Triple 7 pellets

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beardking

New member
I have a question in reference to the Hodgdon's Triple 7 pellets (.50 cal). I purchased a pack of these for use in a CVA Bobcat sidelock rifle, not knowing that these weren't recommended to be used in sidelocks. After trying multiple times to fire off a round with the pellets as the propellant, I came to realize why they aren't recommended, because the #11 percussion cap just won't do the trick. Now comes my question, since I already forked out the cash to purchase these pellets I'd still like to get use of them without having to purchase a new inline rifle (out of the question at the moment). I would like to know if it would be acceptable to crush up the pellet and turn it back into a powder and load it that way. It seems like in the powder form it should be about the same as using loose powder in the regular fashion. Of course, I'm not wanting to have the gun blow up in my face, so I wanted to check with the experts before doing so.

Thanks in advance,
Beardking
 
I wouldn't advise it. The pellets (as well as the granules of the loose powder) are coated to make them burn at a controlled rate. By crushing the pellets you will be exposing granules that are not coated and that can cause pressure problems.
 
I use granular T-7 in my .54 GPR and it works fine. If you still want to fire off the T-7 pellets in your rifle, you could load 5-10grs of granular T-7 and then load the pellets. The granular should be enough to contact the pellets igniting them reliably.
Of course this method is suited to range sessions only and should not be used in hunting situations.
Sidelocks rely on having a portion of the main charge spill over into the drum for ignition of the charge. Pellets sit too far away from the cap for the fire to reach it.
I also would suggest using #11M caps for T-7 and getting a Hot Shot nipple. I haven't had any ignition problems w/ #11s or T-7, but it dosen't hurt to Murphy proof your set up.
 
Well, I actually emailed Hodgdon's the same question hoping that their response would be better than what I got here (hey, I'm cheap, what can I say) but alas, they strongly suggested that I never ever even consider this a remote option. So, I guess I'll just have to bite the bullet (hah) and go out and buy some powder.

Thanks for the responses guys.
 
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