TC Black Diamond !!!

[rasbo]

So from all your responses I have determined that I need to start from scratch !! 

Here is what you said:

100gr Px Pellets 250gr PR QT with Williams peep site !!

110 gr loose powder 295gr PB Stock sites Magnum caps !!

110gr Loose Px powder 405gr PB stock sites !!

100gr Px Pellets 300gr Presicion bullet polymer tip musket caps !!

110gr loose 777 348 PB #11 caps stock sites !!

120gr Pioneer FFF 250gr PR QT Musket caps !!

150gr 777 pellets 348gr PB factory sites !!

130gr Px Pellets 348gr PB !!

I was hoping to get a couple if not more that were about the same but as you can see, their not even close. I understand every gun and every shooter is different but was still hoping to start with something that was more consistant with the same gun !!!

Thanks for your repiles and I'll let you know what I do, I think I might try the 777 pellets cause I have a couple boxes of em and they clean up easier but I have heard that pellets should only be used with the 209 so we will see !!!

well robodad that narrowed it down for ya..my comment I would throw out.I have no problems with the 295s and loose,but Ive heard many that do.my friend uses pellets and his gun doesnt fire sometimes,could be something hes doing.your gonna have fun no matter what.

[Karl Blanchard]

The whole reason I went to the musket caps was because I used to shoot pyrodex pellets.  You won't have anyproblem with your powder going off with musket caps.  To condense everything for you I will put it this way.  Start with a clean burning powder (777 or pioneer) then a bullet that suits what you are hunting (405 grain bullet probably isn't necessary for deer but can be useful on elk) then ignite it with something reliable.  Power belts, precision rifle, nosler, hornady, they are all quality bullets and will kill just fine.  Just remember that weight retention in a bullet is very important.  More important than how big it is when it starts out.  Now that we can use jacketed bullets this opens up your options.  muzzleloaders are addicting and tweeking loads to get them dialed in is very gratifying.  Good luck and keep us posted!!!

[robodad]

I agree with you BLRman, it is a very gratifying sport, I have been dabbling in muzzleloading for a few years but using a couple older hammer guns, I found a load that worked fairly well with them but missed several times at a couple elk and it wasn't just me either, a friend used one of my ML's and he missed too, so I decided to hang them up and just enjoy lookin at em !!  Now I have this one and was really looking for a spot to start in the middle of the learning curve but as this thread proves there is no real place to start. Maybe I should have posed the question of what is the worst thing to use in a TC Black Diamond !!! maybe that would have yielded better results or at least listed some things for me to AVOID !!! LOL

I want to try some of the newer powders because of the ease in which they clean up and are less corrosive and have used musket caps even on the hammer guns so that won't be a problem, I have several kinds of bullets already that have been given to me by folks that say "try these they don't work for my gun but maybe yours will like them" so no lack of combinations there and the same with the powder, got several kinds in pellets and loose form so now I just have to wait till TC can get me a stock. I sent mine in for repair and contacted them today and they don't have any in stock and will be a couple weeks before they will have any to send me, I could get a black one from them but I sent a camo one so I guess I wait !!!

In the mean time I just gather information and hopefully I can find some common grounds between all the possible combinations or at least a place to start, I don't want to use things that suck, its counter productive !! LOL

I appreciate all your replies and yes I'll keep you informed on what I find !!! Keep sending your thoughts, I can use all the help I can get !!! 

[Karl Blanchard]

do you know if TC make a thumbhole stock for the black diamonds?

[Karl Blanchard]

I have one on my bighorn and it is the best thing since sliced bread

[robodad]

do you know if TC make a thumbhole stock for the black diamonds?

I have one on my bighorn and it is the best thing since sliced bread

I am not sure if they do but I will send Danielle an email and find out, I think I would like one myself !!!

[SHANE(WA)]

My elk loads that shot best for me were the hornady great plains 460 gr with 100 gr of triple 7, I shot the 450 precision and didnt shoot well at all, 14" more drop than the hornadys at 100 yards

[CP]

You might give this a read. 

http://www.chuckhawks.com/working_up_a_load.htm

[muzzleman]

Wow good article.

[rasbo]

that was a good read,I shoot with 110 grains of loose.Im gonna try 100..

[Archery King]

I no you have a lot of info already but i also have a different load for you.  I shoot 150 grains of pyrodex with a 295 grain power belt.  I have killed two elk with it one at 159 yards and another at 75 yards both dropped in there tracks.  Most will aurgue that you need to shoot a heavy bullet for elk i disagree.  In my opinion the closer your muzzle loader gets to a rifle the better off you are.  The higher velocity you get the better.   I do understand that this is a hot fast load and it my be tuff to achieve accuracy but with the longer barrel like you have this load is awsome.  Good Luck

[SHANE(WA)]

heavy means dead, I watched my dad hit a bull broadside at 50 yards right behind the shoulder, light bullet 300 gr only punctured 1 lung, never found that bull.Too much speed, flattened the bullet was our only reason. Perfect shot watched it all in binos, found air bubbles in blood, rib bones, jumped bull 2 hrs later.I will shoot heavy always, no sense in not, only have a certain effective range in a muzzy, taken my last 2 with a 460gr bullet, no penetratiom issues at all. Now if it were legal to shoot barnes x i would in heartbeat

[Archery King]

You say you never recovered the elk but you no you hit one lung?   Both 295 grain power belts passed all the way threw even at 159 yards.  Your saying a three hundred grain bullet was shot so fast out of a muzzle loader that it fragmented like a varmit bullet hmmmmm not sure i can believe that.   muzzle loaders dont produce enough velocity.   

[M_ray]

Just to confuse you more I shoot 100 grns 777 ffg loose powder and 310 grn knight sabots with #11 caps out of my Tc. DO NOT SHOOT 777 PELLETS WITH #11 CAPS!!!  I had one misfire and called Hodson and they said only shoot Pellets with 209 or musket caps not #11's! It's not worth the chance I had a spike elk dead to rights at 75 yards when I had my misfire    only misfire I ever had too BTW!

[SHANE(WA)]

We are all lead here, you can over push a bullet,lead has a terminal velocity, before it will become ineffective, if its going to fast and smashes it looses all penetration, closer the easier to do, the farther you get out there the fps drop, like u said 159 yards, big difference in speed. I watched at 50 yards thru binos. I could see blood running down its side as it stood there.Perfect placement, found airbubbles in blood, no exit hole, the only conclusion we came to is it made it thru only 1 lung, no way both and still alive 2 hrs later. An elk has a chance to recover from one collapsed lung, we went back for 2 weeks and looking for crows or any sign of him, nothing.