Just bought a muzzleloader, EXCITED!!

C

cgbills

New member
I just purchased a TC Encore Pro Hunter. It is a very nice gun and I have heard nothing but good about it. I am very excited to start into muzzleloader shooting. Though I bought it mainly for Deer Hunting, I see myself shooting it regularly for fun. I have been a shooter for a while and plan to approach muzzleloader shooting with the same meticulousness that I do with rifle shooting. My plans are to get a Leupold VX-2 3-9x40 with LR duplex reticle or a Vortex Viper 3-9x40 with dead hold reticle. I have decided to shoot loose powder Pyrodex, I will have to mess with the charge but I am thinking around 100 grains. I think I will try out Hornady 250 SST, Shock Wave and Barnes sabot rounds to start. I can’t wait to get her out there and see what kind of groups it can do at 100. Also I can’t wait to try and stretch it out to 200, maybe further.
 
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A hundred grains of Pyrodex, and the 250 SST is a lethal combination.
You might try a few shots with 90 grains, and with 80 grains, see which is more accurate. You don't need to go over 100 grains.

The 250 SST and the 250 Shockwave are the same bullet, one has a yellow tip and one has a red tip. I am not sure, they may come with different sabots.

You have a great rifle there! Good luck!
 
The TC Encore Pro Hunter has some great features.

http://www.tcarms.com/firearms/proHunter.php

The more moving parts that come into contact with powder residue increases the time needed to clean and the chances for problems to develop from using the more corrosive powders.
I enjoy shooting Pyrodex in some guns too and it performs well, especially Pyrodex P. But I do avoid using it in some of my other guns depending on whether I want to expose them to the increased risk of corrosion or not.

There are some newer powders to try including Black Horn 209 which has been reliably reported to not require any swabbing when taking as many as 20 shots in a row. It's a type of smokeless substitute that has also been shown to be extremely accurate. It's expensive per ounce but very fluffy in volume.


http://www.blackhorn209.com/

Read the BH 209 user reviews at Cabela's:

http://www.cabelas.com/cabelas/en/t.../search-box.jsp.form23&_dyncharset=ISO-8859-1

IMR White Hots are another new generation propellant which is touted to perform much like a top shelf 777.

http://www.shootingtimes.com/ammunition/ST_whitehots_122008WO/index2.html

http://www.gamaliel.com/cart/home.php?cat=1182

Powders like these might provide more potential to shoot accurately out to those longer distances with your new rifle.

Good luck with your new rig and let us know how it shoots. :)
 
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Don't waste your money and time trying both the Shockwave and the SST. They are the same bullet (both made by Hornady) with different color tips and sabots. I use the SST's because they are cheaper per box AND come packed with 5 more bullets in the box.

Try some loose 777 powder and 777 primers. The Winchester 777 primers aren't as hot and that helps to avoid the crud ring.

If you will remove the breech plug and wet swab between every shot, you'll prevent crud ring problems and you'll be duplicating the way your shot at a deer will be (on a clean barrel).
 
There's a new 209X.50 Pro Hunter with 26.5" blue barrel & black Flex-tech composite stock for $599 [buy it now] plus shipping on Gunbroker.

There's also a new 28" stainless .50 for $799 while another seller has several configurations for $828.
 
I bought some Black Horn 209 powder. For sabots I am trying out Dead Center Sabots in 220gr and Barnes Muzzleloader MZ 245gr. Cabela's was pretty much out of shockwave and sst sabots. I'll have to look some other places and see if I can find some. Now I just have to wait till next weekend when I don't have drill to go shoot:(
 
Check out WWW. GRAFS.com. They have the Hornady SST's (I like the low-drag sabots because they load easier). They have good prices and they pay the shipping.
 
Congrats on a very nice rifle. For deer(or larger game) you may want to consider the 'bonded' SST Hornady`s. Check out the Nikon Omega BDC 250 Reticle scope if you plan on shooting range`s out to 250yds . It was designed for muzzleloaders(either the Encore or Omega, don`t remember) and works very well. Although designed to shoot a load of 250 grn. boolit with 150grns. of powder, the powder charge can be tailored to what you want to shoot and you can still use the BDC part of the scope. Over-all clarity and performance on mine has been great and fun to play with. Goodluck!
 
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