.45 cal vs .50 cal muzzleloaders

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bigmike22

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I have a muzzleloader for sale on another website. I am partial to the .45s for increased accuracy. I think alot of the people have a misconception about the .45s. I think they are still thinking about them in the traditional muzzleloaders. With the inline .45 i can shoot alot of the same bullet weights that you can with a .50 but im going to be alot more accurate. I also can shoot 150 grains of powder if i want to. I was just wondering what your thoughts were on the 45 vs the 50. Let me know what your opinions are. thanks guys.
 
I've hunted with both calibers. I like them both but currently hunt with a .45 T/C Omega. I shoot 150grns of Triple 7 with a 195grn power belt.

I've been told there are some states that won't allow hunting with the .45. If thats true, it would be the only drawback I can see.
 
I am shooting 100-150 grains of triple 7 275 grain power belt bullets. I have shot 7 deer with this gun with the same result every time bang flop. I had one go about 10 yards. the rest went down right in there tracks. My stepdad has said for years that i was shooting a womans gun till last year when we were target practicing with our muzzleloaders and i was shooting alot tighter groups than he was. he asked what i was shooting and i told him 150 grains powder and 275 grain bullet. He was shooting the exact same thing only in a 50 cal. We both had teh same gun even except mine was a .45. The only reason i am selling mine is i won a brand new one.
 
Thank you for bringing this up.I currently have a T/C Encore
209x50 cal.It shoots good and I like it but it is touchy as far as the loads it likes.Groups best with 90gr triple 7 and 223gr aerotip powerbelt.Shooting only 90gr of powder limits my range more than I'd like.I'd really like to trade or sell my 50cal barrel for a 45 beacuse I've been hearing alot of the things you just brought up.45 cal greater velocity/range;shoots a wide range of powder weights/bullet weights while still grouping well.I'd like to have an honest 200-225 yard smoke pole.I like the sounds of 120-150 grains of triple 7 and a 170gr powerbelt bullet;from my understanding will give me nearly the same muzzle velocity as a .308
My only problem is finding a 45cal barrel.Cheapest place to buy one(midsouth) says they're no longer available.From what I've heard T/C is discontinuing them.I know the custom shop could probably knock one out,but I'm guessing that's considerably more than just buying one off the shelf(if I could find one).
 
contact greenmountain they probably have one right there.
The farthest i have taken a deer with this gun is 180 yards. He dropped dead in his tracks. I love my .45 The one i won will be my third .45 Go with a .45 if you have a choice and long distance is what your looking for.
 
The .45 inline got a bad wrap because the companies pushed too light a projectiles so they could do their velocity brag thing... which is totally misleading when it comes to black powder muzzleloading. They had a good idea then shot themselves in the foot with too light a loads which led to a lot of wounded deer and dissatisfied customers. With the proper loads, a .45 inline is capable of very good performance... which makes some of the Knight and other .45's on clearance right now very good bargains. The .275-grain power belt is one of the better bullets they make. Their light bullets are pure junk. Stay at 260 or more grains in bullet weight and you can do awfully well with a .45.
 
Just a thought... In Colorado the law says you must be using a .50 cal to take elk and moose. I am not sure what other states out there have for restrictions, but this has some influence around here on what guns they carry in the shops and what guns you typically see in the newspaper.
 
An elk hunter can use a .45 in some of the mountain states, Utah for instance. White sells a 460-grain .451 conical that is very effective on elk, but you're right, Elks. A .50, .54 or .58 is much more attractive for elk and Colorado regulations do affect .45 sales. I prefer the White 460 grain Colorado Special in .50 caliber for elk but the 425-grain .54 conicals are very good as well.
 
I shoot a t/c 209x50 encore and i think it is an awesome gun. i shoot 100 grains of 777 and 295 grain hp powerbelt. I don't have any experiences with the .45, everyone i hunt with has a 50 cal. so you can see what preference is in our area! i think one of the keys to being happy with your choice of cal is just shooting it and getting comfotable. There are some people out there who still swear by traditionals i don't think i would give up my in line. I think it all falls back to personal experience with either caliber. they both are obviously good performers if there is even a discussion about them.
 
Also, adding to Elks comment. That is a .50 cal projectile. No sabots! As far as long distance accuracy goes. Here in CO and a lot of other states, you can't use a scope. For me, at 150yds, the front pin pretty much covers up the entire animal. So, being accurate at 200+ is not such a big deal because I would have a hard time just seeing the animal.
 
Yeah, on a Colorado muzzleloader elk hunt you want knock down power at ranges out to 100-120 yards in my opinion. You want a big hole and massive tissue damage and nice easy to follow blood trails. Colorado regulations make a .50 the limit and you can't shoot conicals more than twice the length of the diameter of the projectile. But that's OK because the 385-grain .50, 435-grain .54 and the 525-grain .58 will hammer an elk at close range. Conicals by their nature also limit the powder charge or you'll get gas cuts and hurt your accuracy. You can use a wad but I haven't seen that it was worth the effort. A 100 grain charge of FFG or Pyrodex and a 435-grain conical makes for a pretty good elk rifle and its usually accurate in almost any .54 muzzleloader. Quite frankly, I don't see much of an advantage for inlines on Colorado elk hunts. A good old sidelock plains rifle meets the regulations and the practical hunting limits of the regulations. My elk hunter is a .58 caliber Leman reproduction with a 36" barrel and 1:66 inch twist. She's a handful but its great fun to hunt with her.
 
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I was just wondering what your thoughts were on the 45 vs the 50. Let me know what your opinions are. thanks guys.



I hunt CO and as you can see above, there are some regs that we deal with here, but the .45 is legal for deer here. The two caliber bullet length rule still applies though.

In your part of the country you may be able to use longer conicals. If you are not hung up on sabots, try some of the lead whitworth style bullets in 400 to 450 grains with 70 to 90 grains of powder.

If the regs in co allowed it, I'd be shooting a gibbs or rigby style .45 rifle with 450 grain lead conicals at deer and elk /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/smile.gif
 
I bought a T/C Encore Stainless .45 from a local sporting goods store that was closing. I got one heck of a deal on it because it was .45. .45 is leagle for hunting deer in Indiana. It shoots great I use 100gr of trip7 and a 225gr powerbelt.
 
Try the 275 grain if you can find them. On your old package of powerbelt bullets is there address and phone number. I have been ordering them direct. They have nice stopping power and still shoot great. If you know you are going to or can be taking longer shots then the 225s will do better. But where i hunt most of my shots 120 or less.
 
I have killed deer with the 225 grain myself and it is ok. Where i hunt at chances of getting a really long shot is not very probable so i prefer to use something a little heavier. I have had them drt with the 225 grain. Alot of thepeople dont like the powerbelt bullets. they say they dont get as tight of a seal around the sabot but until i have a problem with or see a problem with one i will continue to use them. They are alot easier to load. you dont damage the end of the bullet trying to ram them down your barrel like you do some of the others because they are such a tight fit. They shoot fantastic. I get nice groups out of all of mine that i have shot. And i think they retain there weight a little better than some of the others. I wish i had pictures of some of the bullets we have pulled out of our animals to show you what the do.
 
I'm curious as to why F&G would limit the length of the projectile?

In the 45-70 a 400gr or 500gr is not uncommon, so why limit the ML?
 


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