Do you really need a special jag to load them to keep from messing up the tips, or will the one that came with my optima be fine? I start hunting next week so if I am gonna shoot those I guess I need to hurry up and find out! Thanks.

If your jag has a hollowed out head so that it does not press down on the poly tip you should be fine. I bought two of them at the local Wal Mart and they worked great... They also worked on the XTP's well.

That's a great bullet your shooting. I read some impressive reports on Shockwaves and elk.... Sounds like a real good combination your shooting.

Good luck in your season

Go buy a Powerbelt bullet starter. The hollow faced tip designed to work with tipped bullets works great. Also good for getting em started (which is what I use em for). My Powerrods already come with a suitable tip for tipped bullets, but I also own a CVA bullet starter (basically the same thing as the Powerbelt starter, but wood and brass) which works for starting them down.