National 4H Shooting Sports Program

Dear Sirs,

This picture was taken at the Shot Show by our 4-H Ambassadors. We appreciate your contributions to the National 4-H Shooting Sports program. On behalf of the 4-H Ambassador Team, I want to thank you for the hospitality you provided them during their stay at the Shot Show. It was a memorable experience for them.

Sincerely,
Kenneth Sabo
Executive Director

Mike Mattly

Tom,

Africa was great. No problems with the powder. I even took a box of pellets and T7 loose and no questions. I didn't try to bring them
back though, thought that would be pushing my luck. I will send pics to you. I got the new world record Kalahari Gemsbok with a muzzle
loader. Feel free to use the pics.

Take care,

Mike

National Muzzle Loading Rifle Association
Manufacturers Match 2003

H.P. Gregory (shooting for Knight Rifles) was the top overall individual shooter with a score of 288 out of a possible 300. He also set a new national record for the unlimited aggregate besting the old record by 3 points. Congratulations H.P., great shooting. After the shoot, H.P. sent the following comments to the Hodgdon Powder Co. office; "While getting ready for the manufactures match at Friendship, IN., I tried all different types of powder. I found Triple Seven gave the best results. It gave the best accuracy of them all. I found that it shot cleaner and gave very reliable ignition under all conditions. I was very impressed with its performance. I recommend it highly for anyone who wants to get the very best performance out of their modern muzzleloading hunting rifle. Thanks for making such a quality product."

2nd Place winner, Bill Rose shooting for Austin & Halleck was also using Triple Seven. In fact, 3 of the top five shooters were using Triple Seven

J.L. Hargis, Bob Elka, and Elwood Cullers pictured below left, won their 4th team championship. The last two years, J.L., Bob and Elwood, were shooting our new sulfur free Triple Seven powder. These guys could shoot any muzzleloading propellant they want. Their choice, Triple Seven.

Another Knight team finished second. The team members, (sorry no picture) were,Sarah Lotts, Theresa Van Epps, Tony Capriglione, and H.P. Gregory were all shooting Triple Seven. In fact, three of the top five teams and seven of the 14 teams entered were using Triple Seven. All of these top shooters will tell you, "if you want a winner on the range or in the field, give Triple Seven a chance in your in-line muzzleloader."

Congratulations and thanks to all the competitors and best of luck next year.

Dick Scorzafava

I have been using 777 over the last few years with great success. Last year I was fortunate to harvest 22 big game animals using Knight for our television show and I'm off to a great start this year. Your 777 performs the best of anything I have ever used and I get precision accuracy with every shot.

My Sable will rank number 5 all time with a muzzleloader in SCI and I hope you can use this picture somewhere. Thanks for supporting me with the best product available.

Dick Scorzafava
Knight Born to Hunt Television

Matt Seibold's Monster Buck

My name is Matt Seibold. I’m 11 years old and I live in South Vienna Ohio.

November 17 2007, was the first day of our youth hunting season in Ohio. My dad woke me up at 5:30 a.m. so we could to the woods and get in our stand before daylight. About 20 min after daylight, a 10 point buck came right in on us. He was about 10 yards away, but I spooked him as I tried to get my muzzleloader in position to shoot.

The next buck we saw went running right behind us chasing after a doe. Then, about 8:05, another doe appeared about 60 yards away. My dad told me to get my gun ready because he thought a buck might be following her. My dad was right! Sure enough here he came!

It was the biggest buck I had ever seen. I asked my dad if I could shoot. He told me to wait for the deer to get closer. Finally, at 50 yards, the buck turned broadside. My dad said shoot. BOOM! The doe took off running right by us. My dad asked me if I’d been aiming carefully, because the buck did not move. Then the buck tried to follow the doe. He went about 10 yards and fell down. That’s when we realized I had made a perfect shot with my CVA .50 caliber Wolf muzzleloader loaded with two 50 grains of triple se7en powder with a 245 grain powerbelt.

