I did some more shooting this weekend looking for a good elk load. I put a Limbsaver pad on my .50 Omega after my first range session, and that made a huge difference. No recoil problem all the way up to 120 gr charges.
I started out working with the 410 gr Great Plains conicals again. I varied between 90 and 120 gr 777. Shooting at 50yds, open sights, I was able to get 4-5 in groups. Not bad, and certainly good enough for elk hunting, but what fun would it be to figure out a load 5 months before the season starts? I then shot a few 370 gr T/C Maxi-Balls. These look promising, especially when I had dropped back down to 90 gr. I had 3-4 in groups with these. I still want to try the 460 gr No Excuses because all things being equal, I like the heavier bullet. I may also try the Powerbelts for grins.
sounds like you have some good loads to work on. Sometimes more powder is not alway better for accuracy with the large heavy conicals... Good luck.
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"Life should NOT be a journey to the grave with the intention of arriving safely in an attractive and well preserved body, but rather to skid in sideways, a total wreck, screaming Yahoo, with a big smile on your face."
Wow, 120 gr of 777...that's a real thumper with a conical in front of it. Be sure to try various wads between the conical and the powder.
My Encore couldn't shoot a conical (tried 5 different kinds with several different powder weights) worth a darn and then I tried a couple of bore buttons. They helped, but I still wasn't fully satisfied. I then tried a 28 ga Pink Claybuster shotgun wad after cutting the petals off to create a nice flat surface for the conical to sit on top of. Read about this trick on another site I think.
Anyway, my groups literally went from about 10 inches or so at 50 yards to about 3 inches. If I didn't see it, I wouldn't believe it.
Want to try corn meal when I have a chance or the homemade felt buttons that several here have had success with.
Hunter John,I use felt wads they work well for me. I just went to the local hard ware store and purchased a set of "wood pulg cutters" I use them on my drill press to cut weather strip felt into wads then I grease them with a little borebutter. If you do this be sure to clamp down the felt so it can not wind up on the cutter. Lee
I bought a couple thousand 1/8" nitro card wads from Track of the Wolf ($7.50 per thousand - cheap!) and so far have been very pleased with results using them. WAD 510A. Just using them dry, they seem to also cut down on powder residuals in the bore, especially in the combustion area.I seat the wad firmly then just seat the bullet with light pressureuntil I hear the contact with the wad.
I vaguely recall my owner's manual saying that wads should not be used when shooting conicals. Did I misread this? I'll look it up tonight.
They usually recommend that wads not be used when shooting sabots, as the sabot itself acts as a wad. I've shot wads of one form or another, everything from cornmeal, cotton cloth, to wool felt under conicals for a very long time.
Some rifles like a wad of sorts. I have others that hate a wad under a conical or roundball. But I see no danger what so ever in using a wad under a conical to protect the conical base and make a more even pressure flow out the barrel..
Of course this is just my opinion...
__________________
"Life should NOT be a journey to the grave with the intention of arriving safely in an attractive and well preserved body, but rather to skid in sideways, a total wreck, screaming Yahoo, with a big smile on your face."
more range work
