Muzzle loader issues..l

Don K · #1 11-25-2012, 08:10 PM

So I had a TC Omega that shot Barnes bullets like darts. I was grouping 3" at 250yards... I had problems with the breach plug and decided to get a TC Encore. Put the Nikon Omega scope on and bore sighted and hoped for similar results...

At 100 yards I finally found paper, tried to adjust accordingly and bullets were everywhere but on the board! Lol!! I couldn't hit a 3x3 target twice in a row. Switched over to the TC Shockwaves and voila, bullets tracked and shot great. Groups touching at 100 yards and tight at 200...

The few times that the Barnes bullets did hit the paper (taped onto a metal backer) the holes were elongated almost as if they were tumbling. Anyone had this happen to them and any ideas why?

savagewsm · #2 11-25-2012, 10:22 PM

Assuming it is not a scope or stock issue. ( loose screws, improper torgueing of the mounting screws, or something loose in the stock etc..) then the following may cause issues

1) Your sabots are too soft or not suited for the load.
2) Inconsistent ignition caused by a worn out flash hole in the breech plug or 209 primers. ( try different types )

Note: 209 shotshell primers while they are great at setting off the charge are a bit of overkill. They have been known to lift the sabot off of the charge before the powder is ignited causing crappy accuracy.
3) Plastic build up in the rifling from the sabots.
4) the load you are using does not work in that gun ( sounds like that was the issue)

and so on...

Muzzle loaders can make you pull your hair out at times. This year my savage ml after years of doing what it was supposed to do started acting stupid. It turned out the vent liner was worn causing inconsistent ignition. New vent liner and it smartened up. If you have a new gun the factory breech plug may have a flaw in the flash hole. Try a new one.

Todays guns if anything are very consistent. Most often a gun with issues can be diagnosed and fixed easily.

Don K · #3 11-26-2012, 08:26 AM

It was really odd. New gun, we tried 3 different sabots, cleaned between every shot, even cleaned the breach plug consistently. Did everything we could think of to no avail. Switched bullets and scope tracked well and at the end the gun is dead nuts. I'm super happy now, but yesterday I did want to pull out my hair!! The frustrating part is I have 100+ 250gr Barnes TMZ bullets that I can't shoot. Lol!

benamen · #4 11-26-2012, 11:55 AM

Some of the Barnes bullets have a thinner sabot than that of the Shockwaves. Plus the Barnes sabots are made for their boattail (at least the ones I have are)where most other sabots are not.
If you have vernier calipers you could see how much difference in diameter there is between the two bullets c/w their sabots. (The Barnes bullets alone are
.001 smaller in diameter than the Shockwaves).