New at muzzleloading

[Treeman75]

I am new at muzzleloading in fact I recently bought a new THompson Center Encore 50 caliber. I have never owned or worked with muzzleloaders but have owned and hunted with about every other type of firearm. I am trying to find some information about sabots and loads that have worked for others with good results.

[shrpshtrjoe]

Howdy Treeman. There is alot of things available for muzzleloaders out there. As far as loads i use beetween 90 and 100gr of 777 powder depending on the bullet, I have a traditions pursuit pro 50 cal it will shoot 150grains but have found the best accuraccy at 90 - 100grains. A good sabot that has shot in about every muzzleloader i have owned is the 240gr xtp TC puts them out in a box of 30 there lable is Mag Express Sabots you can get them at walmart fot about 10 bucks. I am curently shooting the 245 gr power belts my last muzzleloader didn't like them but the pursuit does. I have taken two deer this year during our early muzzleloader season a 100lb doe and 150 lb 8 point with them and they have performed well. The best advice i can give is try various bullets and powder charges (staying under max of course) and see what it likes.
Good Luck.
Joe

[Treeman75]

Hey Joe,
Sorry it has taken me so long to get back to you. I am self employed and also going to college nights, busy time of year. I am going to a local military range this week and do the trial and error thing. I have both the 50 grain and the 30 grain pellets and also a selection of sabots from the TC 240gr./xtp, 250gr./PTX, 250gr./spire, and Hornaday 250gr./lock-n-loads. I am ready to get busy and find out what it's all about. My only problem is the fact that I know during repetition firing the barrel heat may cause the accurracy to fluctuate. Have you had any problems with this? Well, thanks for the info and I look forward to some more in the future.

[shrpshtrjoe]

Howdy. I have not had that problem if the barrel starts geting to warm just let it cool down, it would be a good time to run some patchs through it and clean it by the time your done cleaning, it should be cool enough to start shootin again. Good luck at the range let me no how ya make out.
Joe

[versifier]

You're more likely to have fouling buildup cause a fall-off in accuracy than heating, and along with it increased difficulty loading. Long range sessions or competetive shooting mandate stopping to clean at regular intervals, anyway. Hard sabots do scrape some surface fouling, but there is still buildup in the grooves that will gum up the works. Do you cast your own bullets? That opens up a lot of options and will result in significant cost savings over time. MaxiBalls, MaxiHunters, and REAL bullets are just a few of many options. TC sells loose sabots that can be loaded with any .44 bullets, cast or jacketed. Don't overlook the possibility of patched round balls, either. Even though you're shooting an in-line. You might also try loose Pyrodex RS to see if intermediate charges will give you better accuracy. Real blackpowder is worth investigating, too, as it is easier to clean and less corrosive than Pyrodex. As you know from shooting breech loaders, every barrel is different and prefers its own favorite combination. Just because someone else has great results with a certain recipe in their m/l of the same caliber, don't assume it will be the best for yours. (It might, but experimenting is the only way to find out.) The fun is in playing with the components until you find the right mix.