TC Shock Wave Ballistic Help
 

Hey guys,
I have a quick question. I just started shooting the Thompson Center Shock Wave super glide sabots. I have them sighted in at 1" high at 50yds. Shooting 100gr of 777 pellets out of a CVA Optima Elite (.50). I have been looking all over for the ballistic information for this load, and cant find it. Can anyone tell me what the bullet drop will be out to 300yds please? Thanks!!

-T

You left out something critical. Bullet weight. But I'm going to give you APPROXIMATE ballistics for the 250gr Shockwave, the most popular bullet weight.

Big Z gave you a good approximation, but I sure hope you're going to practice out that far with that load if you expect to take hunting shots that far.

forgot to mention that its a 250gr bullet... sorry!

Don't guess, know...These tables are a guide, they are not gospel...And 300 yards is a long dang way with any muzzleloader...You'd be better served staying within 150 yards for a few years...

While there are some outstanding shooters in this world at long range stuff (myself not being one of them), 300 yards to me is just wrong. I am not saying the bullet can not do it, I am not saying there is no killing power left in it at that distance, but what I am saying is even under ideal conditions... 300 yards is too far. And there are people reaching out that far with these rifles. Just not me.

At that distance according to the chart your playing with over four plus feet of drop and the bullet energy is just about as low as the so called experts claim is border line lethal. Like I said, I think if you placed it, it would kill something. But the question is, can you place it?

Modern Muzzle-loaders are really something. Between new designs, optics, powders and bullet designs we have stretched a relatively moderate range weapon into something to be taken notice of. But for the sake of what we hunt, and the sport itself, try to close that distance with stalking your prey. Be real sure of your rest. And know your rifle and load under field conditions. Practice under field conditions and see just how far you can actually shoot.

Good luck with your rifle.

Well said Cayugad. I agree with every word.

Sometimes we lose sight of what muzzle loading is all about - and are pushed into a "30-06 frame of mind" by manufacturer's advertising.

As always Cayugad is right on the money. To much advertising BS with the "big name" hunters and the miracle making 250 yd scopes. I have hunted for 45 years and really take pride in how close I can get not how far away I can hit one.

I was being diplomatic to not come down on someone with very little context for why the question was posed...but yes, some serious work goes into shooting that far and I get concerned whenever I see someone asking for long range drops rather than shooting to verify or having a 50 yd zero and saying their range only goes to 100 yds and they want 150 yd drops.

I think we should be careful about defining what the "purpose of ML hunting" is, as I do not feel it is accurate to say there is only one reason for it. Sure some people to it for the traditional-type reasons, but to others it is simply a season-extender or a way to compensate for weapons restrictions in their geography. Which is right? Who is to say and how do you support that with more than an opinion?

In the actual ML season I tend to go with open sights because it's the late season and I'm just out there to have fun. I'm even building a ML pistol to add some more challenge. But during the earlier general firearms season I still have a ML and I use it because rifles are not legal here and I hunt areas where long shots are mandatory if I am to fill my tags in the 1-2 days I get to firearm hunt each year. So the purpose behind using the ML is very different and my preparation reflects that.

"Long" range is an individual thing. I know a lot of shooters for whom this realistically starts at 50 yards. Poor load development, lacksadaisical attitude, and terrible shooting form/skills. For me long range does not start until 200 yards and I have yet to not DRT a deer over that. Hard to argue ethics with that. Of course, other than a few Savage/Ultimate shooters I'm probably one of less than a dozen guys nationally doing this with a standard ML so I do not encourage anyone to mimic this without full preparation and skill development.

Basically I think it is lacking to define a range at which someone should not be shooting without having full context of the shooter's preparation and abilities.

In the end, I think my personal evaluation of my respect for someone's kill has a lot more to do with a holistic evaluation of the preparation and work put into humanely harvesting the animal. Army crawl 1/4 mile to make a 20-yd shot? Darn impressive. Test many loads, practice religiously, accurize your gun, practice shooting in the wind, and make a 225 yd shot DRT? Again, darn impressive. Sit in a heated blind and shoot a doe at 30 yds over a pile of carrots? Sorry, a lot less work and preparation put in, congrats and I'm happy for you but I'm not as impressed. Shooting a deer with a firearm within bow range is not very impressive in and of itself as there is not a lot of skill necessary, but the work involved in putting one's self in a position to take that shot can make it impressive indeed (stalk, crawl, stillhunt, etc).

Just some couterpoints to think of from the perspective of someone who does use a ML to reach out a bit.

Yes, I have been pretty outspoken about my dislike of the marketing of ballistic reticle scopes and the insinuation that they somehow make it easier for the average person to shoot 300 yards (or that they can screw the scope on, zero at 100 and shoot to 300 accurately).

The thing is - someone who is in the 150+ yard class of muzzle loader shooting would of necessity be an experienced muzzle loader shooter, and would not likely be asking questions on a forum about bullet drop at 300 yards. The very question begs a realistic reply like Cayugad's.

Not disagreeing, my first reply was a more veiled insinuation at the same thing. Guess I'm just a bit sensitive to broadly generalized statements about longer range shooting.

First Off the world of modern muzzloading has NOTHING to do with old flintlock shooting and the ideas that surrounded them and their capabilities!!!! NOTHING.. a modern well made inline, modern low flash primers, 777 pellets and especially the new scopes, like the Nikon's BDC's and Leupold's Ultimate Slams make 150, 200 and 250 yards no big deal... once I sighted in my new Triumph Bone collector I had no difficulty hitting a pie sized metal plate at those distance by using the DOTS system on the first day of shooting it.. The bullet worked extremely well, my son who shot the rifle one time shot a big ole' doe last week at 150 yards with no problem whatsoever.. So I'd say modern muzzloading is more than capable with very little problem of shooting to 250yards without much effort...thanks to modern advancements.. especially in scope technology..amazing stuff on the market....

What was the wind and now many inches/MOA of hold compensation for it? 150 is one thing, but 250 and 300 yards are worlds apart in real-world conditions unless it's dead calm. IMHO scope technology does not make up for deficiencies in shooting form and solid field shooting position, and de-emphasize the importance of understanding exactly how your bullet is moving as it travels downrange.

A typical "flat" shooting ML load will be pushed greater than 15 inches by only a 5mph wind at 300 yards. It was only 3-4 inches at 150 yards so that's a BIG difference. If you judge the wind off by 2.5 mph your bullet is 7.5 inches off to the right or left, turning it into a gut shot in one direction or a potentially miss/wounding shot in the other. I carry a wind meter in the field but have ended up passing on any shot over 250 yds with more than a whisper of a breeze.

The average shooter would have a hard time keeping 3 shots inside 4 inches at 250 yards in the hunting field with a bolt action .270 and 3x9 power scope...Much less with a muzzleloader...

Ballistic tables are references and should not be substituted for load development and experience...You simple can't take a 50 yard target, look at a table and then expect to hit the vitals of a deer out to 250 yards...Too many variables...