I have ran a lot of bullets and patches down range through both my TC Encore 209/50 and my TC thumb hole stocked Omega.I have also stated in print after trying most of the propellants in the marketplace at one time or another, I had pretty much settled on either (2) 50 grain Pyrodex Pellets or 110 grains of Pyrodex RS as the most consistent and most accurate propellant I have used. My current "pet load" for the Encore is (2) / 50 grain Pyrodex pellets, a TC 250 grain shock wave saboted bullet and either Winchester 209 primers or Remington Kleen Bore primers. I pretty much still stand by that.
This past fall however, my son Jeremy and I hunted several times on a property that offered us shots out to 200 yards.and beyond. Winter came early and it was cold. Snow was accumulating and during late ML season, the deer gathered in what was left of a field of oats. The seemed oblivious to the outside world and had everything to their advantage. The bedded down in the field, got up occasionally to eat, and paw through the snow for oats. They were more or less in the middle of the field and any attempt at getting closer was futile, as they could spot you in the open meadow long before you could gain any ground. There were several does and one huge buck we saw on several occasions.
The problem was, unless you were willing and able to make a shot between 150 and 225 yards, you were not going to get a shot. It caused me to rethink my position on long distance muzzle loading and to think about working up a load for next season.
I am going to pick up a canister of Tripe 777, Triple fff powder and some Barnes 245 grain and 285 grain Spitfire MZ saboted loads and do some extensive range work, to see if I can be confident enough to make a 200 yard shot, 5X out of 5 tries and get a decent group. I will sight in to be a little higher than normal and hopefully be only about 3 to 5 inches low at 200 yards. I carry a pocket range finder when hunting, and based on this fall's hunt, will have plenty of time from cover to set up a steady shot.
Triple 777 is known for its easy clean up qualities. It is apparently less known for its performance boost, which is what interests me. A 100 grain volume measured charge of Pyrodex RS Select will push a saboted 250 grain bullet out of a 24 inch barrel at around 1,640fps. The same amount of FFg Triple Seven behind the same sabot and bullet is good for almost 1.860 fps. That is a significant improvement. The same work up with the Triple 777 FFFg load will push that bullet at 1.950fps or another 100 feet per second faster.
This makes sense to me when working up a long range load for that shot between 150 and 225 yards. Keep in mind that Triple 777 is also available in pellet formation. They come in 30 grain and 50 grain black powder equivalent charges. By weight, a 50 grain triple 777 pellet weighs just slightly more than 30 grains. So when you hear about 150 grain charges of Triple 777, you are really talking about only 90 grains by weight.
Right now, I am waiting for a few warmer days to get to the club and work on this.
Dan
King James Bible 2 Thess 3:16
Now the Lord of peace himself give you peace always by all means. The Lord [be] with you all.
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