dead on....
 

I went and shot at 100 yds yesterday and had an interesting 4 shot group... 4 in high dead on left and right, 2 in high dead on, 3 in high dead on, 1 in high dead on in that order. No movement left or right just up and down. Im questioning now whether the 777 pellets im using are rubbing off some of their powder while in the box. Seems like the powder load is not consistent. Has anyone experienced this before? I am cleaning the bore between shots with no. 13 and then 3 dry patches. Any advice would be helpful! thanks

--Gnarly

RE: dead on....
 

How many pellets are you shooting at each time, and what bullet? That sounds like something in there is causing something. Have you ever considered loose powder. Also what rifle, and primer are we talking here?

RE: dead on....
 

well i have a prohunter shooting 150 gr. 777 and 250 shockwave. last time i was out the first two shots were in the same hole and the next 3 were w/in 2 inches. the only thing that was different this timewas that it was about 32-35 degrees versus 50 if that makes any difference. I feel like i need the 150 gr. load because i am heading up north where a 200 yard shot is a very good possibility. Should i try to see if it will group better with 100 gr?

RE: dead on....
 

you could try 100 grains but I would just work with what you have. Try a different swabbing solution, maybe that will help. Try some windex and alcohol mix. Try some different primers, try all sorts of things and see if that makes a difference. I am sure the rifle will come around. Good luck.

RE: dead on....
 

Maybe it's the shooter...?

Sounds like Breathing causing the up-down action.

Whats your bench rest set-up??

RE: dead on....
 

Be sure to try to seat the bullet(pressure the same every time,this will really help in group size. My Prohunter likes to have the bullet just seated firmly on the powder. If I use allot of pressure seating the bullet on the powder,it starts stringing the shots.

RE: dead on....
 

I doubt it is the shooter, but that makes sense about the breathing and going up and down...im pretty used to shooting rifles and have never had this problem before. The only thing that might be causing a little bit of variation is the slightly heavy trigger pull combined with the magnum load. But then again i shot my remington 1100 slug gun and the trigger pull is super heavy and i can still get about a4 in group with it at 100 yds.
should i run one saturated patch of no. 13 then dry it with 3 patches or should i clean it with several wet patches and several dry ones trying to get it as clean as possible while shooting on the range?

RE: dead on....
 

It's just the opposite! Bullet is not consistent with the powder load. This minor vertical stringing is the bullet holes-way of asking you for either 90 grainsin pellets (most likely)or 110grains (not likely).That means you need to start carrying some 30-grain pellets - ortry the 50 gr.Pyrodex pellets -- or switch to 777 loose powder.

Inconsistency with 777 pelletsis nothing new. I read about it all the time. But yours is minor and probably correctible. This is why I stick to 777 loose powder. With loose, you can tweak your powder chargeusing single digit numbers.

RE: dead on....
 

Agreed, that is one of the things I pay the most attention to is seating pressure.

The weather change can have an effect though you should see through out your group vs a stringing effect. Ie: now your shooting 2" low vs dead on!

It very well could have been an off day as well or bad rest so before you worry about switching, test some more and pay attention to detail.

RE: dead on....
 

if i pick up a box of pyrodex pellets and keep the 150 gr. load, how will this shoot compared to the 150 gr. 777? ....higher, lower, or similar? I have heard about these inconsistencies with 777. do i need to be careful shooting 777 one shot, then using pyrodex the next shot as long as i clean it?

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.

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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.

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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.

RE: dead on....
 

gnarly,
Please reread my post, I said the spit patch should be followed by one or two dry patches. The spit patch serves the same purpose as a light cleaner. Some folks use a mix of windex and water, some use other liquids. I recommend staying away from petrolium products, especially w/ 777. I just use a spit patch between shots instead. When I clean, every other week or so, I use ballistol.
Hank