Hey everyone, been a troll for a long time here with a few posts here and there, figured I'd give a review of my experience this past week.

I had been shooting an Omega and loved it! Accurate as all heck, great gun. Well i got a ProHunter shotgun last year at a great price. Moved in the off season and now live in a place where there's no seperate shotgun only season so I could go back to my Omega fulltime. Well my father goes and buys me the blackpowder barrel for the prohunter made by Bergara. I was excited and read real good reviews about these barrels.

Last wednesday I go out for the first time and figured I'd try the Triple 7 magnum pellets since I found them on sale. I was shooting Shockwaves 250grain. Well I could not get any grouping at all. First shot at 25 yards was dead center, 2" high so i go to shoot at 50yd. Next shot wasn't even on paper. Back to 25yd for shot 3 and it was almost touching first shot. Back to 50yd and shot was barely on paper. Was making scope adjustments and cleaning every 2 shots and sometimes I could barely get the holes to move no matter how many scope clicks i did, other times there would be 8" between shots. Finally I thought i had it after about 12 shots when i hit bullseye. Next shot was bullseye as well so i figured i was on so id see where i was at at 100yd. I almost cried when the shot was high left by 8". Take another shot at 50 and wouldn't you know it too was high left by 8".
I left the range in disgust, thinking scope issues at first. I was also cursing myself for giving up my old reliable Omega. I decided to go back to the range today with straight pyrodex pellets and the same bullets. I was thrilled with the results. Took 4 shots to get dead center at 50yds. Shot at 100yds and those too were dead center with no adjustments. I feel so much better and can't wait to hunt now.
I'm guessing the powder burned too hot for my barrel sending bullets everywhere? Just thought it was weird how I could get two shots together and then on shot 3 be so off just to have shot 4 be next to 3. I was mad as heck at the blackpowder world 3 days ago, now I'm back to loving the smoke pole!

Pellets can be very finicky from one outing to the next.

You may want to go to www.bellmtcs.com and read up on the Encore blues and possibly even email them for some advice as they work a lot with the Bergara/Encore combos

A lot of people have had that kind of an experience with Magnum pellets in fact some people have an inordinate amount of trouble with 777 and there are other people who just love it. Pyrodex and black [the good stuff like GEOX and Swiss] are the old reliable powders and the new Blackhorn [in the better designed guns it was intended for] is real reliable. If you do not have a modern seal breach then it says right on the can not to use it.
It works really well in my encore.

I always like to try the "newest and latest" but this time I learned. I'm sticking with the ol reliable pyrodex for now on. That first range day was FRUSTRATING and even more, I was mad at myself for not realizing it was the powder sooner