T/C letter writing campaign for inline conical shooter

[harry]

I don't disagree with the possibility that the QLA could affect accuracy. But it seems if that is so, then shouldn't rifles with flash suppresors be equally detrimental??
I have an omega and a black dianmond and they both have QLA's and both seem to shoot conicals quite well. I have not shot the omega recently, but I did shoot some 440 g power punches (just to use them up) from my black diamond this last weekend and got 2 inches at 100 yds.
I got one hole groups at 45 yds with the 460 no excuse.

Batchief is right, you should check your bore and fit the bullet for best accuracy. I had some undersized bullets in my white that keyholed at 25 yds. Worse if I used too much powder.

Maybe your barrel has burrs that are damaging the bullet.(??) Just guessing.

I think my local gunsmith will cut and recrown a barrel for about $20.00
Why don't you get your QLA cut off and report on the resutls?
That would eliminate that possibility, and be somewhat scientific.

Any how, what load were you using in your omega? I will try it in my omega and let you know what I get, if you are interested.

 

[txhunter58]

I guess the current theory is that the quality control from gun to gun on the QLA is what is lacking. Seems to work fine in some rifles and not in others.

I sent the gun in to T/C twice and they checked it out and said the barrel was fine. Shot 1& 1/2" at 100 yards with sabots, and they did get it to shoot maxiballs at 1 & 1/2 " at 50 yards, but they had to use 80 gr of real black. Couldn't get it to shoot with pryodex. Just not ready to make that leap. Like the substitutes too much.

I can't imagine any gunsmith in this area cutting and recrowning a barrel for $20. I have heard closer to $100, but I will check with my local gunsmith.

What was I using in my Omega? 777 and pyrodex select from 85 to 110 gr of loose powder in 5 gr increments. 460No excuse, 370 gr maxiballs, buffalo bullets, 385 and 410 gr great plains, pr conicals and a couple of other flat based conicals that I can't remember now. Also tried 1 and 2 sub base wads. This was over 3 to 4 years. Maxiballs would shoot at 5-8 inches as 100 yards, that that was the best any conical would do. This was off a bench with sand bags but was with open sights.

All during that time, I knew that it would shoot powerbelts decently (4-5 inches), so I used them for hunting, but knew there were better choices out that so I kept looking. When the 350 gr FPBs came out, I got groups of 3-4 inches, so that is the only reason I didn't sell the gun. It just seems like the under bore bullets with a rear skirt do Ok, whereas the flat based bullets don't.

I don't have a measuring device, but using the Thor bullets sizing kit. the 0.502 Thor seems to be the best fit, so the barrel should be close to that. No excuses I believe are 0.503, so they should not be undersized to the barrel. Plus my .503 knight shoots them pretty well.

I guess what I really need to do is shoot some no excuses and save the target, then cut off the QLA and shoot again. I will give it some consideration if I can get it done cheaply enough.

 

[Nimrodder]

Have you tried the NE 460's with 70 grains of powder? I've never been able to get acceptable accuracy with the big conicals when shooting 80+ grains of powder.

 

[harry]

I could not get the great plains bullets to shoot at all in my omega. Like completly missing the 3x5 backstop at 100 yds on one shot and then hitting the bullseye on the next. Same with the 325 real bullet. I then tried the 460 no excuse and that worked. I assume because it was long enough for the twist while the others weren't. (This was all before I found this forum.)

You mentioned the plastic "skirt" on power belts. I took some sabots and cut the petals off and tried that to seal the bore and it did help. Then I read were someone took 28 gauge plastic shot cups and cut the petals off and used those for base cups. I used that and I don't remember the actual results, but it was enough of an improvement that I use those now for all .50 caliber conical shooting.

If the burning powder is cutting the bases, the bullet will get upended when it leaves the barrel.

 

[txhunter58]

My local gunsmith says $100+ to cut and crown. Guess I will just have to send it to Frontier. LOL

 

[frontier gander]

lol hey i did a good job one mine! I honestly couldnt believe the accuracy of that rifle after i did the work. Talk about a sob though to cut through.