Archive for the ‘preparedness’ Category

Class I – Sat. Aug 7th

Posted: June 7, 2016 by gamegetterII in preparedness, prepping
Tags: , , ,
0

Class I,food safety/cooking for large groups/feeding your tribe will be held on Sat. August 7th at 9am in Sagamore Hills,Ohio.

Class I is required before taking  class II & III,as the classes all build on the previous class.

Class I has a lot of material that I will send via e-mail that must be read prior to day of class. There is some studying involved,as it is a large amount of material,and anyone who does not have fairly extensive food service experience will be seeing most of the material for the first time.

Click on the ***Feeding Your Tribe Class I***  at top of page for all the details,and class description.

 

Ebola is Here,Now what?

Posted: October 1, 2014 by gamegetterII in preparedness, survival
Tags:
2

There is now a confirmed case of ebola in a Dallas hospital.

The person with ebola arrived here on a flight from Liberia.

Apparently it just makes too much sense to ban all flights from West Africa,and deny entry to any person that was recently in W. Africa.

Since TPTB are such obvious morons,and/or have another reason for allowing a passenger from an ebola infested country to enter the U.S. it’s only a mater of time until ebola arrives in a city near you.

The CDC is supposedly tracking down all the people patient zero had contact with,since they can’t even keep track of viruses in their own labs-I wouldn’t put much faith in their success at finding everyone that is likely infected.

Ever read Stephen King’s book the Stand? See the movie? (movie sucked ass-book was much better)

That’s the type of infection rate and spread we are lookin at here. Since it takes up to 21 days for symptoms to appear,if the CDC misses just one or two people-all bets are off,and there will be no way of containing the outbreak-period-no matter what. Even if the .gov agencies all get together and use all of their people,plus the national guard,they will simply not be able to contain the spread of the disease-someone will get outside of their quarantine area,that someone will infect 10 people,those ten will infect 100,those 100 will infect 1,000,the 1,000 will infect 100,000,the 100,000 will infect a million-then it’s over. If half of the population gets infected,70% plus will die-at least 100 million people will die if ebola spreads outside of the original small number of people patient zero infected.

U.S. hospitals are not equipped to handle an ebola outbreak-period.

Surgical masks will not protect you,the only thing that can protect you is a full hazmat suit with a closed system respirator-and getting far away from any city. Isolating yourself from people is the only way to protect yourself 100%.

Since not all that many of us can do that-things ain’t looking too good for the home team here.

If,by some miracle,the CDC does track down every single person patient zero had contact with,and quarantines all of them-then the ebola virus can be contained.

The CDC has already admitted that there are likely more infected people here-they also admit that they can only hope that they can contain the spread of the virus-not like that’s exactly a news flash to most of us.

Should this happen-there needs to be a ban on anyone entering the U.S. from west Africa,north Africa, and the middle east,since this shit ain’t gonna stay in west Africa,it’s gonna spread to the rest of Africa first,then the Middle East,then Asia and Europe…

Unless…no one is allowed to leave Africa-no one,not by air,not by ship or boat,and the same rules apply across the M.E. as there’s all kinds of people making it into the M.E. from north Africa that are not using commercial transportation.

This is another good reason to seal our southern border-100% -shut it down-no one in until this ebola bullshit has run it’s course.

Since the chances that our border is gonna be sealed are zero to none-and the chances that the CDC tracks down everyone this idiot from Liberia had contact with are about the same-if you have not done so already…now would be a good time to stock up on extra food and water-in case you have to remain in your home for an extended period of time.

Figure at least a gallon per person,per day for drinking water,another gallon per person,per day for cooking, hygiene,and washing pots and pans. Hopefully you have at least 6 months worth of food stocked up-if not,now would be a really good time to do so-before more people wake up to the fact that this shit could be very,very,serious,and have a very,very bad outcome.

Get plenty of fuel for your campstove,unless you have another means of cooking,we have 2 woodburners,one of them is also a cookstove,and enough wood for this winter ready to go-so we have the cooking and heating covered,we have a 1,000 gallon cistern that collects all the rainwater from our gutters,so as long as it rains occasionally,we have a back-up water source.

