txhunter58

Am considering having the QLA removed from my Omega to see if it will shoot conicals any better. Anyone have 1st hand experiece that this has helped? Cost involved? Can't see any downside other than the cost. It now shoots NE 460 grain conicals with a 8" group at 25 yards. Couldn't get any worse. It will shoot powerbelts OK with pyrodex and lower amounts of 777 (of course I get a crud ring with 777).

Sharp Shooter

I do not think that would help. If your gun doese not like that projectile try another one. Try another powder or try a wad.

sabotloader

txhunter58

PM Underclocked - he has had a lot of experiance with this problem - I believe he has had good results removing the QLA...

I also think there is a discussion about removing the QLA on the Precision Rifle Bullets site. I know he does a lot of it.

When you remove the QLA discuss with somebody the type of crown you want put back on. The type of crown can make a big difference also.

And again UC is a tremendous resource here...

Underclocked

Ah cain't help bein big.

Yes, I had a problem 209x45, one of the early ones with 1:20 twist and (worse) a washboard barrel. TC replaced the barrel with a newer 1:28 twist and better rifling job. That one might have shot okay with QLA in place but I didn't give it the chance. By that time I was convinced the QLA is a needless and problematic part of a TC barrel for conical use. The local gunsmith was a friend of mine (now gone from this world) - he cut the barrel off just at the beginning of the QLA andput ona nice 11º target crown. He also cut and rethreaded the ramrod to match the length. If I told you what he charged me you would faint. Let's just say it was not expensive. The crown was well done but that type crown is not the best for loading flat based, bore-ridingconicals. Tapered conicals might be fine with such a crown but that isn't what I shoot. I redid the crown myself using a cordless drill, a grinding cone and ball, some patches, grinding compound, and finally polished it with JB Bore Paste on some patches.


Please ignore the lint and color artifacts. I think it came out nice and the rifle now loads much easier. That Encore had other problems as well, but I finally whipped them all. It will now shoot conicals just fine and shoots the sabots equally well. The only drawback I now find with the rifle is recoil from the conicals. Unless you happen to be the Joe Average the strange looking Encore stock was designed for (and I'm not), heavy conicals over any substantial charge will kick like a mule. There are certainly better designs for conical use.

She mostly just sits in the cabinet nowadays - no hills left to climb.

If I were to pay to have that same work done, I would go with David White at http://www.precisionrifleworks.net/ I believe he outlines his pricing in the forum. I've found TC did a better job generally with the blued barrels than the stainless, a situation that has surely been rectified. If you insert a tight fitting patch in your rifle's (very clean) bore then slowly push it down, do you feel variations in the pressure required? If so, removing the QLA is likely going to be of little benefit. In that event, I would contact TC and strongly request a replacement barrel.

txhunter58

Sharp shooter: I spent time over 3 years with multiple loose powders and many different conicals without much success.

UC: thanks for the info. And I do get variation when I push a dry patch down the barrel. I even sent the gun back to T/C telling them of this problem and my trouble getting conicals to shoot. They simply shot some sabots through it using pyrodex, got a 1-/34 inch group and sent it back saying it was OK.

I then tried pryodex and full bore conicals and it still wouldn't shoot well, but started getting 4" groups at 100 yards with open sights with pyrodex and powerbelts. Since I only shoot out to 100 yards, I should probably call that good and just use them, but have had some many people say how good bullets like the NE did on game and wish I could get them to shoot better.

Underclocked

I feel your pain and you are at much the same point I was with the .45, though your rifle is shooting better. Suggest shouting at TC one more time - tell them you want a non-washboard barrel. For the money paid, a person should be able to count on getting a properly rifled barrel.

Have you tried an overpowder wad with the conicals? Using a fairly thick overpowder wad might help a bit. Track of the Wolf has good prices, search for WAD-510-A . Reasonably inexpensive experiment in any case.

Is your barrel stainless?

SHills

TXHunter58,
I'm new to this forum but have two Omega's, a Thunderhawk Shadow,and a Hawken. All great shooters! Been shooting powder since 88. Both Omega's shoot fantastic. Better than me. The older 8924 I bought in 2002 isexcellent. Whether it be 100 meter clover leafs or Hornady 67272 @ 2.5" high clovers if I do my job its a great shooter. My newest semi custom Omega lam stock w/ fluted barrel is a great shooter too. I haven't worked up a great load but out of the box 110 grains 777 powder 67272 shoot great. 2" group @ 100 meters w/o real seriousness.
In all honesty what scope rings and bases are you using?
I'm using a leupold 2.5-8X36 w/ DD rings w/ the DD Encore/Omega base.
I shoot better w/ higher power like the Leupold VXII 3-9X40.
The only reason I ask is you might get better groups if your not using aluminum bases etc...
LOL, Hills

SteveBNy

EXACTLY what happened to me!! Including the 1 - 3/4 group!

Steve

txhunter58

UC: No, I haven't tried an overwad. I will try that and the 10 grains of oatmeal trick too this year. I will check out Track of the wolf. Just hard to believe that they would make that much difference when I get such bad groups with most conicals (4-8" groups at 25 yards). However, haven't tried them yet, so I will.

Also, I have a stainless barrel.

SHills: Are you shooting conicals or sabots?I can only shoot conicals where I hunt (Colorado). Also, I use an open sight (rear Williamspeep, front fiberoptic bead) because I can not usea scope in Colorado.

Mossie

All 4 of my muzzleloaders have the QAL type barrel and I alsobelieved that it may be causing some accuracy problems for me as well but I don't any longer. I do like the QAL and am convinced it is an aid to loading and not a cause for problems with accuracy.