courtney

I just purchase an Omega last week and after powerbelts 245, 295 aerotip, HP, Triple 7 powder, Triple 7 Pellets, Pyrodex Pellets and powder, every combination imaginable I called Thompson and told them 5" group at 100 yards was pathetic!!! They told me to use 100 Grains Of T7 pellets and 250grain Shockwave. Trying to load it the first time I bent the ramrod. After each shot I cleaned and reloaded and actually got to a 2" group at 100yards. Then opening day here in Virginia I had two bucks in a thicket 110 yards and I shot one and he fell. The other buck came within 20 yards and guess what-- I can't get the sabot down the DAMN barrel. The first one was a 16 pointer--GREAT BUCK, but I had a chance to double up on two bucks of a lifetime and I could only get the sabot down 1 inch into barrel while in the treestand. I am soooo pissed off at Thompson I don't know what to do. I called them Monday AM and they told me to shoot 12 Maxiballs and this would solve my problem. This is complete BS!!!! I shot 20 Maxiballs and I still have trouble loading. The problem is that they are the only bullets that I can get to hold a good pattern. I called Thompson again today and talk to 3 different people and they said I could return the gun and they would look at it to see if there is a problem. The problem is that it is the middle of hunting season and I can't do without a gun. I got so pissed that I told them I was --- and I will, take an ad out in major hunting publications and tell the world of my experience with the Omega. If anybody has any ideas on how to get a pattern without shockwaves and Triple 7 pellets 100 grains, please let me know,PLEASE!!! I have been cleaning the barrel with solvent patches and the cleaning jag. The barrel seems to be clean but should I go to a wire brush? Any ideas would be greatly appreciated.

newguy23

I agree loading sabots down the Omega is a pain in the but... But they do group amazing!!!

In mine I use 295 grain powerbelt bullets and 125 grains of American Pioneer powder. I can consistently hit a pop can at 100 yards! I actually have been very impressed by my experience with the Omega, I am sorry yours has been so bad.

Give that a try and see how it works. the TC Omega for my money is the most accurate muzzleloader out there. My friends have an Austin Halek and Remington 700 and I would say the TC Omega is easily more accurate than there's. My other friend has a Knight DISC extreme and I would say that it is comparable, with a slight edge to the TC Omega. This is only because the Omega groups slightly better with a few shots in a row. The Knight seems to not pattern great for some reason. It might have to do with my TC barrel being fluted and so it might cool faster... not sure.

Anyway... Back to the point. Your experience is not "common" so try a couple things and if it doesn't work send it back... TC service should be pretty good.

skeeter 7MM

Sorry to be a *%$# but you just purchased your new ML last week to hunt this week. Finally after a whole week you get a bullet to group and head out to the woods. You then proceed to shoot a GREAT buck at 110 yards. In the heat of the moment can not load to shoot another GREAT buck at closer distance and your pissed at TC for screwing you up on your chase for 2 deer in one sit. [:'(]

My only suggestion is consider yourself lucky and hopefully you learned that practice is part of hunting!

MKMGOBL

Give this a try the courtney, I shot a tighter pattern using this load. 120gr of Triple7 FFG, 300 gr.Hornady .451 HG bullets and Knight .451 sabot sleeve (their black). I was using the powerbelt but thought they were going in to easy down the barrel. They weren't grouping like I wanted them to. After each shot I used two pre-lube patch from T/C in the barrel, one to get heavy powder residue and second one to finish it off. Give it a try. I just sighted my gun in on Tuesday around noon and took this 157lb. 8 point by 3:45

cayugad

Sorry to hear of your experience. This has not been the case with my Thompson Center Black Diamond XR. It loads great and shoots even better.

For one thing the rifle is new, but that really should not make a difference in they way it loads. One thing I know is silly to ask but, are you using a short starter to get the sabot past the muzzle into the barrel? The reason I ask is on a different board another poster was telling of the same problem and finally when I asked the to describe their loading procedure, they did not use a short starter. They thought that you could set the projectile with just a ramrod. We all know that does not work. So that's why I asked.

Some things I would try is

changing sabots. In the new Thompson Center projectiles I heard they changed from the old sabot to a different one. Whether this new one is thicker I do not know. Perhaps a different sabot might give you that second shot without the swab. You might want to give a Knight Sabot a try. They load great in all my rifles.

I have found that the 375 grain Buffalo Bullet SSB sabot (Cabela's sells them) shoot great and load great out of my Black Diamond XR. This might not solve your problem if you have trouble loading Shockwaves because those also load great in my rifle. I could understand if instead of Shockwaves you had bought Hornady SST (same bullet) and was loading a Harvester Sabot with them. I broke a short starter trying to load them in my Diamond. The shockwaves on the other hand load stiff, but beautiful. I also have good luck with the 240 grain T/C Mag Express XTP and 100 grains of Goex FFFg powder.

Another projectile you might want to use is 460 grain No Excuses Conicals. They are .503 diameter. And they shoot excellent with 85 grains of Triple Se7en powder and they load like a dream. Anything they hit will go down. I have shot five of them in a row without swabbing.

If trying different projectiles does not help, then after season I would send the rifle back to Thompson Center and have them figure out what the problem is. You have one of the best rifles on the market. I think it rates #1 in customer satisfaction (all but you of course).

Congratulations on the first buck, shame about the second one.

cayugad

MK-M-GOBL

Great looking buck you got there... How far away and what did you use to do the deed... You can't just show a picture like that and then not tell us the whole story.....

really a dandy buck there.

MLKeith

Triple seven is in my opinion the worst propellant that you can use in a T/C rifle. The barrels are very tight and 777 makes too much fouling that is hard to remove. I am presently shooting an 80gr. load of Black Mag3 powder with the .25ACP conversion a Winchester rifle primer and a 295gr. Powerbelt non-aero tip and today I shot three in a row without a swab between and the three bullets were touching at 50 yards. I didn't shoot at 100 as I rarely shoot that far hunting. I think my max range on Elk to date is 80 yards. If you cannot find Black Mag3 try either Clean Shot (American Pioneer Powder) or Pyrodex. Stay with the FFFG grain size of all the powders. I have shot multiple loads up to three with the 209 primer using Winchester. Do not use Federal they are way too hot. I switched to the 348gr. Powerbelt and shot five shots all within a 1inch wide and 2 inch high rectangle. Same powder and same distance. Powerbelts shoot accurately and load a lot better than any sabot/bullet combinations I have been able to find. By the way 80gr. of Black Mag3 runs the 295gr. Powerbelt at about 1900fps. Plenty for Elk and should be enough for deer.

dvdegeorge

Ditto Skeeter 7MM!Getting to know what a firearm likes takes a lot of range time and practice,even more so for a muzzleloader.If there is something wrong with it TC will fix or replace it N/C it's not their fault you waited till in season to shoot and find out you are having a problem.

lonewolf5347

I think if I seen two 16 pointers together in one day at the same time i would forget what goes first down the barrel .
The sst by hornady will not go down any of my t/c with out a fight ,and really who need that problem,it that 452 diameter bullet.I would tell you to go out and get a pack of the noslers 451 dia: full partition and you will see the difference,I will bet you you don't even need a starter hammer to get them in the bore .
What you can also try that works for me was to change the plastic sabot @ go with the harvester sabot .I had tried the sst 300 grain bullet in 50 cal. drop into a harvester 54 cal red sabot ,and shot them in my t/c New Englander ,they seem to load excellent ,the problem was at the 50 yard target they shot great ,but at the 100 yard target the group stated o open a little to much ,I may try them again next year.

lonewolf5347

MK-M-GOBL : nice buck