Check Out The Knight Muzzleloader Hunting Blog...

Do Multi-Reticle Muzzleloader Hunting Scopes Really Work? Here's The Answer!


http://knightmuzzleloaderhunting.blogspot.com

Best Brush Busting Muzzleloader Hunting Bullets...

If you've hunted with a muzzleloader for any length of time, you've surely had a few times when you've taken shots at big game in the brush which failed to connect. And that miss was likely due to the fact that many of the muzzleloader hunting projectiles available in the past were far from being ideal brush busters. I've had a few of those "misses" that were unexplainable, until I spent some time looking at everything that had been between me and that deer, or elk, or whatever. And the tatletale sign of the shot connecting with a branch...limb...or sapling usually revealed why my shot failed to connect. The muzzleloader hunting projectiles of 25 years ago were easily deflected, sometimes at a severe angle.

About 20 years ago, I began a search for those projectiles which could catch a limb or sapling or two, and still hit game with enough accuracy to put it down. And what I've noticed as muzzleloader hunting has progressed is that more and more of today's bullets are doing a far better job of busting brush...and still stying pretty much on target.

Early on, I would drive out to a handy maple or willow thicket...place a portable target board back into the tangle of limbs and sapling trunks, and see if I could get a high degree of shots to hit anywhere near where I was aiming. Back then, few would.

Now, most every winter, after the big game seasons have closed, once there is some snow on the ground, I get out a half-dozen or so times to conduct the same test that I first did back in those days. But instead of driving out to a convenient thicket, I now bring the thicket to my range. That's accomplished by cutting a truck load of 1/2- to 1-inch diameter willows, and pushing the cut ends down into a snow bank. Then a portable target board is placed behind 5 or 6 staggered rows of saplings, insuring that every shot will contact at least one of the young tree trunks. More often than not, any bullet shot will hit two or three of the saplings.

Surprisingly, some of today's muzzleloader hunting bullets do a pretty darn good job of plowing through a little brush and hitting the intended target close enough to point of aim to get the job done. But that depends on how far the target is behind that wall of brush - and the construction of the bullet.

These tests have also shown that bullet weight plays a big role in resisting deflection. The heavier the bullet, the more it tends to stay on course. This winter, I've put close to 300 rounds through my man-made thicket, and those bullets of 300 or more grains definitely put a much higher percentage of hits into the kill zone than lighter bullets. To simulate that zone, I staple a standard 9-inch diameter paper plate onto my plywood target board. The plate is large enough to be seen behind the stand of saplings, allowing the crosshairs to be fairly centered on the plate for each shot - even if I can't actually see the "center" of the plate.

My first round of testing was with the target board just 5 yards behind the saplings.

The bullets shot were: 1.) 260- and 300-grain Harvester copper-plated .451" Scorpion PT Gold; 2.) 200-grain Harvester copper-plated .400" Scorpion hollow-point; 3.) 330- and 400-grain Harvester .451" Hard Cast lead flat-nose; 4.) 250- and 300-grain .452" jacketed Hornady SST polymer spire-point; 5.) 250- and 290-grain all-copper Barnes TMZ polymer spire-point; 6.) 300-grain Barnes all-copper .458" SOCOM polymer spire-point; 7.) 325-grain Hornady .458" FTX soft polymer tipped spitzer; 8.) 300-grain Lehigh .458" all-brass hollow-point; 9.) 350-grain Lehigh .475" all-brass hollow-point; 10.) 300- and 350-grain Hornady .500" bore-sized FPB copper-plated spitzer; 11.) 295-grain BPI .500" bore-sized Power Belt poly-tipped copper-plated spitzer; 12.) 300- and 350-grain Harvester copper-plated Saber-Tooth hollow-point.

All of these bullets were loaded and shot with a volume measured 100-grain charge of Blackhorn 209. Four different rifles were used - a .50 caliber T/C Triumph, a .50 caliber Traditions VORTEK, a .50 caliber Knight Long Range Hunter, and a .52 caliber Knight DISC Extreme. Each was shot and sighted to be pretty much center of a paper plate at 50 yards. Then three shots were taken at a plate on the target board behind the sapling thicket. With the board just 5 yards behind the saplings, only two bullets failed to put all three on the 9-inch plate. The light 200-grain Scorpion hollow-point scored just one hit, while the 295-grain Power Belt put two hits into the simulated kill zone.

When the target board was moved to 10 yards behind the saplings, the angle of deflection became more evident. And so did how lighter weight bullets are more easily thrown off course. The saboted 250-grain Hornady SST, 250-grain TMZ, and 260-grain Scorpion PT Gold each kept two hits on the paper plate. All of the heavier saboted bullets managed to put all three into the zone. Of the bore-sized bullets, only the 350-grain Hornady FPB kept all three on the plate. The 350-grain Saber-Tooth and 300-grain FPB each scored two hits, while the 300-grain Saber-Tooth scored a single hit. All three shots with the Power Belt failed to cut paper. The light 200-grain Scorpion hollow-point also failed to hit the plate. Both bullets were dropped from further testing.

