I've posted this question on here before, but i am still having trouble getting a good, tight pattern. I shoot .50 cal 250 grain shockwave with 2 50 grain American Pioneer sticks. I've had a couple different people tell me that you shouldnt clean the barrel after every shot with the American Pioneer Sticks. Has anyone heard the same? I heard the same thing about using bore butter as well. Any input would be greatly appreciated.

get rid of the pioneer crap. triple 7 or pyrodex pellets. I prefer loose powder as it allows me to fine tune the charge.

I've never used AP sticks, but I've never ever heard anything good about them.

I was thinking of getting away from the AP. I've heard a lot of bad stuff about it.

APP is one of the worst hygroscopic powders, it can and will gather moisture and when it does it changes the shooting characteristics including the POI I fought that for two years and finally switched back to Pyrodex, then too 777, [which while being powerful and accurate gave me crudring to the point where I had to scrub the barrel every shot] then they came out with Black Horn 209which has all the advantages and is the most consistent for accuracy and you don't need to clean till you take the gun home, its one disadvantage is price. Lee

Yeah, i think i am going to try 777 stciks. What do you guys recomend, just a dry swab in between shots? WHat about the use of bore butter? Im pretty new at all this and i want to get my gun as accurate as i can before i go into the woods.

Get away from the American Pioneer Powder. I've never used it, but I've never heard anything good about the way it shoots. There was a very good comparison done between different types of blackpowder and blackpowder substitues in a magazine awhile back (American Rifleman, maybe?). APP had a much higher standard deviation between shots than any other powder (I think), poor accuracy and low velocities. Either Pyrodex or 777 will be much more consistent, provide better accuracy and higher velocities. If you want to stick with pellets, Pyrodex pellets seem to shoot more accurately for most people than 777 (I never had good accuracy with 777 pellets). If you want to go with loose powder, 777 loose has worked very well for me as long as you run a patch down the barrel in between shots. Blackhorn 209 seems to be the wave of the loose-powder future if your rifle can reliable ignite it.

While some people swear by Bore Butter, I think more people swear at it. I feel it has it's uses, such as patch and bullet lube, but I don't recommend it for corrosion protection or most anything else. I'm sure you'll get several opinions on the stuff from those on the forum here.

The APP powders I found gave marginal performance and were several hundred feet per second slower than the other powders. I don't useit except for plinking, and then only because I already bought it. Good luck with your search for a good load.

i asked the guy at gander about ap he laughed at me and told me not to touch it

App. powder isn't very good for all the reasons already mentioned. 777 Seven is good powder but you will have to run a spit patch (dampened patch) and one or two dry ones, between shots (espically with the tight barrels on Omegas).
The App. works best if you dont patch, between shots, at all.