Muzzle loader ?

Ski · August 23, 2021

Been shooting a CVA .45 Hunter Bolt for years using 100 grains of triple 7 pellets, and shooting Powerbelts aerolite bullets with darn good success. However this year powerbelt has discontinued the "Aerolite" for the new ELR .45 which best performs from with a 1/24 twist rate. My rifle is 1/28 anyone with any info or input ??????

desmobob · August 24, 2021

I'm guessing the new projectile will work fine. Only one way to find out... shoot some groups.

You never know. I have a .223 with a fast, 1:7 twist that should, theoretically, shoot best with heavier (longer) bullets. It shoots its best groups with 52gr. match bullets. So, spinning the projectile a little bit too fast (1:7 vs. 1:9) doesn't seem to hurt at all in that case. Maybe that won't hold true in muzzle loaders or in your individual rifle.

My old Armsport Hawken has a very slow round ball twist and that's all it will shoot well. My Pedersoli three-band Enfield is very particular about bullet weight/length.

CountryboyinDC · September 1, 2021

It looks like the weight between the bullets increased from 250 grains to 285, right? It also looks like they dramatically altered the bullet shape, with the weight centered further to the tail of the bullet. As @desmobob mentions, the best way is to shoot a group and see, but bullet prices mean you don't want to take that too far. If it shoots well, great.

If not, there's one aspect other than twist rate that stabilizes bullets. It's definitely not as profound as twist rate, but if you wanted to try to use the new bullet and it seems to be on the verge of stability you could try it. Add velocity, which means adding powder, if that's safe with your muzzle loader (mine is a different make/model that can handle 150 grains). This chart from Berger may give you an indication of what you'd need to add velocity-wise to achieve stability.https://bergerbullets.com/twist-rate-calculator/.

Otherwise you may be looking at different bullets, I fear. I personally like sabots from Hornady, but if you have a good thing going, it's always best to keep it going. Good luck.