It would be a good idea to have plenty of candles,and some oil lamps for light,along with a couple camping lanterns,and flashlights. We have hand crank flashlights made by Lifegear,no batteries needed.

Be sure you have extra prescription meds if you must take them,and a well-stocked first aid kit.

Don’t forget your pets-get extra dog food,cat food,whatever.

We can all hope and pray that this shit does not turn into a pandemic,however,I would prefer to be prepared to live in isolation for a few months if need be,than to take my chances going out to get food,water,and medical supplies.

Setting Up Your Hunting Camp “Kitchen”

Posted: September 12, 2014 by gamegetterII in camping, hunting, preparedness, survival
Tags: , , , ,
0

Depending on what and where I’m hunting,I set up my camp’s “kitchen” differently,according to location,and means of transportation.

I’ll start with a camp you can drive to by truck or ATV.

I use the fire for a lot of the cooking,and also take a propane and/or a Coleman stove that will work with Coleman fuel,gasoline, diesel, or kerosene.

I take a 5 gallon water jug-the kind you see on the back of guys work trucks,an old enameled coffee pot, an assortment of cast iron skillets,dutch ovens,a griddle,cutting board,good sharp kitchen knives-(the same Henckels and Wusthof knives I used when I was working as a professional chef)-a pair of long tongs,a couple of spatulas,a rubber spatula,whisk,meat fork,and a set of 3 stainless steel mixing bowls that fit inside each other,the bowls are great for mixing pancake batter,making beer batter if we catch some fish during our down time,whisking eggs to make a big skillet of scrambled eggs,or a bunch of omelettes,plus

the steel mixing bowls,along with a larger enameled one are used to wash dishes.

All this is stored in plastic bins,as is all food that doesn’t need to be in coolers.

We use 3 folding tables. One is 2’x2′ or so,the other two are  about 4’x 2 1/2” each. The stove goes on the 2×2 table,the others are used to chop vegetables,potatoes etc. during actual cooking,and used to set up buffet style for meal times.

This set-up goes under a 10’x10′ pop-up “gazebo” thing the wife found at a local discount store for $50.00,or under an old-school dining fly-the kind that has one pole that rests on the middle of the table. If the location is in an area that’s full of bugs-like the black flies in Canada on spring bear hunts-I use an old Coleman brand screen house that’s 10’x10′.

The reason for bringing all this along is that it not only makes cooking meals faster and easier-if it rains,or is snowing hard-you are sheltered from the weather while cooking.

Plus the tables can be set up as one big card table if everyone’s stuck in camp due to weather.

I have a grill that’s 3’x5′-the kind you find in some campgrounds and public parks,got it when a local campground closed down about 10 years back. It’s just some heavy gauge steel diamond shaped mesh welded to black steel pipe like the type used for gas lines.

Also have a couple smaller versions of the same thing,except I used angle iron in place of the steel pipe to cut down the weight.

These are great for cooking over fires for a lot of people and/or cooking a lot of different foods,in different pans at once-like making bacon,eggs,pancakes,and sausage for breakfast.

When hunting in places we ride in on horseback,the cookware gets cut down to one 18″ steel skillet,one griddle,one dutch oven,1 enameled steel coffee pot,cutting board,1 chef’s knife,1 spatula,1 large fork,1 pair of tongs.

When backpacking in to hunt-all that changes to a backpacking stove,my old Boy Scout mess kit,along with canteen cup that is carried with canteens on my belt,I despise “Sporks”,so I’ll put up with the extra few ounces to carry a fork and spoon in my pack.

Since there’s not much actual cooking,mainly boiling water is all that’s involved when using freeze dried food-Mountain House type, MRE’s ,along with some good quality dried soups,instant coffee,teabags,and hot chocolate packages,I use the backpacking stove that uses a fuel bottle you pump up when using it,as it works better than the type that uses butane canisters. The canisters tend to work poorly in extreme cold,and at high altitudes.

The pump-up fuel bottles work at any temp. and at altitude,plus they can use Coleman fuel,gasoline,diesel, or kerosene. These stoves also are great to have for survival situations,as are the bigger 2 and 3 burner Coleman type stoves that use the same fuels in a tank that you also pump up.

c34853ce-163e-4181-a0b6-a3251da42cb6

pDSP1-14199217dt

The Importance of Good Boots

Posted: September 9, 2014 by gamegetterII in preparedness, survival
Tags: , , ,
4

Lately I have run across quite a few guys who have top of the line rifles,packs,tents,sleeping bags and other gear-and they are wearing $29.99 Wal-Mart boots.

