nysbowhunter

I have shot sidelocks for years but never burned a grain of Triple Seven so I figure i would ask before I shot my new inline. Do most people swab between shots, I get the whole crud ring thing but is it necessary to swab and what might you use. also whats all this about plastic in the bore when using sabots. Ive never had a problem with rifled slug guns so im wondering if its an issue here. Also Im shooting an Optima v2 so if anyone would like to give me there best loads for this it may give me some ideas what to try first. I will be sticking with pellets not loose powder for sure. Thanks Fellas any input would be appreciated.

Muley Hunter

Using 209 primers I would swab every shot. Your accuracy will be more consistent, and so will the loading. You can use a spit patch, and then a dry one to swab. If you don't like licking patches you can use a light (very light) coating of Windex, and then a dry patch.

Don't worry about plastic buildup. That was for the very old sabots. Powerbelt likes to push that plastic myth, but they seem to forget their bullets have plastic too.

cayugad

+1 what Pete said. Two pellets is plenty of power with T7 pellets. I swab with Windex that I get at the Dollar Store.

Triple Se7en

Either the blue Windex (with ammonia) or isoprophyl alcohol 70% in a small spray bottle that can be purchased at the big stores. You will usually find the empty spray bottles along with all the sample products that sell for around $1.

Depending on your model year and type of breechplug, your biggest attention-getter may become a seized breechplug. Use a quality breechplug grease or white teflon tape. After tightening the plug, turn the plug in reverse for a half-turn. Check for seizures after three shots by cracking the plug loose - then tight - then back off a half turn, or until you trust your load and the amount of time between shots, for barrel cool down.

I quit all that 777-stuff that centered around 777 moisture contol, crud rings and plug seizures and now shoot Real Blackpowder FFF or Pyrodex Pistol in my rifles. I feel like I've been let out of my wife's doghouse finally.

alleyyooper

At home I use a small plastic box to hold patches then use alcohol to dampen the patches. I did a test I recommend on my rifles and found I can get just two shots with out effecting accuracy. after that it gets worse.

Al

txhunter58

Why only pellets?? Much more expensive and you can't tailor a load like you can with loose. I use loose 2fg 777 powder

Yes, swab between each shot, especially with sabots. You can use what you want at the range, but just plain spit works great in the field. 1 spit patch (lick one side), followed by 1 dry patch (both sides) and then reload.

You are also probably better off using the special, weaker 777 209 pirmers (not the full strength ones) as this will cut down on crud ring.

toccopola

i have not used the optima, but have used knight,and t/c . i used loose 777 and regular 209 caps with mmp sabots and xtp bullets and the results were very good. most of the time i would only shoot a few times to get my scope set then clean everything and start over till i got my gun set just right. when hunting in the field i never worried about a second shot and if i did reload i didn't worry about swabbing. i found i could get 5 shots without swabbing before my groups went south. Now i use only real black ffg and fffg and find that i do a lot better all around. like others said use some good grease on the plug.

nysbowhunter

Thanks for the input. I am trying to shorten the learning curve a little. in answer to one of the questions i decided to try pellets only for convienence, who knows i may buy the loose powder B.P. and try some loose, just figuring this is my huntin rig and if i want to just have some fun i will be blowing smoke with the flinter. I know i know i can hunt with the flintlock too its just that i will use this in rifle season to and i can shoot anywhere from 10 yards to 200 who knows. Thanks again guys

WV Hunter

nysbowhunter.....you don't need a different BP unless you plan to shoot BH209. The plug you have now will ignite loose 777, Pyrodex, and real black just fine.

The pellets are convenient and many folks use them, and your gun may shoot great with 2 pellets...many do. But if you plan to shoot a decent amount, you may want to pick up some loose, it will give you the ability to tailor your loads to exactly what your gun likes. Maybe your groups get much better at 90gr loose, than 2 pellets for example. Plus if you do alot of shooting, pellets can get expensive.

txhunter58

People talk about convenience of pellets but I just don't see it. As stated, they are much more expensive and you can't taylor a load. My jug of loose is idiot proof. What happens is you drop your box of pellets or your gun case drops on the box? Do you guys that use them ever break them? I don't have to worry about breaking loose.

Carry a jug of loose in a small space, use my powder measure to load up some fastloader containers for the field and go. For a followup shot in the field, just thrown down a premeasured load of powder, push down a bullet and shoot. I would be surprised if pellets saved more than a few seconds.

Faster at the range?? Muzzleloading is not a fast sport. And we are talking seconds of time savings compared to what it takes me to pour a load into my measurer, cut the top and pour it in my barrel. Plus your muzzleloader needs to cool down between shots anyway.