Hi guys, I'm new here and just found this year old thread that I'd like to comment on.
I have the Optima pistol, second version. It carries a red dot with a 2mm dot. Deadly accurate out to 50 yards delivering 1.25" groups of 5 shots and 2" at 100 yards.
My current hunting load for deer is 63 weighed grains of BH209, green crush rib sabot and 240 grain, .44 cal, XTP bullet. I'm getting an average chrono'd speed of 1550fps. 80 weighed grains of the 209 powder and same bullet/sabot combo averages out to 1475 fps, but on full sized deer and chest shots the bullets may or may not open up real well as based on exits wounds. The heavier load is a sure thing with exit wounds easily in the 2" - 2 1/2" range. Yes the heavy load is heavy on recoil....much like a 454 Casul, but its only one shot.
While I have take a couple deer at 50 plus yards with the pistol, I try to keep my shots at or under 25 yards and have taken several deer inside this range. They either are dead before they hit the ground or are dead and don't know as they travel a few yards. The kills are impressive. I'm super satisfied with the load I shoot but I am very serious about getting rid of the lead part of the equation and have some Barnes coppers all ready to go to the range. Since I favor closer targets I will likely be turning down the powder weigh a hair as long as the current tight group holds together.
To cut down on abuse at the range while getting this gun dialed in I shot at 15 yards in groups of three shots. Once the three holes were touching, I stretched it to 25, then 50, making any small adjustments as I went. This was done over a period of time doing the 15 yards first, then the 25 another day and finally the fifty on yet another day. I have proofed the patterning out to 100 yards but on an animal I am not too comfortable with a shot at that range, but I am confident that a deer would drop easily with the current load.
The gun requires a rest to shoot accurately regardless of load used....its the forward heavy balance that calls for a rest. I hunt from an elevated 22 foot stand with three and a half foot sidewalls which offer a perfect rest. My closest shot has been at 12 yards.
My advice with this gun is to shoot it as heavy as the grouping allows. Many of the bullets offered may work great at short ranges but if a longer shot is taken one has to be certain that the bullet will have the retained energy to perform as its intended at that range. The 240 grain pill I shoot from this pistol has done its job at 50 yards nicely but unless its shot from a rifle with a heavier powder charge it will loss too much energy beyond that mark fairly fast. Overkill at the gun club is one thing, but not in the field on a game animal. Remember, its only one shot in the field.
I'll also note here that I have done the 70 grain weighed charge with a 300 grain .44 XTP and that can be downright un-pleasant. I've also run .45 cal 250 grainers thru the gun but the accuracy lies in the .44 cal fodder for me..