Range / Target bullets for my T/C Impact?
 

Hey all - now that it's the slow season - I need to buy a bullet / sabot combo that would be good for target practice at the range - hopefully something that should shoot accurately out of my TC Impact out to 200yrds... or so... but is less expensive than the barnes tez that I am using for hunting. I know every gun is different... but if there are some good suggestions for an economical way to practice, I'm all ears!

Pistol bullets purchased without sabots is what most shooters here will use.

You can look at Hornady XTP's, Speer Gold Dots, Ranier Bullets and others. Bass Pro in Springfield will have many of the above.

Then, buy a few different pack of sabots and mix & match.

Another option are Harvester Scorpion PT's. You can buy 50 for about $23 and then sabots are another $6-7. These will shoot almost the same as you Barnes for much less per shot. I actually, hunt with these.

Second on the Scorpion PT Golds. I shoot these with CR Sabots both for target and hunting. They come in 240gr, 260gr and 300 gr. I taget with the 240gr mostly with low recoil and great accuracy. A slight powder increase and minor scope adjustment and the 260gr flies just perfect,one more powder increase and slight scope adjustment and the 300gr is right on. Cost about $23.00 per 50, $8.00 for sabots, plus shipping. Order more than 50 at a time and save money on shipping. (www.harvestermuzzleloading.com)

I really have no suggestion because of the 200 yard element. I just don't shoot that far. For close range time, a lot of the pistol bullets will work just fine. But if you are looking to stretch that distance you are going to have to be concerned with the design of the bullet. I have shot a lot of different bullets to 100 yards. The Speer Deep Curl, Hornady XTP. but I really do not know what to tell you. You'd just have to try some different ones I guess.

The only combination I know of that will shoot the same all the time is the Shock Waves. By using the cheaper yellow tips for the range and the bonded blue tips for hunting you can have a combination that shoots good at all muzzle loader ranges retains the same sight setting and has a high BC for long range.

By far the cheapest bullet to shoot just for practice is lead cast pistol bullets. The average cost for 100 is $25. BUT for some of us our inlines wont shoot them worth crap. Had a prohunter that the last owner was able to get one inch groups with cast. Tried them in my Triumph and it was 5 inch group. But if your gun could shoot lead cast that would be the cheapest. As for sabots most TC guns shoot the harvester crushed rib sabots really well. If you don't do cast I would try the XTPs. Not the XTP MAGS. Its way cheaper to shoot just the XTP.

I use the .250 gold dot/deep curls to practice with and the .250 TEZ's for hunting.they both have very close POI's out to 150 yds.the PT golds i have not tried bout sound by all accounts to be a good option for practicing and hunting. Ray

Great suggestions all - CR Sabot's for the gold dot? I was really having to hump the 290 tez's down the tube. I'm hoping that when I get a chance to JB the bore that will help.

Crushed Rib Sabots by Harvester seem to be the best for a tight bore. Also Hornady makes a red low drag sabot. That has came a close second for me.

I will mostly avoid best hunting bullets since there are many fine choices for sabot use.

Target shooting though with powder charges close to your hunting loads, ive found a few that i really like.

The Harvester PT Golds are fairly cheap if bought in lots of 150+ otherwise the shipping makes them a bit expensive. The plus side is they seem to be pretty good for hunting too. Accuracy has been excellent over a very large velocity range.

The good old 250gr XTP has been used in numerous reviews about accuracy. Even Savage uses them for test firing their guns at much higher speeds. Price isnt too bad but the GoldDot 250gr has given me as good or better accuracy. I also think the GoldDot are a better hunting option for most MLs vs the XTP.

A bullet that has caught my eye just for target/fun shooting is the 45-225gr FTX. Under $30/100, a little less recoil and really fun to vaporize water jugs. I wouldn't use them for hunting deer but they would just destroy varmints.

If you bore is tight like many T/Cs, the Harvester Black Crushrib with a .452 bullet should be about right. Some 45s though are .451 and with those a Harvester Smooth Short(sub 300gr) or MMP HPH-24 may fit better. Ive found the thinner MMP 3P-EZ loads nice but can be a bit more "bullet finicky". Several Barnes, Harvesters and Noslers run closer to .451. Speer also offers one .451 300gr. Im not sure if a thousandth will make a big difference but i thought the info might be useful since the Barnes you are using for hunting is likely .451 or even .450.

My tightest 50 bore (.500) though really likes the .452 225gr FTX and a Harvester short black even though it loads a tad easy IMO.

Thanks for the ideas -
I've seen so many recommendations for the gold dots and the price, to me, seems reasonable for target - and would be great since it can serve dual purpose. I think those are .451 so I'll look at the hph24 to match them with.

The Barnes DVD 'performance vs deformance' has an awesome slow-mo of a Varmit Gernade bullet... like this: http://www.ebaumsworld.com/video/watch/224049/

I mean.... really??? A couple of rednecks, case of beer and a load of Varmit Gernades? I've died and gone to heaven. Hopefully it's not run by prarie dogs... :action-smiley-099:

Actually the 250gr DeepCurls/GoldDots from my last two boxes ran a bit large at nearly .453. The 300gr DC HP though has been on the money .452 every time. The OTHER .451-300gr is a cheaper UniCor soft point and only a buck or two cheaper than the 300gr DCHP.

I can tell you this,,,,the 225gr FTX can make a ground hog nearly explode. :D

It would seem that the FTX should be better at long range than a HP because the conical shape seems more aerodynamic... is that a too simpistic way of looking at it?

It "should" be better than a similar caliber hollow point of a similar weight made from similar materials. :D

The BC is still pretty bad though, roughly equal to a 250gr .452 hollow point. I just like them because they are cheap and accurate even at smokeless speeds.

Has anyone tried the barnes xpb pistol bullets for ML?

Yep. I knew I pulled one with the 110gr load so I fired a 4th which dropped right in there. Targets shot at 100yds with my Pro Hunter with Encore Bergara barrel. They loaded very very very easy though. A couple recovered flowers were found in the dirt mound behind the target.

you don't save a thing over the Barnes TEZ bullets since they come with the sabots and the TEZ'S are poly tipped.Ray