RE: First time BP - TC Omega 50 Cal. What Projectile?
I'm going to assume that you are going to have limited time and opportunity to get to the range.
Read and understand the Omega Manual.
One of the typically easiest loads to get started with in an Omegais:
[ol][*]Two Hodgdon 777 50 grain pellets. Buy a box of pellets. If you get into ML I would suggest going with loose powder.[*]Thompson/Center Mag Sabot, 240grain .451 Hornady XTP projectile. Might need two boxes.[*]Winchester 209 Shotgun Primer. One package should be fine for now. [/ol]
Other things you will need:
[ol][*]Breech Plug Anti-Seize Grease. Birchwood/Casey Choke Tube Lube works excellent.[*]Lube for field bore protection. Natural Lube 1000 is fine for now and for the field as synthetic lubes will "coke & tar" within the bore under firing conditions. I prefer synthetics for long term protection. Up to you.[*]2" round or 3" square patches. In ziplock sandwich bags, place some20-30 or so clean in two bags and4-5 patchesof NL-1000 lubed into one bag. In one of the two bags, saturate (not dripping) the patches with a 50/50 mix of 99% isopropyl alcohol and Windex.[*]Cleaning loading jag for the ramrod.[*]Palm Saver implement for loading. Worth the investment.[*]T/C Dog Bone Primer holder.[*]99% Isopropyl Alcohol.[*]Windex or windshield washer fluid.[*]Primer removal tool. (Traditions or CVA have a nice steel one). [/ol]
To get started:
[ol][*]Remove the breech plug, remove the barrel from the stock and detail clean the bore as described in the manual with boiling hot soapy (Laundry Detergent)water. About a tablespoon of soap for a couple of quarts ofhot water. What you want to do is get all of the packing lube from the bore. Using a glove or a towel to hold the barrel. You will be "pump flushing" the bore by placing the muzzle end in the hot soapy water and running a soapy patch on a cleaning/loading jag from the breech to the muzzle. When you run the patch to the muzzle and then remove it, it will draw hot soapy water into the bore. Pump scrub the bore about 20-30 strokes and replace the patch if it wears out. Then rinse the bore with clean water following the same procedure.[*]The barrel will be very hot at this point. Run an alcohol patch through the bore. This will help evaporate the moisture. Let the barrel cool for a couple ofminutes. Dry the breech plug threads in the bore with dry patches. Run a dry patch in the bore.[*]Grease the breech plug and barrel threadswith anti-seize lube.[*]Install the breech plug into the bore finger tight using the T/C wrench. Don't torque it in. Just snug it in until it seats.[*]Lightly lube a patch with natural lube 1000. Run one patch from the muzzle to the breech. Then follow up with a dry patch. What you are doing is controlling any flash rust. You want to shoot sabot's from a dry bore. There will still be enough NL-1000 in the bore for the field, but not enough to cause issues with the sabot. [/ol]
Now you are all set for shooting. I would suggest starting at 50 yards range and them move out to the 100 yards you plan on hunting would be better. Follow the loading guidelines in the manual. At 50 yards bench:
[ol][*]Load two 777 50-grain pellets.[*]Load a 240gr Mag Sabot until it "seats".[*]Load a primer in the breech, take aim and shoot. Record your POI on the 50 yard target. Don't rush to tinker with the sights just yet. Fire 3-5 shots to determine your POI and grouping.[*]Remove the primer.[*]Clean the bore. Use a dry patch and lick it(not slobbering). Using a cleaning/loading jag, work that damp patch down the boreto the breech using short strokes. Then flip it and do again.[*]Then take an 50/50 mix alcohol patch and squeeze any excess out and work that down to the breech in short strokes. Flip and do again.[*]Then run a dry patch in the bore. Flip and do again.[*]Load two 777 pellets, a 240gr Mag Sabot, Prime, Aim and shoot.[*]Do the above procedure another 3-4 times. Record your POI.[*]Every 7-10 shots or so, slightly "loosen and then "re-snug" the breech plug so to ensure it's not seizing up.[*]Adjust your windage and elevation as needed and re-verify with another couple of shots. At 50 yards, you will want to be about 1" high or so to be on at 100 yards with this load. If you can, repeat this procedure at 100 yards.[*]Don't rush or be in a hurry. That's not what muzzleloading is all about. Take your time to clean the bore between each shot. When done shooting for the day or in the field, clean the bore as described above and then run a NL-1000 lubed patch in the bore. This will protect the bore until you get home for detail cleaning.[*]Detail clean at the end of the shooting/hunting day even if you only fired once.[*]For a field lube, NL-1000 is fine. For long term protection, up to you. I use only high quality synthetic lubes for the bore: Otis 085 UltraBore I Clenzoil everywhere else. Wide opinions when it comes to long term protection. The point is however that you must detail clean at the first opportunity after shooting. Otherwise rust will ruin the ML.[/ol]
Good luck!
Tahquamenon