12g Muzzle loader

I am going to try again- I recently got a 12g muzzle loader- a Knight tk2000- does anybody have any experience with these? does anybody have any favorite loads? can I use standard 2 3/4, 3, and 3 1/2 hulls? A guy at a local sports store told me to be careful of the 3 1/2' 2 1/2 oz loads it was the first one that has ever made him see stars? He named all these big guns he has shot and this is the first one that literally knocked him on his butt. He also said he heard the safety can rake your skin between the thumb and forefinger any info on this?

A muzzle loader does not use hulls at all. You pour about 3 drams of black powder down the throat, followed by a cloth patch and a cork or cardboard patch, pour an ounce of shot down the throat, and follow with a patch and wad to keep the shot from dribbling out of the barrel if you point it down. Prime the pan or seat a cap and you are ready to shoot.

I would suggest you thoroughly read the owners manual. I imagine it would be rather difficult to load a 'standard 2 3/4, 3, and 3 1/2 hulls' into a gun without a magazine.

A guy at a local sports store told me to be careful of the 3 1/2'

The guy is talking about a completely different gun if he was talking about 3 1/2' loads. You seem to be missing something in the translation.

Why would anybody use a muzzle-loader? Is this just a challenge to use an obsolete weapon? Or is there some advantage to a muzzle-loader?

Is it cheaper to use?

I thought a hunter would want to reload quickly. Hence, I am amazed to read that muzzle-loaders are in use. Plus, they are very heavy, aren't they? I am picturing 'the one that got away' because a hunter was busy reloading his muzzle-loader.

Thanks,

With the knight tk2000 it has the option of using a regular shotgun wad to improve patteern the manual says to pour 120 grains of powder then us standard wad, then shot then oveer shot disc go to the http://www.knightrifles.com/store_product.cfm?gid=107& majorid=6 and you will see their system

they use a 209 primer You pour about 3 drams of

I happen to talk to a muzzleloader on saturday and his think was you become more aware of proper shots It makes you become aware of best shot picture and being the best shot you can be

Even with breech loaders, a single shot has its charm. My dad wouldn't let me use a repeater until I was 18 years old. When I complained, he said, 'You don't need a better gun, you need to be a better hunter.' It frustrated me to no end when I was a teenager, but the lessons in stalking and shot selection have stayed with me for life.

I agree with both the lesson and charm of a single shot. When I first started hunting I was using my Grandfathers Auto-5. I kept coming back with to few shells left and not enough squirrels (missing the shots). After that he would only let me go out with a single shot and 3 shells. After a few months I was back to the semi-auto but had learned my lesson.

In many ways all hunting rifles are single shots. You get one bang and the game gone or it's yours. In close woods or brush even one shot can be hard to come by.

You're very right Alan, but even after close to 30 years of deer hunting (dang it, I'm getting old), I'm still amazed at the number of 3 to 10 shot strings of fire I hear on Opening Weekend. That's why when my kids started hunting, I gave them a bolt action rifle and two bullets. One went into the chamber when they were on stand, the other went into their pocket. It's kinda hard to go bangety, bangety, BANG when you have to rifle through your pocket for the other bullet.