Not all of the advances have been with the modern muzzle-loaded rifles. The technology of the components stuffed through the muzzle has more than kept pace with the changes to rifle designs. In 1996, due mainly to the growing use of in-line ignition models, Hodgdon Powder Company introduced its popular Pyrodex blackpowder substitute in easy-to-load, compressed pellet form.

Early pellets were offered only in 50-grain equivalent. To load a 100-grain charge meant that the muzzleloader hunter could quickly drop in two pellets, seat the projectile, slip a primer into the ignition system, and go hunting.

And it wasn't long before those hunters using hot No. 209 primers for ignition discovered a significant increase in velocity, energy and range by dropping in a third 50-grain pellet.

Today, practically every modern in-line rifle model is built to be compatible with such 150-grain pellet charges. Ten years ago, in-line rifles were shooting saboted 240- to 260-grain bullets at 1,600 to 1,700 feet per second. Velocities are now typically 1,900 to 2,000 fps.

SUPERB BULLET PERFORMANCE
When it comes to loading components, muzzleloader shooters and hunters now have quite a selection to choose from, especially with saboted bullets. More than a dozen companies now market pre-packaged bullets and sabots. The latest trend is very aerodynamic polymer-tipped spire points, with a high ballistic coefficient to produce flatter long-range trajectories, along with higher retained velocities and energy levels.

(The ballistic coefficient is a number that serves as an index for efficiency. It indicates a projectile's ability to overcome air resistance and maintain speed during flight. The larger its ballistic coefficient, the more efficient the projectile is.)

The jacketed hollow-point handgun bullets -- like the Hornady XTP -- that were first loaded and shot out of muzzleloading rifles with a plastic sabot, have a ballistic coefficient of around .150 to .180. Modern spire-point muzzleloader bullets typically have a ballistic coefficient of .210 to .260, while some of the more advanced saboted bullets now sport a ballistic coefficient of well over .300.

New loose-grain powders, such as Triple Seven and American Pioneer Powder, are now producing 2,000-plus-fps velocities with charges of only 110- to 120-grains. And thanks to cleaner burning "muzzleloading" No. 209 primers, some of these propellants allow hunters in the field to load and fire three, four or five shots without having to wipe the bore.

Plus, when it's time for clean-up after a session at the range or a successful day in the deer woods, the light fouling can be cleaned from the bore with nothing more than water.

And if the shooter can't get to the rifle that same day, it's no big deal. These powders have been formulated without corrosive sulfur.

With such startling improvements in both the rifles and what comes out of them, the modern muzzle-loaded big-game rifle's maximum effective range has "yarded" outward.

Just about any primer-ignited in-line .50 caliber muzzleloader stoked with a 100- or 110-grain charge of a hot blackpowder substitute behind a saboted 240- to 300-grain spire-pointed bullet now enjoys an effective range of at least 200 yards.

Depending on the powder, charge and bullet being shot, the rifles and loads are delivering 1,000 to 1,500 fps at that distance, for a clean, quick harvest of deer and other big game.

TO SOME, CHANGE IS HARD
For more than 20 years now, certain elements on the traditional side of muzzleloader hunting have fought the improvements being made on modern in-lines, mostly because of their contemporary appearance and their longer-range effectiveness.

During the late 1980s, as in-line rifles grew in popularity, some shooters still preferred authentic late-1700s- and early-1800s-styled flintlocks and percussion rifles. They claimed that modernization of muzzleloaders allowed during the special "muzzleloader only" or "primitive firearms" seasons would result in the loss of those hunting opportunities.

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