Mountain Stalker
32 Cal
Howdy,
After reading many posts about barrel suitability for conicals I've been finding that most sucessfull load development stories mention OP wads or paper patch. If this is the norm, what do shallow grove barrels have to offer provided the same caliber and twist rate?
My question is motivated by the MT muzzleloader season regs. Only legal projectiles are pure lead PRB or conical without additional gas check or seal which appears to disqualify felt wads and paper patching (cloth patch legal for RB only). I have a .50 Lyman Deerstalker that I am interested in using for elk, but since I can't use OP wads or paper patch, my guess is that it won't work with conicals in my .008" grooved barrel.
There is a ss replacement barrel with shallow grooves .004" (same 1/48 twist) available for the Deerstalker. What are the odds that it would enable accurate hunting loads with something like Lee REALs in 250 or 320gr without the use of an OP wad or PP?
*I am aware that conicals produce more recoil, are liable to move off the powder and generally need to be spun faster than RB to stabilize and not tumble when hitting flesh. That's why I'm looking at ballets and stubby 300ish-grainers.
Looking forward to hearing thoughts and personal experiences.
Thanks!
After reading many posts about barrel suitability for conicals I've been finding that most sucessfull load development stories mention OP wads or paper patch. If this is the norm, what do shallow grove barrels have to offer provided the same caliber and twist rate?
My question is motivated by the MT muzzleloader season regs. Only legal projectiles are pure lead PRB or conical without additional gas check or seal which appears to disqualify felt wads and paper patching (cloth patch legal for RB only). I have a .50 Lyman Deerstalker that I am interested in using for elk, but since I can't use OP wads or paper patch, my guess is that it won't work with conicals in my .008" grooved barrel.
There is a ss replacement barrel with shallow grooves .004" (same 1/48 twist) available for the Deerstalker. What are the odds that it would enable accurate hunting loads with something like Lee REALs in 250 or 320gr without the use of an OP wad or PP?
*I am aware that conicals produce more recoil, are liable to move off the powder and generally need to be spun faster than RB to stabilize and not tumble when hitting flesh. That's why I'm looking at ballets and stubby 300ish-grainers.
Looking forward to hearing thoughts and personal experiences.
Thanks!