best pellet or power for .50 cal
03-29-2003, 05:50 AM
#1
Thread Starter
Join Date: Feb 2003
Location: carrollton georgia USA
Posts: 44
best pellet or power for .50 cal
i was womdering if pellets were prefered of powder? traditional hunters prefer power but do inline hunters prefer pellets.?
question 2
clear shot power/pellets or prodenex?
thanks for your help new to black powder letting my shoulder heal today my smoke pole kicks like a mule but O love the RUSH AND SMELL!
THANKS CHARLIE[
]
question 2
clear shot power/pellets or prodenex?
thanks for your help new to black powder letting my shoulder heal today my smoke pole kicks like a mule but O love the RUSH AND SMELL!
THANKS CHARLIE[
]
03-29-2003, 09:05 AM
#2
Typical Buck
Join Date: Feb 2003
Location: Wabash, IN
Posts: 826
RE: best pellet or power for .50 cal
Charlie,
The decision to use pellets or loose powder is a matter of personal choice............personally I use loose powder in my Knight for 2 reasons:
1) I get better accuracy with loose powder
2) Loose powder gives me many more options on powder charge. I.E. - I can change my load in 5gr or less increments while the best pellets can do is give you 10gr increments (in the case of Pyro pellets - the new 777 pellets give no choice.....basically you have a 50 or 100gr load, period).
Speaking of 777 powder - that is what I am using now (loose powder that is). It' s much cleaner than Pyro or Black Powder and more powerful too. You must reduce your loads by 15 to 20% when using 777. In other words, a 100gr Pyro load must be knocked down to 80 or 85gr of 777powder in order to get the same results on the target. And about 100gr of 777 is all you will ever want to shoot - that is if you would like to keep your shoulder out of the hospital
.
As far as the other substitute powders on the market - they are probably best avoided. The ClearShot powder mage by Goex is worthless IMHO - it is just as dirty as regular Goex black powder and is VERY weak, about 15 to 20% down on power compared to black or Pyro. Now CleanShot powder (or American Pioneer Powder as it is called now) isn' t too bad. It IS very clean burning and is only about 5% weaker than black or Pyro. However it tends to pick up moisture out of the air and goes bad very quickly - not something you want to use in a humid climate. And the pellets CleanShot makes are to be avoided. They tend to be VERY inconsistent - even my black powder revolver won' t shoot them decently out to 10yds.
I hope this helps you in your decisions. If you decide to go with 777 powder, check my posting on 777 range lessons down below - that will give you an idea of loads to start with.
Good Luck
The decision to use pellets or loose powder is a matter of personal choice............personally I use loose powder in my Knight for 2 reasons:
1) I get better accuracy with loose powder
2) Loose powder gives me many more options on powder charge. I.E. - I can change my load in 5gr or less increments while the best pellets can do is give you 10gr increments (in the case of Pyro pellets - the new 777 pellets give no choice.....basically you have a 50 or 100gr load, period).
Speaking of 777 powder - that is what I am using now (loose powder that is). It' s much cleaner than Pyro or Black Powder and more powerful too. You must reduce your loads by 15 to 20% when using 777. In other words, a 100gr Pyro load must be knocked down to 80 or 85gr of 777powder in order to get the same results on the target. And about 100gr of 777 is all you will ever want to shoot - that is if you would like to keep your shoulder out of the hospital
.As far as the other substitute powders on the market - they are probably best avoided. The ClearShot powder mage by Goex is worthless IMHO - it is just as dirty as regular Goex black powder and is VERY weak, about 15 to 20% down on power compared to black or Pyro. Now CleanShot powder (or American Pioneer Powder as it is called now) isn' t too bad. It IS very clean burning and is only about 5% weaker than black or Pyro. However it tends to pick up moisture out of the air and goes bad very quickly - not something you want to use in a humid climate. And the pellets CleanShot makes are to be avoided. They tend to be VERY inconsistent - even my black powder revolver won' t shoot them decently out to 10yds.
I hope this helps you in your decisions. If you decide to go with 777 powder, check my posting on 777 range lessons down below - that will give you an idea of loads to start with.
Good Luck
03-29-2003, 10:18 AM
#3
Dominant Buck
Join Date: Feb 2003
Location: Wisconsin
Posts: 21,193
RE: best pellet or power for .50 cal
I have to agree with Mark whiz. I use loose Pyrodex Select. I have also shot the Clean Shot and had no problem with it. It seemed to shoot fine. First off, I shoot a side lock .54 caliber not an inline. A friend of mine who was having fits trying to get his CVA inline to hit anything using pellets, went to loose powder and within 30 minutes we found his load and had it shooting sweet. He has never shot the pellets since. It is a personal preference, and I am sure there are those out there that like the pellets. I do not find them any advantage. Good shooting the new smoke pole, and stay safe...
03-30-2003, 04:02 AM
#5
Typical Buck
Join Date: Feb 2003
Location: Hickory NC USA
Posts: 964
RE: best pellet or power for .50 cal
It' s been my experience that it depends on what the rifle you have shoots the best,I have seen rifles that shoot pellets better ,some shoot powder better ,and some wants a different brand of powder,And it depends mostly on how much accuracy you settle for.And there are a few that shoot good with either powder or pellets,but haven' t seen one yet that will shoot defferent brands the same.
04-01-2003, 08:00 AM
#6
Join Date: Mar 2003
Location:
Posts: 23
RE: best pellet or power for .50 cal
I personally shot 3fg black or pyro loose in both of my .50s. Haven' t tried the triple 7 yet, so I can' t comment on that. I like loose because I get better control over my load. That said, there a lot of people you swear by the pellets. As a side note loose powder is typically cheaper to shoot to.
Good luck
Good luck
04-02-2003, 09:05 AM
#7
Giant Nontypical
Join Date: Feb 2003
Location: Saskatchewan Canada
Posts: 6,921
RE: best pellet or power for .50 cal
I agree with herman, it is all trial & error with each MLer. I used to use loose and now run pellets out of my rem 700 mls. I have found that 100 gr pushing 240gr hornady xtp' s is my best combo in that gun. It is much more expensive to shoot pellets vs loose, if that is a consideration. I think I am going to try 777 this year (loose) and see how it shoots.
Quick question for those who have used 777, do you find 209 primer set up works better than number 11 caps? Or does it matter? Right now I am using the #11 cap but was thinking about going with the 209 conversion kit if I try 777!
Quick question for those who have used 777, do you find 209 primer set up works better than number 11 caps? Or does it matter? Right now I am using the #11 cap but was thinking about going with the 209 conversion kit if I try 777!
04-02-2003, 10:37 AM
#8
Typical Buck
Join Date: Feb 2003
Location: Wabash, IN
Posts: 826
RE: best pellet or power for .50 cal
skeeter,
I' ve been using CCI #11Mag caps with the loose 777 (both 2 & 3fg) and ignition has been perfect. However, it is my understanding that Hodgdon says that the new 777 pellets are for 209 ignition only. They did not add the darker ignition accellerant to the 1 side of each pellet like they do the Pyro pellets - so the 777 pellets apparently are harder to ignite that way.
I' ve been using CCI #11Mag caps with the loose 777 (both 2 & 3fg) and ignition has been perfect. However, it is my understanding that Hodgdon says that the new 777 pellets are for 209 ignition only. They did not add the darker ignition accellerant to the 1 side of each pellet like they do the Pyro pellets - so the 777 pellets apparently are harder to ignite that way.
