So I got my Warne steel weaver style base and Warne steel weaver style high rings from Midway USA Thursday. I took them to work on Friday along with my Nikon Omega BDC scope and my T/C Encore Endeavor and mounted the scope. We have a Simmons boresighting kit at work so I went ahead and did that after the scope was mounted where I wanted it.
My good buddy Jim (gobbler getter) offered to take me shooting today and I jumped at the opportunity as I always do. I set up at 100 yards and got everything ready...
The gentleman who sold me this rifle (flint head) told me it liked 110 grains of BH209 and a 250g Shockwave. So I started off with 110 volumetric grains of BH209, 250g Shockwaves, and Remington STS 209 Primer. I didn't swab between shots because I was just trying to get it dialed in initially.
The first shot was way off to the right and almost completely off the plywood. I guess the boresighter I used wasn't that great. But the elevation was almost perfect. I adjusted about 8 inches to the left and that got it on paper. The first shot after the adjustment is the one on the lower left. The second shot is the one on the right. And the third shot is the one in the middle closest to the bull.
I adjusted the scope a little more based on triangulation of this group, swabbed the bore a little and went for a 5 shot group. This time I tried 120g of BH209. Again, I didn't swab between any of these shots. The first shot is the one off to the right. The second, third, and fourth shots are the ones knotted up together. And the fifth shot is the one at twelve o'clock.
I decided that the gun liked 120g better than 110g based on the groups. So I decided to try shooting a group with the condition of the rifle the way it would be on a hunt. I swabbed the bore clean, pulled the breech plug and wiped it down, and then fired off a fouling primer. I repeated this procedure after each shot to keep the bore in the barely fouled condition it will be in when I hunt. Here is the result...
I could almost cover all three shots with one of the pasteys that came with the targets. Needless to say I am very impressed with this rifle!
That was the last of my Shockwaves so I just adjusted the scope down 4 clicks and right 2 clicks, set my turrets to zero, and went on to try some different loads.
I decided to stick with 120g of BH209 because the Endeavor seems to like that amount. First I tried a Barnes 285g Spit Fire MZ. Man was that thing tight! I almost didn't get it down the clean bore. It's the shot on the left of the bull. Next I tried a Barnes 290g T-EZ and it loaded with about the same pressure as the Shockwave. It's the hole on the right of the bull. And last I tried a Hornaday 300g .44cal XTP in a Harvester green crush rib sabot. It loaded fine also. It's the hole on the far right.
I was satisfied with the results I got at 100 yards so I decided to try 200 yards. I moved the target back, cleaned the bore and breech plug, and loaded up with 120g BH209, Barnes 290g T-EZ, and a Federal 209 primer (I ran out of Remington primers). I put the second to last circle of the BDC reticle on the bull and here are the results...
The wind was gusting and I was trying to time the gusts for my shots. I aimed dead center on the target for each shot. You can see three of my five shots off to the right in the plywood. That is what wind can do to a muzzleloader shot. The other two were fired when the wind died down.
All and all I'm very happy and very impressed with this combination. I think I will be shooting 250g bullets out of it from now on. As long as I'm just hunting deer and hogs. If I decide to hunt something larger I will adjust accordingly. This rifle was very comfortable to shoot and the amount of recoil felt was minimal compared to other rifles I have fired.
I also must note that the Speed Breech XT is absolutely AWESOME! I am totally spoiled on this thing and love not having to use a tool. It never got stuck and was super easy to remove after each shot. Also, there was absolutely no blowback. I checked after each shot and there was ZERO fouling to be seen. Aparently T/C has it figured out with this breech plug.
I'd like to give a big thanks to Jim for taking me shooting and being a great friend to hang out with. And to Mark (flint head) for selling me such an awesome muzzleloader. And also I'd like to thank everyone who helped me with tips and advice to get this thing going. YOU GUYS ARE "DA GOODS"!
My good buddy Jim (gobbler getter) offered to take me shooting today and I jumped at the opportunity as I always do. I set up at 100 yards and got everything ready...
The gentleman who sold me this rifle (flint head) told me it liked 110 grains of BH209 and a 250g Shockwave. So I started off with 110 volumetric grains of BH209, 250g Shockwaves, and Remington STS 209 Primer. I didn't swab between shots because I was just trying to get it dialed in initially.
The first shot was way off to the right and almost completely off the plywood. I guess the boresighter I used wasn't that great. But the elevation was almost perfect. I adjusted about 8 inches to the left and that got it on paper. The first shot after the adjustment is the one on the lower left. The second shot is the one on the right. And the third shot is the one in the middle closest to the bull.
I adjusted the scope a little more based on triangulation of this group, swabbed the bore a little and went for a 5 shot group. This time I tried 120g of BH209. Again, I didn't swab between any of these shots. The first shot is the one off to the right. The second, third, and fourth shots are the ones knotted up together. And the fifth shot is the one at twelve o'clock.
I decided that the gun liked 120g better than 110g based on the groups. So I decided to try shooting a group with the condition of the rifle the way it would be on a hunt. I swabbed the bore clean, pulled the breech plug and wiped it down, and then fired off a fouling primer. I repeated this procedure after each shot to keep the bore in the barely fouled condition it will be in when I hunt. Here is the result...
I could almost cover all three shots with one of the pasteys that came with the targets. Needless to say I am very impressed with this rifle!
That was the last of my Shockwaves so I just adjusted the scope down 4 clicks and right 2 clicks, set my turrets to zero, and went on to try some different loads.I decided to stick with 120g of BH209 because the Endeavor seems to like that amount. First I tried a Barnes 285g Spit Fire MZ. Man was that thing tight! I almost didn't get it down the clean bore. It's the shot on the left of the bull. Next I tried a Barnes 290g T-EZ and it loaded with about the same pressure as the Shockwave. It's the hole on the right of the bull. And last I tried a Hornaday 300g .44cal XTP in a Harvester green crush rib sabot. It loaded fine also. It's the hole on the far right.
I was satisfied with the results I got at 100 yards so I decided to try 200 yards. I moved the target back, cleaned the bore and breech plug, and loaded up with 120g BH209, Barnes 290g T-EZ, and a Federal 209 primer (I ran out of Remington primers). I put the second to last circle of the BDC reticle on the bull and here are the results...
The wind was gusting and I was trying to time the gusts for my shots. I aimed dead center on the target for each shot. You can see three of my five shots off to the right in the plywood. That is what wind can do to a muzzleloader shot. The other two were fired when the wind died down.
All and all I'm very happy and very impressed with this combination. I think I will be shooting 250g bullets out of it from now on. As long as I'm just hunting deer and hogs. If I decide to hunt something larger I will adjust accordingly. This rifle was very comfortable to shoot and the amount of recoil felt was minimal compared to other rifles I have fired.
I also must note that the Speed Breech XT is absolutely AWESOME! I am totally spoiled on this thing and love not having to use a tool. It never got stuck and was super easy to remove after each shot. Also, there was absolutely no blowback. I checked after each shot and there was ZERO fouling to be seen. Aparently T/C has it figured out with this breech plug.
I'd like to give a big thanks to Jim for taking me shooting and being a great friend to hang out with. And to Mark (flint head) for selling me such an awesome muzzleloader. And also I'd like to thank everyone who helped me with tips and advice to get this thing going. YOU GUYS ARE "DA GOODS"!