I do not have all the latest,greatest gear,or brand new rifles,or camo clothing that costs more than my rifle,or $300.00 knives.

What I do have are a few pairs of boots that are not some wally world garbage-I have 3 pairs of boots,my every day all purpose boots,made by Wenger-the company that makes Swiss Army knives. I found those on sale when I went into shoe store to buy new “tennis” shoes. Apparently they did not sell as good as the Timberlands that all the local gang-banger and gang-banger wannabe crowd wears-they were marked down from over $100.00 to $49.99. This is the second summer I’ve worn these boots pretty much daily,and they show very few signs of wear.

Next is my early season hunting boots-a very old pair of Danner Pronghorn 8″ boots with 400g of Thinsulate insulation.

I will be replacing these next year,as this is likely the last season I’ll get out of these boots-12 years for a little over $100.00 is a hell of an investment.

Last is my cold weather hunting boots,a pair of Rocky Blizzard stalkers I bought in 2002-same year I bought the pronghorns.

The Rocky boots are still in great shape,and will last me quite a few more years,they cost about $150.00 back in ’02,well worth the investment.

Had I bought cheap assed Wal-Mart winter boots in ’02-I would have been replacing them every other year since-and the total would have been far more than the buck fifty I paid for the Rocky’s in ’02.

When you wear cheap boots,you get blisters on your feet,your feet hurt,the boots wear in ways that cause you to walk abnormally,which is bad for your feet,ankles,and knees-plus your lower back.

Remember-when SHTF there will be no running out to wally world to get new boots-buy the best boots you can possibly afford-now,and wear them so they are broken in.

Good boots are as important as having a rifle that works every time you pull the trigger,if you are wearing shitty boots-your feet get all fucked up,you can’t walk right,which means you can not do patrols,you will lag behind on hikes,and it will fuck up your feet,ankles,knees and lower back.

Cut out the soda for a month,or drink less beer,or cut out the high-end beer,or don’t eat out,or skip the local bar for a month-there’s plenty of things most people can do without for the amount of time it takes to save up the $$$ for a good pair of boots.

Do whatever it takes-save the $$$ and get a good pair of boots-or two.

Good boots are as important as the rest of your gear-and more important then a lot of it-do not buy shitty boots-period.

 

Read.

Learn.

Train.

Do more PT !

Fundamentals of Fieldcraft: Packing for Partisans: A Conceptual Approach to Equipment Selection and Load-Bearing, Regardless of Position or Duties, with Specific Examples

Posted: September 4, 2014 by gamegetterII in preparedness, survival, training
Tags: ,
0

 

 

Reblogged this on starvinlarry.com
May be some guys new to this stuff who will find it to be very useful.
I’m used to humping hunting packs and gear-huge difference…

 Something everyone should read-and understand.
You gotta hump your gear in the field,or you’ll never know if the set-up you have is gonna work-or if it sucks.

Now is the time time find out if your gear and the way you have it set up works-not when you need it,and are counting on it.

 

 

 

MountainGuerrilla

(This article is a revision of a series I wrote in the very beginning of the blog, entitled “Equipping the Guerrilla Fighter.” I have been thinking about this subject a great deal, since coming across a “prepper” manual on the subject that, while well-written, and well-intended, was poorly thought out and approached from ignorance of reality. Idealism is seldom a bad thing…unless it fails to be tempered with reality. Instead of focusing on specific items and recommendations, for the paramilitary guerrilla security force dude, or the auxiliary Home Defense guard, or even the underground operative, we’re going to approach this topic from a genuinely conceptual approach, so that anyone can look at it, from genuine Gus the Guerrilla to Polly Prepper, and figure out how to approach the issue from their own perspective and needs, with a systemic approach.

BTW–My apologies for the length. It was 22 type-written pages….J.M.)

