Thompsom Omega

[harvey lee]

Looking to tighten up my grouping with my muzzleloader if possible.

I'm using Triple 7 30 grain loads and loading three. I am also using 250 grain Shockwave sabots with 209 primers.

At 25 yards, I'm about 1.5 inches high. 50 yards I'm approx 4" high and at 100 yards I dead on. Anyway to get the grouping within a 3" circle?

Thanks for any help.

[flipper]

In my opinion having just the right sabot is the key. Are you using the yellow easy load sabots. They are too loose for many bores. Also I think you could tighten up your groups by using loose Tiple 7 27 and fine tuning your load. All you can do is keep trying until you find that magic combination for your gun. Some rifles seem fussier than others.

[harvey lee]

These sabots have a yellow tip but do not seem loose at all when I load them.

I may lose some accuracy from the pellet type powder but I really don't want to use the loose powder.

Its now plenty accurate to kill a deer I just thought maybe I could do something to get a bit better. Maybe I'll try some different sabots.

[flipper]

When I say sabots I am talking about the plastic "sleeve" that the bullet goes in. Some people swap out the sabots for better accuracy. MMP makes one called the HP24 that usually works pretty well in TC barrels. Loose powder isn't as much of a hassle as some think and it is much cheaper to shoot.

[picksbigwagon]

have you tried a different sabot? Hornady makes great bullets and so do barnes.....My choice would be go with hornady.

[harvey lee]

I have not tried anything else yet and I'm good for this season as it will shoot a deer easy enough.

Many have told me the sabots I'm using work great in the TC guns.

Yes, I realize every barrel can be better with a different bullet.

I guess I have some shooting to do next summer.

The sabots are not terrible by any means and will do perfectly next week.

I have found that the Hornady bullets do shoot very well in four of my rifles.

[FISHINGURU]

i shoot the same gun i've always found the powerbelts are the most accurate in my gun...this year i switched over to the 270 gr

platinum powerbelts....i shoot triple7 50 gr using 3 pellets.

i had my scope on for shotgun season and i was putting bullets pretty much in the same hole once i got sighted in...the nikon omega scope sure is nice!

[harvey lee]

Is the Omega Nikon available in the 1x scopes?

[TrophyEyes]

Powerbelts out of the T/C's are very accurate. That said, the bullet performance on impact has proven to be a little suspect. It has always worked, but I have had too many fragment. I feel very comfortable with them, but weight retension is not the highlight of the bullet. Hornady's work great out of my encore, but I have also had expansion issues with the Hornady SST's. They don't mushroom like the Barnes expanders. We rarely shoot over 50 yards for any deer and most are within hand to hand combat range so it really doesn't matter. I also shoot a .45 cal so I do like the additional mass from the powerbelts.

[trolloni]

Harvey i ve been told if you are shooting for accuracy [target practice] always swab the bore with moist patch at least every 3 rd shot,try that for tightening up those groups if you arent happy start working on the powder i thought pellets were fantastic and shot them for 5 years but i found out with my gun it likes 120 grains of loose powder and it shoots consistantly with it and loose powder is much cheaper to shoot to. it will take 3 50 grain pellets makes it bark more but seems to drive the bullet down, 2 pellets i found out i get more sporadic patterns , i come up with the powder because thats what my 12 gauge turkey gun takes.[an absulute riot to shoot!]

[harvey lee]

Could I increase my powder charge from the 3-30's I'm shooting to 4-30's or 120 grains of powder or is that too much powder?

[huntnfish]

Harvey, you should be able to go up to 150 grains in that rifle. I have a friend with the same gun and he shoots 3 50 grain pellets.

[harvey lee]

I will try more powder, that may help things some as I had to change the scope to be dead on at one hundred yards. I was shooting 2-30 grain pellets and from 50 to 100 yards it dropped 7". That changed to 4 with 3-30 grain pellets. I will now try 4 0or 5 and that may solve the problem.

Thanks for all the replies. The deer is dead either way.

[mskyfshntchr]

My Thompson Omega shoots 2-50 gr. pyrodex pellets and a 240 gr. cheap shot sabot (all lead) from T/C within 1 1/2"-2" at 100 yards with open sights.

Back in the day- when it was sidehammers and blackpowder- the things that were tried were: bullet weight and powder grains.

There were not a lot of different bullet manufactureres and black powder was pretty much black powder. It used to be fairly easy to experiment and get your most accurate load. Add 5 grains of powder until you were getting what you wanted with the bullet.

BUT..now...inlines, sabots, powerbelts, conicals, pellets, pyrodex, 777, shockey gold, etc...

I don't understand why people think 150 gr. is needed?? 100 gr. is plenty!! 150 gr. for the range most deer are shot at isn't necessary. It is just an extra kick on your shoulder.

I am sighted in dead on at 100 yards and am only 2" low at 150 with the above load. About a foot low at 200 yards.