My dad reloaded the muzzleloader. He told me to shoot him again if the moved. We got down out of our stand and I called my mom to tell her I had killed a monster buck. The rack was higher than the bed of the truck. It took us 2 ½ hours to drive five miles to our house because every body wanted to see my deer. They all asked: Where did you kill this buck? All I would say was “in the woods! My buck field dressed at 190 pounds had a spread of 26 ½ wide and a gross of 176 6/8 and a net at 171 3/8 as a 10 point typical. I will be in the all time B&C record books and the Longhunter Society said that out of 1159 entry I will rank 59. I also received the Junior Hunter Award from The Buckeye Big Buck Club and third place for the biggest deer killed by muzzleloader in 2007 from The Buckeye Big Buck Club I also have a story about the hunt in the North American Whitetail October issue.

Thank You for your time and hope to here from you soon.

Matt Seibold

Lois Stoney

Here is my wife’s buck she took using an in-line muzzle loader and 777 pellets. The pellets are great for a quick reload.

Thomas Stoney

Ken Byers

Dear Chris,

I wanted to share with you a copy of the muley buck I shot in South Dakota using your Pyrodex Pellets. The bullet was Hornady 300 gr. 45 cal. I used 3 Pyrodex 50 gr. 50 cal. pellets. The gun was a Knife MK-85 Stainless 50 cal.

Thanks,
Ken Byers

Chris Hodgdon

Success in Kansas,

Every once in a while the deer get close enough to throw a rock at! This happened to me on the first day of deer season in Kansas. It was getting late in the morning during a clear cool day with a light wind blowing in my face. I stood up from where I was sitting and was ready to move on and go home. Out of nowhere comes this nice buck, just over the slight rise in front of me, it steps over a barbed wire fence at 25 feet! I believe this buck was as much surprised as I was! At this point I didn't have time to think as I pulled the muzzleloader up to my shoulder and fired! Smoke and noise followed but no deer.

The buck ran off but there was a blood trail. I walked over the small rise and the fence following and suddenly I see several does and three bucks! I was in the thick of a herd and my deer was nowhere to be seen. I waited patiently while the other deer moved on. I got up from my hiding place and found my animal a short 50 yards away.

Thanks to Ron Nolan of Overland Park Kansas who helped me get the deer into the truck.

I used a Knight 50 Caliber DISC Rifle with 2-50gr. Pyrodex Pellets and a 250 gr. Barnes Bullet.

Chris Hodgdon

Richard and Sandi Mellon

Hi Chris,

I’m including some pictures of last week’s New Zealand hunt that Sandi and I went on. We filmed all the hunts for the 2009 season of Outdoor Quest. The Ikon in 30 TC was an awesome performer killing 6 animals with 6 shots at ranges out to 310 yards. 250 grain SST’s pushed out of the Triumph by 150 grains of Pyrodex pellets accounted for my Stag and ram at 93 and 153 yards respectively. $110.00 for a box of Pyrodex Pellets there!

I have an editorial piece to do on muzzle loader powders. I’m shooting and comparing the various powders available today and I’d like to include some Pyrodex and T 7 both in loose powder and pellets. Can you arrange some for me to use? Northern Tackle in Grande Prairie, Alberta is a distributor of Hodgdon I believe.

Thanks - Rich

Chris Lalik

Caroline's First Deer

Caroline’s lucky streak continues. After killing a big Tom this spring her first day out, she decided on Wednesday she wanted to hunt deer. She did not want to go during the youth season, so she had to hunt with the rest of the adults and use a CVA muzzleloader. As usual, her first day hunting paid off. She had a doe in her sights pretty early, but we thought it was too far (about 100 yards) so she held off. Caroline was pretty mad at me for not letting her shoot until a doe stepped out, stood still, broadside, and where she could get a good rest. She even called her shot correctly (two inches high and slightly back). She had a lot more faith in her shot than I did while we waited our 20 minutes to follow up. Caroline is 12 and she used a 225 Grain AEROTIP Powerbelt in front of 150 grains of Pyrodex pellets. It whacked her pretty hard because in my desire to keep her from getting “scoped”, I had not noticed that the butt of the muzzleloader was not on her shoulder but instead was against her solar plexus. Shame on Dad!! However, she did say it was worthwhile.

