I am going to try cutting back on my powder and shot. In hindsight, I'd think nothing of hunting upland birds or shooting clay targets with a 7/8 ounce load in 20 gauge or a 3/4 ounce load in 28 gauge. One of the beautiful things about muzzleloader smoothbores is that you can load nearly whatever you want in them (up to a max). The versatility is what makes them so attractive. I've spend the whole year loading 1-ounce in the 20 gauge ML and 1 1/8 in the 12 gauge ML. I'm going to drop to 7/8 ounce in both, and use a square load - same measure of powder and shot. A trip to the patterning board will tell most of the story. In the big picture, this will save powder and shot. Should also be less recoil. I've read quite a few books and articles related to MLs lately from Starr to Fadala and some well-known and virtually unknown authors. All seem to be on the heavy side of loads - like 1 1/4 ounce+ for 12 gauge. If the loads were "self-contained" I'd not think twice about the lighter loads, so why not go there with the ML?
