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IndianaHunter

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NULA #33 with 43 grains of N-110 and a 200 XPB at 107 yards...

200xpb1.jpg
 
The most ACCURATE loads I have shot out of my ULA .50...

Barnes 225gr .451 XPB with 36-42gr N-110 HPH-12 or Harvester short black sabot
Barnes 245gr Spitfire 36gr N-110
T/C 250gr PTX 40-42gr N-110 Harvester short black sabot
T/C 300gr Bonded Shockwave 40-44gr SR-4759 Harvester short black sabot
275gr T-Shock XLR 40-44gr SR-4759 MMP short black sabot
 
Updated 10/26

Well I made it out yesterday to do a bit of shooting in preparation for my upcoming season. My goal has been to get my NULA and New SMI shooting for my hunt with Daniel in Crossville, TN opening weekend of their muzzleloader season. While I had my ULA shooting well with the 200 XPB with N-110, I really wanted to try a slower powder with the 1:32 twist barrel. One of the SMI recommended loads for 250-grain .451 bullets is 55 grains of 4198 and black harvester sabots. So, with this in mind I went to work.

My ULA Model 20 gun#33 50 cal. Muzzleloader is known to some here as the ?Barbie Model? for its soft pink hue. Actually, the finish is beige sand as the previous owner was going to use it out west. I?m sure after the season is over I?ll send it back and go with the finish Tom and Chuck have chosen on their new guns? Anyway, to refresh your memories, here it is?

ula3.jpg


I knew the setup was on paper after my shooting earlier with the 200 XPB?s so I setup a target at 75 yards just to see how well it would group with the new load. My first load was 54 grains of H-4198 and it gave me a four shot vertical string. Two over two moving up each shot.

2over2.jpg


I checked to see if my rings were tight and as I suspected the front ring screws had loosened up a bit so I tightened them back to spec, and checked all the other screws for good measure and went back to work. I was running out of time as the club starts shooting trap at 5:00pm so I went to the 100 yard target to see how ?Barbie? was going to fair here.

Well I broke every rule in good bench work by upping the load one grain to 55 grains, playing with the scope, and moving the target 25 yards? Changing three variables at once is just not a recommended practice. 55 grains of H-4198 on Ron?s sheet puts the 250-grain bullet at 2200 fps, slower than I wanted but still an acceptable load with a 250-grain Shockwave.

Shot #1 was gratefully on paper at 3? high and 1? right. Well I got away with breaking all the rules that time so I did it again by moving the scope in windage and elevation at the same time. I over corrected on shot two and put it a bit lower than I wanted. The final five shots settled in nicely at 1 ?? high at a laser verified 107 yards?

ula55grains4198250SW.jpg
 
I have 2 ULA model 209's. 1-with blued bbl and 1-with stainless bbl. I had the blue version since Mel started making the gun, i think it was his 7th made in the first year of production. When I first started I used 4227 with <.5 groups with a mmp-12 sabot and 250 xtp. I have since started using 43g sr 4759 and 43g vv n-110with the same sabot and bullet. My groups have opened a bit to .75 but have proved very effective on deer and reliable ignition in all temps and weather conditions. Gary U
 
XTP

Gary U - I have been trying several bullets and loads thru my new NULA. I'm getting ready to go back to the "Old Reliable" of 43 grains of N-110 and the 250 XTP that has shot so good out of my Savage. How is that load at 200 yards thru the NULA ? Are you happy with it ? Thank You in advance.
 
hi warrior; i have shot that exact load along with the imr 4759 with the 250g xtp and mmp-hph-12 and have had very good groups out to 200 yds. i consider 200 yds my personal max for centerfire and smokeless. i have gotten moa at 200 yds with both powders, but my .50 likes the 4759 a little better. i have all the confidence in the world with those components and my ula. good luck and let know how you do. Gary
 
Hornady SST-ML

Has anyone shot the Hornady SST-ML out of a NULA, if so how was the accuracy. It seems that this bullet is less expensive than some of the others mentioned but should provide excellent accuracy and performance on game.

gdc
 
If this is any indication, I found a new one today:
DSCF4095_zps41ff5df1.jpg


It will replace 39gr of N110 and the 250BE:
DSCF4093_zps8cadcea4.jpg
 
Very nice shooting, the ULAs are amazing shooters. Its still hard to believe the 1-32 twist works so well.

I used N120 in my ULA for the first time last year to harvest two deer. I was fairly impressed with the FPS and its amazingly clean burning. The FPS was much higher than the same load in my Savage but the recoil was about at my max in the ULA.

Chuck said he got 2400fps+ with 58gr of N120 and the 275gr BE, so i had to try it. Recoil is way more noticeable than 44gr of SR4759 and the 275gr BE but i could keep close to 1.5" groups at 150yards without a sled.

My fun load is 38-41gr of N110 and a 225gr FTX. Its a great plinker load and i can swap out to the 225gr XPB for hunting with a minor scope adjustment. N110 does well in mine with the 275gr BE also but i prefer to stick to slower powders with bullets over 250gr.

This year i want to try the Parker 275gr MH and the new .452-250gr Monoflex from Hornady with N120. Hornady has a .458-250gr Monoflex in bulk 50 packs but 458s are really hard to load.
 
I had a NULA .257 Wby Mag out this morning and when I finished with it I had time to shoot the 300gr MH and N120 at 300yds:
DSCF4096_zps82016fa0.jpg


I'll do it again later with 5 shot groups and see what happens.
 
Very nice!!!

That is the first NULA range report ive seen past 200 yards. I use a 2x7x33 scope on mine and i doubt i could shoot that well even with more magnification. I never get a chance to practice enough past 150 yards and atm i consider 200 yards my max range under perfect conditions.
 
Re:

GM54-120 said:
Very nice!!!

That is the first NULA range report ive seen past 200 yards. I use a 2x7x33 scope on mine and i doubt i could shoot that well even with more magnification. I never get a chance to practice enough past 150 yards and atm i consider 200 yards my max range under perfect conditions.

Pretty impressive!
 
Used to post as "corvair" but was having problems retrieving password with e-mail. My new name here is NULAM209.

My go-to load for my NULA is 43gr. 4759, Parker 275 BE with supplied MMP sabot, CCI primer. I routinely get 3/4" to 1" groups at 100 yards. This load typically has not anchored my bucks in their tracks but they have never traveled more than 20 yards either.Bullet typically is like a "hand-grenade" with fragmenting inside the body cavity and no exit hole. Longest kill shot has been 150 plus yards.

If I ever have a close shot, I would expect an exit wound, just hasnt happened yet. :D
 
NULAM209 said:
Used to post as "corvair" but was having problems retrieving password with e-mail. My new name here is NULAM209.

My go-to load for my NULA is 43gr. 4759, Parker 275 BE with supplied MMP sabot, CCI primer. I routinely get 3/4" to 1" groups at 100 yards. This load typically has not anchored my bucks in their tracks but they have never traveled more than 20 yards either.Bullet typically is like a "hand-grenade" with fragmenting inside the body cavity and no exit hole. Longest kill shot has been 150 plus yards.

If I ever have a close shot, I would expect an exit wound, just hasnt happened yet. :D

Unless your shooting for the head, neck or spine I wouldn't expect any animal to drop in their tracks. And why would you?

I believe all of mine have exited, most anyway........

I also shoot that combo with essentially the same group size. Not too shabby!
 

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