Chris Lalik
Overland Park, KS

Thomas Stoney

I killed this buck using a .54 cal Lyman rifle and RS Pyrodex. Pyrodex is great compared to regular 2F black powder.

Thomas Stoney

S.B. Dalgleish

Dear Chris,

One of the problems that I have found is that I don't like recoil, I have discovered that the load that I like best is using your powder -Clays- in a Winchester or Federal type hull, 1 ounce loads with a claybuster wad #CB 4100 -12-209 primer either Winchester or Federal, with 18.5 grains of Clays.

I find this gives me a fast clean shot and something I can shoot all day.

Thank You,
S.B. Dalgleish

Mark Kenzer

Dear Sirs,

Upon arriving at my favorite Wisconsin grouse spot last fall, I discovered that I had left my factory hunting loads at home. I normally use both International Clays and Universal Clays for my target shotshell reloading but have always relied on factory loads for hunting. As luck would have it, I found a box of 20ga. reloads of 7/8oz., 7 1/2 shot loaded with International Clays in the console of my truck. As a return to town would require a round trip of an hour, I decided to hunt with these reloads. The cover was thick and challenging for shooting as any grouse hunter can attest to. As the picture shows, I was not disappointed in the performance of the shells loaded with your powder. I have always been satisfied with your products on the trap and skeet field and I will be relying on shells reloaded with your powders for my upland and waterfowling needs from now on as well.

Mark Kenzer

Robert Whited

Dear Mr. Hodgdon

My story starts by saying what a difference a powder can make. I am a very avid Chucker hunter here in Nevada where these birds are in abundance. These birds can run up to 30 mph and get up off the ground twice as fast or at least it seems that way. I started reloading my own shotshells about three years ago and have been looking for a powder that would send shot at a great speed for a good distance. I tried everything you could think of, all the powders, different wads, then one day I found your web sight and there it is in black and white LONGSHOT powder by Hodgdon, what a powder!! This stuff works. I have never checked it for velocity but as you can see my shotgunning improved greatly with the help of your powder.

Thank You,
Robert Whited

P.S. I have made a shot at 80 yards with an improved cylinder to my friends dismay, he is now changing his powder to LONGSHOT.

Casey Evans

Dear Chris,

I thought I would send you another story about my success with your products. I went hunting at my brothers farm in Kansas this year with my new 300 WSM . I loaded it with 65.5 gr of H4350 and 165 gr Nosler Ballistic tips. I had sighted my gun in at 2" high at 200 yards because of the longer range shooting opportunities I have experienced in Kansas in the past. This paid off when I was afforded the opportunity to get a shot at him at 300 + yards . The gun performed great and I took this deer with a well placed shot right behind the shoulder. I have been a long time user of Hodgdon Products and have had great success reloading and taking deer with several different rifles all using hand loads with your products.

Keep up the good work with a great line of products.

Sincerely,
Casey Evans

Gerald Maring

Dear Hodgdon Powder:

When I sent you my photo of pheasant hunting a few years ago [using your powder, of course, in my reloads], I said I would send another photo if I got a Idaho whitetail using your H4831. Attached is the photo [my Savage 7mm WSM prints touching bullet holes at 100 yards...using 140 grain Nosler Ballistic Tips in front of 66.5 grains of H4831]. I am hunting in central Idaho again this year with 270 Winchester, loaded with 150 grain Nosler Ballistic Tip in front of 58 grains of H4831. This loads also sights in with touching bullets on the 100 yard target. Will send you another photo if I get the trophy I am hunting for. Please keep professing [in your mission statement] your faith in our Lord Jesus Christ...in the private and media sectors. I am trying to do the same. It was not easy to do this when I was a professor in a state university. Please continue to work in this election year to protect our gun and hunting rights. It is pretty easy to choose the best candidate for us hunters and shooters.

