Heres an accurate load.....................

[Sagedawg]

 I shot this load today and it proved very accurate, so I thought Id share with you. I shoot the Knight Bighorn 26'' barrel.Williams peep sight.

   100 grs loose T7 ffg
   
   330 gr Vital shock 0 sportsmans brand made by the guy from Precision Bullets- this is a 45 cal sabot load without the polomer tip

   musket cap -  gave me 3 and 5 shot groups averaging 1-3/4 - 2'' at 100yds.  - bore was swabbed with alcohol between each shot.

  Anyhow proved accurate and consistant thought Id offer it up.


Sage

[CP]

Damn that’s good!  Better than my 30/30.  I might just have to beak down and get an inline. 

[marc10000]

I've noticed that some of the .50 cal makers suggest a maximum sabot bullet wt. of 250 grains. The longer I shoot I'm going with the less is more approach.

I finally figured out the 245 gr Powerbelts, 85 grains of Triple Seven FFFg. Amazing accuracy. I haven't used a chrono but others have claimed 1700 fps in 50 cal. I also get great results with the Speer .430 semi wadcutters (.44 mag) at 250 grain, in the MMP sabots.

I figure that 85 grains of T7 FFFg equals about 100 grains of anything else and since it's a compact charge it's actually more efficient.

As tested in TC Black Diamond and CVA Optima Pro

[Sagedawg]

 Ive never had good accuracy with the powerbelts of any weight. Tried working up various loads but the best I could get was 3'' or more at 100yds. Honestly I think it has something to do with the skirt on the back of the bullet, I was finding them 5 to 10 yrds in front of the muzzle after the shot and a few of them had keyholed into the target. These were shot with loads of black powder in charges of 85 grs up to 105 grs trying to find that sweet spot.


  Sage

[scudmaster]

That sounds promising.  I have a question maybe some of you could answer. 

I was really happy with a load I worked up several years ago with a 330gr Lyman Shocker .45 sabot round and 105 gr of pyrodex.  it was a 3-4" group at 100 yds.  What I really liked was the terminal ballistics.  The bullet mushroomed perfectly when I shot my Spike with it.  I found both in the far side skin of the animal.  (see photos)  Lyman no longer makes the bullet so I am searching for a new bullet that will have good terminal ballistics.  Any of you had experience with this and the PR bullets.  I was considering the 340gr Dead Center.  Thoughts?

Scud

[marc10000]

Nice pic's. Those did just what they're supposed to do. The TC Maxi-Hunters look kind of similar and have good weight. A lot of people like them. I just started shooting them recently. They seem accurate.

Maybe that's why I couldn't find any Lymans Great Plains bullets at Sportsmans Warehouse the other day. Lyman not making them any more?

[Sagedawg]

Scud,

   The load I mentioned above uses a PR made bullet thats made for Sportsmans. This one is a hollowpoint design but Im thinking with lower velocity,
this thing is going to be awesome. I will let you know in late November how it performs terminally, but I will say the accuracy is very good....what rifle are you shooting? BTW my sidelock did not care for this load,still using the Great Plains in that.


  Sage


 

[scudmaster]

Sage,

I shoot and Remington 700 ML with a 1:27".  PR's compatibity chart shows the 340 gr DC is matched for the rate.  I will try it and see what kind of groups I get.  The PR website says the DC bullet is made for higher penetration giving an exit wound as well.  I wonder if it is a harder lead alloy deisgned to mushroom less for the deeper penetration. I think I will call and ask them.

marc10000, as for Lyman, I sent an email to there customer service asking for that particular bullet and they replied saying they no longer made it.  Don't know about the Great Plains.  They responded fairly quick, so it may be worth the email to be certain.

[marc10000]

Sunday I didn't see any Lyman bullets at Sportsmans Warehouse. Somebody probably bought them all up knowing that they weren't making them. I'll keep an eye out. It's funny I did a general search with Google on Lyman Shocker and it turned up nothing. Weird.

I've bought a ton of stuff, I like to shoot BP in the summer time so I've got a little of everything. One bullet I like that's got pretty good accuracy is the Buffalo Bullet Company, Lead Saboted Boat Tail Bullet in 252 grains. The accuracy is consistant and I usually load them for hunting. It's a hollow point with boat tail and it comes with a great sabot. I get 4 inch 100 yd groups and it seems to shoot well in several of my guns. Mostly my inlines.

I've tried the Precision Rifle Dead Centers and they seem OK the ones I have are the 240 gr with the plastic tip. They are expensive, and it seems like I do just as good with the Buffalo Bullets which are cheaper. I don't know why but the PR bullets seem to shoot lower into the target. The sabots seem loose when I load them they push straight down easily, and they shoot 6 inch low in the target?? They are sexy looking bullets though. Maybe they need  a bigger load.