View original post 12,729 more words

Last minute things to do before hunting season starts

Posted: September 3, 2014 by gamegetterII in Archery, firearms, hunting, preparedness, shooting, survival
Tags: , , , , ,
0

Those who live in states where the use of bait is permitted should start putting out corn now.

Use some shell corn,and some cob corn,spread the shell corn around,do not just dump it in a pile-as this can lead to the spread of disease from deer to deer.

I go to my local feed store and buy a block of what I call sweet feed-it’s a mix of grains,with molasses added for sweetness.

Since it’s compressed into a block,it keeps the deer at your feeding location longer,as does the cob corn.

The blocks are kinda heavy,but so what,it’s good exercise.

I also place some extra mineral blocks along the trails leading to and from the place I put the corn out,this also keeps deer in the area longer. Mix up the “flavors” of the blocks,around here,I use apple,acorn,stockman’s mineral blocks,and plain salt blocks. I buy a big salt block,then cut it up with a sawzall,using a pruning blade,I cut a 50# block into 6 pieces,which makes the salt blocks much more manageable to carry.

As soon as acorns start dropping,I’ll rake up piles of them from my yard,and scatter them among the corn and salt/mineral blocks.

Those who live where baiting deer is not legal just have to keep scouting your hunting areas,find out what the main food source is,main water source is,the bedding areas,and the trails the deer use to get from one place to the other. (you already did that back in early August,right?) Watch for acorns to start dropping,as deer will eat acorns over any other food source once they start dropping in significant numbers.

You should place your stand/blind along the deer’s route to the stand of oaks that are dropping the most acorns,just at the edge of the stand of oaks,as deer will hang back in the cover at the edges of the stand of oaks before entering them,as there’s more open space among stands of mature oaks than there is at the edges of the stand,where there is a mix of trees,and most likely some brush.

In either scenario,look for faint trails that do not show signs of heavy use if you are hunting for a mature buck. The main,heavily traveled trails are made by does and fawns,the older  bucks will walk their own trail,parallel to the main trail,usually no more than 10-15 yards back from it.

Pick your spot for your stand/blind,and hang a trail camera along the trail,then you will know what bucks are using the trail. If trail cameras are not legal in your state,take a small garden claw type tool with you,and clear all leaves,branches, sticks and other debris from several areas along the trail,if the ground is hard,pour some water into the cleared area to soften up the ground. Check the spots you cleared for tracks,keep adding water as needed,so the deer leave good tracks. Using this method,you can judge the size of the deer,and how often he travels the trail.

Yes,all this takes time,and effort,that’s why it’s called hunting-besides-the exercise is good for you!

 

I’ll post some rut hunting tips/techniques soon.

 

Read.

Learn.
Train.
Do more PT !

Ideas for pamphlets

Posted: September 2, 2014 by gamegetterII in preparedness, shooting, survival, training
Tags: , , , , , ,
0

Someone brought up the idea of creating a pamphlet,or leaflet type thing that we in the III%/preppper/survivalist/patriot community could hand out to people to let them know we are not a bunch of crazies,and that training and prepping are just common sense.

Anyone who has any ideas for a pamphlet/leaflet please either comment here,or e-mail me at gamegetterII@yahoo.com

Ideas for pamphlets

Posted: September 1, 2014 by gamegetterII in emergency medical care resources, first aid, food preservation, preparedness, shooting, survival, training
Tags: , , , , , ,
0

Someone brought up the idea of creating a pamphlet,or leaflet type thing that we in the III%/preppper/survivalist/patriot community could hand out to people to let them know we are not a bunch of crazies,and that training and prepping are just common sense.

Anyone who has any ideas for a pamphlet/leaflet please either comment here,or e-mail me at gamegetterII@yahoo.com

A few words on the reasons we all need to do more PT

Posted: August 28, 2014 by gamegetterII in preparedness, shooting, survival, training
Tags: , , , , , ,
1

I just returned last evening from a 5 day camping trip. This was not at a campground,it was just on a piece of property on which I am given written permission to hunt,fish,camp,and target shoot on. There is no city water there is no well water,there are no restrooms,there are no showers,there’s no sink to wash pots and pans in,or dishes. Had the wife and our 16 year old nephew with us.

We had to dig a latrine- in the woods-in ground filled with hard rocks and tree roots.