Yours truly,
Gerald H. Maring, Ph.D
retired professor
Woodland, Washington

Karl Johnson

Hi Chris,

This photo shows Karl Johnson of Kennewick, WA (on the right) with his first deer, thanks to the efforts of his "hunting uncle", and over 100 rounds of practice with Hodgdon reduced loads in a 30-30 Winchester. While the deer pictured was harvested with a full-power .308 Win, Karl's uncle indicated that the reduced blast and recoil of the 30-30's gave Karl the confidence he needed to complete a 100 yard off-hand shot when it counted.

Thank you for continuing to provide quality propellants and services to the shooting community.

Regards,
Craig Seal

Paul Kruger

Dear Hodgdon,

This is a picture of my dad & myself and a bull moose I shot using my 9.3 X 64 Brenneke with a 270gr Speer, H414 and a 215 primer (same load as in the bear picture from May 2001). First and only load I ever had to develop for this rifle. I have used it at -32C to shoot another moose not shown here a few years back and have also used it in warm weather also (70F) hunting spring bear. When I first developed the loads during testing I shot several under 1" groups off the bench.

Good powder, H414.

Regards,
Paul Kruger

Richard Moore

Dear Chris,

This is a picture of me, Richard G.Moore, firing in the Ontario Rifle Assoc. summer matches. It was a coached-team match, at 900 metres, and I scored 50/50, 8 Vees which won for our team. Equipment: Wichita action: McLellan 30inch stainless barrel, 7.62 Nato calibre, 155 gr. Hornady A-max bullet, 47.0 gr. Hodgdon's Varget.

I use Varget consistently for my competitive shooting and appreciate its resistance to temperature change. Bullets were seated .010 off the rifling, molycoated and gave an average deviation of 9.1 ' /sec. at an average muzzle velocity of 2965' /sec.
Note this was designated as our annual "Umbrella Match, " a quite civilized way to shoot in the wet or the heat.

Sincerely,
Richard Moore

Sue Tyndall

Dear Chris,

My wife (Sue Tyndall) did it once again. She got the better Deer in Colorado. I have been loading both our ammo with Hodgdon Powder for many years. Her ammo for Five years now (with H1000) has never failed to perform as expected. She hunts with a 270 caliber rifle and with your powder it has "always" been a "minute of angle" shooter. She continues to make one shot kills, and she has no lack of confidence with "her"ammo combination.

Thanks again for great, consistent product!

Donnie R. Tyndall

Dick McQuisten

Chris,

Just thought you might be interested in the attachments. 

Got a new lot of Ralph Council bullets delivered on Tuesday, just in time for this week-end.  I was worried that they might not make it, though.  It would have been touch and go for my son Mike this week-end I am afraid.  Mike has been shooting Ralph's 120 gr bullets made on 1 1/8" jackets with great success for sometime now in his 30 x 46 Hunter and 41 grs of Benchmark (He/we haven't change charge weight in nearly 4 years - he resists strongly to do so.)  They shot pretty darned decent in this new cartridge I developed (30 MCQ) as well.  But, since I was getting low on the 120s, I decided I would try some 1" jacket bullets since I have been having a great amount of luck in my 30 x 47 HBR Hunter from bullets made by Rich Carpenter and Randy Robinett - 118grs.  I sent you a picture of that WOW target I shot last month down at Ault, Friday night before the last Hunter match. didn't I.  The one where I ran out of V-135 (at least not enough to get through the match and had to find a load of Benchmark that worked.)  If not, it is also attached! 

