I was wanting to workup a heavier load for this season so, not too long ago, I picked up a box of Great Plains 410 gr. conicals to play with. I got to the range this morning and started at 50 yards to get things zero'd, then moved it back to 100 yards to fine tune things. After tweaking powder charges a little bit, I believe I found the sweet spot. I'm shooting a CVA Optima with a 26" barrel. The load is a 410 gr. Great Plains conical on top of 90 gr. of Triple Seven and the new Triple Seven primers by Winchester. I like shooting 2 shot groups with the muzzleloader. This gives me a good idea of the first shot and how a follow-up shot will impact. At 100 yards, I'm getting 2 shot groups of 1.5 inches. My best two shot group today was 1.25 inches. Surprisingly, recoil isn't bad either.

After final adjustment on thescope, I ended up with this:


Yep, I'm happy
Also, I can highly recommend the new Triple Seven primers. I shot 18 rounds a the range today with absoulutely zero crud ring. I even did one 5 shot string and the fifth bullet was just as easy to get down the barrel as the first. When I swabbed the barrel out, there was just a little bit of fouliing. A far cry from what I experienced last year with the Remington Klean Bore primers.

Nice shooting...


I had the exact same experience w/ the 777 primers and 120gr of 777 2f... I shot one 5 shot string.. and had no issues seating the bullet. I couldn't go more than 2-3 shots last year w/ the Remington Kleanbores.. then I'd have to bust the crud ring. No crud ring at all w/ the 777 primers.. not even after 5 shots. They actually loaded easier than on a freshly cleaned barrel. And this was using the black saboted 250 gr Shockwave bullets.

nice load and nice shooting... I will have to keep my eyes open for the Winchester T-7 primers. Although I really like the Remington Kleenbore primers. Of course I shoot Goex most the time soa crud ring is not an issue..

thats real nice man. that looks like a nice load i might need to try.

I have used the Hornady GP 410 gr. bullet extensively and have also been very happy with its performance - not only on the range, but also on large game. It seems to group well with 80 to 100 grains of 2F T7. I also have used 120 grs. of T7 in recent years; but this load requires the use of a MMP Ballistic Bridge sub-base. Recoil is fairly stout, but it has a serious thump on the receiving end.

Nice going Chris!

Experimentation is what this sport's all about. What you accomplished is not only self-gratifying. reports like this opens the door for shooters who want the least experimentation & the fastest avenue to hunting success.

I prefer the experimental steps at the range. For instance, I have probably developed 10-12 different powder & bullet loads for my Omega at 100+ yards.

It's just fun to do.

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Thompson Center Arms -- Triple Se7en Powder -- Buffalo Bullet Co.