I went out yesterday to see how well the 250gr shockwave would do out of my rifle.it started out great but then it went to heck in a hurry...follow along.

gun-knight master hunter
scope-burris sig. 3.5-10x40 ballistic plex
powder-777 mag pellets (red box)
bullet-shockwave 25gr super glide
primers-winchester 777
temp-88 degrees and sunny

i cleaned my barrel between each shot. solvent patch many times followed my a dry patch.

this was my first two shots taken at 100yds


my scopes reticle is ballisticly compinsated for a 250gr bullet at about 2100fps, with my set up i should be close. with my main crosshair zeroed in at 125yds my next dash down should be dead on at 150yds, next dash 1" high at 200, next dash iszeroedat 250, last dash is 1" low at 300yds.
i was just looking for a 200yd group.

so i moved to 125yds and made my zero. this is three shots.


so next i move to 150yds and then this happened, the first two are way way low left. i let the barrel cool and shot again next two way way high right.


so i moved back to 125yds to see if I'm still zeroed there. what happens way low and way low.


what do you think could have happened? did my barrel get to hot? i was taking my time cleaning between each shot. did something come loose that i didn't notice? my scope is good. could it have been my stock screw? it did seem to be not as snug as i left it.

Maybe I need to amend Law #1 to "Whatever worked five minutes ago will not work now".

Usually it is heat, with the sabots getting soft. I wrap a towel soaked in ice around the barrel after 4 shots, because it soften up the sabot causing blow-by therefore accuracy loss. Try it early in the am from 8am to 10 and you should be all right. Take a towel with you and some ice.
Chap Gleason

I have found that if I wait about 10 mins between shots that helps and I only try to load and shoot within 1 min since the heat not only affects the sabot but it has some effect on the powder as well. I also have to keep an eye on the air temperature since here in Phoenix it gets hot fast and I try to shoot very early in the morning and even then I usually start out around 80*F. I currently shoot a T/C Encore using Pyrodex pellets 3x50,Shockwave 250gr, and VariFlame with sm rifleprimers. I wet clean between each shotfollowed by 2 dry wipes. I'm currently getting < 1 1/4 in consistently at 100 yards and haven't goneout beyond there, but that will change this week. Good luck on getting it figured out.

That is a good idea to load and shoot quickly, giving the sabot less time to heat up. So bottom line Outdoorsmen is heat causing the sabot to soften and cause blow by: wait 10 minutes, cool the barrel as I suggest, and shoot quickly after loading, and shoot early in the am before the day heats up. Chap Gleason

Howdy,
I'm shooting a Optima Pro 50 cal. with 85 grains of Pyrodex RS & 250 grain Shockwaves. I'm getting 1 1/2" 10 shot groups at 75 yards & 2" 10 shot groups at 100 yards consistantly. I swab the bore before shooting & after shooting with a premoistened patch with "BoreButter".
We are shooting 2 rifles & alternate shots betwen the 2 guns. We shoot promptly after loading & are very pleased with the results using the Borebutter. The last Sabot loads as easily as the 1st one. We do not shoot over 20 shots without disassembling & cleaning.
When We first started shooting these We found that without the borebutter that after about 5 shots that the sabots were getting hard to seat. Cleanup is very easy also using it. The worst cleaning chore seems to be the Breach plug. I bought a small plastic jar of T7 Breach plug cleaning solvent with a small basket in it & let the breachplug soak in it until I finish cleaning the rest of the gun. The primer fouling brushes right off & the chore has gotten much easier.
Andy

Sounds like there will be more Shockwaves on the shelf for me! YEAH

Howdy,
I'Ve shot Shockwaves,Powerbelts,Buffalo Bullets,TC Maxi-balls,TC Maxi-hunters,& Hornady sabots. From the modern inline I like the Shockwaves most of all. From My Old 50 cal. Lyman Hawken I like the Maxi-balls.
I don't let price get in the way too much,but the Shockwaves are a good deal also. I've never shot anything but real black powder or Pyrodex RS out of My smokepoles. I've thought about trying pelletized powder,but haven't took the leap yet.
Work Your powder loads at differnt steps & you'll find what shoots good for You. I get better groups at 85 grains than I do at 100,125, & 150. The more powder,the more smoke & crud You are making.
Andy

The same thing happens to me some days. I have some theories about this.I attribute it to a couple things.

First. when you start shooting, the rifle barrel is nice and clean. Granted we swab between shots, but we really do not "clean" the barrel when we swab, what we do is remove part of the fowling to assist in loading and to make things more consistent. So I suspect it might be a build up of fowling. The more you shoot, hence the further into the range session the accuracy decreases.

To combat this, you can use a brass bore brush as your swabbing tool. Put that on the end of a separate ramrod if you can. Then wrap your damp patch around the bristles. As you swab down the bore, the bristles move into the rifling and scrape some of the fowling that is attempting to accumulate there. A patch or two like this every fifth shot, and you will see the difference. After you brush swab the barrel, then run with your cleaning jag with another damp patch and it will pull even more from the barrel. This allows some rifles to shoot longer on the range with better accuracy.

Another theory of mine is barrel heat. As the barrel heats up, it changes. As we know we swab and shoot but lots of times that barrel is really hot. Grab a hold of them sometimes. They will be very uncomfortable. Especially for some of you that live in areas of the country where it never cools down.

So I take a coupe rifles with me. I shoot one, swab it, walk down and check the target (need the exercise anyway) putter around marking holes, enter my notebook, walk back, run my dry patches down the swabbed barrel, then set it off to the side and shoot a different rifle. All of this gives the rifle time to return to normal or as close to it as we get. So there is a good reason to tell the wife or other half, why you need more guns... Some people even go so far as to take a cooler with ice and water in it, and towels. They dampen the towel with ice water and wrap the barrel to cool it down faster. I personally have never done this, but do understand their reasoning behind it. Also keep your sabots and bullets in the shade when ever possible. Set then sabots out on a hot shooting bench when the temperature is high sometime and see if they do not load or feel different when loading.

Still another is, the longer I am at the range, the more I find myself checking my position behind the firearm. I am actually shocked that I am suddenly giving the death grip on the rifle instead of a controlled grip. I think this is due to muscle fatigue, strain, and a desire to match the accuracy of the first shots. Perhaps I could call it over concentration.

That's when I get up, walk around, have a soda pop, throw the stick for the dog, but the big thing is I calm down. It is too easy to get into shooting. And you have to step back sometime to really examine what you are doing. Check yourself sometime. Have you moved forward on the seat? Are your elbows flatter on the rest table? Is your cheek in the same spot on the rifle or are you moving back and fourth tying to get that perfect scope picture by adjusting yourself on the stock. I could especially notice this at longer distance where, because of optics, you have to take care not to over adjust. Now with open sights, I do not find this as such a problem.

Another way to check your accuracy sometimes is start at the longer distances first. See what happens there. Then move in to the target. After all the shots and optics get better as we get closer, there is less margin for error. Just some of my thoughts.