Mike loves his Hunter gun, which I call the Purple People Eater, (see attached) that he ask me if I could fix it so that he could compete in group shooting as well.  I put my head to working and came up with the idea of a short 30 cal.  Simply a very short .308, ie, 1.625 " case length.  I installed a new Lilja 3gr. 17 twist barrel and a Weaver 36 scope.  He has done pretty well with it using the 120 gr. bullets the last two seasons, but should do even better with these 117s.

Though my target is a WOW, the one I shot yesterday with Mike's rifle is an even better WOW, I think, since it has 5 bullets in a hole measuring near 0.052 inches, using 37.0 grs of Benchmark.  The picture of 36.5 grs of BM was shot just a few minutes previous to the 37gr load, which is nothing to cry about either.  But, look at what 1/2 grs of powder can do for group performance -- I hear and read quite often that chronograph stats have little to nothing to do with accuracy.  To this I say, BS -- with capital letters.  The 0.246 inch group is quite acceptable on average but --.

Cya

Dick McQuisten

Doug Olds

Dear Chris:

My cousin and I were on our last hunting trip of the elk season. I was working up a draw and my cousin went to the top to work the ridge down. I was 20 to 30 yards from the road. I was very tired because the draw was steep and brushy So I sat down to rest and went to the bathroom. In doing so, my rifle was 4-5 feet from me. I rested about 7- 12 minutes. All of a sudden I heard a trotting sound coming from the road above. I had my Taurus 44 Magnum on my hip loaded with Nosler 300gr. bullets with 19 grains of Hodgdon H110. I took the 44 out of the holster and waited. Then the bull, a 5 by 5, jumped off the road about 25 -30 yards in front of me. He stopped and looked back up to the road. He never looked at me. I don't know if he smelled me or was waiting for more elk. When he stopped and looked back to the road I shot him in the neck. He dropped to his knees like a brick. He rolled once and landed in the small creek with butt down and head up. Perfect! I believe he was dead before he hit the ground. This is my first elk. The elk all dressed out without its' head, skin and legs, weighed 346 pounds. The butcher said on the hoof, the elk would have weighed 700 to 750 pounds.

In the above photo, I'm the one dressed in full camo with the camo baseball hat. My cousin Dan, is next to me. I was so glad to have Hodgdon H110 in my gun. The powder kills game dead!!!

Sincerely,
Doug Olds

Brian Smith

Dear Chris:

Whitetail deer taken in western Kansas 12/00. Load: 454 Casull, 240 JHP with 36 grains of H110. Accurate and powerful load, one shot at 110 yards.

Sincerely,
Brian Smith

Jim Bibb

Dear Chris,

This bear was taken with my Magnum Research 454 Casull. I used 30.5 gr. of your H110 behind Hornadys 300 gr. XTP Magnum bullet. Your H110 is the only powder I use in my 454 Casull and all of my 44 Magnum handguns.

Thanks for a great product!

Sincerely,
Jim Bibb

Vince Lucchetti

Dear Hodgdon.

While I have participated in USPSA Shooting and IDPA for a half season last year (2001), I decided to start reloading for both for this season (2002). I chose Titegroup based on my research and the large number of personal references on it as well as watching other shooters switching to it from other brands.

I watched my groups and my scores improve dramatically with the use of Titegroup. Over many thousands of rounds and months of shooting, I have not had one problem with any rounds. Rounds feed and function flawlessly through both my SIG-Sauer's and my Glocks. In the recent Tri-State Championship I won Production "D" Class and feel confident that it was a large part of my success.

My thanks and appreciation for a fine product.

Sincerely,
Vince Lucchetti

Alan Griffith

Thought you folks might like this from my recent trip to the Seward Peninsula of Alaska this past Sept 2008.

Ruger 4-5/8" stainless steel Blackhawk. Cast Performance WFNGC 335 gr cast bullet. Basically, your load direct from the Hodgdon manual. 20 gr Lil'Gun @ 1150 fps.

15 yds.

Alan Griffith
Mapleton, Utah