I have been doing a little on line research to add to my own personal experience with muzzle loaders and what works well and what doesn't along with some guidelines for starting points for your own Smoke Pole.
On my journey to the two muzzle loaders I own today, I believe at last count I went through over 25 muzzle loaders. That encompasses a journey from when caplock's only were allowed in NYS (before inlines), and not necessarily because the first 23 I tried did not shoot well. One of my favorites before the inline craze, was a Lyman Deerstalker carbine in .50 cal with a 1 in 48 twist. Another I was fond of was the TC Renegade in .54 cal I believe also with a 1 in 48 twist. I also owned guns by Austin and Halleck, CVA, Traditions, and Knight Rifles.
My two current muzzle loaders are both inlines and both made by Thompson Center. One is the Encore 209/50 with a black synthetic stock and stainless action and barrel and the other is a thumb hole stocked Omega with a brown laminated stock and stainless barrel and action. I have done some accurizing on the Thomson Center Encore 209/50 which you can read about in the link provided on the most recent post before this one. Essentially it had a trigger job performed by E. Arthur Brown Co., and an oversized hinge pin put in. The gun wears a Mueller 2X7X32 Circle Red Dot scope which I dearly love.
One thing I found over the years which was a little frustrating and yet sort of fun to wade through was the different twist rates of the various muzzle loaders I owned and also the variances in bore sizes which to some extent influenced what loads would shoot well and what loads would not. There apparently is still NO standard bore size everyone uses even though 5 different rifles might all be .50 caliber guns. I have seen in print bore sizes from .492 to .504 on .50 caliber rifles. The minor differences affect how easily saboted bullets will load and how well they will shoot. This is especially true if you are concerned about a fast reload in the field without swabing out your bore with at least one wet patch between shots.
Certain bores are so tight, that try as you might you cannot load certain saboted bullets without first switching out the actual sabot. You need to know your actual bore's diameter and then you can buy bulk sabots to experiment with trying to find one that will work well in your particular rifle.
Both of my current TC guns have a 1 in 28 twist which seems to work well with powder charges of 100 grains to 120 grains (BY VOLUME, NOT WEIGHT), and a variety of saboted loads. As mentioned previously I usually use 2/50 grain Pyrodex pellets in my Encore and 110 grains of loose Pyrodex RS or 110 grains of Triple 777 in the Omega. I have personally had better success with the Pyrodex RS loose powder than the Triple 777. I know this runs against most guy's experience, however each gun is a law unto itself. My understanding is that the 1 in 28 twist is apparently the most popular and will probably allow you to have greater success in finding a very accurate load for your ML.
Previous loads in the 1.5 inch or under size at 100 yards included:
Barnes 245 grain spitzer, Buffalo Bore 375 grain aboted load, Hornady 250 and 300 grain XTP's, Precision 260 grain and 300 grain Dead Center loads along with the Power Belt loads.
A load that went FIVE inches for a three shot 100 yard group was the Lightfield Alpha Gold 300 grain. It might have been the sabot? the dynamics of the bullet itself? or something else. I simply dismissed that particular load from my maybe list.
Rather than cover old ground, here are links to some previous detailed posts on the Omega and the Encore:
http://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=8760873176714179494#editor/target=post;postID=669283914479976021
http://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=8760873176714179494#editor/target=post;postID=3595201117374862205
There is no real shortcut to finding out what your particular muzzle loader likes to eat, except to go to the range and try different powders, bullets and primers and do some serious controlled testing at various ranges out to 150 yards (OR beyond if that is your desire).
I will suggest that if your muzzleoader does NOT shoot well with two pyrodex pellets or somewhere between 100-120 grains of loose Pyrodex RS powder or triple 777, then you might want to switch bullets. My own personal experience is that NOTHING I ever tried shot better with 150 grains of powder. I suggest if you hunt with friends to buy one package each of several different saboted bullets loads and then go to the range with your buddies and shoot 3 shot groups of each load using 100 grains of either loose powder or pellets until you find a load or two that will shoot 1.5 inches or BETTER. Make notes of the loads and then experiment with primers, powders etc. until you find your rifle's sweet spot and start getting groups at or under one inch at 100 yards.
Be sure to be consistent in ramrod pressure, swabing with one wet and one dry patch between every shot, using the same 209 primer for each test etc. When you find the right load, I would set your point of impact to be around 1.5 to 2.5 inches high at 100 yards and you should be fine out to 150 yards and you can test the drop at 200 yards if desired.
Then thourghly clean the gun, start with the choosen load, and fire a three shot group at 100 yards to confirm accuracy and check your zero. Personally I still swab with one wet and one dry patch between each shot. When you find a load you like that will print at one inch or under and is centered and about 1.5 to 2.5 inches high at 100 yards, you are good to go.
Dan
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