statjunk

Hey guys,

Got the measure tool, the orange pour cap and bottle of 777 ffg. Also have the Gold dots and the HPH/24 sabots.

Just tried to pour some powder and it was tougher than I bargained for. When pouring from the jug to fill the measure tool it would be tough to get it filled to the top without spillage. How do you guys not spill?

Also when I taped what I thought was a full measure tube the powder settled allowing for more powder to be poured in. What is the recommended method to fill the measure tube?

Are you guys prefilling all your powder before you hit the range?

Thanks

Tom

sabotloader

statjunk

In the fieldI do loose some powder when using T7 - It is not so expensive that I worry about it but when I throw charges of BH-209 I do place a catch pan under the measure and try to catch every lousy grain.

Different schools of thought here - some of us a tappers some say no... I tap to settle the powder - actually I tap on the side of the volume measure 4 times then cut the excess off.. What ever you do try to do the same thing each time. You really do not see much change in the POI until you loose or gain about five grains - so being off a little bit is not a big deal...

A heck of a lot of people do and I guess I do with Bh-209 - but with T7 I enjoy throwing the powder in the field - good way to let the barrel cool a bit extra.... during hunting season I use pre-measured "quick loaders" that have the projectile sabot and powder in the same location.

I use to pre-measure my T7 - thinking I was going to be a whole lot more consistent - like reloading centerfire ammo - really did not make that big of a difference - so I stay with the mechanical action of pouring, tapping, & cutting at the range. I have come to another realization - I am not shooting a target rifle for money - not even shooting shooting target loads... I am shooting a hunting rifle with a really stout charge... if I stay in a 1 1/2 - 2" @ 100 - I can hunt with it and I can be very effective with it.

I assume this is the pour cap for the bottle of T7??? - mine are all black so that is why I am asking

bigmossy

Which ones do you use that keep the powder from going on both sides of the bullet/sabot or are they in seperate containers?

sabotloader

bigmossy

I use the TC 4 in 1 quick loader - the sabot & projectile or conical is stored in one end and the powder in the other end - you can also store a #11 cap in the lid if you choose. One end of the tube also acts as a short starter to push the projectile down into the barrel a short distance... Powder and bullets are separate.

The black tubes will hold 150 grains loose or pellets and the red on will hold 100 grains.

http://www.basspro.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/Product_10151_-1_10001_19946____SearchResults

statjunk

Sabotloader,

Thanks a lot for getting back to me with all this useful information. I think I will start by loading over a pan to save the grains. Maybe in the future I'll swing over to the dark side and just let the grains fall where they may.

In the meantime I'm wating for Lane to send me the shot tubes so I can load up a bunch and go to the range. I will likely start at the 110 grains and work my way up and down in 5 grain increments. If I could get 2" at 100 yards I would be thrilled. Right now I would say that with pellets my omega has been in about a 6" circle.

I haven't been this excited to go to the shooting range in a long while! Unfortunelty it's raining terrible over here and I'll likely have to wait till next week.

Thanks for everythign guys.

Tom

Lefse

I use the tc u-flask to fill the measure. It is a lot easier than filling from the bottle.

sabotloader

statjunk

Tell me about your Omega.... how old/new is it... SS or blued... Which stock... Which ignition system are you using...

To shoot the Gold Dot accurately it really needs a kick in the rear... Inoromally shoot 110 grains T7-2f - but I started out @ 100....

A lot of your accuracy is going to be determined by what harmonic vibrations are setup in your barrel with the shot and how they are dampened.

Even where you place the rest on the forearm can effect your accuracy...

statjunk

My Omega is about three years old. It's the stainless barrel with the camo thumbhole stock. I have a Simmons Aetec on it. I know the scope is good and the mounts are solid.

I would get a pretty decent group but then there would be fliers and they'd be all over the place. I have a knight Master Hunter that I've had for close to 10 years and that thing can shoot. The problem is I really like shooting the omega much better. It's easier to maintain and just generally more enjoyable.

I'm going to start at 110 and move up and down 5 grains to start with.

Do you have any other suggestions?

I'm going to check out the TC U-flask to see what that is all about.

Oh yeah the orange thing is the cap that goes over the bottle of powder.

Tom

sabotloader

statjunk

Cool, that sounds like a pretty good setup and if you have confidence in the gun & scope - that a bug hurdle...

These are all just thoughts from a few hundred miles away...

Have you done the dollar bill thing - slid the dollar bill under the barrel down into the barrel channel and all the way back to the first recoil lug?

