So far not so good!

[nysbowhunter]

cayugad, you asked me to keep you posted on trying some loads out of my traditions thunderbolt. It doesnt like powerbelts I can tell you that much.I have shot goex 2f, Pyrodex RS, and shockeys gold 3F and I cant get a powerbelt to group at all at 50 yards. Ive tried 245 grain, 295 grain, hollow points, pointed, it doesnt matter. Its a shame because they load soeasy. Im a round ball(sidelock) shooter so Im new to this 209 stuff. I am using muzzleloadingprimers so i think im on the right track there. Should I swab between every shot? I did with black and RS. But Ive got to tell you guys you need to try some shockeys gold the stuff is awesome. I did not swab between shots with it (I wondered if it may make it shoot better) and after 12 shots with different powder volumes and powerbelts it still loaded easy! No misfires or hangfires either. I got the rifle home and let it sit in the garage for 2 hours to see if it attracted moisture, it didnt and after 2 wet patches and 2 dry patches the bore was like a mirror. I will find a load with the shockeys gold that this thing likes. I just bought some hornady 300 grain xtp's and some tc sure fire 230 grain hollow points(I have no idea what to try now) and I will keep you posted on the results. If anyone has any ideas let me know. Thanks D.

[Triple Se7en]

Is this rifle new? If so, start it off with two boxes of full-fledged conicals in that Thunderbolt to break it in. Then retry those 295 Powerbelts. If they fail again, fill the hollow gas check (base-bottom) with Bore Butter/TC1000.... then try them again. Those 300 gr. XTPs should do real well. I like the 230 gr also. Both weights are user-friendly for 1-28" to 1-48" twists.I just prefer the bigger bullet every time over the smaller one. Cayugad (Dave) should be around shortly!

[size=2]
Keep Your Powder Dry Folks
. . . . . . . Joe [/i]

[cayugad]

I take it you were shooting 100 grains or less of powder. Some rifles like powerbelts and some don't. I would have guessed that your Traditions would have liked powerbelts.

From here, who knows what to try. When I got my Staghorn Magnum some of the first projectiles I tried were XTP's with 90 grains of loose powder and they worked great. I shot Cheap Shots as well and they also shot well. Another thing I was shooting back then were REAL conicals with 80 grains of Goex and they shot well.

So I think you are just going to have to experiment with different things until you find what it likes. Maybe some Tradition's inline shooters will have some good suggestions for you as well. Thanks for the update. I got a pound of the Shockey Gold but have not had a chance to try it yet. Maybe I better break it out and give it a shoot one of these days.

[nysbowhunter]

To answer Triple Se7en, Yup it's brand new and thanks for the break in advice and to cayugad, yeah I kept it 100 grains or under because of it being loose powder, 3f, and the 295's are kind of heavy. I'm gonna start with the 230 grain sabots with 90 grains then the 300 xtp's with 90 then up to 100 grains with each. If that doesnt work then I'll try some shockwaves.Thanks again and I'll keep postin. D.