1. Black powder is the most accurate powder you can use when shooting a muzzleloader. For me 2 For 1-½ F works very well, but 3 F didn't produce groups that were to my specs.

2. The most accurate black powder substitute is Blackhorn 209. To get good groups with Blackhorn 209 I wipe between shots just like I do with black powder, even though it is very clean. Wiping is a must between shots no matter what powder you use, if you're interested in accuracy.

Blackhorn 209 has to be ignited with a 209 shotgun primer. Mag Spark and Petersoli both make a 209 nipple conversion that fit side locks. Mag Spark has different thread sizes, where Petersoli is a ¼-28 size. When you use a 209 side lock conversion nipple, never, never, ever put powder of any kind under the 209 primer. This will blow it apart every time. The 209 puts out enough spark without any other assistance.

To help increase the reliability of ignition of a sidelock muzzleloader do this. Just a fraction ahead of the breech, drill a 1/16" hole through the barrel into the combustion chamber. I drill mine at a 45° angle on the right side, forward and above the lock. This allows the sealed up air in the combustion chamber to be bled off as the fire from the primer enters through the breech. If the air doesn't bleed off, it has to be compressed. This compressed air can push the fire back enough to keep the gun from firing. You don't lose much pressure and ignition is faster. I first saw this on a beautiful rifle from about the 1850s I was fortunate enough to inspect a few years ago. I also read about it in a very old book. It works!

3. Always clean between shots for the best accuracy. The first patch I put down the barrel after I shoot is damp. The next one is dry. I turn the dry one over and go down again. This is usually enough. I have a pint plastic jar I keep full of pure cotton flannel patches I cut myself. Onto these patches I pour a mixture of 50% water and 50% antifreeze. I keep the jar sealed when I'm not using it. Antifreeze and water is a very good solution to clean black powder barrels. Where I learned that I can't remember, but it works.

4. If you want to shoot a cast bullet in a muzzleloader you need a barrel cut 12 thousandths deep. I find 8 thousandths deep works well for paper patched bullets, but is too "iffy" for cast bullets. Don't try to bump up a cast bullet as you would a paper patched bullet. You can do it, but I never was satisfied with the outcome. My standards are consistent, extreme, accuracy. I find the easiest way to load a cast bullet is not with a starter, but with a pre-engraved bullet. It is very easy to pre-engrave a bullet. When I have a barrel made for a cast bullet muzzleloader, I have it made 3 inches longer than the finished barrel will be. After the barrel is rifled, but not shaped, I have 3" cut off the muzzle. This piece is then put in a lathe and threads cut on the outside so it can screw into my loading press. I then take a throating reamer for that cal. and cut out the lands for 1-½ inches. I now can screw this starter stub into the top of my loading press. With the throat facing down, a cast bullet is inserted into the throat, nose first. A brass dowel of that cal. thickness is placed between the loading press riser and the base of the bullet. Use the handle of your loading press and press the bullet through the starter stub. The bullet is now pre-engraved.

To shoot this bullet, keep the following in mind:

1. The bullet must be made of pure lead and pre-lubed before you engrave it, and
2. The barrel always has to be clean enough for this tight fitting bullet to pass through it. If the barrel is clean and the bullet is pure lead, it will pass through easily.
3. Load the powder first, then the fiber .60 thick wad, then finally the bullet. Push the bullet fairly slowly down the barrel so the air under it can bleed off. If you don't, it will spring back up off the powder. Remember to set the base of the bullet gently on the powder. No tamping. Two patches are usually enough to clean between rounds to shoot this bullet: one damp, used once and one dry, used twice.

5. If you want to shoot a paper patched bullet in your muzzleloader, you should have a barrel with 8 thousandths deep grooves. The bullet must be pure lead and have a cup base. The bullet must be straight sided and not tapered. If the top of your lands is .40, your bullet should be .395. If they are .440, the bullet should be .432. If they are .450, bullet should be .442. If they are .50, the bullet should be .492. Remember, this is only for a muzzleloader. The sizes for black powder cartridge rifles are different.

If you're going to have a mould made, or buy custom swaging equipment, buy some pre-made paper patch bullets from Buffalo Arms,for example, or someone else, so you are sure to get the right size prior to ordering your mould or swaging equipment. Steve Brooks made me a really nice nose poured paper patch mould and his turnaround is fast. RCE has made a lot of swaging dies for me and Richard's prices are good.

