So against all odds (about 4% draw odds) I drew an Arizona bull tag for a November muzzleloader hunt. Of course I'm still in disbelief; winning lotteries and raffles is something that just doesn't happen to guys like me lol.
I'm not new to elk hunting and have been successful with a rifle, but I am new to doing it with a MZ. And yes, I have taken whitetails with a MZ before, but it's just not something I gave much thought about beyond going to the store and buying whatever powder and bullet combo I could find. It's supposed to be a no- brainer anyways, right? Stuff it down the tube and shoot, but not if your target is over 100 yards. At least that used to be the traditional way of thinking, even with in-line MZ's.
Then a few years ago my brother in law started practicing out to 200 plus yards. I thought it was impressive enough. Then last year a mutual friend drew a New Mexico MZ elk tag. He had a Remington Ultimate MZ and was practicing out to 500 yards. I had never heard of such a thing, so instead of asking a dumb question, I googled it lol. It appears with all the long range crazes in today's shooting world that muzzleloaders are no exception.
I am a somewhat experienced reloader, and shoot a fairly high volume of reloads (apparently not this year though). But being a reloader already has my head spinning with bullet, sabot and powder combinations to test before this year's hunt and I fear I am falling down the rabbit hole with excitement.
I am shooting a CVA Optima V2 with the regular 26inch barrel... pretty standard. I would of course like to start extending my ranges out towards 300 yards. That is going to be my ethical limit and from the looks of it, a fair portion of the area I will be hunting looks pretty thick with pine and juniper anyways. I am not above re-investing in my setup and have looked into the V2 long range and a few other models, but I feel this probably won't necessary. However, I really don't want to squander this tag if the opportunity presents itself this fall.
Let me know what you guys are using for Elk, what you recommend and what works for you. I am starting from blank and am all ears. Thanks!
I'm not new to elk hunting and have been successful with a rifle, but I am new to doing it with a MZ. And yes, I have taken whitetails with a MZ before, but it's just not something I gave much thought about beyond going to the store and buying whatever powder and bullet combo I could find. It's supposed to be a no- brainer anyways, right? Stuff it down the tube and shoot, but not if your target is over 100 yards. At least that used to be the traditional way of thinking, even with in-line MZ's.
Then a few years ago my brother in law started practicing out to 200 plus yards. I thought it was impressive enough. Then last year a mutual friend drew a New Mexico MZ elk tag. He had a Remington Ultimate MZ and was practicing out to 500 yards. I had never heard of such a thing, so instead of asking a dumb question, I googled it lol. It appears with all the long range crazes in today's shooting world that muzzleloaders are no exception.
I am a somewhat experienced reloader, and shoot a fairly high volume of reloads (apparently not this year though). But being a reloader already has my head spinning with bullet, sabot and powder combinations to test before this year's hunt and I fear I am falling down the rabbit hole with excitement.
I am shooting a CVA Optima V2 with the regular 26inch barrel... pretty standard. I would of course like to start extending my ranges out towards 300 yards. That is going to be my ethical limit and from the looks of it, a fair portion of the area I will be hunting looks pretty thick with pine and juniper anyways. I am not above re-investing in my setup and have looked into the V2 long range and a few other models, but I feel this probably won't necessary. However, I really don't want to squander this tag if the opportunity presents itself this fall.
Let me know what you guys are using for Elk, what you recommend and what works for you. I am starting from blank and am all ears. Thanks!
