RE: dead on....
 

gnarly, I'm not a big fan of the pellets. I think they are supposed to be equal in speed,and power. I really like loose powder,for the main reason that,I can tailor my loads to what ever amount works best. If you have "the need for speed" 120grs.7772F will get ya there,and it shoots very accurate in my Prohunter. Ron

RE: dead on....
 

I thought you were using 100 grains... not 150!

Try substituting one fifty grain pellet with one thirty grainer. If you don't mind the more corrosive Pyrodex pellets, then get those -- mainly because they are more consistent& cheaper.Otherwise, switch to loose powder.

I would not try to tweak those target holes by switching back & forth between 777 and Pyrodex after every shot. That might make shot groups even more inconsistent.

RE: dead on....
 

gnarly,

I'm not a muzzle loading expert by no means. Actually this is my first year hunting with muzzle loader, but I spent many hours at the range with my T/C pro hunter. I was heading out to the mid west and wanted my gun shooting the best I could get. I had the same problem as you with slinging bullets shooting off a lead sled rest. I was using 777 pellets150 gr. 250 gr. shock wave with cci primers. I cleaned between every shot as well. I finally found a set upthat worked well for me. I marked my push rod at the point where I had nice even pressure seat on bullet and powder. I also switched to the remington Clean bore primers. I don't know which made the difference but I stopped slinging bullets. I'm now shooting 1/2" groups at 100 yards and I killed my deer at 180 yards holding dead on. Hope this helps.

RE: dead on....
 

No one here is an expert Squeaky, some just know a bit more than othersabout certain subjects. Your being a Pro Hunter owner with experience shooting the rifle makes you much more an expert (where that rifle is concerned) than most here.

RE: dead on....
 

What rules out the word "expert" in this muzzleloader game - more than anything -is 'bore size variances". That's why no one can tell you what works best in your ML - but you! These barrels are unlike centerfires. ThePro Hunter barrelmade at exactly 2:00 in the afternoon on Thursday may be a wider bore than the two made at 1:58 and 2:02.

RE: dead on....
 

Ask alluded to above, no one can tell you how switching to pyrodex will affect where the bullets hit. In your gun that switch may cause bullets to move up and to the left. In mine they might move lower and to the right (or vice versa). Each gun is different. Just have to try different combos and see how YOUR gun shoots each combo.

RE: dead on....
 

Switching to Pyrodex pellets might just improve your group size, make the rifle shoot more uniform, and still give you all the power you need for those long shots. All you can do is try. The thing to remember with Pyrodex is be sure and clean your rifle at the end of the day if you shoot it. Of all the powders I tested, pyrodex will cause your rifle to rust faster then any other powder on the market. Even black powder.

RE: dead on....
 

Went out today and shot a 1 1/2 in. group at 100 yds. I think i figured out that I was putting too much bore cleaner on the patches and some was collecting in the indention in the breech plug. This was causing the pellets to get wet and therefore stringing my shots. Im an idiot. I thought i was getting it dry because my patches were coming out dry but they couldnt get all of it evidently. I determined this by loading it normally and noticing a little bore cleaner on the breech plug, so i pulled it out and the first two pellets had wetness on them. I made sure not to put too much bore cleaner on it and i got it to shoot about a 1 1/2 in group. I think i finally figured it out.

RE: dead on....
 

There are two things that can contribut to stringing. One was already mentioned and that is inconsistant loading pressure and crushing the pellets. If you crush the pellets, you get different burn patterns and rates causing inconsistancies.
The second is not letting the barrel cool down. On my gun on a cold day, I can usually get three shots in a 1 to 1 1/2 inch group and if I don't let it cool down the shots start stringing vertically. On a hot day, it might start after the second shot.
Also, just a suggestion, either use minimal cleaning soloution on you patch or just spit. Then a couple of dry patches. There are several methods mentioned on the board, but one thingallthe successful methodsin common is that the patch is barely wet and then the barrel cleaned after. I just use two very minimally wet spit patches followed by two dry patches when just shooting. When I clean, that is different.
Good luck.
Hank

RE: dead on....
 

My gun seems to shoot the best when i get all the junk out of the barrel and the last dry patch is clean. It seems like if i just use a spit patch, then stuff starts accumulating fast.