How to - Muzzleloaders

Shooting muzzleloaders can be frustrating if you don't do it right. My first experience was getting a CVA bobcat 50 cal side lock from my uncle. I went out and bought powerbelts and pellet powder. I could only get it to shoot after about 5 caps. I didn't realize then that you have to have an inline to shoot the pellets since no powder would get in the pan. I got some loose pyrodex and poured it down the pipe and put a bullet/sabot on top. It shot the first time. I was pumped. Went to load another bullet and broke the ramrod in half. Apparently with pyrodex you need to swab between shots especially with a tight bore. The first couple years I learned by trial and error. The next couple years I learned by reading and watching videos. The last couple years I finally had enough experience to troubleshoot some of the problems I had. Overall, you get what you pay for (except with powerbelts).
If you have a 1:48 twist cap lock with open sights, your are shooting a 15 inch group at 100 yards, if your cap didn't get clogged or wet. If you have an inline 2lb trigger with blackhorn 209 and a polymer tipped bullet you are shooting 15 inch groups at 300 yards.

To get the same point of impact, every condition has to be the same.
Bullet, sabot, primer, powder(temp, volume, moisture), barrel(temp, residue), loading pressure, and all the typical rifle shooting conditions(trigger pull, rest, etc).

My current setup:
Traditions Vortek Strikerfire. 30" barrel. 2lb trigger. Break action inline. Buttstock storage.
100 gr Blackhorn 209
Hornady .44 225 gr FTX
Fiocchi 209 shotshell primers

Guns
Sidelock - These are great for fun, but if you are strictly about getting meat on the table the modern guns are better suited.
Inline - These are named as such because the bullet, powder, and primer are all right behind each other. They are the go to design for modern muzzle loaders. This is your typical gun you find on the shelf at the store
Features to look out for:
Speed breech- this can be removed without any tooling.
Break action - these are much easier to clean, cap, and operate overall. Get the break action release out of the way. The CVA wolf I shot had the release below the trigger and I accidentally bumped it a couple times while on a sling and had the primer fall out.
Scoped - some of the cheap scope bases can be off center. Check them out and get new ones if your scope is bottomed out with your windage or elevation. A standard scope will work just fine, but since the bullet drops off so quick,
Strikerfire - Traditions vortek is the only one I know of. It has a 2lb trigger.
Longer barrel - Since black powder is slow burning, the longer barrel allows more of the powder to be burned before the bullet exits the muzzle.
Storage - Some have storage in the buttstock for bullets, powder, etc.

Bullets
These range from cheap to expensive and good to bad. Find a bullet/sabot combo you like and stick with it. I have had different brands of 240 grain bullets impact in different places.
Patch and ball - $.20 each. These are definitely the cheapest, but aren't the best for hunting or accuracy out of a 1:28 twist barrel. The round ball limits the amount of weight a bullet can have.
Powerbelt - $1.25 each. Easy to load. Never could get good accuracy out of them. They are designed so that when the bullet is fired it expands to fill the rifling so it will spin as it exits the barrel. This shoots a full bore deformed bullet downrange. The sabot/bullet combos keep the bullet uniform at it exits the bore and they also have a better ballistic coefficient since they are longer and skinnier. I think these should only be used if you have trouble loading a bullet/sabot down the barrel.
TC XTP mag - $.55 each. Good all around bullet and go-to for starters.
TC cheap shot - $.45 each. These match the copper jacketed bullets but are a little cheaper. I wouldn't mind hunting with them, but don't deform the tip when loading.
TC shockwave - $1 each. This changed the way I thought about muzzleloading bullets. It is a long skinny 40 cal bullet with a polymer tip. They were just too expensive to shoot a bunch. It is what got me thinking I could roll my own for a much better price.
Roll your own - You can get fancy bullet/sabots for about $.50 each or basic bullet/sabots for about $.36 each. The sabots can be bought for $.16 each and you can chose what kind of bullet you want to use. I got a bunch of 44 FTX to double as reloads for my 44 mag. You can use 44 or 45 cal bullets in the 50 cal muzzleloader. The 44 cal bullet has a better ballistic coefficient for the long range shots. If you are not shooting over 100 yards or don't really care about having a little larger group, the pure lead and hollow points are a lot cheaper than the polymer tips and do just as well for killing.

