Muley Hunter,
Before I ran steel wool in my Omega barrel, I had no problem loading any of the bullet/sabot combos I had, which included T/C Cheap Shots, T/C Shockwaves, Barnes TEZs, Harvester Scorpion PT Golds w/ crush rib sabot (i.e. I didn’t run the steel wool because I had loading difficulties…it was for rust and accuracy issues). That may be because the T/C stuff is, well…T/C stuff, the TEZs were designed for tighter barrels, and the Harvester crush rib sabots simply load like butter (literally…VERY little effort needed). Your results may vary, as it appears that others here have noticed difficulty in loading the Omega before they ran the JB compound down their bores. Not me.
Regardless of what bullets you buy (many come with their own sabots…e.g. the TEZs), you can mix and match bullets/sabots all day long, provided the combo adds up to .50. For example, I like having some T/C Cheap Shots on hand because I like to shoot and they are….CHEAP (I hear they actually work very well on game too, not sure I’ll attempt to gain experience with that, though). Those bullets come with their own sabot, but are .44 cal. So, if I wanted to try out another sabot with that bullet, I shouldn’t use the Harvester black crush rib sabot, as it is designed to hold a .45 cal bullet. Instead, I’ll use the Harvester green crush rib sabot, designed for a .44 cal bullet.
You may find that the Barnes TEZ shoots very well out of your gun in its own sabot. If you’ve experimented with different charges/charge volumes and it doesn’t shoot well, but you really want to use a Barnes bullet, order the Barnes bullets you want with a variety of sabots to see if it makes a difference. Midsouthshooterssupply.com has the best selection of muzzleloading components that I have seen.
You stated that you’re more of a hunter than a target shooter. You may just be looking for a simple combo that gets you minute-of-deer accuracy at 100 yards. As someone else mentioned in this or another recent thread, there are plenty of people that are happy with 2-3 pellets of pyrodex and the projectile of their choice. I thought that would be me. When I bought my Omega, it was simply a means to extend my season. But I have found that muzzleloaders are just plain fun to shoot AND tinker with. My 1 MOA load is a Harvester 260gr Scorpion PT Gold bullet w/ black crush rib sabot, 90gr BH209 and a CCI 209M Primer. Even though I’m getting 1 MOA and I know that the PT Gold’s terminal performance is excellent, I still want to experiment. I can’t wait to add the red crush rib sabot to the mix! If only I could get a chance to get out and shoot sometime soon!