My Omega is a tac driver!

[tcomegashooter]

I have been getting 3 shot groups consistantly all in one large ragged hole at 100 yards with my bone stock all black entry level Omega when using 3 50g pellets of 777 and 300g TC Shock waves along with a Leupold VX! 2x7. I wanted to extend my power for optics so I did some research and came up with the Nikon Monark 2.5x10 with the BDC retical. I called Nikon who gave me the drops in inches on thier circles. From what they told me I had to sight my gun in 3 3/4" high at 100 yards and my circles should be right on at 200,250, and 300 yards. I sighted it in a couple of days ago and had a chance to shoot my first 3 shot group at 200 yards. I used the first circle and centered it on a 2" black square. I laid all 3 shots inside of it recieving a 1 3/4" group! The range I am shooting at only goes out to 200 so this weekend I will go out to a buddies farm where i can try the 250 and 300 yard circles. I'll report back when i get a chance to test it to see it the other holes line up. I havent heard of too many people getting this type of accuarcy out of thier muzzle loaders in my area... is this common as far as shooting tight groups?

[wilmsmeyer]

Great shooting. I'm not sure that this is a fluke. My Knight Disc will shoot almost that good at 200 yds with full power 150 Black Powder loads. My Thunderhawk .54...rated for only 120 gr goes to heck over 100 gr but 100 grains is very accurate. Even at 200 but the drop is horrendous.

I could never get full power subs to shoot worth a darn at any range but there has been sabot improvements since I tried and that may be the biggest reason.

You also may have stumbled on the right combo too....and you are definately a capable shooter. Many guns never see their true potential due to flinchers and marginal markmen....IMO.

[tcomegashooter]

I have been getting .5" groups with the 250 grain TC Shock wave along with 3 50 grain pellets of 777 as well at a 100 yards but stuck with the 300 grainer due to better accuracy. Thompson center sure can make a muzzel loader! When I used the Hornady verson with and without the quick load tails my groups opened up anywheres from an inch to two and a half inches at 100. I have tried the bonded versons with two and a half to three and a half inch groups. This testing has been done over the last several years. I havent tried the new super glide sabots yet and probably never will after finding this winning combonation. I can say this bullet is a little hard for Whitetails though, most run a good 40 to 60 plus yards off after the shot before expiring unless of course a backbone shot is taken. I have tried all of Precisons Dead Center sabots from 175g to 340g and none will fly worth a darn in my rifle, its like throwing rocks. Most of them pattern 3.5" to 5.5" plus at 100 yards. Their sabots seem to load very loose and I can tell gas must be escaping causing the eractic grouping.

[wilmsmeyer]

I don't know why some hunters are dissappointed when a perfectly heart/lung shot deer runs 50 yds after the shot. Most of mine do the same thing. Bullets don't normally anchor a deer on the spot when they hit only soft tissue....even multiple vital organs. You need to break structure, or like you said, hit the spine.

I would MUCH rather hit the "pocket", have the deer run dead on it's feet, and then expire fully intact. IMO, there's nothing as gruesome as a whitetail with it's shoulders and upper spine smashed to bits by these powerful guns. The upper backstraps can be bloodshot and the shoulder meat destroyed. However, if that the only shot you have and it's "The big one" then that's what you do everytime. In those cases, I like a stronger bullet that will always get it done.

My T/C Thunderhawk .54 is a very simple inline. Doesn't even have a normal breechplug, just a removable nipple. It's capable of excellent accuracy. My latest load is a 350 XTP mag in a 50/54 MMP sabot, 100 gr FFg blackpowder and a musket cap. Speed is around 1400 fps and nothing has stopped it in a whitetail yet. It shoots 1 inch groups at 100 yds and is very dependable.

Glad you found the right combo. Make sure it does this in extreme temperature swings and recheck your zero during those swings. My BP guns have given me wild variances with subs going from very cold -to-warm temps. Also, if you are one to remove your cap each day and continue hunting with a gun that has been loaded for several days and exposed to climatic changes BEWARE. Blackpowder straighted all of these issues out. Just food for thought.

Having used a Savage almost exclusively for 3 years, my 2 BP guns are usually on the back burner or loaned to friends during the ML season. I get them both up and running each year and set up a small belt pack that anyone can strap on and take these guns hunting. I don't like seeing them sit idle as they have both killed more of my best bucks then any of my other guns combined. Hopefully in 10 years I won't be able to say the same thing as the Savage slowly catches up!

Good shooting to you.

[jaybe]

tcomegashooter: You can be glad that you have found such a great combination! I also don't think you should be concerned that your deer run a short ways after a double lung or even a heart shot. That is often the case, even with a CF at much higher muzz. vel.
Sounds like you have a real keeper there to me.

[indiana1234]

My Omega shoots great once you get the bullet down the barrel. I tried Shock Waves, and the Super Glide Shock Waves. I could hardly get them down the barrel with a stainless steel range rod.
I cleaned between each shot, and even tried a little lube on the sabot. I'm afraid the factory ramrod might bend or break in the field.

[esmd]

Aug 11, 2008 21:11:12 GMT -5 indiana1234 said:

My Omega shoots great once you get the bullet down the barrel. I tried Shock Waves, and the Super Glide Shock Waves. I could hardly get them down the barrel with a stainless steel range rod.
I cleaned between each shot, and even tried a little lube on the sabot. I'm afraid the factory ramrod might bend or break in the field.

Try the black Harvestor Crush Rib sabot.