I alway's remember telling people in the past to go with the 50 when asked. I have really changed my mind in general. Obviously it depends on what you want to do. But for Deer size game you cant go wrong with a 45caiber Muzzleloader at 1/30 twist.
What made me think of this was velocity today at the range. I was shooting 200grn SST'S at 2530fps at 100yds with excellant accuracy. I was also shooting the 200grn Lehigh Hollow point with excellant accuracy. The SST Won today. The Deer wouldnt know the difference. I think the main reason was because it was windy. The little better BC i bet helps in the wind.
Anyway, that bullet is realy moving. The closest i can come with a 50cal with same bullet is like 2300fps. 200fps doesnt sound like much. I bet at 200 and 300yds it's huge. maybe someone on here can tell me. I actually think the 2oogrn SST is better then the 250. Of course that's a matter of opinion. Not that much of a difference to argue one way or the other.
The down side to the 45cal muzzleloaders are, who makes them? I'm not sure that there are to many being made and if they are good. Knight Disc Elite is no longer made, the Whites are no longer made. Is CVA the only factory one left still being made? I do see Knight still makes the extreme in 45caliber. I hear people complain about T/C'S 45caliber Encore, but has someone tried it with Harvester or mmp sabots? Is the Encore tweeked already? Heck, the 50cal needs tweeked. Why wouldnt the 45cal? That's the way i see it.
I guess my inexperience with 45's kept me from reccomending them. With light bullets it makes the 50cal look anemic as far as velocity. The 45 smokes the 50. I'm sure there are alot of people that like the 175 and 195 Barnes. How about PR Bullets 200 and 220grn 40cal bullets? Alot of options for the 45cal ML no doubt.