Powder
Pellets - $.45 ($.90 per shot). These are great for people who don't want to hassle with measuring powder. You get less accuracy with them for several reasons. You are limited to the powder volume you shoot since they are typically 50 gr each. They do not fill the bore so you have random pockets of air around the powder resulting in an inconsistent burn. Sometimes the pellets break when seating the bullet creating more inconsistency. They also cost more per shot than loose powder. They are handy to load though.
Loose Powder - about $.25 per shot. This is the best way to go for most people. It is cheap and you can adjust the load to whatever you want. 90 gr works best for me in most guns. The bullet side of the speed loaders is about 90 gr too for a quick measurement.
Blackhorn 209 - about $.60 per shot. I never jumped on the BH209 bandwagon because it was so expensive. It is worth it though if you are serious about muzzleloading. It burns more consistently, you don't have to swab between shots(it leaves more of a residue than a crud), it doesn't smell like rotten eggs, and cleans up easier. You can also weigh it for more consistent loads. Other black powder substitutes can only be weighed by volume. I don't think a NO 11 cap will ignite it.

Primer
No 11 caps - $.05 each. If you can upgrade to a 209 ignition, I would suggest it.
ML 209 - $.08 each. I am not sure why there are special reduced load primers made for Muzzleloaders. They are 3 times the price as the shotgun 209s. I think they might burn cleaner.
Shotgun 209 - $.03 each. These are hotter than the ML 209 primers. They are better for the BH209. I got a couple pop-bangs with the ML 209s.

Accessories
Bullet starter - The first couple inches seem the hardest. Use these short starters before the rod.
Palm Saver - This isn't really necessary if you have a short starter that accommodates your rod.
Reloads - keep the powder, bullet/sabot, and primer all in individual containers. Get the one with the barrier in the middle, clip, and primer holder.
Range rod - you will wear out your ML rod. Get a sturdy full size rod to load and clean.
Cleaning patches - big round cotton patches. Use a bunch of these.
Powder measurer - get the one with a plunger and fold away top.
Capper - capping gets tough. especially in the cold or with gloves.
Fanny pack - you have to carry a lot more stuff muzzleloading than with modern gun
Oil - black powder attracts moisture even on a clean gun. Check it often in the safe.
Powder flask - easier to use than the full 1 lb container, but not necessary.
Powder spout - these screw on the top of the pyrodex cans.
Bore snake - make it very easy to clean the bore. Get them cheap on ebay for all your guns.
Toolbox - you are going to accumulate a ton of stuff to take with you to the range.
Breech plug grease - makes the plug come out a lot easier after a day at the range.

Process
Get everything organized and be consistent with everything.
Measure your powder and dump it in the barrel.
Seat the bullet in the bottom of the sabot and start it in the barrel.
Make sure not to deform the bullet or the sabot petals.
If the sabot petal gets crimped while loading, it will not open the same and will affect the bullet flight.
Use the short starter and get the bullet going.
When pushing it down the barrel don't let the rod bow and rub the crown of the barrel.
It will take quite a bit of pressure to get it down. Don't beat on it. Use constant pressure.
Seat the bullet with the same weight each time. I lean on it a little when done.
Cap and fire.
With Pyrodex, before reloading, get a cleaning patch moist and swab up and down the barrel 3 times.
Swab with a dry patch up and down 3 times.
For greatest accuracy, let the barrel cool a bit before dumping the powder in and shooting again.
The clean bore shot will likely impact a different location than the rest of the shots. My wolf would always hit about 3 inches to the left on the first shot. Either keep your bore a little dirty for the hunt, or remember where the clean shot will hit.