I used the shockwaves for a year in my gun for deer. I didn't like them at all. I got great grouping but, I like a bullet that will expand when it hits a deer. The shockwaves power right through the deer with little to no breakup. The lead bullets really tear a deer up.

Each gun is different it just takes time on the range with numerous bullets and powder choices. However, your grouping is better than most peoples!!

Also, off topic, but I tried the Shockey Gold this weekend on my .45 Hawken. Very impressed by that stuff. Loaded easy after 10+ shots with no cleaning. My dad had the same results with his gun. Both of us had been using blackpowder in the guns and

would have problems loading after 4-5 shots.

[lawdog]

Harvey in mine with open sights I shoot 2 50's and a 30 Triple 7 with the T/C shockwaves and its good and accurate. The gun is a 150 grain capable gun and that's what the Nikon Omega scope w/bdc reticle is set up for and is top notch for the gun season but of coure you have to have the quick disconnects for now in the muzzy season. I think 90 grains is fine w/ open sights and frankly I've been thinking I'd go back down to 100 with mine but I'm not redoing it now with the season only a week away.

[harvey lee]

My Thompson Omega shoots 2-50 gr. pyrodex pellets and a 240 gr. cheap shot sabot (all lead) from T/C within 1 1/2"-2" at 100 yards with open sights.

Back in the day- when it was sidehammers and blackpowder- the things that were tried were: bullet weight and powder grains.

There were not a lot of different bullet manufactureres and black powder was pretty much black powder. It used to be fairly easy to experiment and get your most accurate load. Add 5 grains of powder until you were getting what you wanted with the bullet.

BUT..now...inlines, sabots, powerbelts, conicals, pellets, pyrodex, 777, shockey gold, etc...

I don't understand why people think 150 gr. is needed?? 100 gr. is plenty!! 150 gr. for the range most deer are shot at isn't necessary. It is just an extra kick on your shoulder.

I am sighted in dead on at 100 yards and am only 2" low at 150 with the above load. About a foot low at 200 yards.

I used the shockwaves for a year in my gun for deer. I didn't like them at all. I got great grouping but, I like a bullet that will expand when it hits a deer. The shockwaves power right through the deer with little to no breakup. The lead bullets really tear a deer up.

Each gun is different it just takes time on the range with numerous bullets and powder choices. However, your grouping is better than most peoples!!

Also, off topic, but I tried the Shockey Gold this weekend on my .45 Hawken. Very impressed by that stuff. Loaded easy after 10+ shots with no cleaning. My dad had the same results with his gun. Both of us had been using blackpowder in the guns and

would have problems loading after 4-5 shots.

I can shoot 2 inch groups at 100 yards with no problem at all.

What I want to do is tighten up my pattern so when I shot a 50 yards, I'm not 4 inches high.

[FISHINGURU]

i don't think the nikon omega comes in a 1x scope....its a scope that has bullet drop compensation...if you sight it dead on at 100 yards there are 4 small circles under your normal crosshair...one is for 150, 200, 225, and 250 yards....thats shooting 150 grains of powder with a 250 grain bullet...i shoot a 270 bullet though didn't really change much.

more powder will definitely tighten your group so your not 4 inches high at 50.. the gun is rated for the magnum load which is 150 grains...but it does kick quite a bit more from 100 to 150 grains.

i'd use up them 30gr pellets and go with the 50gr pellets next time forsure...even if you decide to shoot 100 grain its better then 90 grain...instead of having to use 3 pellets you could use 2...or if you decide to shoot the magnum load you can just use 3 pellets instead of 5.

[harvey lee]

Thanks.

I think I'm going to purchase some 50 grain pellets and load more powder. I am also going to purchase some Hornady sabots and see how they fly.

I will see how that goes and go from there.

[JacobMHD]

When you are shooting at 100 yards and further, are you using a scope or iron sights? I went to the range last night and set up a target at 100 yards. My sights nearly covered the target.

I am looking at getting a different sight put on but unfortunately it won't be this year. So far I am most pleased with the ghost sights.

[eric29]

Is it legal to use a scope muzzleloading?

[JacobMHD]

In ND it is. Not legal in MN.

[Black_Bay]

Is it legal to use a scope muzzleloading?

Only open or peep sites are allowed during the muzzleloader season. During the regular firearms season scopes are legal.

[harvey lee]

Is it legal to use a scope muzzleloading?

In North Dakota one can use a 1 power scope only. But that helps find the target. Using iron sights at 100 yards is a tough shot as the sights almost cover a 1/3 of the deer.

[harvey lee]

Better results. I increase my powder charge to 120 grains and boy does it shoot well now.

At 50 yards the two shots I took hit dead center and the holes were touching. At 100 yards, I was approx 1 inch high right above dead center.

This thing is almost a nail driver now. Simply 30 grain more on the powder.

[JacobMHD]

Did you have to adjust your sights any or did you only change the load?