I've been shooting the big conicals in my Lyman Deerstalker. They way they kick I'm only shooting 65 grains of T7 FFg. I'm still working on loads for that one. I'm using The TC Maxi Hunter 435 gr. The Lyman GP bullets, CVA Buckslayer, and a couple others I don't remember the names of. So far the Maxi Hunters are winning. I easily shoot 4 in groups all day with them in a new rifle. It seems better every time I take it out. Those 435 grain conicals shoot flat, out to 100 yds with 65 grains of powder. I was surprised. They cut neat little round holes at 100 yds also. The Deerstalker is a 1-48 twist  24 inch barrel I think, if I remember right.

It's blast, I have almost as much fun target shooting the things as I do hunting. I still got a couple packs of the Lymans GP bullets but I might have to email them. Cabelas used to have them online. Anyway happy shooting.........

[scudmaster]

I will have to try the Buffalo Bullets you mention for deer.  Seem a bit light for elk as I like the 340gr plus for them especially on the west side with generally closer shots.

As for the loose PR bullets, I was just reading on their site today, they have different thickness sabots for those rifles that fit loose.  That would cause a lower velocity and hence bullet drop. Here is the link for the article.  http://www.prbullet.com/sab.htm   You may want to call them and see about thicker sabots.

Anyway good luck. I am heading to the range on Thursday, I got a Burris speed bead for my shotgun and want to try it out.  I will let you know how it goes.

Scud

[M_ray]

Ive never had good accuracy with the powerbelts of any weight.

  I agree I can't stand powerbelts! I've seen them do some weird $hi+! I could get 2 or 3 to group then the next shot would be way off the paper! Not consistent enough for my liking!

[marc10000]

Scud, those Buffalo bullets I use, I got from Sportco in Fife. I have heard that they may be out of business. I've got about 100 of them and am looking for more. Thunder Ridge Muzzleloaders site says they are out of stock and no more coming in. If I find some at Sportco still I plan on buying as many as I can afford. The price difference between these and the PR Dead centers is Buffalo's are $18 for 36 and the PR's are $12 for 12. From my experience the Buffalo Bullet company products are superior. The old cliche YMMV

When I say 4 inch groups, for me what happens with a group of 5, is 3 are almost touching. One is about an inch out, and ones a flyer. Probably more my own fault. Sometimes I'll shoot a nice 1.5 group but it's the luck of the draw. Now I swab between shots with the pre soaked Thompson Center patches so I keep things clean. The Buffalo Bullets are really good, I've been shooting them for 3 years. My 50 yd groups look great. I hate to tell someone I'm shooting 1.5 groups if I can't do it everytime. That's the deal. My load for these is two T7 pellets or 100 gr FFg.

My TC Black Diamond has an average barrel bore I would say, so still the PR sabots are very loose. I worry about a bullet falling out if I carry it muzzle down. I didn't know about the larger Sabots will definitely check into that. The PR bullets are probably the best bet if you are trying to extend your range. I've never seen anything that is as aerodynamic as they are.

One of my favorite loads for practice is the Speer .430 semi-wadcutters. Man they are cheap $10 a hundred and I get the MMP sabots from Cabelas. These things have given me my best groups of everything I've ever tried (with open sights). Don't have any idea if they would be effective on game. I doubt they would.

The Powerbelts seem to like CVA rifles. I put a scope on my Optima Pro and was shooting MOA with the copper plated 245gr, that's the only bullet that gun will shoot accurately and it only does it with T7 FFFg (85 grains). I got a tip to try this on another forum and it really does work. I don't like the Powerbelts either. Since the gun is not legal and the copper plated Powerbelts are not legal, it is a moot point anyway.

[HntnFsh]

Call the Gun Shop in Longview.They had a bunch of the Buffalo Bullets awhile back.

[tmike]

I agree I can't stand powerbelts! I've seen them do some weird $hi+! I could get 2 or 3 to group then the next shot would be way off the paper! Not consistent enough for my liking!

Did you try all of the different weights? I moved up from the 295s to the 348s and it seemed to make a lot of difference. I also tried the American Pioneer Gold FFFg and it didn't seem to make a huge difference compared to 777. I did drop my load from 100 grains and settled on 90 at the moment. I tried several different bullets and still haven't found "the one" yet. I'm also shooting a Wolverine in 26 and 22 inches. Don't believe the "I can shoot 1000 rounds without cleaning" either. A clean barrel made a huge difference.

[scudmaster]

 I was finally able to get to the range last weekend.  I was able to test the 777 pellets and the loose with my Precision Rifle 340gr.  The accuracy was acceptable, 4-5 inches and I was having problems with my eyes seeing the sight picture clearly with shadows on one side of the target. 

I did however have 3 misfires with pellets and musket caps in my inline Rem 700ml. I think it has something to do with the design of the breech plug/nipple.  There is a recess from the face of the breech plug to the flash hole on the nipple, leaving the end of the pellets 1/4" or so from the flash hole. The loose worked great, so that is what I will be using.

As a side note, I noticed that my friends Knight bighorn has a longer nipple that inserts into the breech plug till the flash hole is flush with the base of the plug.  He has not had a problem with the MC / Pellet combination.

Anyone had any experience with that?