1-32" twist, bullet selection

[ottawa rogue]

my bro in law bought a traditions buckhunter, and we're trying to figure out what would be best to shoot out of it.
like the title says it's a 1 in 32" twist barrel, 24" long
the guy he bought it from set him up with some Goex 2f and some conicals thta look like maxiballs.
we were out shooting last weekend and the maxis seemed pretty accurate out to 50 yds or so(at least minute of log  ).
any suggestions?  he said he doesn't mind the conicals, and he didn't know about sabots
we're both noobs to black powder

[flintlock]

As a general rule the slower twists (most inlines are now 1-28 twists) will group better with longer bullets....Now...each gun has a mind of its own....You will need to experiment with different bullets, powder combos, sabots etc. to maximize accuracy....

I have no problems with conicals...back in the 80's one of the most popular combinations was a conical out of any number of percussion Hawken-style rifles which usually had a 1-48 twist barrel....

If you are hunting deer, a 300 grain bullet (like a Hornady XTP) inside a sabot gives both good penetration and shoots relatively flat....If you are elk hunting a conical is still a good choice because they are usually heavier than 300 gr (assuming you have a .50 caliber)...

One thing that has happened and I need to warn you about conicals....If the gun is left loaded for a good length of time and happens to be bounced around (like on a 4-wheeler or jeep) the conicals have been known to slip out of the barrel....Now if they only slide a few inches then you have a potentially dangerous situation....Might not ever be a problem, but you need to be careful and make sure that the conical stays tight against the powder.....If it were me, I would find a good sabot/bullet combo that your rifle likes....Good luck...and Enjoy!!!

[ottawa rogue]

WHOOPS.... left that out.   yes, it's a .50 caliber. 
so. do i need to look at more of a pistol style sabot as opposed to some of the longer bullets out there?
i wasn't sure if the slower twist(compared to a 1in28)  would affect a sabot.

[flintlock]

The slower twist works fine with sabots...When Knight introduced their first inline....It had a 1-32 twist...Some guys still use them...

Go to Wally World, Gander, Dicks and see what the local stores have....Hornady packs 20 or so in packages with the corresponding sabots....I have had good luck with the 250 Shockwaves and the 300 grain Hornady XTP....Buy a pack of each....If your gun happens to like the Hornady XTP, you can buy then in bulk...The Shockwaves....I wouldn't buy bulk until you know what your gun likes....Then you could buy bulk sabots for MMP and the .451 Hornadys and shoot cheaper.....

One other thing....I always clean the barrel between shots....Get some rubbing alcohol, put in a spray bottle, dampen (not wet) two patches and swab the barrel, use both sides, then run a dry patch down and then  a lightly oiled patch, dry again....These guns get hard to load if you don't clean between shots, and many won't group worth a dime as well when dirty....

If you are using Goex, I'd start with 80-90 grains of powder and work up to the max the book advises for that gun....In my Knight I use 90 grains of Goex and can keep all shots in a inch group...If I go up to 100 grains....the dang group opens up to 1 1/2 - 2 inches....

PS....If your gun does not like the 250 Shockwaves, they also come in 300....

PPS...Don't let the 1-32 play with your mind...Muzzleloaders are pretty forgiving....I would bet you could take any good 250-300 grain bullet and get it to give 1-2 inch groups at 100 yards by just adjusting the powder charge and changing sabots....Make sure that you take notes on each load used....Its easy to forget what was best at the end of a shooting session...

[ottawa rogue]

thanks for the advice, Flintlock.  i wasn't sure if the little bit slower twist would cause any issues.
He's very happy with the rifle.....for $60 with all the stuff the  guy gave him it was a steal.
to me it seemed pretty accurate with the maxiballs we were shooting.
i set a section of tree trunk we'd cut up  and we backed off 50 yds. just to see how it would shoot.
it seemed to shoot to POA to me although we were only shooting 70gr of powder.
all in all, a good start

[Biff Mayhem]

my bro in law bought a traditions buckhunter, and we're trying to figure out what would be best to shoot out of it.
like the title says it's a 1 in 32" twist barrel, 24" long
the guy he bought it from set him up with some Goex 2f and some conicals thta look like maxiballs.
we were out shooting last weekend and the maxis seemed pretty accurate out to 50 yds or so(at least minute of log  ).
any suggestions?  he said he doesn't mind the conicals, and he didn't know about sabots
we're both noobs to black powder

That is a very friendly twist for sabots,(180-450 gr) but it seems to prefer real heavy conicals. (400+ gr.)

[Wolfhound]

I used to have a 1-32 inline that shot roundballs pretty well with 90 gr of Pyro RS. I guess there's an exception to every rule.

Generally a 1-32 will shoot lighter bullets better at higher speeds. Lighter/shorter bullets don't need as much twist as heavier/longer bullets.

[Biff Mayhem]

Lighter/shorter bullets generally require less speed and powder as the twist slows.

In contrast to that, heavier/longer bullets generally require less speed and powder as the twist gets faster.