25,778
127
Stark County
I'm letting my nephew use my muzzy. I'll be going with him, I'd like to see him put some meat in the freezer and I'm going through treestand withdraws.
 

bowhunter1023

Owner/Operator
Staff member
48,879
274
Appalachia
Duck hunting Friday AM, deer in the PM. Daughter's 2nd birthday party is Saturday. Sleep in Sunday and hunt the PM. Back to work Monday.
 

motorbreaker

*Supporting Member I*
1,542
63
North of Toledo
I'm hoping its dry. Got wet enough in the gun season and it sucked. We rough it at camp and don't realy have anyway to dry our cloths. Hope to see some good movement. we haven't hunter there since gun season so they shouldn't feel preasured. We normally see a lot of doe in ML season. I'm gonna take a doe given the right chance and right time. Only 2 in the freezer so far. would realy like one more. Good luck everyone.
 

MK111

"Happy Hunting Grounds in the Sky"
Supporting Member
6,551
66
SW Ohio
I have to work the Lima gunshow the first 3 days but plan on going with my grandson on Monday. I have a brother who can't hunt so I'll try for a doe for him. The grandson is trying for his 1st ML deer.
Be using both of my TC Encore 45-70 rifles that the barrels were converted to smokeless ML. I'm 2 for 2 in 2 seasons so far. Seeing up to 15 does at a time in the food plot so see no harm in taking another doe.
Be hunting in my heated tower for a all day set if necessary. Just getting too old to be wet all day.
Damn life is good when your alive and deer hunting.
 

bowhunter1023

Owner/Operator
Staff member
48,879
274
Appalachia
Crazy ain't it! Never had a true appreciation for time until she was born. She's 2 going on 10 already. Very independent and far more capable than I was at 2!
 

MK111

"Happy Hunting Grounds in the Sky"
Supporting Member
6,551
66
SW Ohio
No. One was a done by a friend that passed away then later I had a Savage high pressure breach plug that has TC Encore threads on it. There's a machine shop on Doug's that makes them.
The other was converted by the outfit in IN that does the conversions.
Both are proper smokeless high pressure conversions with Savage type smokeless breach plugs and factory smokeless high pressure barrels.

Warning to all "only use smokeless powder in a ML that has a correct smokeless high pressure barrel and conversion".

Are those "slufoot" conversions?
 

MK111

"Happy Hunting Grounds in the Sky"
Supporting Member
6,551
66
SW Ohio
I checked my scope today and it's shooting right on 2" high at 50 yds. which puts it dead on at 100 yds.
2 shots 1/4" apart. Damn the gun shoots good.

I checked the scope setting on my 2nd TC Encore 45-70 converted to smokeless. At 50 yds. with a 4 power scope had 2 shots touching.
This is the 1st time I've shot smokeless for grouping after converting from blackpowder. And the shots were only 1" lower between the 2 loadings.

Now both grandsons can ML hunt Monday or I can hunt with one grandson.
 
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brock ratcliff

Dignitary Member
Supporting Member
24,834
247
I put a new scope on one of my older rifles today... Mason has taken over my newest. I shot it at 50 yds, have it close. I plan on dialing it in a little better tomorrow. Gonna shoot it out to 200 and see how the mil dots line things up at that distance.

I plan to hunt until dark on Monday, or until a couple of bucks decide it's time for us to fill our tags. We are set up for this season and can hardly wait to get after 'em!
 

MK111

"Happy Hunting Grounds in the Sky"
Supporting Member
6,551
66
SW Ohio
I've always enjoyed ML hunting. Geez it's been 41 yrs. now. But I always hated the blackpowder mess and cleanup. That's the reason I went smokeless in 2014. Run a oiled patch through the bore then a dry patch and it's clean.
 

brock ratcliff

Dignitary Member
Supporting Member
24,834
247
I started hunting with a borrowed KY rifle, round balls, and greased patches. You are right, that crap was a mess! Still, at the time I enjoyed it. Seemingly everyone was going to pyrodex at the time, and we did too for a while, but the old No. 11 caps didn't always make it go BANG, and hangfires were a constant pain too. Regular old, real Daniel Boone-type black powder would go bang a lot more often than pyrodex in all of my sidelock guns. But good grief, what a mess... My FIL had a .40 custom made for me when KR and I first got married. That gun is a tack driver with a huge bull barrel and scope mounted on top. That was before inlines became the norm, and a gun like that was a rare one. It shoots 200 yard groups, good ones, and you just couldn't get that out of most muzzys back then. I haven't shot it in years, and probably won't anytime in the near future, but it is a neat one!
 

MK111

"Happy Hunting Grounds in the Sky"
Supporting Member
6,551
66
SW Ohio
I used pyrodex for several years and never had a misfire with it. The last few years I used Jim Shockley's balckpowder substitute and that shot good and clean up was easy. But all the know-it-alls said that it wasn't worth a crap. But it shot every time I pulled the trigger and dropped every deer I shot at. Grouped good to.
Just goes to show you that if you see it on the internet don't believe it. But that rule doesn't go for what's posted on TOO. As I've never seen any misguided info posted on TOO. Says a lot for the higher quality of guys on TOO than on other forums.
 

Joel

Senior Member
3,049
113
Centerburg, Ohio
I don't know if you can call it hunting but I dumped 100 lbs of corn on a new property and plan to shoot one while hiding next to the barn.