My Omega likes pyrodex!
 

I now have my Colorado hunting load for elk that I feel comfortable with! Went out again today to experiment some more with pyrodex and the platinum 338 grain powerbelts in my Omega. Decided to try 100 grains of pyrodex again, and my first 3holes at 25 yards were all touching. So then I starting trying them at 100 yards. My worst group today was 5-1/2 inches and my last 2 three shot groups were 3-1/2 and 3 inches. That is better than I thought I would ever get this gun to shoot with a peep sight!

I was getting good accuracy with 120 grains of pyrodex too, but I just felt that 100grainsis more than adequate for elk out to 100 yards (my max range), and I don't have to put up with as muchrecoil. Cheaper to shoot too!

For those of you who have not followed my saga, over 3 yearsI have tried a multitude of bullets with 777, black mag3 and APP without finding a reallyaccurate load. After the suggestion of several people, including T/C, I decided to go back to pyrodex and see if that made a difference.It did. However, my gun still will not shootfull bore lead conicals. Powerbelts seem tobe the only thing that really has a chance of good accruacy.

I guess it just shows you don't give up, just keep experimenting until you find your gun's sweet spot. I will be feeling very confident when I pull down on a wapiti next month!

Short timin!!!!

RE: My Omega likes pyrodex!
 

well now all you need do is to see an elk.. nice shooting.

RE: My Omega likes pyrodex!
 

Txhunter58,

Hey thats good news. Good patterns at 100 yards. Simply can't ask for better than that. I know the feeling of exhileration that came over when you saw the 3 1/2 pattern. Contragulations. Have a safe trip to Colorado, and . . . . bag an elk.

Phil

RE: My Omega likes pyrodex!
 

That's good to know I bought pounds of the stuff when it went on sale at Walmart a few years ago and I then stopped using the stuff. I have given a bunch of it away but still have 5 new cans to play with.

My son has been having some good luck with it in his MDM Quickshooter as well. He likes 100g pushing the 295g powerbelts or 240g .44cal bullets in sabots.

RE: My Omega likes pyrodex!
 

I'm glad you had a better day than I had. Mine was downright miserable!

I have an Omega downstairs in the basement that has a 460 gr Great Plains conical stuck half-way down the bore. I had 3-4mis-cap fires today. Noticed that I need to bend the hammer inward on one of my Renegades. That's notsomething any of us look forward to doing.I also broke the brass end off one of my range ramrods today -- resulting in using only one ramrod at the range for around 20 shots. I hate unscrewing the jag off to put on a bore brush -- then vise-versa.... over & over again.

Lastly, the $23 jug of Swiss blackpowder I tried today was a failure with conicals in two fast twist rifles.

Oh Well. These are all good excusesI forward tomy wife on why I constantly need to return to the gun range. :D:D

RE: My Omega likes pyrodex!
 

When I explain to my wifethat I need to try this or work out that, I think it just goes in one ear, hits a wormhole, and exits the other ear at lightspeed. The other day, she looked over my shoulder and saw that I wrote I was into my 4th package of primers. She asked, "you've shot that rifle over 300 times?" All I could say is "yup" and shrug my shoulders. God bless our wives for not complaining about our obsessions. :D

RE: My Omega likes pyrodex!
 

One of my brothers bought an omega at wal-mart on sale for less than $200.I helped him set it up and we tried from 80 to 120 grs of t-7 and the same with cleanshot that I had,to not getting any good groups at all.He was useing the SW 250.I got him to let me try a 3 shot group with pyro-select(100grs) bingo at 100 yds it measured .879 at 100 yds.So have to say his omega liked the pyro too.
Hope you get a big elk.

RE: My Omega likes pyrodex!
 

So does my new encore.

I thought I would try some Jim Shockey Gold this week to see if it would be cleaner and less stinky, but the rounds were flying all over the place. I packedsome Pyrodex Select back in and they were dropping in for some impressive groups most were less then 2" some a little better then that. I am shooting 110 grains under a 250 grain bonded shockwave sighted in dead on at 100 yds.

This is my first muzzleloader and I am getting very excited to hit the woods with it.

RE: My Omega likes pyrodex!
 

Both the Encore & Omega came on the scene just prior to the release of 777. Both MLs were developed with Pyrodex loose and pellet powder loads & the 240 grain XTP (T/C Mag Sabots). Kinda' explains why they shoot so well with this powder.

RE: My Omega likes pyrodex!
 

Relative to the Omega shooting full bore conicals. There have been numerous reports of fixing that problem by removing the QLA. I have always been somewhat uncertain that it is a real problem. The number of people that claim success by doing it is starting to sway my opinion. I just ordered a batch of No-Excuse 460gr. conicals to try in mine with the QLA intact. I also have several other rifles that might shoot the bullet. The next best one is my NEF Huntsman (which does not have a QLA by the way). I got drawn for cow elk in Arizona for the fourth time in six years so I am doing quite well in the draw. I only use elk meat due to a past history of prostate cancer. Commercial meat has too much crap that messes with the immune system. Maybe that is why I have been fairly successful in the draw?? Once the bullets get here I will go back online with the results. I also have very good results with Pyrodex and 348gr. Powerbelts at 80-100 yards. I get decent results with Black Mag'3 also; although the best results with BM3 has been with 300gr. bullets in Harvester sabots which I know you can't use in Co. I have a wide selection of powders to try. Goex ffg, Goex Pinnacle fffg, Black Mag'3, APP ffg, Swiss ffg, Elephant ffg, and Pyrodex Select. I have never tried real black in the Omega; maybe that would be interesting. I like the Black Mag'3 due to the lack of fouling and second shot capability. I also have Tripple Seven in both ffg and pellets but my results in the Omega with 777 resulted in such a crud ring I gave up after trying all the 209 primers available and switching to the .25ACP conversion using small rifle primers. Nothing fixed the crud ring. The .25ACP conversion worked the best but still would not allow a second shot without removing the crud ring. I have shot elk with both 300gr. sabot bullets and 295gr. Powerbelts and 348gr. Powerbelts and all have been complete pass through so the performance of the bullet relative to expansion has never been proven in my experience. Everything I have shot seems to have an entrance hole about bullet size and an exit hole about twice that size. The elk drop but not right away. Sometimes they go quite a distance before finally dropping.