Loose vs pellets
#2
RE: Loose vs pellets
Pellets are convinient, consistant in size (each 50 grain pellet is 50 grains), and expensive.
Loose is infinately adjustable for weight, fits any bore size, and iseasily measured by volume.
A lot of arguments could be made for the advantages/disadvantages of both forms. Personally, I use loose. With a couple "speed loaders" in my hunting pouch I can reload at about the same speed with either form of powder and the loose allows me to easily vary loads when testing for performance & accuracy. I can use the same powder for my sidelock and inline with loose, and I can also use it in my pistol or shotgun.
Loose is infinately adjustable for weight, fits any bore size, and iseasily measured by volume.
A lot of arguments could be made for the advantages/disadvantages of both forms. Personally, I use loose. With a couple "speed loaders" in my hunting pouch I can reload at about the same speed with either form of powder and the loose allows me to easily vary loads when testing for performance & accuracy. I can use the same powder for my sidelock and inline with loose, and I can also use it in my pistol or shotgun.
#3
RE: Loose vs pellets
After having used both pellets and loose powder extensively, i could make tha argument that pellets are not more convenient at all.It is just as easy for me to pourloose powder down the barrel from a re-loader tubeas it is to pour pellets down the barrel.
#4
Nontypical Buck
Join Date: Dec 2005
Location:
Posts: 3,246
RE: Loose vs pellets
ORIGINAL: Rickmur
What's the tradeoff's other than pellets being more conveinent?
What's the tradeoff's other than pellets being more conveinent?
http://rmcsports.com/catalog.htm
Chap Gleason
#5
RE: Loose vs pellets
If all you are going to do is shoot your rifle a couple times on the range, and then go hunting with it a few days, pellets might be a good alternative. They are more expensive then loose, but the powder charges come in 30 & 50 grains, so you can make some very good volume combinations. Also some rifles really shoot pellet loads excellent. Not that they will not shoot loose, but the design of some breech plugs do seemto lean towards pellets. In fact whenI was talking to a technician at Thompson Center about loads for the Black Diamond XR, he mentioned a couple times, "couple pellets and a shockwave."
Loose powder will save you money without question. If you shoot a lot, this would be the only way I would consider shooting.. unless you like spending lots of money. Also with loose you can custom measure your loads for the rifle. It is more fun to tinker with. And it can produce some extreme accuracy with rifles. The big reason though would be money. If the pellets and loose measured out to the same number of shots per dollar, I would shoot a lot of pellets.
Both are going to work just fine in most rifles with a 209 ignition system. If your rifle is not 209 ignition, then do not use pellets. Granted sometimes they will work fine and other times they will not work at all.
Loose powder will save you money without question. If you shoot a lot, this would be the only way I would consider shooting.. unless you like spending lots of money. Also with loose you can custom measure your loads for the rifle. It is more fun to tinker with. And it can produce some extreme accuracy with rifles. The big reason though would be money. If the pellets and loose measured out to the same number of shots per dollar, I would shoot a lot of pellets.
Both are going to work just fine in most rifles with a 209 ignition system. If your rifle is not 209 ignition, then do not use pellets. Granted sometimes they will work fine and other times they will not work at all.
#6
RE: Loose vs pellets
Loose powder shoots better in my muzzle loader and it burns cleaner also but thats mine. On the other hand most of my friends like pellets.Different muzzleloaderslike different loads. I thinkwhat everyone will agree on is its a matter of personal preference and the performance from your muzzleloader. Dont be afraid to test a bunch of different brands and loads.As stated earlier you will have more options with loose.
#7
Fork Horn
Join Date: Jan 2007
Location: North Carolina
Posts: 365
RE: Loose vs pellets
My only comment is a buddy of mine and I both have Encores that are identical. He was shooting 2 t7 pellets over a 250 shockwave and I was using 110 grains of ffg t7 with a 240 grain XTP. His gun did not seem to have the knockdown power with 2 pellets that mine did with only 10 more grains of loose. On one hunting trip, he lost 2 deer and I know on one his shot placement was good. With my load, the farthest a deer has gone is 150 yards (1 time, big buck) with all others dropping within 20 yards of where they were shot.
#8
Nontypical Buck
Join Date: Dec 2005
Location:
Posts: 3,246
RE: Loose vs pellets
ORIGINAL: blackheel
My only comment is a buddy of mine and I both have Encores that are identical. He was shooting 2 t7 pellets over a 250 shockwave and I was using 110 grains of ffg t7 with a 240 grain XTP. His gun did not seem to have the knockdown power with 2 pellets that mine did with only 10 more grains of loose. On one hunting trip, he lost 2 deer and I know on one his shot placement was good. With my load, the farthest a deer has gone is 150 yards (1 time, big buck) with all others dropping within 20 yards of where they were shot.
My only comment is a buddy of mine and I both have Encores that are identical. He was shooting 2 t7 pellets over a 250 shockwave and I was using 110 grains of ffg t7 with a 240 grain XTP. His gun did not seem to have the knockdown power with 2 pellets that mine did with only 10 more grains of loose. On one hunting trip, he lost 2 deer and I know on one his shot placement was good. With my load, the farthest a deer has gone is 150 yards (1 time, big buck) with all others dropping within 20 yards of where they were shot.
http://dougva.proboards34.com/index.cgi?board=Savage&action=display&thre ad=1183417227
This thread has an interesting discussion of the SW. Chap Gleason
#9
Join Date: Nov 2006
Posts: 10
RE: Loose vs pellets
As mentioned by wabi, Chapman, cayugad, et alia, loose powder is infinitely variable in the amount you use, so you can tailor the load to your rifle. I measured some 50 grain 777 pellets one time, and, if I remember correctly without digging up some old notes, they were actually 33 grains+/-1 grain by weight (somebody correct me if you've measured them recently). I always got vertical stringing with them in my Omega. In fact,loose 777 and BM3 produced stringing until I started weighing out individual powder charges. After I started weighing out my BM3 charges, my 2" horizonal by 5" vertical groups shrank to 2"x2" at 100 yards from my Omega.
Caution:100 grains by volume is about 75.5 grains by weight for the bottle of 777 FFG I have. Measure out by volume first, and then weigh the charge on a powder scale to see what the equivalent weight is. Don't start with 100 grains 777 by weight -- that's close to an absolute maximum charge. Also, yourbottle of 777 might weigh a little different than mybottle (lot to lot variation), so weigh your own powder and get your own conversion factor.
Hasenpfeffer
Caution:100 grains by volume is about 75.5 grains by weight for the bottle of 777 FFG I have. Measure out by volume first, and then weigh the charge on a powder scale to see what the equivalent weight is. Don't start with 100 grains 777 by weight -- that's close to an absolute maximum charge. Also, yourbottle of 777 might weigh a little different than mybottle (lot to lot variation), so weigh your own powder and get your own conversion factor.
Hasenpfeffer
#10
Join Date: Jan 2006
Location: TEXAS!!!
Posts: 135
RE: Loose vs pellets
I thought through the same issue last year until one day shooting at the deer lease using Pyrodex pellets and 250 gr. Shockwaves. I had touching consistant groups 3" high at 100 yards. Shot over 15-20 times and had no issues. With that being said, I'm going with the if it isn't broke, don't fix it.