cayugad

I found a base for the round barrel Thompson Center Traditional rifles, so today I mounted that on the T/C Black Mountain Magnum. I then used some quick release Tradition steel rings and mounted a Simmons Pro Diamond 4x32mm shotgun scope on the rifle. I think it looks pretty good actually.

So I got some Pyrodex RS and some .452 Speer Gold Dot 300 grain bullets and MMP black short sabots and a tin of CCI musket caps and headed out to sight the scope in.

Rifle: T/C Black Mountain Magnum .50 caliber 1-28 twist
Powder: Pyrodex RS 100 & 90 grains caps: CCI musket caps
Scope: Simmons Pro Diamond Shotgun Scope 4x32mm
Projectiles: Speer .452 Gold Dot 300 grain & Hornady XTP .452 250 grain
Sabots: MMP HPH-12
Distances 13 yards and 50 yards.




The Black Mountain Magnum is the fast twist version of the New Englander with a fast twist. Also this is a true magnum and able to handle 150 grains of loose or pellet powder. It used musket caps instead of #11 caps. When I talked to a T/C rep they told me it was the same barrel basically as the Black Diamond.

I started the shooting with 100 grains of powder and the Speer 300 grain projectile. I felt that at 13 yards, they should not have been that far apart, so I lowered the charge to 90 grains and made my first scope adjustment.

The three shot group at two o'clock on the edge of the bull was nice and tight. I was swabbing every other shot with alcohol. I made a slight adjustment and fired two more. That moved them into the bulls eye, so I decided to move the target back to 50 yards.

The one shot marked 3 seemed too high for that distance. I was not sure why it went that high. I figured maybe two inches high at that distance, so I made an adjustment.

The next three under that was better. The group was nice and tight. But I wanted it down a little more. Also I had ran out of the Speer 300 grain.

I then made an adjustment and loaded up Hornady 250 grain XTPs and shot the final group. I am sure it was four shots I fired.

I would have shot more but noticed there was A LOT of fouling in the barrel. So I decided to call it quits for the day. I could not believe all the fouling in the bore of that rifle. I have never had a traditional take that long to clean. But I have it nice and clean and the next time out will see what it does at 50 and 75 yards (after I cut some brush).

sabotloader

cayugad

I am not even sure that I have heard of a Black Mountain Mag before...

But it sure looks like you are are on the way to developing a load for that one...

Have you tried any big lead conicals out of it yet?

cayugad

No... this rifle has a QLA like all the inline T/C rifles.

Semisane

Good shooting Cayugad, and good report. By the way, how was the pizza?

sabotloader

cayugad

Sometime if you have time and just for the heck of it - try shooting a Bull Shop or two out of it. Bull Shop Dan has a newer Hawken with a QLA, he got in trade or something and he shoots his conicals from it very well.

cayugad

I have some No Excuses I can try. They shoot well out of my Black Diamond XR so they should shoot out of the Black Mountain.

And the Pizza was excellent!

cayugad

Well I took the rifle out today. The target was at 50 yards. This rifle does not like No Excuses .503 conical bullets. I tried them with 70 & 80 grains of Triple Seven and 80 grains of Goex 2f. They would be shooting a good group one second and then throw them eight inches out of the group. It looked like a shotgun was shooting. On them double bull targets, I aimed at the top bull and hit a dead center bull, but it was the bottom bull.

This rifle really likes 300 grain SST's but you have to take the sabot they come with and change it over to a Harvester crushed rib sabot. The SST sabot which looks like a MMP HPH-12 ... well its a good thing I have a stainless steel range rod. But with the harvester sabots the rifle shot under one inch groups at 50 yards (52 actually). With the 200 grain Shockwaves, it did not do quite as well shooting an inch and a half group. I was swabbing between shots. And when I tested what would happen if I did not swab, well it threw them out of the group about half an inch. I was shooting 90 grains of Goex 2f with the Shockwaves.