Rookie Question

[Cookiemann]

Do you have to use loose powder with a round ball and patch?  Can you use sabots with loose powder?  
This will be my main deer hunting gun and most shots will likely be 100 yds or less.  
I would prefer staying away from loose powder for now, so I guess I really need to know what works best with pellets.  Thanks

[DanielWGriggs]

Hey Cookieman good to hear from you.

I too am studing up on all the new ML powders and bullets prior to the purchase of my new huntsman/trackerII combo.

Pellets can be used with PRB; and you can use loose powder with conicals (many do)

Pellets limit you to how they are set up as in 2-50 gr for a 100gr charge or 1-50+1-30 for 80gr or 3-30's for a 90gr charge. There is some versitility but with loose you can set up your measure for the accuracy and power that you want in 5gr increments.More versital but harder to contain. Speed loaders with 2 compartments work well with loose and the pass through type work well with pellets. I am going to make my own pass through type for use with a Patched Round Ball (PRB).

IF you wish to stay away from loose powder then from what I have read the 2-50gr of Pyrodex or Triple7 and the powerbelts in 295 will give complete pass throughs for good blood trails PBin 245 will give better expansion and possibly not pass through.

I plan to use loose powder and conicals. I have seen the results of .58 cal PRB on deer and squirrels devestatingly effective.

Hope this helps.

[mnmuzzleloader]

I use the pioneer powder with the harvester sabot and am very happy with the performance that I have recieived.  Can't wait for the MN muzzle season coming up.