Semisane

Quote:

after awhile I came to the realization their are some many variations in shooting a ML it (weighing charges) really had no effect on my hunting accuracy

I agree completely, Sabotloader. Still, unless I'm roundball plinking I do it anyway. Got the time and I enjoy it, so what the heck.

Underclocked

It's only fair that if Sabotloader can part time as Conicalloader ....



The rifle had been sighted in with 496 grain conicals so the first group was quite high. I tried to concentrate REAL hard on that last group and didn't gain much, but I think that vertical spread might be greatly reduced if I were to weigh those charges rather than use volume measure.

The BM3 is old and had once been a solid block inside its container. It had rocked up just a little when I first took it out againa couple of days ago buttwo minutes of shaking the container brought it back to fine powder form. The stuff is surprising me - someone needs to buy the process/formula from Magkor that could properly market it at a fair price. It's better than Triple7 when it's right. And no crud ring whatsoever.

I may turn that Umag into a .243 yet.

sabotloader

UC

It is so hard to beleive that you are moving from the dark side to the modern side... shooting polymere - didn't think i would see that from you... Do the guys on DWB's no about this move?

Underclocked

yep and I've survived so far. Just playing around with powder and bullets that have been idling for a long time. Shot some 350 grain PowerStars in my .451 mini Umag - those don't load so easily.

falcon

Never weighed amuzzleloader charge ever. i just pour it into the measure, strike the excess off and then pour it into the gun barrel.For some reasonthis works well for me.All three of my guns have shot <one inch groups at 100 yards.

There is a USMC staff NCO in town who is the best rifle shot i have ever seen. He had never shot a muzzleloader before and one day at the range he asked if he could shoot my Encore. He laid on the ground prone and put three 250 grain SST bullets into one-half inch at 100 yards.

For some reason relatively large swings in muzzleloader velocity are not always detrimental to accuracy.

lemoyne

sabotloader,I also am a reloader and went through the same process and came to the same conclusion.
The thing about it that bothered me the most is when I took my scale out to the MZ range and some of the other guys wanted to check what there powder measure was throwing, no two were the same even in the same brand some were as much as 40 grs off, I decieded that the most important thing was consistency so I use the same powder measure for everything[the one that was closest to the scale with Goex Black FFFwhich happened to be my original TC].
Lee

sabotloader

LEE

EXACTLY... I am still using the same old brass tarnished one that I started with years ago... fill and cut exactly the same each time... pouring the powder in on an angle - settling the powder in the gun before adding the bullet and I have even gone to placing the sabot in the barrel in the same position each time... there are probably other things I do but now they are just habit so I do not even notice them...

Underclocked

In that case I either need to up or down the powder charge or throw away this derned plastic.

falcon, I've got groups well under an inch shooting heavy conicals. Plastics (recycled milk jugs) just don't like me and I don't like them.

I am going to weigh some loads and see if it makes a difference on the vertical spread though. My volumetric loads were as consistent as I could make them with the U-view measure. AND I not only positioned each sabot the same with respect to the bore, I positioned the notches on the bullets the same inside the sabots. How's that fer nutty?

It could be the powder is very touchy about seating pressure and slight differences could cause the vertical spread. I'm too good a shot for it to possibly have been ME!!

sabotloader

UC

But, just a thought... the outside the barrel varibles are not as great on those heavy conicals as those that effect the flight of a lighter bullet even though it has greater velocity just thinking out loud


That is a consideration! especially with triple 7 and/or any sugar based powdertrying to achieve the small groups you are after. This does not help you hunting but if you really want that 1/2" group - drop the powder - recoil - harmonics down to nothing and shoot loads like the target shooters do.

aaaaa - O.K.

Underclocked

You're gettin cereal on me agin.