There is a nice lake on the property,fed from several small streams,some natural springs–and farm field runoff. Carrying water,filtering it twice,then boiling it and treating again with bleach is a lot of work.

So is cutting down dead trees-of which there are a hell of a lot-as the emerald ash borer-another invasive species from China-has killed every mature ash tree on the property.

After felling the trees,they have to be cut into logs,then the logs have to be split for firewood for the fire to cook on,boil water on,and sit around in the evenings.

We cut split and stack hickory for our cooking fires along with the ash.

Besides that-I humped a bunch of camo burlap and wooden stakes that have been spray painted a sort of camo pattern,twine,zip-ties, a 3# mallet, a folding saw,hand pruners,and a hatchet-along with a half dozen mineral blocks to insure the deer herd on the property stays healthy- into the woods either in my pack,or strapped to it.

Then set up a half dozen hunting blinds for the upcoming deer season.

Then there was the better part of a day spent cutting grass and weedwhacking the 500′ long dam that makes the lake possible,along with clearing a bunch of Russian olive brush that some dumb ass in the USDA decided made great windbreaks for farms back in the aftermath of the dust bowl-idiots-the shit spreads everywhere.

I did have some help in our camp-the wife took care of a lot of the cooking,and clean-up,the kid helped with the firewood,and hauling water. On day 3 our kid and her boyfriend showed up,so that meant lots more time for target shooting,which we did a lot of,even shot a couple boxes of clays.

I had started working out 5 days a week recently rather than the 3 days I had been doing-should have been working out 5 days a week the entire year-3 days a week simply is not enough-now imagine rather than just camping,clearing brush,felling trees,cutting them into logs,and splitting/stacking firewood,hauling and purifying water,we had to worry about people trying to attack us to take our supplies,and we had more than just the 5 people to feed and provide water for-and it was winter time in NE Ohio…

 

We just did this shit in the summer-and it took a hell of a lot out of me-even tired out the kid and nephew.

If you had to do this type of stuff every day-just to survive-and you don’t exercise much-you ain’t gonna make it-period. It would kill you,you would be so sore,and so tired,it would take everything you had just to keep the food,water,and firewood stocked up-you would have nothing left if you had to fight off attackers trying to take your shit-

They would just kill your out of shape ass and take your shit- kill your family-or maybe keep your wife and daughters for sex slaves-hell maybe even your young sons for sex slaves nowadays…

Think about that last sentence for a minute…

 

Still think there’s no reason for you get up off the couch,out of the laz-e-boy recliner,or up from the computer chair????

 

Do you know whether or not you can hit a target at 300 yds when you are out of breath? Hell-can you hit a target at any range after some strenuous exercise?

Try it-I’ll bet one hell of lot of the prepper community can’t hit a target at 100 yds after doing just 25 push-ups.

Been paying attention to the news? See all the bullshit that’s going on?

Still think you have time to get in shape? Just working out ain’t gonna cut it-you have to hump your gear in the woods and fields-you have to target practice for real-world scenarios.

If you need to take a class to learn how to do these things take a class-there’s plenty of guys offering training-Max,Mason Dixon,Mosby,DTG,look at the “blogs I follow” on left side of the page-while you’re looking at it-check out the III% Society-when you join-you get training discounts from those I mentioned,plus some others.

Don’t forget about comms,or intel-try Guerrillamerica for intel info,there’s plenty of guys offering comms info on the ‘net as well-don’t forget about the III% Society,and the training discounts offered by the groups I mentioned,and many more – that alone makes joining worthwhile.

Remember the sentence about how they would just kill your out of shape ass and take your shit?

You can still change the outcome of that scenario-but not by sitting on your ass,or buying more gear,or more freeze dried food, or more ammo,or more tacticool shit–you have to train,you have to have a team,group,tribe,neighbor hood protection team-whatever-you ain’t gonna make on your own,and you ain’t gonna make unless you train.

 

 

Read.

Learn.

Train.

Do more PT !

 

 

 

Hunting with a muzzleloader

Posted: August 13, 2014 by gamegetterII in firearms, hunting, preparedness, shooting, survival, Uncategorized
Tags: , , , ,
0

In this post,I’m going to focus on sidelocks,and modern inlines,the poor man’s inlines,not the high dollar Thompson Centers etc.