Then the next time you take the barred action out of the stock - push the action down into the stock snuggly and see if the action rocks back and forth justa bit or is sitting in the recoil lugs equally. Most that I have worked with rock just a little bit. Thenput both screws in the recoil lug lugs - turn them up until you feel them start to pull the stock and action together - then tighten the rear screw first - tighten it snugkky but not to tight - then tighten the front screw - does the dollar bill pass now if it did not before?

One otherthing I would try is to shim the bottom of the lug pockets with a piece of teflon (like from one of those kitchen cutting sheets)cut to fit in the bottom of the pockets - this will lift the action up in the stock a slight bit and should alleviate some of the different pressure points that mightbe pushing on the action and barrel.Remembering that all the stocks are cut by a machine to fit all barreled actions which might not be all the same - either the barred action or the stock.

First I would say take the breech plug out and push a sabot bullet combination down through and make sure that it will load comfortably for you... a 3 year old Omega might have one of those really tight barrels and might be to tight for a HPH-24 or regular havester - you might be looking at a the HPH-3p or the crush rib.

If it loads OK then really at would start at90 to make sure everything fits and shoots... I know it will but I would still start a 90 (which is still a bit more than 2 pellets). Them progress to 100 - in fact I might shoot several shots at 100 to establish what kind of grouping you get ther - who cares where they are on the target - what does the group look like... then 110 looking for the sme thing - for my personal Omega the groups startng opening just a tad at 120- but shoot that is a ton powder and really 99% of the time not needed unless it gives you a ragged whole at 100...

You are still going to loose a few grains of powder when you tap and cut so - I do not see the point. And I do still suggest the tap and cut, because no matter how you try - you will never pour the same with each attempt. With practice you will tap to settle and be really close to the same each time. Or like a lot of other people do weigh your loads and store them in a tube for your range outing.

When do you think you might get out to shoot - I am kinda looking forward to that report... just remember it might not all come together on the first outing - that's why a lot of people shoot pellets and PB's - it is a lot easier to take what you get.

Good luck

statjunk

Funny that you should ask. So it's been raining here since Friday. When I say rain I mean hard rain and then harder still for periods of time. Today around 1pm the sun came out, the skies turned blue and I'm sitting at work and I get a call from a buddy and he says you want to go to the range. I say heck yeah!

His son is going on his first rifle youth hunt so I was showing him the ropes with trigger control, breathe control etc...

Well after about 15 minutes of being at the range the skies rain down once again but this time it decided to make up for the hour and half that it had stopped. Sitting at the 50 yard line I fired my first shot of loose powder in the pouring rain. Luckily the range has a really nice roof over it so not overly bad except that some wayward fellow had shot a hole right through the roof, right above my bench! Any how I manned up and shot. Since you hadn't posted the above prior to my departure I started right at 110gr. Let me tell you that is heck of lot beefier than two pellets and it was surprising. It wasn't ridiculous but it was stout. Stout enough that I could see a red flame in my scope after pulling the trigger. I only took two shots mostly because of the weather but on both of them I saw the red flame. The two shots were about 2.5" apart at 50 yards which of course isn't good but honestly it's on par with what I was getting with the pellets. Leaving the range was more like a sprint than a stroll. Drove the truck right up to the range so I could keep my powder and cleaning case as dry as possible.

The HPH/24 sabots with the gold dot bullets went down the barrel a lot like the Shockwaves with the yellow sabots. It was firm but not overly difficult to get them down the barrel.

I'm going to check the action tonight when I get home as I'm back at work right now. I know the scope and mounts are good as that was one of the things I did after not being able to get the rifle to group. I also went ahead and installed a brand new scope that had never been placed on a rifle before. I even ended up sending the original scope back to be repaired just in case.

I will let you know what happens when I take the action off the stock, if there is any rocking or whatever. Not sure what you mean by teflon cutting sheets. Are you talking about those ultra thin cutting boards? Where can I get one of those? Do you have a pic for me?

As for the dollar bill trick, floating. Are you saying that a muzzleloader needs to have a floated barrel? Seems kind of odd to me since there is a ramrod stuck in there anyway. Will the ram rod rattle around in there after doing that?

Having your help is keeping me confident that I will get this thing to shoot eventually.

Thanks again.

Tom

So went home and disassembled my rifle. There was no rocking whatsoever. The dollar bill would not pass. I then placed the dollar bill at several places along the barrel between it and stockand an none of the places would the dollar move atall. So essentially completely unfloated along the entire length of the barrel. Any suggestions?