I am going to try patterning some conicles later this week that someone poured for me, and I have a question. They have a solid, flat base, rather than a hollow base that will flare out upon ignition. Should I be using some sort of wafer between the powder and the conicle, like a T/C Bore Button or something similar? A friend of mine said they improved his accuracy and consistency dramatically when he did. Thought I' d throw it out here to see what you guys had to say about it.

slee,

My suggestion is to try it both ways. For what it' s worth, I' ve shot the hollow base Hornady Great Plains out of my Knight, with & without the wonder wads and it made no difference in accuracy. I have been told since then that the wads don' t help on hollow bases, but that they are beneficial with the flat base bullets.
That makes sense, as you would expect the center of the wads to blow up into the center of hollow base and away from the bore walls - while a flat base would cause the wad to flatten out and make more contact with the bore walls - improving sealing & cleaning.

Use a pre-lubed Wonderwad or equivalent. They help reduce gas blow-by and reduce fowling. In my experience, accuracy is improved by using them with flat-based slugs like the R.E.A.L. or Maxi-ball.

I shoot flat based conicals that I make out of a LEE bullet mold. They are 300 grain in .54 caliber. I have tried it both ways. With and without the bore buttons. I make sure I lube them heavy with Bore Butter and I really did not notice the difference in accuracy out to 50 yards. I have never shot them to test their speed both ways. This is something I would be interested in, but I do not have the equipment to do this...

Thanks for the responses. I bought some Bore Buttons today, and hope to spend some time shooting on Saturday. I' ll play around and compare with/without to see what shoots the best. I' ll post the results.

I shot about 20 rounds yesterday using the Bore Buttons. I didn' t compare with/without, but was pleased with the results with. I was using 90 grains of Triple 7 pushing a 385gr Maxi, and had 1" groups at 25yrds, 3" at 50, and 6" at 85. I feel the most limiting factor in group size was the shooter' s ability to center a William' s Peep on the bullseye. That front bead blocks out the center of the target past about 65yrds, so the best I can do is shoot for the center of the target. I will say the felt recoil was quite a bit stronger with vs without bore buttons. I guess I was losing pressure around the maxi because the first shot was painful. By the time I got to number 20, I was pretty numb to the recoil. It ain' t numb today though.[] Just for good measure, I loaded a 405gr Powerbelt with the same powder charge. I centered a beer can at 30yrds, so I should be good with elk for either projectile. Maxi' s are MUCH cheaper though, and I' ve still got 40 more.

Sounds like you' re on the right track, slee !!!

Next time out, you might want to try tweaking that powder charge up & down 5gr to see if it improves that accuracy anymore.

If you want to try a charge that REALLY kicks..............shoot that 405 PowerBelt with 100gr of 777 ---- kicks like a mule on steroids!! []!! But it is pretty accurate out of my Knight. It' s my backup Bison, Moose, Elk, Bear load.

.50.

Been there, done that Mark. It was accidental, but it really knocks your pecker in your watchpocket. Especially when you aren' t expecting it. I tried to clean the barrel after every 3 shot group to get an idea where it was hitting on a clean barrel versus 2nd and 3rd shot. That crud ring the Triple 7 leaves gave me fits after 3 shots. I accidentally put a dry patch in on the first swab after my final shot of the day, and I had to get a pair of heavy pliers and my brother' s assistance to pull my ramrod out(hence the reason for it being my last shot). I hope to get out and shoot some with the Powerbelts to see which bullet I like best.

Here' s my cleaning routine while at the range. You guys can tell me what I' m doing wrong or what works better for you. After 3 shots I run 2 spit patches down with my cleaning jag, really working to break up the crud ring. Then, I run a dry patch down using both sides. Finally, I take a patch soaked in Bore Butter to swab the barrel. Before reloading I shoot 2 or 3 caps to make sure the breech area is dry. The reason I use the Bore Butter swab is because that' s how my first shot in the field will be. I figure that' s the best way to get a representation of the first shot on an elk or deer.