Why do people use pellets?

[Spitfire1]

Do you get better accuracy using pellets Mark ?

 

[MLN1963]

No, my groups were better with loose. However, I think it it's because you can fine tune the load to what works best for the bullet/sabot combo for that particular rifle twist. Even with 100 grains of BH209 I didn't have super tight groups, they were better than two White Hot pellets, but not spectacular. When I bumped up to 110 that is when everything really shrunk. I think the 110 grains gets the bullet to the proper speed for stabilization. This is why I think loose is better, you can fine tune.

 

[Spitfire1]

My sentiments exactly !

 

[Okie Hog]

For years i used Pyrodex pellets interchangeably with Pyrodex RS. Ease of loading in the field was my thing.

 

[Spitfire1]

I think if you settle on a load that you get with the pellets it might be convenient to use but if your load comes in at say 115 loose is the way to go.

 

[Full Auto AK]

OMG laziness don't take any longer to pour a premeasured charge than taking out a pellet with the pipe cleaner and dropping it down the bore.  So where's the laziness???  Come on do better than that..

 

[Muley Hunter]

Lazy as in they don't have to measure the powder. If that doesn't seem to be a big deal for you. You're not lazy, and don't understand lazy people.

 

[Spitfire1]

And you're only stuck with a few choices as to the load weight. With powder you can change the load in 1 gr increments if you like .

 

[Beef]

Currently shoot 777 pellets ,got them free from a freind who did not like them. I started out shooting with 777 ffg loose powder when i got my rifle. My experience with pellets is they are not as powerful as loose powder my rifle shots the same with 100 grains of pellets as it does with 90 grains of loose but if i up the loose powder to 100 grains my groups open up.

 

[tekdc911]

im shooting a blue tip shockwave over 3 50/30 pyrodex pellets with a winchester primer  out of a cva optima v2 with the thumbhole stock 
and i dont see it getting any better honestly half dollar to quarter sized groups at 100 off a rest  i dont see how 5 gr could make that much of a difference
copper brush and swab between shots  
no seasoning on the barrel i dont even own bore butter  i use lucas gun oil the red stuff and have little problems loading even if i dont swab between shots

figured id add    if you own a couple sizes of pellets  then  you can adjust in 10 gr increments 
lets face it thats more then enough adjustment to kill a deer  
if your shooting comp or something it might be worth it 

my " possibles " consists of a tube loaded with 2 shots and a couple patches in a ziplock  and i can carry that in my pocket

 

[1shot1kill1]

As a former rep for T/C rep I conducted several live fire training shoots for Scheels and Gander Mountain.  We would as many as 100 shots per day using 2 50/50 777 pellets. We would wet patch and dry patch between shots and do a complete cleaning after 50 or so shots. Despite this cleaning regiment, crud rings were a major issue.

I heard a theory that the binding agent in pellets causes higher propensity for crud rings to develop.  I don't know if this is true, but I certainly noticed this having run these shoots.

If anybody has input on this theory I would like to hear about it. 

I think pellet are fine for the entry level / casual Black Powder user. But here are some additional drawbacks:

1) Water retention: once you crack the seal on a pack of pellets the pellets are prone to moisture contamination due to fluctuations in temperature and humidity. Store you pellets in sealed tubes at room temperature.

2) Crud Ring: The biggest problem with crud rings is that they can affect your ability to seat your bullets consistently against your powder charge. If there is a variance in the depth that your bullet gets seated, it will cause inconsistent velocities resulting from varying pressures. In other words: your point of impact can shift.

I have committed my Encore 209 X 50 to shoot black powder. I will burn up what pellets I have left and switch to loose 77. I use Black Horn in my Omega and my LHR.  

It is not my intention to bash pellets, but in general I feel the negatives far outweigh the positives.

Shoot a lot and shoot often!

 

[1shot1kill1]

Tekdc911,

Is the Lucas gun oil that you use petroleum based?  If so, this can and will contaminate black powder. You may  not have had an issue yet, but someday you might. Hopefully not when your squeezing the trigger on a Booner!

 

[tekdc911]

yes but i swab my barrel a couple times before loading and i dont use it on my breech plug or threads  just anti seize on that

i marked my ram rod for different loads   the bullet will be seated to proper depth  even if i have to push harder  not much of a concern if you just need it for a follow up / finishing shot 
other wise you have enough time to brush it  
in theory if your huffing and stuffing  trying to shoot 3 deer within 3-4 minutes of each other then i could see the crud ring being an issue but to take a trophy buck  hopefully you dont need 2-3 shots

 

[Muley Hunter]

I don't see one advantage to using pellets. All I see are negatives.

Which works out good, because they aren't legal here.

 

[tekdc911]

double post

 

[tekdc911]

for somebody shooting at meat there are few disadvantages 
sight your rifle in clean between shots  
put it on a shelf 
you dont need a measure or a new breech plug , or get to have all the fun of worrying about shim kits or head spacing issues 
the only disadvantages come from improper loading or expecting to shoot  a million rounds without cleaning 
im sure if someone picked hard enough they could find disadvantages to using loose powder as well 
its not hard to find a sweet spot with them  you gotta remember powder isnt the only variable   you could change your projectile weight  i can shoot anything 250 g accurately with 90 gr of pellets   if i bump it up to 110 of pellets my rifle likes it to be closer to 300 g  my tradition doesn't care  as long as your not running over 120 g of pellets it will chunk almost anything you put down it   but not near as accurate as my optima

 

[Muley Hunter]

for somebody shooting at meat there a few disadvantages 
sight your rifle in clean between shots  
put it on a shelf 
you dont need a measure or a new breech plug , or get to have all the fun of worrying about shim kits or head spacing issues 
the only disadvantages come from improper loading or expecting to shoot  a million rounds without cleaning 
im sure if someone picked hard enough they could find disadvantages to using loose powder as well 
its not hard to find a sweet spot with them  you gotta remember powder isnt the only variable   you could change your projectile weight  i can shoot anything 250 g accurately with 90 gr of pellets   if i bump it up to 110 of pellets my rifle likes it to be closer to 300 g  my tradition doesn't care  as long as your not running over 120 g of pellets it will chunk almost anything you put down it   but not near as accurate as my optima

Makes no sense?

 

[tekdc911]

what happens if the projectile isnt properly seated when using loose powder ?

 

[Muley Hunter]

Same thing that happens when the bullet isn't seated on pellets.

 

[tekdc911]

so it would be user error  
just like letting a crud ring build up  and trying to seat a bullet 

i dunno to each there own i guess   i have no issues with any kind of build up in either of my rifles  both barrels look like they did when i bought them  
but im religious with the brass brush though  
i guess your saving time on the loading and spending a little more on the clean up  

but what im getting at is if you shoot a 3 round group clean bore with a spit patch between shots and have no issue with seating a bullet  and your group touches 
 then in the field this is more than acceptable in my opinion