muzzleloader info please

[Short Axle]

this may sound crazy but here goes new to the sport so i have a few questions i got a new omeaga and need some pointers to get started do i need to set scope dead on at 100 yds or a little high also going to be using pellets will they bust when seating the bullet and when i shoot at the range do i need to run a patch down the barrel each time i shootthanks for any info..

 

[Kevin B.]

I prefer dead on at 100 yards, though I've been shooting mine at the range a little off zero, for no good reason other than I'm concentrating more on shooting tighter groups right now. But yes, for hunting, I prefer the gun zeroed at 100.
The breech plug in the Omega is supposed to be designed to minimize the chance of pellet breakage, although no design is foolproof if too much pressure is used. And if you use a damp patch, then dry patch after each shot, seating the sabot should not require a great deal of force, if the using a good bullet combo. For me, right now, the best sabot combo is the Barnes 245 grain spitfire with the new ez load sabot. They load VERY easy and shoot good from my gun. Hope this helps a lttle. Congrats on your new Omega. I love mine.

 

[Model70Man]

I use 110 grains of 777 pellets and the 245 grain Barnes Spitfire in my Encore. It shoots MOA all day long with a clean barrel. I always clean my barrel after each shot at the range, mainly because when I'm hunting I will have a clean barrel. So might as well know where it shoots when it's clean instead of dirty. I have mine sighted in dead on at 100 yds as well. Where I hunt I won't have a chance to shoot over 100 yds so I would sight in to the area you will be hunting.

 

[Gravey]

1. My encore is sighted dead on at 100 yards. I shoot 100 grains of 777 (2 50-grain pellets) and a 250-grain PTX bullet.
2. Pellets won't bust if you don't slam down on them. Make sure the bullet is seated nice and tight but don't overdo it.
3. I clean my barrel after every shot so I'll know where it hits with a clean barrel. After all, the barrel will be clean when I hit the woods.

 

[jakeway]

I'd sight mine to be 3" high at 100 yards. Then shoot it at 150 yards and see if it hits lower. Then you'll know that it was at the "top" of it's trajectory at 100 yards. Keep shooting it at farther and farther distances until it's 3" low. That will be your "point blank" range; any distance between the muzzle and that distance you can aim dead on and hit +/- 3".

I use the same method with my .270, and I can aim dead on up to 300 yards, but that's a lot flatter shooting than your muzzleloader will be. You should be able to shoot out to 200 yards or so, depending on your velocity and bullet weight/ballistic coefficient.

 

[DTG]

i like jakeways info. i shoot cva optima mag pro., sighted at 1" high 100 yards, shot it at 150 it was 3-4"high. It was climbing at 100 yards not zeroed in.

my 7mm 50 yards or 300 yrds aim the same because of trajectory

 

[.444 Marlin]

Pellets are good and are a good idea as far as the ignition goes but if you crush the pellets, you will have air pockets and cause your groups to spread out. Might not happen to you but every type of pellet I tried did that. Pyrodex is the way to go. Its more reliable and more consistant in the groups it produces.

 

[iowavf]

I shoot 150 grains of 777 pellets in my encore and am yet to break one. I shoot powerbelts through mine and I marked the push rod so I know the bullet has been seated the same each time and I don't need to push hard on the rod. My encore seems to shoot the powerbelts better after the barrel has been fouled and I can shoot 7 or 8 times before needing to clean the barrel. It does a very tight group with those 7 or 8 shots also.

 

[CHRIS WILSON]

I usually set mine 1.5-2" high at 100 yards. If I get the chance, I'll shoot at 150 for a reference. I usually swab the barrel after the second shot at the range. I like the first to be from a clean barrel, which is how it will be on the first shot out in the field. Then I like seeing how a fouled barrel affects impact on the second shot in case I need to do a quick follow up shot. Who really swabs between reloads out in the field?

 

[CHRIS WILSON]

kevinb and Model70Man.....Have either of you shot any game with those 245 gr. spitfires? I'm real curious as to penetration and terminal performance with that bullet. I like bullets that make 2 holes in critters and I know the Barnes bullets have a good rep for penetrating deep and making nice wound channels.

 

[Kevin B.]

No Chris, this will be my first season using them. I like what I've heard about them and they are very accurate in my Omega. I'm like you. I'd like to hear about some 'in the field' performance.

 

[Cull Buck Hunter]

I took 6 deer last year with them in my Savage and I would bet my life on them. Never lost a deer with them and most go to the ground within 10-15 yds. I have only had one deer that I did not get an exit wound on, she was coming straight at me and I shot her in the chest and the bullet was found in her left rear ham. They are worth the money.

 

[mopar]

ive got a omega Z5 just got the hornaday XTP 300 gr hollow pt
was at the range tues i use 100 gr 777 was very impressed
no scope gun has fiber optic sites

 

[skynimrod]

Like Chris I like to be about 1.5 to 2" high @ 100. I shoot a cva opt with a scope & pretty confadent out to 200 yds.My smoke pole shoots loose powder best & likes 190 gr barnes blue tiped , & hornady 250 gr red tip sst.After firing between shots I clean,dry,& snap a cap before shooting again.

 

[Model70Man]

kevinb and Model70Man.....Have either of you shot any game with those 245 gr. spitfires? I'm real curious as to penetration and terminal performance with that bullet. I like bullets that make 2 holes in critters and I know the Barnes bullets have a good rep for penetrating deep and making nice wound channels.

I shot this doe at 50 yds with the 245 grain spitfire. Complete passthru and an awesome bloodtrail about 20 yds long.

 

[CHRIS WILSON]

Originally Posted By: CHRIS WILSON
kevinb and Model70Man.....Have either of you shot any game with those 245 gr. spitfires? I'm real curious as to penetration and terminal performance with that bullet. I like bullets that make 2 holes in critters and I know the Barnes bullets have a good rep for penetrating deep and making nice wound channels.


I shot this doe at 50 yds with the 245 grain spitfire. Complete passthru and an awesome bloodtrail about 20 yds long.

Sweet! I got the KRB setup with 250 gr Barnes expanders a few weeks back. With 110 gr. of loose FFF 777, they're laying in some real nice groups. That load should be he77 on wheels for whitetail :grin:. I still want to try the spitfires and/or the TMZ bullets though. The bullet design would help with velocity retention on some of the longer shots, I'm sure. But then again, I haven't had to take a shot over 100 yards for the last several seasons now.

 

[encore06]

Nice pic. I believe I'll try the Barnes TMZ or Kinght Ultimate Slam. They're the same bullet. May go with the 290 grain in front of 100 grains of 777.

 

[rldel]

Once again I'm a little different that the pack. (again FWIW) I shoot a .45 T/C Omega w/200 gr SSTs and 100gr T-7 for a MV of 2250 fps. I have set it at dead-on at 50 yds but currently have it at 100. Not much difference. I have shot XPs saboted, T/C Maxi-hunter, Barnes Red-Hots and BPI's Powerbelts. The PBs are garbage, less actually. Way too loose. The Barnes and Maxi-hunters are OK but can't beat the SSTs, so for me, I haven't changed.

 

[Poor redneck]

My Omega is two inches high at one hundred yards, I use one hundred grains of pellets pushing a 240 grain Hornady. and I do run a wet patch fallowed by a dry patch between every shot. It is a good idea to mark your ram rod so you properly seat it every time. I have not fired mine over a hundred yards so don't know how it performs out there.