alsaqr

Ran out of the black sabot 240 grain .44 caliber XTP a few days ago-this is my favorite bullet. Started with 90 grains and the 250 grain SST. Way off. Finally got it into the 2 inch bullseye. It was shooting great. Should have left it alone but had to try 100 grains: Bullets went all over thetarget at 100 yards. Tried 240 grain XTP Magnum.45 caliber-all over the place.

Dropped back to 90 grains and all was wonderful again. It shoots the .45 caliber XTP Magnum and the 250 grain XTP to the exact same point of aim.

My Encore is very hard to load with these bullets even when clean. Had to swab the bore with alcohol and windshield washer fluid-found out about this on this board-after every two shots.

Recoil was harder than i expected. It kicks like 150 grains of Pyrodex. There was the most awful crud ring. Had to use a bore brush twice to get it out.

Don't know how the gun got that far out of whack since I killed a doe with it at 90 yards on 23 October.May have banged the scope climbing out of the tree. Glad I took it out today. Will hunt on the place north of Elmore City, OK on Sat.

cayugad

So you were shooting 90 grains of Shocky Gold and the .45 caliber XTP with good results but you said after a couple shots it gets hard to load and you need to swab. Am I understanding this right? I was not aware of the crud ring you mention but then I have not shot Shocky Gold. I have and am shooting APP and do not have a crud ring really, so this is very interesting.

It sounds like your rifle likes 90 grains. I have a CVA the same way. And thing different then 90 grains and it sprays them...

lemoyne

I have shot everything but black mag and I have not been able to get any of that; the only powder I actually got crud ring with was 777, but I have heard of almost every other powder giving some one some crudrings some time or another. The only one that gives most of us that problem consistantly is 777, which would be a good powder if it did not. I do wish that one of us could come up with the answer to what causes them and how to eliminate them. Lee

sabotloader

alsaqr

Kinda a common problem for Encore/Omegas - might need to change sabots. Hornady bullets usually come with thethicker HPH-12's. I use MMP HPH-24's for my Omega - if they are still tight the in your gun then you could use the new MMP 3p EZ load sabot - will work well.

alsaqr

cayugad, I am not sure the proper term is crud ring.Every time the barrel was swabbed there was that feeling of something in the chamber area. Did not swab after the last shot. Got home and ran a bronze brush through it several times with Bore Scrubber. Ran some patches and there was this caked black stuff for the first few inchesof the barrel. Used the old Clean Shot several years ago and it seemed much cleaner than this.

Would it helpto try and smooth out the barrel withpatches and Jewler's rouge?

statjunk

I thought you could shoot 5000+ rounds out of a muzzle loader with this stuff. Is this a load of bull?

Tom

alsaqr

statjunk: It may well be a bunch of bull. Want to try it again on the range. Will also try my Windex with vinegar when cleaning it next time.

cayugad

I wonder if you're not getting a chemical reaction to the bore scrubber and the powder. Next time run a simple patch withsome dishwater on it. Do about two patches and I think you will see a nice clean bore.

When I was shooting APP and Black Mag 3 I was taking the rifle out of the stock, take the scope off, break the rifle down, and carry all the parts to the kitchen. I made up some hot dish water and poured two cups of that water through the barrel. The barrel was actually clean after that.

I really do not think your bore needs to be hit with the bore paste. Unless you suspect a lot of plastic, copper, orleadfowling there is little need to use the bore paste. I use J-B Bore Paste about three times a year whether I need it or not. I seldom really see anything when I clean with it. These new plastic sabots really do not leave a lot of fowling.

I shot a lot of Clean Shot. You know, I really liked that powder. It was the 2f grade and it shot really good.

Sabotloader's suggestion of a thinner sabot might be a good idea for you to try. I really like theHarvester Crushed Rib sabots.

Triple Se7en

Aaahhh!....

What were you using to swab the bore with?
Also... when arriving at the range, what did you use to rid the bore of gun oils - before firing any primers?

Both the regular Harvesters and MMP HPH-24s will help loading a little more. But if your bore is "grunting/shaking/sweating-tight", ...use either the Harvester Crush Ribs orMMP-3Petal E/Z-Load.

alsaqr

TripleSe7en:Swabbed the bore with isopropyl alcohol and windshield washer fluid mixed half and half. Ran three clean patches down the bore to get rid of the oil before firing the first shot. Something is funny here since there was just some white looking stuff on the inside of the breech plug. Windexwith vinegar mixed half and half with water almost instantly ate it up.

Did something to make the hard black crud in the first few inches of the bore. Will swab with my Windex with vinegar mix next time. Thanks much for your recommendation on sabots. Will get some next time I go to Bass Pro in OK City.

Thanks very much.