Hornady FPB bullets.

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tnt1960

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Today I went out and tried the new Hornady FPB bullets in my CVA Optima Pro muzzleloader. OMG I could not believe how hard they were to load down the barrel! Even after cleaning between shots, they were impossible to load! I finally gave up on them, and went back to my Powerbelt Platinum bullets! They loaded so much easier, and were more accurate than the Hornadys! I guess you live and learn!
 
Are you using a short starter with an appropriate tip for a ballistic tip bullet? I found that once you get the bullet started well centered to short starter length and the bullet is started on the rifleing it loads with moderate pressure on the ramrod not much more or less than loading shockwaves or SSt's. If you have a TC Omega forget it, my brother has one ane the only thing that loads easy are Powerbelts even from a clean barrel.
 
They loaded super hard in my omega i had as well. The old optimas has .498" bores so maybe that has something to do with it. But even in my omega's .502" you actually would break out into a cold sweat trying to push it down.
 
I know 2 people with omega's from 2nd year of production and tried 3 different powders, primers and a lot of different bullets and they cannot load a second shot unless they swab the bore, I have a CVA Staghorn(please don't laugh) and I can load and load as much as I want, some projectiles laod harder than others but up to 20 shots(most I ever tried) I can keep loading. Yes it is accurate and have taken 3 deer with it. I like the idea of shooting full caliber FPB's buta have not had an opportunity to take game with it yet. I have taken 2 deer with Schockwave EZ glide and 1 with a powerbelt.
 
I know 2 people with omega's from 2nd year of production and tried 3 different powders, primers and a lot of different bullets and they cannot load a second shot unless they swab the bore, I have a CVA Staghorn(please don't laugh) and I can load and load as much as I want, some projectiles laod harder than others but up to 20 shots(most I ever tried) I can keep loading. Yes it is accurate and have taken 3 deer with it. I like the idea of shooting full caliber FPB's buta have not had an opportunity to take game with it yet. I have taken 2 deer with Schockwave EZ glide and 1 with a powerbelt.
 
FPB

Dang, I just got some to try along with a Thor sample pack. My DISC Elite fits the .501 Thor about right. THE FPBs must be about .502 or .503 then?
 
I tried the Thor sized at .500 & .501 in my Omega which measures .500. The Thor .500's shot very nicely. The larger sizes in the sample pack were just too large.

The NE .500/ 460gr. shoots great in tight bored guns and is my new favorite load in my QLA-less Omega with good ole Pyrodex.
 
tnt1960 said:
Today I went out and tried the new Hornady FPB bullets in my CVA Optima Pro muzzleloader. OMG I could not believe how hard they were to load down the barrel! Even after cleaning between shots, they were impossible to load! I finally gave up on them, and went back to my Powerbelt Platinum bullets! They loaded so much easier, and were more accurate than the Hornadys! I guess you live and learn!


I found just the opposite with my Traditions Buckskinner side lock. Every type of projectile I had ever used, was difficult to load. Cast lead, sabots, and powerbelts all loaded with difficulty after the first round was fired. The Traditions came with a fiberglass ramrod and soon after using the gun for deer hunting, I got a steel ramrod because of the loading issue. Reloading the thing after firing at a deer or target was a bear. While hunting and attempting to reload, I had to start the bullet and then take the ramrod and pound it against a tree to seat the bullet, thus the need for the steel ramrod.
I find I can shoot the Hornady FPBs 8 to 10 times and still these projectiles load relatively easily. I use an EZ loader when hunting and that device starts the bullet perfectly and then the ramrod easily seats the bullet.
I have killed about a half dozen deer with the Hornadys and none of these deer traveled more than about 30 yards after the shot, and half of them dropped in their tracks. Through shots left a fairly distinctive exit wound. The accuracy of these projectiles is as good as or better than most others I have shot.
One thing I did notice was that the first batch of FPB's I used started into the barrel easily, whereas the more recent ones I purchased seemed to have more of an alignment issue when starting them. I don't know if it is a Hornady change, or the EZ loader has changed in some way which affects the bullet alignment. My fix for this problem was to chuck a few of the bullets in a small lathe and with a roller bearing, set at approximately a 15 degree angle, rolled a very small chamfer on the back edge of the bullet. This has corrected the starting issue, and I have not seen any change in the accuracy.
 
The 350gr FPB shoot lights out on my Omega X7,I would take them over Thors...
 

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