"The Ultimate 1 are quite easy to load. Is there any fear that they will dislodge from the powder charge if my rifle is dropped on the barrel?"


The ULTIMATE 1 are designed to load very easily in most .50 bores. During the loading process, the knurling is actually cut by the lands of the barrel until the shank of the bullet is seated below the crown of the muzzle. This is most easily accomplished by giving the back of your short ball starter a smart rap with the palm of your hand. Once the shank is below the crown, the bullet will slide down the bore with little resistance.

The base of the bullet is cup shaped for two reasons.

First, while seating the bullet, the lip of the cup will flair inside the barrel to actually “bite” the lands. To flair the bullet, it must be seated firmly on the powder to compress the powder charge. The use of one of our bullet starters will protect the nose of the bullet from being deformed during this process. The flaring process acts to hold the bullet securely on the powder charge.

Secondly, upon igniting the powder, the bullet actually “slugs out” to fill the lands of the barrel. This acts like a reverse parachute to seal the barrel more efficiently thereby utilizing all the energy that the powder is creating to accelerate the bullet. Actual test results have demonstrated 100 f.p.s. to 150 f.p.s. higher velocities with our cup base over the same weight of typical flat base cast style bullets. The slugging out process also reduces the perceived recoil by distributing it over a longer period of time. That's why the same weight and charge with an Ultimate 1 will feel "softer" to shoot than a saboted bullet.

All this having been said; momentum is still momentum. If you drop your muzzleloading rifle on the barrel, the bullet can move. I have tested this by seating a bullet firmly on the powder and then dropping the gun from 6” to 8” on a piece of wood and then re-measuring the inside position of the bullet. In all cases that I have tested, the bullet stayed in place after one drop; I have however seen cases where after six or seven drops, the bullet had moved several inches down the barrel towards the muzzle.

The prudent shooter of any muzzleloader with any bullet will check that his bullet is firmly on the powder after his rifle has been dropped or knocked against a hard object. If we made bullets that would never move once seated, you would never be able to get them down the bore without totally destroying the nose of the bullet nor would you be able to remove them in the event of a miss-fire.

If you leave a charge in the barrel from one day to the next, it would be a good idea to do a quick check with your ramrod to assure that the bullet is still on the powder charge before heading into the woods the following day.

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