Hello everyone...Just a quick question.
I am shooting an American Knight .50 with 100gr Clean shot pellets and 295 gr. Powerbelt sabots and am not getting good groups at 100 yards at all. As a matter of fact the last shot I took "tracered" out and the round impacted about 15 yards short. I was going to switch to 777 powder and try that.. but was wondering if someone could help me out with suggestions. Oh also I have heard some bad stories about exit wounds with PB and might change rounds as well any info there would be greatly appriciated. Thx a lot

The trick with muzzle loaders is to find what your gun likes best, Since your using pellets try different bullet weights and different bullets first and if you are still having problems then go to a powder and start at 70 grains and work your way up 5 grains at a time until you get good results but never exceed the manufactures max recommended load. I also have a .50cal American Knight with 209 ignition and mine likes 80 grains American Pioneer Powder with the 460 grain no excuses bullets. I can get consistant 3 round groups in a clover leaf at 100 yards. It took me quite a few combinations before I found what my rifle likes. Change only one thing at a time such as powder or bullet never both at the same time. Any other questions please pm me I will be glad to help. There are plenty of others on this forum that will probably chime in also. Good luck.

Try about 85 grains of Triple Se7en and some 240 grain - 300 grain Hornady XTP's in Knight sabots or shoot some of the T/C Mag Express 240 grain XTP's. Also the 250 grain Barnes Expanders should shoot real good out of your rifle. With the short barrel there is no reason to push too much powder through the rifle.

Knights have a .504 bore diameter and so powerbelts are not the best choice for them. You could also try some 460 grain No Excuses Conicals with about 80 grains of Triple Se7en.

Just some suggestions that might work.

Ok thx for the help, im willing to try anything.

I shoot a Knight Wolverine II LK-93 which is as close to your rifle as someone will get without owning an American Knight. The LK-93 has the 22" barrel and #11 cap ignition. I have a RED DOT scope mounted on mine and using the XTP's or Barnes Expanders this thing will really shoot. The groups are really impressive. I hope Thurday when our doe season starts I can try it out.

Also another person I talk with all the time on the internet, his son and him own Knight Bighorns. He tried the same load I use, and both his son and him were cutting holes at 50 yards. His son shot a doe with the XTP's and said the wound was fantastic and the damage was what they wanted to see. She only went about 30 yards before dropping with a round to the heart.

Another load that shoots good for me in my Wolverine is a 405 grain .458 diameter Remington SP in a Knight Sabot. 80 grains of Goex FFFg and this this will really shoot. Excellent down range energy, but you better like a little recoil when you touch that big boy off.....

Huntsleepfish

Adios the Cleanshot powder first.... been O.O.B for over two years. That stuff, when in contact with a little moisture, loses it's potency. American Pioneer Powder Co bought the recipe after Hodgdon sued Cleanshot for copying their rights to the pellet formation. Since the acquisition, AP slightly altered the concoction & produced a pretty nice FFF powder. Buy some AP, 777, Pyrodex or real blackpowder like Goex or Swiss.

Powerbelts are fine bullets when used correctly with proper aim and proper powder charge. Too many complaints about bone shots with the leaded hollowpoints and tender-tissue pass-thrus/no expansion with the copper Aero-Tips. Well... if I'm aiming at spine, neck, ribs, shoulder or either leg of a deer, an Aero-Tips is what I want.... not hollow-point Powerbelt lead that fragments. If I want a no-heavy bone pass-thru with a nice size exit hole, I'm buying the leaded hollow-points... not the thick-skinned copper ATs that need more than a thin-skin deer hide to open up.

Plain & simple... buy the right bullet/right sized bullet for what you're aiming at. Whitetail deer here in Michigan don't need anything bigger than a 50-cal 245 gr. Powerbelt bullet/ 45-cal 225 gr. bullet.

Huntsleepfish,

Welcome to HuntingNet. I'm sure you'll find a wealth of info here.

My .02,
Something you might try is recovering your sabots. Long story short, they should look the same as when you loaded them and release about 15-20yrds + - from muzzle.

How are you loading your bullets? I use a blunt point brass tip that screws into rod and fits nicely into HP. Prevents distortion of bullet while loading that can destroy accuracy. I know your not giving that rod an extra rap or two after seating bullet - distorts bullet.

I would think the load you described should work very well?? I'm shooting a Knight .45 and have used PB's with great results. Maybe your .50 just doesn't like PB's?? I have an old TC Thunderhawk that hates PB's. A buddy has same problem with PB's in his new TC .50. We switched his load to a Precision 300gr "Silver Lightning". A real nail driver!

I just switched from PB's to a Precision 250gr poly tip and FF American Powder to FFF(loose). Great Combo!

I've never had a problem with American Powder. Been using it 5 yrs. I keep it 2 yrs and 3rd year I pitch it and buy fresh.

IMHO what ever you do - lose the freekin pellets and use loose powder. I know some guys will not agree with that opinion. Opinions are like you know what - everybody has one!

Good Luck - Let us know the outcome and what you did to improve. We all need that kind of info.

AL

Lots of good advice above.

I'll 2nd the call to take those Clean Shot pellets and throw them FAR FAR Away - those things are more inconsistant than John Kerry!!

As far as bullets go, my USAK likes it's bullets in 300gr or higher versions. I've gotten wonderful accuracy with 80gr of 2fg 777 with 300gr XTPs, SSTs, Rem 303gr Core-Lokts, and several of the PrBullet offerings. For powerbelts, the 348gr Aero-tips shoot about 1 to 1.5" groups for me with 90gr of 2fg 777 - only hunted with them once, took a small boar with it - knocked him dead on the spot, but the bullet did not expand at all. I've also had about 2" groups using the 405gr Aero-tip with 100gr of 777..................but it kicks like a mule - definitely not for plinking.

Thanks again...
i got some 300 gr XTP's im gonna try with 777 soon as the weather clears(rain) i'll let ya'll know

You'll definately have a billion bullet/powder recommendations from everyone, so expect to buy a lot of different bullets to try out.
My Wolverine II shoots great with the Barnes Expander sabots, but likes PB .295's just as well, & MUCH easier to load. I've tried different grains of powder, but two pyrodex pellots
work great & are SO simple. (remember, they have to be installed correctly, the black end down. Learned that one on my own...)
I did find that as the barrel gets hot from shooting, the groups started opening just a bit.
Remember, when in a hunting situation, your gun will shoot like the first shot at the range.