what kind of range?

[LKiny]

Hello all,

I'm prepping my TC Prohunter 50 cal and getting great results so far using 90 grains (volume) BH209 with a 250 grain Hornady SST and CCI Magnum primers. Shoots 1 inch groups at 100 all day however I was wanting to extend my range out. I'm good out to 200 ish, but it should would be nice to extend it out a bit more w/o buying a $5000 Obsidian ML or $2500 barrel. Anyways, what kind of distance are you guys getting with your ML's? and do you recommend any tweaks of mods that may help extend my range? 

Elkiny

[Green Bullet]

300 yds with my old school TC Omega

[Titanium700]

300 yds with a first gen Remington 700 ss ml with a few goodies like a aftermarket 209 nose kit, McMillan stick and Leupold scope with a cds dial. 
haven’t tried further but dial goes to a bit past 325. 
may try it shortly. 

[Crazymonkey]

The big thing with shooting a 50 cal muzzleloader out to 300 or more is the energy that's left.The gun drops fast once you get to the 200 yard mark and then there is your bullet .Look at what you need for volocity for it to expand correctly.It does no good to shoot far if your gun won't have the energy or the expansion to do the job.Most muzzleloaders that shoot to 300 or more are 45 cal.Hornady has test results on there site and at 250yds they were 1389 volocity and 1070 energy on there test gun with a +3 inch at 100 zero and 11 inch drop at 250 . With a 150 gr powder charge .At 300 your going to loose more energy and speed .With the blackhorn if you can weigh your charges out the tubes are always wrong for volume.It will atleast make your shots more consistent.

[Hunterjohnny]

4 hours ago, Crazymonkey said:

The big thing with shooting a 50 cal muzzleloader out to 300 or more is the energy that's left.The gun drops fast once you get to the 200 yard mark and then there is your bullet .Look at what you need for volocity for it to expand correctly.It does no good to shoot far if your gun won't have the energy or the expansion to do the job.Most muzzleloaders that shoot to 300 or more are 45 cal.Hornady has test results on there site and at 250yds they were 1389 volocity and 1070 energy on there test gun with a +3 inch at 100 zero and 11 inch drop at 250 . With a 150 gr powder charge .At 300 your going to loose more energy and speed .With the blackhorn if you can weigh your charges out the tubes are always wrong for volume.It will atleast make your shots more consistent.

+ ENERGY is key unless its just target shooting.

[creed_az_88]

You need to know your velocity at the muzzle and calculate it at different distances using an app. Then check what minimum velocity your bullet is rated to open at. Bullet expansion is what matters imo. 90 grain charge isn't gonna give you much velocity. Also, the 250 grain sst's have a questionable reputation at lower velocities. 

[SHOOTER]

I shoot 115grs by volume and Barnes 250gr TMZ with good velocity out of my prohunter. Deer and elk don’t like em! 

[LKiny]

Thanks for the information everyone. I recently ordered some Thor bullets, they do not use a plastic sabot and are bore specific to your ML. They offer a $4 sizing pack , you run the sizing bullets  down your barrel to measure for the correct sized Thor bullet that you will need. I have heard and seen great things about them. Has anyone else used them? specifically a Thor Hammer 250 grain ballistic tip. I will report back once I have had a chance to shoot them. I bet they will be shooters because they are based off of the Barnes X Bullet Platform.

[Ed67]

Hunting Colorado so no optics, sabots or pellets. 
 

I don’t know my velocity, don’t really care I’m not shooting over 100. Couldn’t find any .54 Buffalo Bullets so I picked up some No Excuses 485 grain slugs. 70 grains of 777 is pretty accurate out to 75-100 yards out of my Thompson Center Renegade. I’ll be hunting dark timber  interspersed with small marshy meadows and doubt that a bull would function very well after getting hit with one. 
 

My backup rifle is a .50 cal CVA Optima, 85 grains of 777, 300 grain power belt, or 385 grain Hornady Great Plains.  100-125 yards. 

[Ed67]

Coues post. Oops 

[LKiny]

OK so I have been doing some shooting with my TC and the Thor 250 gr. Ballistic Tip bullets (no sabot, bullet to bore, my size bore is 5.02) I ordered 90 bullet pack and weighed each one out too . 88 of 90 were very similar in weight. However 2 of them were about 6 grains heavier so I separated them to shoot later. The Thor bullets shoot pretty great I have to say, I bumped up my charge to 77 grains (weighed) of BH209 and I was averaging 2170 FPS. I still have more shooting to do but I'm at a 1 inch group at 100 and the 200 yard plate was pretty easy to hit too....dead center. My goal is to try and see if I can stretch it out to 300, I think that is doable. By the way, I shot the 2 heavier odd ball bullets after I was sighted in and the y were both off about 6 inches @ 100 yards. Weigh out your charges and your bullets! 

[Brooktrout26]

I run 250 grain Barnes TEZ w/ 100 grains of 777. Everything I've shot at, whitetail and elk, has died. That said, I shot my last whitetail at about 30 yard broadside and the bullet stuck in the underneath skin on the opposite side...made me question how much energy might be lacking.

[Titanium700]

Don’t discount the bullet on the far side under the skin at close range. 
sometimes the bullet (esp a Barnes) will open up with such force because of its speed it will Not travel as far but longer distance and slower speed may blow on through.