Hello Folks,

The Parker Hale Volunteer and I went hunting for the first time yesterday, the opening day of the muzzleloading deer season here in Virginia. I thought you might enjoy hearing about it.

My bullet is from the Lyman 451114 mold, which casts a 0.452" bullet of 450 gr. The load is 90 gr of Diamondback FFFg blackpowder, which produces slightly more than 1300 fps at the muzzle. This powder is somewhat dirty, and I have to wipe the bore after every two shots. As I practice at a leisurely pace and do not engage in competition, this is an acceptable trade for the very low price.

Accuracy is very good, producing 10-shot groups at 100 yards of three inches. I have made no sight adjustments from where the previous owner left them, although I don’t use the tang sight and have removed the ladder (I can always put it back on the base, which remains on the gun). Both sights shoot true, with point of impact right on the top of the front sight at 100 yards. The tang sight was a non-original modification.

The day was very nice, cool but not cold. After several hours watching a small field from just within the woods, I spied a young buck working his way towards me. He was very wary, keeping his head up almost all of the time, and lowering his head to browse only infrequently. When he was between 75 and 100 yards I tried to get into position, but it was very difficult. The angle was bad, off of my right shoulder, and I had much trouble maneuvering into a position from which I could shoot. Finally, after much contortion, I was able to line up the barrel-mounted military target sights, and when everything was perfect the trigger broke, almost on its own. The deer disappeared, and was nowhere to be seen when the smoke cleared. He had been facing in my direction with his head down, presenting a minimum target. With much trepidation I worked my way over to the spot where I had last seen him, and there he was. It was a perfect shot, and the big Lyman bullet had done an outstanding job on its way through both lungs at a quartering angle.

The field dressed deer weighed 85 pounds, and the fellow at the checking station said he was one year old. He should make terrific table fare.