i have not tried 150 grain s yet, and am not going to anytime soon. I am only able to hunt public land in florida for the time being, so i see no reason for the extra 50 grains.
My friend uses 150 out of his CVA Wolf. His theory is if you can load 150 then do it. He's the same guy that bought a 10g shotgun that looks more like a goose gun for hog hunting. He's killed deer with that load, so it seems to work for him.
My ML has a 26" barrel and I couldn't group well 150 grains. 100 works good for me. I haven't tried loose powder because I have so many pellets to go through. I may sell my ML and get one that has a shorter barrel. If so, I'll experiment with loose powder vs. pellets.
I can honestly shoot 150 gr accurately. When I originally was playing with loads I tried the 150gr load and it put a litteral clover leaf on target with only a sliver of paper in between the three bullets. That was good enough for me to stick with 150gr.
I do, however, shoot a 28" barrel T/C Encore Pro Hunter muzzleloader barrel. I expect that 28" barrel is the reason that I can do so - otherwise I'd expect exactly what you mentioned, there would be a ton of powder burning outside the barrel and possibly throwing it all over the place. My buddy has a 26" encore barrel and cannot shoot 150gr either - he's more accurate with 100 gr.
The big question is why shot 150 grains? I shoot 100 grains at 100 yrds in my t/c pro hunter, and my bullet goes through 2 wet 2 inch phone books and 1/2 in groups. That is good for anything in florida I guess if you went buffalo hunting at a long distance may be 150 but anything else i feel it isn't needed .
I went the 150 grain route when I first got my rifle but a buddy said what for? I went back down to 100 grn and shoot much better now. Unless your takin 200 yard shots I see no reason for it.
