Can anyone tell me about the accuracy of this rifle..Ive been looking for one and they are relitivly hard to find..Ive seen them on the internet and other places, but like anything else when you decide you want one they all disappear..

Im thinking it would be a neat short range elk gun in a particular place I hunt, and the location also has a early rut Muzzle loader season that Ive been over looking for a number of years.

Ray, I'm the guy who bought the 58 from Bill that you have been looking for, the gun is remarkably accurate. Lee Minnie over 90gr Kik 2f. Would not hesitate 200yds at an elk. There is a guy on YouTube that shoots one 650 yards just search shooting 58 cal muzzleloader. Good luck on finding one. Lynn

I have a 54 great plains but like the idea of a lighter handier rifle and the bigger bore for elk might suit me also..Having a hard time locating one, but Im sure one will show up sooner or later. Thanks for the load data..
Ray

I have an Antonio Zoli (navy Arms) 58 cal Buffalo Hunter on the way, 26" barrel..Not having shot ML for near 40 years Im returnting to an old pursuit I had many years ago. A lot has changed and my memory is slow to jog..

Looking at the specs, I see in the 54 (I have a Lyman PG) with a 220 gr. ball at 2000 to 2100 FPS and a Minnie at 1000 to 1400 FPS and would like to know which one for elk, I know the round ball is suitable for deer...Same question for my 58 with a .530 Minnie as opposed to a 260 RB at 2100 FPS

I also see Val Forgetts loads that go to 125 grs if 2/FG powder with the 610 Minnie and hunted Africa with it, and in his NA 58 Hawken he used 180 grs of the same, but all the posts I read here call for 80 to 90 grs of that powder?? confusing!! so can one work up to the 130 or 180 gr.s of that powder with a 530 bullet...?????? Calls for the same in the 54 at better velocity with a lighter bullet than the 58, but powder charge is the same...

What is the limiting factor with this powder, recoil or pressure? I believe in safe but max loads in my modern hunting rifles. I would prefer the same wit black powder..

With a prb I don't think you can go too high with original black. There is a limit too the pressure it can produce. I've read in old books several times to keep increasing charges until you found unburnt powder kernels out in front after firing. This was in the winter over fallen snow or a bedsheet spread out ahead of the muzzle on the ground.

Just load re up, shoot, and wet patch followed by a dry after each shot. And buy some balistol if you don't have any. That stuff works great on blackpowder fouling and I use a water/balistol mix to wet patch between shots also. Just take a stack of cleaning patches, dunk-em, squeeze me a bit and store in a ziplock.

Well thanks to dpcd here I now have a 58 cal. Hawkin also..Im elk ready..well working at it, itll be spring before I get it all figured out as to what works and what doesn't.

Additionally, I have witnessed a lot of deer and elk shot with Muzzle Loaders over the years, butI have only shot a deer and an elk with one, but one more elk since, so not I have 1 deer and two elk..all with a 54, and frankly one of the reasons I quit using a ML was I was not impressed with its killing power...but since that time Ihave seen the 58 used on deer and elk and I'll swear its as potent as a .458 Win or 45-120 on elk, or that was my impression. Most Ive seen were 58s and round ball, but the 500 gr. bullets sure laid the bulls out in a hurry..Im getting back into muzzle loading as this thread has jacked me up, thus my purchase of a Hawkin 58 and the Navy Arm Buffalo hunter..I love that buffalo hunter, it round barrel and shorter rifle points like a boss shotgun, and it fits me like a custom order. If it shoots as well as the Hawkin, I'll probably sell the Hawkin 58 and the 54 Lyman PG.

thanks Lynn, I'll work on that..Im having a hard time finding 58 cal. bullets so been shooting balls in it, not real accurate with balls..I think I can get Lee Minnies at track of the wolf??

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Originally posted by Atkinson:
thanks Lynn, I'll work on that..Im having a hard time finding 58 cal. bullets so been shooting balls in it, not real accurate with balls..I think I can get Lee Minnies at track of the wolf??

You want one of these. Not hard to cast.

https://www.midwayusa.com/prod...5-diameter-500-grain

Grizz

Im trying to stay out of casting, but may come to that with a 58..

Ray, If you want some minies when I cast a bunch will send you a batch to try.

Id sure appreciate that, if they shoot then I guess I better get into casting..Thanks a bunch Lynn..

In Texas we have a permit for residents only that allows us to hunt public land, but it is restricted to shotgun, bow, or muzzle loader. Since I like to do all my hunting with double rifles, I had a brand new Ruger no 1 458 win unfired, and traded it to a dealer for a muzzleloader Pedersoli 58 cal double rifle, but have yet to use it. I intend using it next year to hunt the public land east of my home where there is a tract of about 1800 acres of river bottom land for public land hunting that holds deer, and wild hogs by the hundreds.

So I guess I better work up some loads for the big double, so once the season opens I'll be ready. I will be posting here for suggestions from those who shoot the 58s!

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Mac, I have had two or three of those Kodiaks in .58, and one or two in .72. If you want maximum performance from yours, send a PM to Jeffeosso. Tarnation, he worked up some stout loads in the one we traded back and forth!

My experience with pure soft lead RB and Miniball is that they are devastating. A few whitetails would agree. One shot with a Ruger Old Army. The old 36 cap and ball could have been like the 357 mag of today. A few gun men back in the day used them after catridge guns were common. Can you say Buffalo Bill?

https://www.facebook.com/cwbulletman/

Patrick makes excellent bullets for these rifles. They are dead-soft lead that obturate the bore well and are very accurate. After getting some that were rock-hard from other big commercial suppliers, his bullets are the way to go.

cwbullets@aol.com

This thread is dated back to 2017, Im now 86 and my hunting is less phyical for sure..I still shoot the ML a bit, mostly from a stand...I shot a lot of stuff with it since 2017...

UPdate on an old thread...I no longer shoot a Muzzle Loader, have not for a couple of years now, COPD Emphasema so can't handle the smoke very well..

But the best elk hunting is the special Muzzle loading season in Idaho during the prime rut..Going to a mask and taking advantage of that season..Got the 54 sighted in and figure on one shot..

Godspeed, Ray. You continue to be an inspiration.

Ray, no worries...86 is the new 85 :-)

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Ray, no worries...86 is the new 85 :