When the target board was moved to 15 yards behind the stand of saplings, six bullets kept all three hits inside the 9-inch circle - the 330- and 400-grain Hard Cast flat-nosed bullets, the 300-grain Scorpion PT Gold, the 300-grain all-copper SOCOM, the 350-grain Lehigh all-brass hollow-point, and the 350-grain FPB. The 300-grain Lehigh all-brass bullet kept two hits on the plate, as did the 290-grain TMZ. The 260-grain Scorpion PT Gold, 300-grain SST, 325-grain FTX, and the 350-grain Saber-Tooth scored one hit each.

The heavier copper plated, all-copper and all-brass bullets definitely resisted deflection better than all lighter bullets, and to some degree better than the copper-jacketed bullets tested (SST and FTX). The two bullets that proved to be only slightly affected by smacking into a sapling or two were the 330- and 400-grain flat-nosed Hard Cast bullets from Harvester Muzzleloading. In fact, after dead centering one willow and clipping another one or two, the 330-grain Hard Cast managed to group right at .705" on the paper plate set 15 yards behind the thicket. The 400-grain stayed inside of 1 1/4". The next best grouping with the target board set that far back was with the 350-grain all-brass Lehigh hollow-point (shot out of the Knight .52 DISC Extreme), which kept all three hits inside of 2.7". The 300-grain Barnes SOCOM and 300-grain Scorpion PT Gold grouped right at 3 inches across.  (Photo Above Right - Still In The Kill Zone After Plowing Through A Wall Of Brush!)

The past couple of winters, my shooting results with the copper-plated, all-copper and hardened lead bullets varied little from this year's brush busting tests. For several years, I would continue to throw in a few soft pure lead saboted bullets, but found that once they hit one or two saplings, the bullets became so deformed that they tended to stray way off course within a few yards. As accurate as some of these may be, they're best used when hunting open country. Plowing through brush with the accuracy to still hit that sweet spot on a big old buck is the job for bullets that are more solidly constructed.

It was easy to see where the bullets impacted the snow covered bank backstop after plowing through the saplings and 3/4" thick plywood target board. After shooting one afternoon, I walked over to a bare spot where most of the bullets had been hitting the frozen ground, and there lay several of the big 400-grain Hard Cast bullets...with the noses just slightly flattened and bent. And that damage was likely done when the bullet hit the frozen dirt bank. It became very clear why those hardened lead bullets had fared so well during the brush buster bullet test. (Those recovered bullets can be seen in the photo at the top of this post.)

If you hunt thick country, you might want to give this testing some thought...or get out and do some of your own. Plowing through brush and still driving into the kill zone takes a very special bullet. - Toby Bridges

Illinois Buck At 160 Yards With 300-Grain Scorpion PT Gold!

Mark Horst, of Peoria, Illinois with a dandy whitetail buck taken at 160 yards with the 300-grain Scorpion PT Gold.

He was shooting 110 grains of Blackhorn 209 behind the bullet...and says the Green Moutnain barrel of his .50 caliber Knight DISC Extreme will often group the load at 2 inches at 200 yards. At the muzzle, the 300-grain bullet exits the muzzle right at 1,970 f.p.s. - generating 2,580 foot-pounds of knockdown power. At 160 yards, Mark's deer was slammed with about 1,600 foot-pounds of whitetail taking energy.

The big bodied "Prairie State" buck ran about 60 yard and went down for the count.

Good going Mark.

My guess is that Mark now has a new favorite muzzleloader big game hunting bullet!

Toby Bridges
Harvester Muzzleloading
Hunter

Be sure to visit NORTH AMERICAN MUZZLELOADER HUNTING
And To Check Out The Scorpion PT Gold at www.harvestermuzzleloading.com

Should I Shoot & Hunt With The 260- Or 300-Grain Scorpion PT Gold?

The popularity of Harvester Muzzleloading's saboted "Scorpion PT Gold" polymer-tipped spire-pointed bullet has taken off like a skyrocket. And the reasons why are pretty simple - the bullet shoots with exceptional accuracy and delivers tremendous knockdown power, with exceptional penetration. Likewise, the sleek aerodyamics and improved ballistic coefficient of the bullet (compared to bullets of blunt fronted hollow-point design) insures greater retention of velocity and energy down range.