In many states,as long as it’s a muzzleloader,it’s legal to hunt deer with in muzzleloader or “primitive weapons” seasons.

Some states,such as Pa,restrict hunters to using only flintlocks during muzzleloader/primitive weapons season.

I do not currently own a flintlock,and have only limited experience with them,so I will not be writing about them.

I currently use two muzzleloaders for hunting,and old-(mid 80’s or so)- CVA Woodsman,and a new-(last year)- Traditions Buckstalker.

Neither of these perform well with any of the high velocity bullet/sabot loads.

You can’t load 150 grain charges in them,so the bullets do not stabilize properly in flight,and end up hitting far to the left. 10″ at 100 yards for my Buckstalker,using the black sabots,and the 240 grain round nose lead bullets that I bought a box of 200 of to use for target practice. They are accurate out to 50 yards or so,and have almost the same point of impact as my hunting load at ranges up to the 50 yards,at which point they start hitting to the left-3-4″ at 75 yds,10″ or so at 100 yds.

I can use either pellets or powder in my Traditions Buckstalker,but only powder in my CVA Woodsman-so I use powder in both.

I prefer Triple7 over Pyrodex,as you get higher velocity with the same amount of powder.

You use FFG equivalent powder in muzzleloading rifles,you can also use FFFG as long as you are using .50 caliber and under.

There is a big difference in velocity with the FFFG,I use it for my hunting load,95 grains of Triple7,with a 240 grain  .44 caliber Hornady XTP bullet,with the Hornady green sabots.

I buy the bullets in boxes of 100 from Midway USA,or any of the plethora of online sellers of bullets.

I use the .44 caliber bullets with the green sabots because I can use them in my old CVA,and my new traditions.

Another reason I use powder, not pellets is because I can use a lighter powder charge for target shooting-I don’t have to use a 100 grain charge-(2  50 gr  pellets),or an 80 grain charge-( one 50 gr and one 30 gr pellet).

I use 70 grains to target shoot,except for the month before hunting season,then I use the 95 grain charge,and the XTP bullets.

I target shoot with the 230 gr round-nosed lead bullets,because the have almost the same point of impact as the 240gr XTP’s, and a box of 200 and the sabots to go with them only cost about 50 bucks including postage.

Beats the hell out of paying $15.00 or so for a package of 20 bullets with sabots.

100 240 gr .44 caliber Hornady XTP’s plus sabots only costs about 50 bucks including postage-again-beats the hell out of $15.00 for 20 bullets+sabots.

With the newer inlines that use the 209 shotshell primer,you get more accuracy,and can make longer shots. Using my Buckstalker,I can put 3 shots into a 3″ group at 100 yds,and a 4-5″ group at 150 yards,more than accurate enough for a kill shot on a deer,elk,or a feral hog at those ranges.

I’ve tried a lot of different bullet and sabot combos,patched round balls,and conical bullets that are sorta like an improved minie ball. The best load I’ve found is the Hornady XTP and XTP magnum. The load I found to be the best for what I hunt is the .44 caliber 240 gr jacketed hollow point XTP with the Hornady green sabots.

Using 100 grains of Triple 7 FFG I get 1820 fps,using FFFG Triple 7, I get 1970fps.

The 95 grain charge gives me almost the same velocity,and seems to be the best charge to use,I get the same accuracy,about the same velocity, a little bit less of a smoke cloud after the shot.

Any charge between 80 and 120 grains works in the Buckstalker,in the old CVA,I never use more than 100 grains.

You have to try different powder charges,and different bullet/sabot combos to see what works best for you.

Most older muzzleloaders are more accurate after a few shots have been fired.

That doesn’t seem to be the case with the newer inlines,as my Buckstalker has the same point of impact for 3-4 shots,then begins to lose accuracy until I run a patch or two down the barrel.

I choose which muzzeloader to use based on where I’ll be hunting,if it’s going to be mainly close range shots-under 50 yds,I use the CVA sidelock,if most shots are going to be beyond 50 yds,I use the Traditions.

Another bullet to try is the newer conicals,you will need a felt patch between the bullet and the powder charge for optimum accuracy and velocity.

