Upgraded this fall to an omega from an old knight mk-85. The knight would get tight after 10-15 shots using pyrodex and hornady sabots. This new omega is tighter on the first shot than the knight was at the fifteenth. Second shot without swabbing was an impossibility. I was using 2-777 pellets and sst's. I tried the hornady sabots and powerbelts, but the sst's grouped the best. ANY HELP?????????
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Knights have wider bore diameters than 95% of all other ML manufacturers. I take a micrometer & clear scotch tape with me bullet-shopping for my Omega. If I cannot measure a bullet in the store, I purchase it - then measure it in my automobile. If it's .429 (44-cal) or .451 (45-cal), I'm good.... but if it's .430 or .452, I repair the package & take it back in the store for a refund.... those are too tight for my standards.
I always keep a supply of 45-cal Harvester plastic sabots & 44-cal MMP plastic sabots because they're constructed to load easier. Some Barnes bullets load without a grunt - as do almost all Precision, Buffalo, Speer & Noslers. A few Hornadys are either .429 or .451... but not many anymore. My favorites for the Omega are
Nosler handgun bullets (especially Partitions)
Speer handgun bullets (especially Gold Dots)
Hornady XTPs 230 gr .451
Buffalo SSBs (special sabot bullet)
Precision sabot/bullets (most-all)
Barnes Spitfires/Expanders
Harvester Sabertooths
Powerbelts
Any others may require a plastic sabot change.... including the new arrival packaged bullets from T/C. Thompson recently changed plastic sabot companies.... much harder to load now. The Sierra bullets claim to be 429/451, but they measure much closer to 430 & 452.