Muzzleloading: Passing On The Tradition

Muzzleloading has long been a passion of mine. As a kid the first firearm that I wanted was a muzzleloader. On my 12th birthday I got my wish, and my dad gave me his 54 caliber Thompson Center Renegade. I had shot it many times before, but now it was mine and I began hunting with it right out of the gate.

In Colorado the age to start big game hunting was 14 years old, so small game was my outlet until I was old enough. I was excited to draw a Colorado elk tag the first year I was eligible. I had several close calls with the majestic wapiti over the first couple of years but was never able to harvest one with my muzzleloader.

When I was 16 years old I was fortunate enough to draw a coveted moose tag for Colorado. The hunt was on. I spent the summer shooting and working with my muzzleloader. I cast my own round balls and practiced every day. About three weeks prior to the opening day of my hunt the spring in the lock broke. The firearm that I had been working all summer with was out of commission.

The muzzleloader was 25 years old at the time and thousands of rounds had been shot through it, the spring was simply wore out. I contacted Thompson Center hoping for a quick solution. They were more than happy to help and sent me the parts I needed without delay. Within the week I had the parts I needed to get back on track. It was a simple installation and did not miss a beat.

Several days into my moose hunt I was fortunate enough to get into a position to harvest a moose. He was not going to break any records but he would look very nice on my wall. With my dad working as my guide, and my brothers working the VHS camcorder on their shoulder, I put the hammer down on my moose.

Fast forward 20 years, I now live in Idaho, and my 12 year old son is beginning his big game journey. There are a number of opportunities in Idaho to hunt with a muzzleloader. Deer, elk, and pronghorn all have a season set aside as well as using a muzzleloader during the multitude of any weapon seasons. Not to mention using one for small game hunting. I picked up a 32 caliber side lock for just that purpose a few years back.

This summer I felt it was time to jump into the 20th century and get one of the newfangled in-lines. Being my first in-line I did not want to spend a lot of money so I landed on the Thompson Center Impact Muzzleloader and picked up a CVA starter pack. The Impact has all the features necessary and having a bit of a loyalty to T/C I went for it. Dropping into modern muzzleloading was a change for certain. In-lines are built for hunting and do the job fabulously. Side lock round ball shooters are great fun and can be effective but fall short of the modern in-lines for pure big game hunting.

With the Impact I am able to delve into the broader array of modern bullets. Depending on the season I am hunting I can use anything from the TC Maxi bullets to powerbelts to sabots. While testing them I discovered they all shoot very well with some site adjustments needed. The TC Maxi ball bullets are a ready-to-go 320-370 grain, full bore, all lead bullet ready to take down the biggest of North American game, and are perfect for those seasons and areas that require the use of a full bore lead bullet.

The array of conical bullets available in the powerbelt line is great. I could go from 245 grain all the way to 348 grain with several different coating options. I chose the 295 grain copper plated hollow point backed with 100 grains of FFG Pyrodex. It's a great bullet and powder combination that doesn’t kill my shoulder and will be the perfect punch for my deer hunt later this fall.

It took me 20 years to get into modern muzzleloading. I will always have a place in my heart for my side lock hawkens, but I'm excited to sneak into the woods with modern upgrades like sling studs! 

List of what I used: