MLKeith

I have a theory and it is just that a theory. I suspect that the reason the QLA messes with the conical accuracy is that when the conical reaches the QLA portion of the barrel the gas pushing it can escape around the base of the conical and cause a disturbance that starts to make the bullet unstable. The reason it does not do this with a sabot load is that the sabot expands enough and the petals are opening just slightly and the combination stops the gas from escaping around the bullet/sabot load. Personally I find it hard to believe that T/C cannot machine a QLA concentric with the bore (although apparently some have measured them and claim that they are not machined correctly). I have not shot any conicals in my Omega other than Powerbelts and they shoot quite well: however, the powerbelt also has a plastic seal at the rear which would stop the gas excaping around the bullet just like a sabot if that is what is really causing the problems with solid lead conicals. Some have had decent luck with conicals if they use a felt wad below the bullet and again this "seal" may be the answer to rifles with QLA.

frontier gander

I have a hard time seeing why tc has so much trouble with their qla while other rifles out there have them and get them right to shoot conicals. Maybe it could also do with the way their rifling is compaired to others but we will never know and i doubt tc will ever figure it out themselves. Or maybe tc bores it slightly to large and the end and then thats what screws it up possibly? I'd be interested to see muzzle measurements of the qla on other tc omegas and encores and see how greatly it varys.

gleason.chapman

Your theory makes sense to me. I have no idea if it is true or not, but the fact that a felt wad keeps a conical from going astray makes it logical.
Thanks for explaining this. Chap Gleason

MLKeith

By the way I just bought some cast lead full bore conicals that have a felt wad glued to the base. Have not shot them yet but am curious as to how they will shoot in my Omega. I also have an NEF Huntsman that I can compare if they do not perform in the Omega. These are 350gr. .50cal "AccuMag" bullets from Hoffman and Wright in Ky. I wonder if the felt wad stays on the bullet or drops as it is leaving the bore. Seems to me if it stayed on it might affect accuracy. They also market a similar constucted bullet using a "REAL" design bullet with the felt wad on the base. The 350gr. one is almost a barrel shape with a big flat nose like Ross Seyfried uses on pistol bullets. I suspect at distances below 100 yards these would be devastating on game. Maybe the Idaho and Colorado guys should consider these?

cayugad

Is there a reason for gluing the felt wad to the bottom of the conical?

gleason.chapman

Al Marion on this site:
http://www.snipersparadise.com/tsmag/July03/july03.htm

talks about the cast bullets and how they don't mushroom but give superior penetration. He likes the big flat nose bullets also. I have read the article several time and every time I read it, I pick up a bit more understanding on this matter of bullet penetration and Terminal Sectional Density and the like. I think your on to something. He says this at the end of his article:

We never know when we buy or build ammunition exactly how much will be required of each bullet we send down the barrel toward big game. Thus, it is foolish to not use bullets with design characteristics that are up to the toughest assignments. The same design characteristics that restrict expansion also protect against major component separations. So, because toughness goes with the territory in high TSD bullets, they routinely survive violent impact with bone and continue on with their assigned task. With regularity, they deliver enough energy where it matters. And gratefully, in all but the most extreme circumstances, any bullet with that capability is certain to continue helping us by opening a leak on the far side.

The hard cast bullets with large frontal area are what penetrated best in his tests. I don't know much about these. I have seen them in Cabelas. Idon't know anyone that shoots them, but his article made sense to me, but I am certainly no expert.

Chap Gleason Va