Here is a bullet that's built to hold together well when driven into big game at close range (20 to 50 yards), yet will still provide the expansion that's a must out at 200+ yards to give the transfer of energy needed for clean one-shot kills. For me, it has been everything I've ever wanted in a muzzle-loaded big game projectile. And as this is being written, in late November 2009, I've now taken 29 whitetails with 260- and 300-grain "Scorpion PT Gold" bullets - all of which have been one-shot kills - including the buck in the above photo, which was taken at 160 yards. I've also heard from hundreds of others who have expereienced the same great game-taking accuracy and knockdown power.

So, you're sold on this bullet...or at least perhaps you're now thinking about giving them a try. And you would like to know which bullet weight is best suited for your big game hunting.

That depends on a number of things. First, is the big game you plan to hunt. Another consideration is the maximum range you may have to shoot. Plus, the rate of rifling twist in the bore of your rifle. And even how recoil sensitive you, or the shooter who will be pulling the trigger, may be.

If you're going after whitetails and other similar-sized game, the 260-grain "Scorpion PT Gold" is a great bullet. With a 100-grain charge of a modern powder like Blackhorn 209, it will get out of the muzzle of a 26- to 28-inch barreled No. 209 primer ignition in-line rifle at around 1,950 f.p.s. - with right at 2,195 foot-pounds of energy. This bullet has a b.c. of right at .220. And out at 200 yards, it will take a big ol' whitetail buck with about 1,000 foot-pounds of retained energy. (800 f.p.e. is pretty much considered the minimum.)

The great thing about this load is that recoil is very minimal, and accuracy is great out of the standard 1-in-28 inches rifling twists of most modern in-line rifles. Drop from 100 to 200 yards is right at 11 inches. And with a rifle sighted "dead on" at 100 yards...with the crosshairs right at the top of the back, the 260-grain "Scorpion PT Gold" will dead center the kill zone.

When going after larger game, such as big black bear...elk...or moose, the 300-grain "Scorpion PT Gold" is a better choice. Due to the heavier weight, it will take a 110-grain charge to get this bullet out of the muzzle at a similar velocity (appx. 1,960 f.p.s.). And at the higher muzzle velocity, it generates a significantly higher 2,560 foot-pounds of energy. And thanks to its higher .250 to .260 b.c.(due to its added weight and longer length), this bullet retains velocity and energy better down range. In fact, at 200 yards, this load would drive home with 1,400+ f.p.e. - 200 foot-pounds more than needed to take a bull elk at that distance.

The load drops only about 1/2 inch more at 200 yards than the lighter 260-grain "Scorpion PT Gold"...which left the muzzle at a slightly higher velocity.

A couple of seasons back, I personally made the switch to shooting the 300-grain bullet for everything - from deer to elk. I made the change due to the flatter trajectory of the higher b.c. 300-grain bullet once past 200 yards. Even when both are shot out of a 27-inch barreled .50 caliber in-line rifle with a hot 120-grain charge of Blackhorn 209 (at around 2,130 f.p.s. for the 260-grain, and around 2,070 f.p.s. for the 300-grain bullet), the faster out-of-the-muzzle 260-grain spire-point sheds velocity quicker once past 200 yards - which simply means less game taking energy and a bit more bullet drop. Shooting 120-grains of Blackhorn 209 behind these two bullets, and using the 250-yard reticle of the Leatherwood/Hi-Lux HPML muzzleloader scope, I found that at 250 yards the heavier (and higher b.c.) 300-grain bullet (sighted "dead on" at 100 yards) tends to print right at 2 1/2 inches above point-of-aim...while the lighter (and lower b.c.) 260-grain bullet hits the target about 2 1/2 inches below point-of-aim. With such a hot load, the 260-grain "Scorpion PT Gold" would retain around 1,080 f.p.e. at 250 yards, while the 300-grain version would still be good for right at 1,360 foot-pounds of knockdown power.

If you don't hunt game as large as elk, or do not want to contend with the recoil of heftier powder charges, and are simply looking for an honest flat-shooting 200-yard saboted muzzleloader bullet with exceptional game-taking performance - the 260-grain "Scorpion PT Gold" is your bullet. However, if you do hunt a variety of game, up to and including elk, and want one bullet for hunting everything out to 250 yards, you can shop around and experiment for a long time and not find a better shooting or better performing bullet than the 300-grain "Scorpion PT Gold" from Harvester Muzzleloading. And for those of you shooting a rifle with a faster turn-in-24 inches rate of rifling twist, the longer length of this bullet is better suited than the shorter 260-grain bullet.- Toby Bridges

Be sure to visit the Harvester Muzzleloading website at www.harvestermuzzleloading.com

And for more load data, accuracy tips, and other valuable muzzleloader hunting information, go to NORTH AMERICAN MUZZLELOADER HUNTING

Share your experiences with the "Scorpion PT Gold" bullets - sign up and become a regular follower and contributor to the Harvester Muzzleloading Hunter blog. NOTE: Left Click On The Photo Above To Enlarge