Yes,
I think bonded bullets have something to offer too. I am going to play with the 200 grain shockwave bonded sabot some this winter. From what I am hearing, it is the next step in the right direction (although I can't be happier w/ the standard 250 grain shockwave). May move to them next year if things look as good as I think they will.
I tried shooting the regular shockwave 200 and 250 over my chronometer a couple of weeks ago. Maybe there is a secret to shooting m/l over a chrony because I got numbers all over the map. The 250s were 2400ish on the high side and 1600 on the low side with junk all in between, also some shots just registering an error. Due to the performance, accuracy, published ballistics w/ 777and consistancy of the shockwaves, I know that there is not that much deviation from shot to shot. I figure I am picking up the sabot on some shots, maybe the smoke is causing problems too.
Anyhow, I'll try again on a sunny day and play with positioning one day next month. If anyone has defeated these problems w/ BP and a chrony, all suggestions are welcome.

R
Hank

ahankster, I fought the chrony battle to and ended up setting it at 25 yd.
This gave me good reasonably consistent readings and if you use a ballistic program you can calculate muzzle volicity. Lee

Ahankster,

Nice buck. You are on my deer hunting contest team. If you shot that buck this year and enter it on the deer hunting forum we will be in the lead. I have shot a whitetail and an antelope this year with the 200g Shockwave and the combined distance traveledfor the two is 20 yards.

aquatech: I'm curious as to how you plan on taking care of the hard loading situation with your Omega; are you planning on lapping the barrel? Have you tried the crush rib sabots? I'm currently waiting for a delivery of some bullet/sabots that are supposed to be easy loading, but I'll soon find out. I have heard about the crush ribs and think I'll probably try some of them with the 300 gr XTP's I have (almost a whole box) to see if I can use them. I believe I saw that the crush ribs are only about .002 smaller than the standard Harvester sabots, so I don't know if that will be enough to make a difference. We'll see.

IM jaybe

BGHunter,
That is the third buck I have shot this year. Killed three does too. Killed a little 7 point, a fonky 5 point and this guy. One of the does was with a bow. The little guy to my left in the pic has killed a doe and spike too.
We can only shoot muzzle loaders, shotguns and bows where I hunt, so I just use an Encore year round.
R
Hank

Nice deer! Sounds like you had a great season. I'm in the same boat here in IN being able to use only shotgun/muzz/bow, but thats the way I like it. Looks like the boys are enjoying it also, I love hearing about kids getting into the sport and seeing thier excitement during the hunt. Here is a picture of my son and I with this years buck (shot with a 200g shockwave). He's a little to young to hunt (2 yrs old), but he threw an absolute fit until I agreed to come home and get him and take him to help with the drag. Anyway, when you score your deer send that info along with the photo the the moderator and we should be in first place.