Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Muzzleloaders Range Results TC Omega

I've been testing loads and have been trying to come up with an accurate load at 150 yards. I've been playing with three different sabots and two different bullets. The Hornady 250 gr SST and the Barne 250 gr Spifire TEZ. Accuracy seems to be about the same with both bullets but varies with the sabot used.

Here's the three different sabots I've been trying out.

1. The red Hornady SST low drag sabot and the black MMP HPH 3-P EZ which are the same thing.

2. The Barnes blue TEZ sabots and the black TC SW sabots which are the same.

3. The TC SW super glide sabot. (I didn't shoot these today, they haven't worked in the past)

The loads I shot were as follows and all at 150 yards and three shot groups. I have a Nikon 2-7x32 scope mounted on it.

SST, red sabot, 130 grs 777 ... 2.070" and 3.025"
TEZ, MMP sabot, 130 grs 777 ... 2.545"
TEZ, MMP sabot, 120 grs 777 ... 6"
TEZ, TEZ sabot, 130 grs 777 ... 6 5/8"
TEZ, MMP sabot, 130 grs 777 ... 4.45" *grouped well vertically (2.045")-strung horizontally (3.460)*
SST, red sabot, 110 grs 777 fffg ...6.250" (5 shot group, 4 in 4.185")

All the 777 loads were with pellets other than the one group with 777 fffg loose powder. It was cool and calm at first but by the end of my shooting day I was fighting 80 degree weather and *gusting 20 mph + winds.* It wasn't ideal for testing loads today but it did reinforce what I've already found out.

My rifle, so far, with the loads I've tried, seems to have a preference for the easier loading SST/MMP sabots. It's funny, cause I just read where Doc Rocket and his friends TC's prefer the tighter fitting sabots. ? ? ?

In the past I've done most of my shooting at a 100 yards and with my prefered load of 130 grs 777 and a 250 gr SST using the low drag sabot. It groups about an 1" and chronos at ~2040 fps. Winchester 777 primers is all I've been using. I swab between rounds. One patch wet with water followed by a dry patch, then turn it over and one more time. For each patch I wrap it around a .45 cal. bronze brush and use one pass only.

One thing I didn't expect to see was the POI shifts with the different loads. I thought they'd be closer than they were. Some groups moved 3 or 4 inches. The POI with the TEZ and SST were very close when using the same sabot. I'm going to do most all of my additional testing with the SST since they're about half the cost and group about the same.

I still have a little more load development to do but I can live with what I've got so far.

Fish,

I tried running 120 grains loose 3F 777 in my Omega and got larger groups like yours. Backed it down to 110 grains and I get 2" groups at 150 with the TMZ with a blue EZ sabot.

You might try the TEZ with 100, 105 and 110 grains loose.

I will. The problem is I don't like burning up the Barnes for testing. I had wanted to chrono the loose power loads to duplicate the speeds with my pellet loads but a sabot took out my chrono last week.

Every time I've used the blue EZ sabot or SST black sabot (same thing) in my rifle it's shot horribly. I'll try it again.

Got one thing to add. I put a Limbsaver recoil pad on my Omega and I like it. It still kicks like mule but it is easier on the shoulder. A big plus is it also seems to reduce muzzle jump when shooting off the bench.

The hunting load I use in my Omega is 2 Pyrodex pellets under a 295 grain Powerbelt. At 50 yards, one ragged hole. Give the powerbelts a try - I HATE sabots!

fish,
where does your first shot out of the gun hit???

As long as it's fouled out, dead on where it should be. The first shot from a freshly cleaned scrubbed to the metal bore is always off. As long as I follow my routine of one wet patch followed by one dry patch there's no problem. It likes being a little fouled and seems to shoot it's best groups at shots 2 - 12, more or less.

I can't say as I've ever tried to clean it perfectly between shots to see how that would group. That'd be just too much work.

I'm not unhappy with how it shoots. An inch more or less (less on the rare occasion) at 100 yards is plenty good enough hunting accuracy. I'm just just trying to get a little bit better long range accuracy.

I'm going deer hunting in Utah next week and the regs only allow iron sights, a non-magnifying red dot or a 1X scope. I'm goin' with a 1x32 1X scope and the limit of my eyballs is probably 150 to 165 yards, and 165 is pushin' it to the max. It's the third sight set-up I've tried and it seems, so far, to be the best. I tried the original sights - not so good, a Williams peep mounted in the rear - better, and the 1X - even better still. Inside of 125 yards I'm totally confident.

Two years ago I passed up a shot at a 4x4 at about 175 yards and it still bothers me a little. Now I have a rangefinder and a better, to my eyes, sight set-up. Will I pass on a similar shot this year? Maybe, maybe not.

I'm one for one with my Omega so far.

I was just thinking that on my muzzleloader, I could care less about where it puts the third or fourth shot. I know where the first shot is going to go, and that's the one that matters.

Seen somewhere where somebody recommended putting 5 targets side by side.

Clean bore, then fire 5 shots at 5 targets from left to right (one shot per target, duh).
Clean bore, then fire 5 more shots at targets in same way.
Clean bore, then fire 5 more shots at targets.

Then you'll have 5 - 3 shot groups, and will know how your gun likes to shoot - clean, or dirty. Then when you go hunting, you'll know exactly how many times to shoot it before you'll get your most accurate first shot...

Thanks Kimber7man,

That's kinda what I've noticed. It seems to get the best groups after one fouling shot and then the next 2 or 3, three shot groups. It starts going downhill a bit until a dozen or so shots and then it's tough to get the absolute best accuracy. It still works OK for load testing, sort of. I can at least tell the worst combos. I always fire a proven load at the end of a session just to reconfirm how it's shooting. I'll hunt with one fouler and one 2 or 3 shot group to confirm sight in.

The shots are spread over enough time with swabbing between rounds to where normally barrel heat isn't a problem. The other day when it was 80 degrees it was a different story.


I just got done doing a trigger job on it. I managed to get it from a crispy ~ 4 1/8 lbs to a crispy ~ 3 lbs. I can shoot OK with heavy triggers but it will be a lot nicer to shoot now.

There's one last thing I haven't done yet and that's polish the bore with some very very fine metal polish. I want see how it does with a mirror finish inside.

Forgot:

Three more words:

Ultra Bore Coat