# Pellet advantage



## Nambaster (Nov 15, 2007)

One advantage that I just recently realized about pellets over loose powder is when you are done with your hunt you can still reuse your pellets. I guess what I mean is instead of firing your round off at the end of your hunt, I just unscrew my breach plug and the 2 pellets just slide out of my barrel and I can use them for another day. 

With powder that can get messy and you probably don't want granules of powder in the threads of your breach plug. 

So far I am a fan of the simplicity of pellets.


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## Critter (Mar 20, 2010)

When it comes to the time that I am worried about 90 grains of Pyrodex and what it is behind it will be time the hang up the muzzle loader. What about those who still use sidelocks and shoot the pellets? There is no way to open up the breach and it is a pain in the rear to pull a seated bullet to unload the charge. I usually just point it in a safe direction and pull the trigger. 

Then go home and clean the barrel until the next shooting session.


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## DallanC (Jan 13, 2009)

Who unloads at the end of the day? Well except in super wet conditions anyway.

I ran a test once, took a spare hawkin barrel and left it loaded but uncapped... _*for approximately a year*_. Took it to the range and expected some form of hangfire or delay because we all hear how exposed powder decays right? Wrong... I touched off the trigger and it immediately fired. Absolutely no discernible difference between the 1 year old exposed powder and fresh. I didn't own a cronograph then to test any velocity differences but it hit the target accurately and with authority... it would have been one dead critter if I was firing under hunting conditions.

As for times when I have to unload with loose. I simply place the barrel pointing down, unscrew out the breech plug and push the mass down with the ram rod. I get no real powder on the breech threads. Some people use the CO2 powdered tools to blow out a charge... but unless I'm in wet conditions and suspect wet powder, I never unload at the end of the day.

On a side note, I spend alot of time prepping my smoke pole like the old-timers with a wax seal around the cap, and something over the barrel end. Just to make it water proof. I once tested that was well, same hawkin barrel, loaded up and prepped... submerged the entire thing for 15 minutes in water then tried firing it. It fired perfectly.

A few extra minutes of prep on the frontend, saves you alot of aggravation and time on the backend for sure.

-DallanC


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## utahgolf (Sep 8, 2007)

I've been using those rubber balloon type things to cover the barrel end but they tear and what not. Is a piece of electrical tape ok to use to cover the barrel?


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## Critter (Mar 20, 2010)

I have used electrical or duc tape over the end of the barrel for years now with no problems. Either with the ML or high power rifle. 

The next time that you are at the range try it for yourself and see.


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## taxidermist (Sep 11, 2007)

One thing you need be careful with on the pellets, is when loading them make sure you don't mash them when loading the bullet!!!! Aint a good thing! They need that hole in the center to get the spark up into the pellet to make it burn properly. If they crush, your accuracy will be all over the place!!


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## goosefreak (Aug 20, 2009)

Critter said:


> I have used electrical or duc tape over the end of the barrel for years now with no problems. Either with the ML or high power rifle.
> 
> The next time that you are at the range try it for yourself and see.


being new to muzzy hunting, are you saying you fire your muzzy with electrical tape on it? without taking it off? does it effect accuracy? i'v always wondered about that. i'v always taped up my rifles when packing into the backcountry, but have stripped it off when I leave camp for the hunt.


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## DallanC (Jan 13, 2009)

goosefreak said:


> being new to muzzy hunting, are you saying you fire your muzzy with electrical tape on it? without taking it off? does it effect accuracy? i'v always wondered about that. i'v always taped up my rifles when packing into the backcountry, but have stripped it off when I leave camp for the hunt.


Barrel is full of air that gets pushed by the bullet, and there is blowby from the powder ignition that pushes the tape out of the way before the bullet comes along.

-DallanC


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## fishreaper (Jan 2, 2014)

+1 on taping the end of a barrel with electricians tape. Nothing like getting rain or snow or sand in a barrel when one or the other is flying around. That applies to modern firearms at the very least. 

I'm interested as to how people use to get bullets out of old school black powder guns when they got wet powder. Take a rod with a corkscrew and drill into the bullet to pull or just completely take the thing apart.


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## Critter (Mar 20, 2010)

Bullet puller, it screws into your ramrod. I have done it once and it took a while to get it done.

http://www.midwayusa.com/product/1073456094/thompson-center-black-powder-bullet-puller


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## DallanC (Jan 13, 2009)

Critter said:


> Bullet puller, it screws into your ramrod. I have done it once and it took a while to get it done.


I have one of those... dry balled once (you learn after that). It was hard enough to get the threads started I found it was easier to unscrew the nipple and pour black powder into the flash channel. Bang the gun with a palm to get it to work its way down into the chamber (there is a little space). Can get 10-15grns in there, enough to shoot it out.

But as the topic is for just unloading at the end of the day... the 1800's design bullet puller will work but hey, its the 21st century... lets use some tech instead:

http://www.dixiegunworks.com/produc...ts_id=15330&osCsid=p2t3ig24rjsuul1t5ibk4kd3b2

-DallanC


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## Critter (Mar 20, 2010)

I actually purchased a CO2 ball dislodger from Thompson Center years ago for my sidelock. It was a CO2 cartridge inside a aluminum tube that you pushed down on the nipple, the CO2 was then released and out came the ball or whatever else you had down the barrel. You just had to be careful of where it was pointed when the projectile came out. 

I also did the powder trick into the nipple hole and that took a while but it was effective.


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## Lonetree (Dec 4, 2010)

Critter said:


> Bullet puller, it screws into your ramrod. I have done it once and it took a while to get it done.
> 
> http://www.midwayusa.com/product/1073456094/thompson-center-black-powder-bullet-puller


I highly recommend against using those. At least on a ram rod. The reason being, removing them after they break off is a chore. As you screw them into the round, they expand the round, and make it harder to remove. This then leads to broken ram rods.

We use a steel rod with a drill bit brazed on the end, and a brass guide to keep it centered. You use that to drill a hole in the round first. Then use a puller(like in the link), that is welded onto a steel shaft(with slide hammer) to pull the round out of the barrel.


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