WC,
[/align]
[/align]I'm in the midst of building loads for my Omega .50 as well. Although I've hunted with BP guns for many moons, I only got the Omega last season, and with all the other rifle and handgun stuff I do, I haven't had a whole lot of time to play with it. Last year I nailed my deer early, so the chance at getting out during our late season was a pretty moot point. (Only take what I can use in a year)
[/align]
[/align]Anyway, flash forward to this year, about 2 weeks ago.
[/align]Grabbing the Omega and heading out to my range, I was using a cheap old Simmons because I had one, and it was the same camo pattern (yeah, stupid reason). Anyway after tossing a few cast bullets downrange, it was soon obvious that the scope's internals were turned to junk. A quick call to Simmon's and a proposed upgrade to one of their (Meade Optics) Weaver's was setup. I headed up to my local gunshop and picked up one of his Weaver's 3X9's to fix on top and I was back in business.
[/align]
[/align]After reading a lot about it, I bought a can of Amer. Pioneer FFG granular last year, and although I had a few sporadic nice groups using TC green sabots and some Keith style cast bullets, they didn't impress me much. I thought it might be the bullets, but after I had gotten my deer I shelved the whole thing until later.
[/align]When the ML season neared this year, I decided to pull it all out and start over. I had bought out a local gunshop of it's supplies, which included several hundred pounds of powder, and in that bunch there was a couple of cans of Pyrodex Select RS FFG.
[/align]I started out using the AP powder at 90grs., and some standard Winchester and Federal 209 primers I had on hand. Groups, at first, seemed good, then the scope problem. Once fixed, I went back at the bench, and I would get several decent shots, then crap. All over the place. Yep, I patched and/or cleaned between each shot, so it wasn't a fouled bore issue.
[/align]Part of my problem was the MTM Predator rest I had been using and with it's rubber cupped rest in the back, if you applied too much pressure, it'd bite into the stock and give you an unnatural recoil pattern sending certain shots low.
[/align]Assessing the issue, I changed back to my old sandbags. Well, although better, I realized that I needed to do some homework regarding loads. I found that many using the regular shotshell primers were having sporadic results and terrible groups at 3 & 4" at 100yds.
[/align]Another trip to the shop and I netted the reported Triple 7 Winchester primers. Another good choice was Remington's "Kleenbores".
[/align]I returned again to the bench and started shooting. Better, much better, but not what I thought the gun was capable of. I had been through several of my cast bullet styles, and although many have said "buy the factory bullets to shoot", and after many years casting & swaging my own, and knowing that I can make bullets that best many factory offerings, I kept at it.
[/align]I decided to grab that Pyrodex Select and give it a try, as American Pioneer wasn't impressing me very much.
[/align]
[/align]The night before last I hit paydirt......I used a Lyman Thompson style #429244 gaschecked semi-wadcutter hollowpoint cast from wheelweights at 9BHN, 100grs. of Pyrodex Select,a green TC sabot and one of those Triple Seven primers, and stitched 3 shots into one hole at 100yds.
[/align]Man...I about crapped my knickers.....bingo.
[/align]
[/align]I guess I should've listened to several of the guys on other forums who told me to use Pyrodex, or T7. I really think that a good portion of my problem was the powder, and for now, I'm using up the 2 pounds of Select I have. Next will be the T7 to try. A little hotter, but if the accuracy is as good, I'll be a happy camper.
[/align]
[/align]By the way, those cast bullets, they hit like a sledgehammer, literally. I tested them on my steel plates at 100yds, and they hit hard, very hard.
[/align]
[/align]Good luck & hope your results pan out.......
[/align]
[/align]Take care,
[/align]Bob
[/align]