Hello. You can keep using your pellets. I just shot my 50 last week my pellets are over 10 years old. Also I'm still using loose pyrodex select I bought it in 2005.Both still shoot fine.Just keep em dry I put my pellet box in a plastic bag with a silica bag. My select I keep in my closet. Nice Video...
If those were my groups with those bullets, I would change bullets. Also, if you zero an inch or two high at 100, those 200s would come up alot. I have see the Hornady ELD and the Power Belt ELD are shooting well. I'm just not a big power belt fan. Just my opinion.
777 are less hot..yes less pressure..straight from Thompson center..there especially made for all pellets...a high pressure 209 magnum will crack a pellet which destroys accuracy..you can crack a pellet by loading and pushing the bullet down with a dirty barrel...and remember that the TC encore 209x50 muzzle loader was the first muzzle loader designed for the 209 primer..long before any other company
My standard sight in with about any rifle, including any of my four inlines is two inches high at one hundred yards and then shoot groups at both fifty and two hundred so I know my holdovers. Two hundred is a stretch for any muzzleloader but doable if you know your gun and load. I regularly bust gallon jugs with my optima v2 lr at two hundred yards with about a foot of holdover with a saboted 250 grain Hornaday XTP. That is using four of the Firestar pellets. The thing to remember with an inline is that anytime you change powder, amount of powder or bullet you change the point of impact and must sight in all over again.
My recommendation is to zero 3 to 4 inches high at 100 yards. If your velocity is somewhere between 1570 to 1650 fps your round would be zeroed to about 150 to 160 yards (give or take) and that should give you about 8 inch drop ( give or take) at 200 yards. I am a western hunter so I try to max my point blank range as shots are typically longer in the prairie!
I've not had any issues reusing pellets from previous year/years. Never had a misfire, especially with 209 primers. I keep my stuff dry as I can, and my reload tubes are sealed. POI hasn't shifted that I've seen either. My optima, first time I had it out a few yrs ago, was a bear to load. Been a back burner project, but intend to get back to it and try different loads and bullets. Hopefully I can get bullet/sabots down it easier. I'd say, mine must be a tighter bore, also wondered if nitride finish played a role in the tight bore. Been using my T/C Triumph with decent success since I've had it, but my Optima was intended to play around with longer distances and BH209. If all else fails with my Optima, I can size bullets to bore, and play around with that. Reply
Low Pressure 50 Caliber Smokeless Loads in a 209 Factory Muzzleloader, 2 DVD set | eBay These 2 DVDs contain a demonstration of using Low Pressure Smokeless Loads in a 50 caliber factory muzzleloader, that are of equal or less pressure than Blackhorn209.
Sighting in a muzzle from a floating dock !! Freedom at its finest !!
Unless you are keeping your powder outside it should be be ok. I've been using powder both lose and pellets that I bought years ago with no problem
Hello. You can keep using your pellets. I just shot my 50 last week my pellets are over 10 years old. Also I'm still using loose pyrodex select I bought it in 2005.Both still shoot fine.Just keep em dry I put my pellet box in a plastic bag with a silica bag. My select I keep in my closet. Nice Video...
If those were my groups with those bullets, I would change bullets. Also, if you zero an inch or two high at 100, those 200s would come up alot. I have see the Hornady ELD and the Power Belt ELD are shooting well. I'm just not a big power belt fan. Just my opinion.
777 are less hot..yes less pressure..straight from Thompson center..there especially made for all pellets...a high pressure 209 magnum will crack a pellet which destroys accuracy..you can crack a pellet by loading and pushing the bullet down with a dirty barrel...and remember that the TC encore 209x50 muzzle loader was the first muzzle loader designed for the 209 primer..long before any other company
My standard sight in with about any rifle, including any of my four inlines is two inches high at one hundred yards and then shoot groups at both fifty and two hundred so I know my holdovers. Two hundred is a stretch for any muzzleloader but doable if you know your gun and load. I regularly bust gallon jugs with my optima v2 lr at two hundred yards with about a foot of holdover with a saboted 250 grain Hornaday XTP. That is using four of the Firestar pellets. The thing to remember with an inline is that anytime you change powder, amount of powder or bullet you change the point of impact and must sight in all over again.
My recommendation is to zero 3 to 4 inches high at 100 yards. If your velocity is somewhere between 1570 to 1650 fps your round would be zeroed to about 150 to 160 yards (give or take) and that should give you about 8 inch drop ( give or take) at 200 yards. I am a western hunter so I try to max my point blank range as shots are typically longer in the prairie!
I've not had any issues reusing pellets from previous year/years. Never had a misfire, especially with 209 primers. I keep my stuff dry as I can, and my reload tubes are sealed. POI hasn't shifted that I've seen either. My optima, first time I had it out a few yrs ago, was a bear to load. Been a back burner project, but intend to get back to it and try different loads and bullets. Hopefully I can get bullet/sabots down it easier. I'd say, mine must be a tighter bore, also wondered if nitride finish played a role in the tight bore. Been using my T/C Triumph with decent success since I've had it, but my Optima was intended to play around with longer distances and BH209. If all else fails with my Optima, I can size bullets to bore, and play around with that.
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Instead of a safety pin, I use a pilot broach.
Low Pressure 50 Caliber Smokeless Loads in a 209 Factory Muzzleloader, 2 DVD set | eBay
These 2 DVDs contain a demonstration of using Low Pressure Smokeless Loads in a 50 caliber factory muzzleloader, that are of equal or less pressure than Blackhorn209.
the loose powder you can take four shots with out cleaning.its a cleaner burn.
KEEP YOU PELLETS IN THE ORIGINAL BOX IN ZIPLOCK BAG OR BETTER YET VACUUM SEAL THE BOX UNTIL NEXT SEASON.
That's solid advise