I have experimented with different nose shapes for my paper patched bullets and a short true round nose came out superior every time. My .50 paper patch bullet looks like a .50 cal round ball

cut in half and placed on the front of a bullet. For me, it is more accurate than anything with a point on it. Also, it packs more weight into it for the length of it as compared to a pointed bullet. I like a long bearing surface so the sides can be gripped better.

Use #9 onion skin paper 25% cotton, if you can get it. 100% wood fiber onion skin is easily available and the difference, as I see it, is this: It has to be handled when wet a little more carefully so it won't tear. When dry, it is very tough. Also, it may absorb the lube a little more easily, which is a good thing. Wrap the paper on the bullet opposite the twist of the rifling in the base. I lube with Alox, a Lee product. Some shooters use Rooster Lube. Both are good.

6. Why cryo treat and sonic treat a rifle barrel? Cryo treating a rifle barrel really does change the molecular structure of the steel, stainless included. The steel becomes much tougher and more slippery. Some of the stress is removed in the steel. The benefits are too great not to do it. Sonic stress relieving will take all of the stress out of a barrel. If you are going to have both processes done, do the cryo treatment first. If you only want to do one of the processes, do the sonic stress relieving. Cryo Plus has done all my rifle barrels at a reasonable price over the years. M & R Arms Specialties can sonic treat a rifle barrel for you. These treatments make a big difference on any rifle barrel.

7. I have 4 round ball muzzleloaders I rarely shoot. My favorite bullet to shoot is a paperpatched bullet. I'm not an expert on the round ball, but I'd love to share a few things I have learned:

1. Use only black powder.
2. Don't tamp the powder, just set the patched ball on the powder.
3. Cut the patch off at the muzzle. Don't use pre-cut patches.
4. Wipe between rounds.
5. Use a ball no more than 5 thousandths smaller than the top of the land size.
6. I use linen cloth, not cotton, for the patching material. It does make a difference.
7. The two most accurate round ball guns I've shot had grooves only 8 thousandths deep. One was a 3 groove barrel and the other was a 12 groove barrel.

8. Always check the crown on the muzzle of your barrel. It has to be perfect and uniform or it will throw the bullet off target as it leaves the barrel.

9. Always make sure your barrel fits properly into your stock. It shouldn't be overly tight, but it can't be loose either.

10. Some who read this web site material may ask, "Why does he talk about Blackhorn 209 powder on a black powder web site?", while others may ask, "Why doesn't he talk about inline muzzles, at least a little bit?" I will address both topics now.

Again, black powder is the powder of choice. However, I will give you a scenario of events. Say someone builds a big .50 or gets one from me. They plan a big hunt in Alaska. There is one catch: they won't be able to take black powder with them if they travel by airplane to, or within, Alaska. There may be other reasons, but suffice it to say, black powder just won't be available. Therefore, Blackhorn 209 will solve the problem. Air transportation will more than likely be allowed. Be sure to verify this for yourself if you are planning a black powder hunting trip in Alaska in the near future. A 1-½ inch group when using Blackhorn 209 powder at 100 yards versus holes touching at 100 yards with black powder won't make a difference in hunting, only in target shooting.

I will now address the needs of those with a nice inline rifle with 2 things about it needed: 1) a 1-26 or 1-28 twist, and 2) a 209 primer ignition.

You may want to try and expand the use of your gun. Buffalo Arms sells a .492 pure lead, cup base, 500 grains, paper patch bullet. You have to patch it yourself. If I had an inline as I described above, I would order 25 of these bullets – a few .60 thousandths .50 cal fiber wads and 2 to 3 sheets of #9 onion skin paper and see if I could get a group acceptable to hunt with. What would you rather hunt an Alaskan brown bear with, a 250 or 300 grain bullet going 2000 ft per sec, or a 500 grain bullet going 1500 to 1600 ft per sec? Even if the math is in favor of the lighter, faster bullet, the real world is a different place. You would be much better off against big game with a 500 grain paper patched bullet. If your grooves are too deep, the paper patched bullet may not work. If they aren't, they will work.

Good hunting!

Call or email me if you have any questions, or if you just want to talk. Thanks for visiting.

— R.V. Johnson