Most of the conicals bullets are heavier than the 200-300 gr range of the most popular bullet/sabot combos.

The conicals have the “knockdown power” of the jacketed hollow points,but don’t have the velocity. They will take all North American big game animals.

After you have tried a variety of bullets,and bullet/sabot combos,pick which type works best for you,then pick the exact bullet,or bullet sabot combo that works best for you,in your muzzleloader.

I picked my load after a few years of shooting a whole lot of different bullets,it’s what works best for me,it may work for you-it may not.

Some other bullets work good,but I have not found anything that beats the performance of the Hornady XTP in my muzzleloaders-if you have a top of the line,newer inline,there are 150 grain powder charges/bullet combos that will work better for you.

If you are like me,and can not afford to buy the top of the line muzzleloaders-you can’t go wrong using the Hornady .44 caliber 240 grain JHP XTP bullet with the green Hornady sabot.

Some other great bullets to use are- Sierra Sports Master 240gr JHP,Nosler Sporting Handgun .44 caliber 240 gr JHP-(handgun bullets work just fine in muzzleloading rifles)-Swift A-Frame Bullets 44 Caliber 240 Grain bonded hollow point, Speer deep curl,Barnes XPB, Winchester Silvertips,

Then there’s these…Hunters Supply hard cast Bullets,Goex Black Dawge Bullets,Montana Precision Swaging Cast Bullets 44 Caliber (440 Diameter) 380 Grain Lead Straight Sided Paper Patch.

As you can see-there’s a lot of choices out there,including patched round balls-which were killing deer,elk,bison,feral hogs,bears,cougars,wolves,and any other game animal long before any of us were born.

When hunting,you want to be able to reload as fast as possible. There are “speedloaders” available from many companies,they are just an plastic tube with removeable caps on the ends,the diameter matches the caliber you are using,and you can put your pellets or powder,along with your bullet and sabot,or bullet and paper patch,or felt patch in the tube.

Since I use powder,not pellets,I put the measured powder charge and bullet already in the sabot in the tube. Then,all I have to do to reload is dump the powder down the barrel,start the bullet in the barrel with the plastic bullet starter I carry on a string around my neck,then use the ramrod that’s attached to the muzzleloader to seat the bullet on top of the powder charge. If I’m using my CVA sidelock,I put a percussion cap on,if I’m using the inline,I break it open-(like a single or double barreled shotgun)-and place a 209 shotshell primer in the breech plug,and I’m ready to shoot again. There are plastic “dogbones” for sale to hole 209 primers-get one-beats the hell out of trying to pick a primer out of the box with half frozen fingers !

I know the above description sounds like a lot to go through to reload-but it takes 30 seconds or less with practice.

Hunting big and medium sized game with a muzzleloader is not much different than hunting with a rifle or a shotgun using slugs. You still have to do your scouting,find the food and water sources,along with the bedding areas,and trails to and from theses areas. The newer inlines are more like rifle hunting,it’s just a lot more important to make your first shot count,because it takes so much longer to reload.

You do have more range than a shotgun with slugs for the most part-unless you have a rifled barrel for you shotgun,then it’s about the same range.

With the muzzleloader using loose powder,you have as much control over the load you use as you do if you are reloading your rifle ammo.

I use my inline during Ohio’s shotgun season,because I can make a longer shot,since I don’t have a rifled barrel.

Plus I get strange looks when using my Mossberg 590 for deer hunting-must be the heat shield…

You can get a new inline like the traditions Buckstalker I have for under $200.00,add another $50-75.00 for all the accessories you will need,and for under $300.00 you have a rifle that’s fun to shoot,is accurate,and can take any big game animal in the USA-even a Kodiak brown bear.

You can also find used muzzleloaders for under $150.00 at most gun shops-just be sure to inspect the barrel to make sure it’s not corroded due to poor cleaning practices.

Another benefit is you get more time to hunt with a gun,as most states have a season for muzzleloaders only.

If you don’t have a muzzleloader-try shooting one-it’s fun,less expensive than shooting most rifles,and it’s a great back-up weapon to have in case you run out of ammo during a SHTF situation…

Read.

Learn.
Train.

Do more PT.

Older Entries