Full bore bullets in the Optima pistol?

[MrTom]

Has anyone tried a sized, sabotless jacketed bullet in the Optima pistol?

I'm thinking of tapping a .54 cal round ball down the pipe and measuring to see what my gun's actual bore diameter is and maybe size some bullets to try it sabotless. I'm just curious if the shorter barrel is going to come into play using the bh209 powder.

Anyone been down this road?

 

[Mnt monkey]

I have some fury 50 cals, and the CVA optima pistol if you give me a month I'll get around to doing that I got a sizing die

 

[Evith Thompson]

I've shot TC conicals with limited success.

 

[Busta]

I've shot the 350 Hornady FPB in mine back in 2011. Although they would kill deer just fine at 50 yards, they were not the preferred load. My preferred load shoots one hole groups at 50 yards, and kills deer dead.

 

[massbigbore442001]

I have used the Power Belts in my short barreled muzzleloaders. They work fine accuracy wise but I have yet to take anything more than a coyote with it during the late December muzzleloader season.

 

[Freedom]

I have some old Mt. Baldy 450gr cast bullets designed for the 500S&W that I have tried in my Optima. All I can say is that the intense recoil of the 500S&W has NOTHING on the Optima! Flat fricking wild power with the Optima loaded with BH209.

I also tried some lead (non-jacket) Power-belts and they sucked, as they left so much lead behind in the barrel that it was terrible. The one positive thing about the Power-belts.. they made me discover the Birchwood-Casey "lead remover cloth". This stuff is SOooo nice for removing lead.

 

[Matthew323]

I just got off the phone with Mt Monkey who traded his pistol to me.

He did not slug the bore of the pistol before he shot the Fury .50 caliber bullets through it.

He shot both the 275 grain, and the 320 grain weight bullets through the pistol. He did not make notes, nor measure the bullets; only turning the Swinglock sizing die down until the bullets loaded down the barrel with sufficient resistance to stay in place while bench rest shooting.

Because of the heavy recoil, he stopped after 4-5 bullets of each weight. He said that accuracy was very, very good; with the bullets nearly touching one another at 25 yards.

He told me that with the two-handed Javelina stocks that DOC White is fashioning for my pistol, plus the LR Customs muzzle brake that I am having installed; I should make sizing and shooting these bullets a priority.

BH209 was the powder, and I think he said 65 weighed grains was the charge weight.

Maybe he will chime in here.