combo for beartooth magnum?

[codywilliams]

hi. Ive just bought a new beartooth magnum muzzleloader.45 cal . Im looking for some help to determine the best powder bullet combo that I can find. Im hunting deer and i need range is a must. Ive heard powerbelt bullets are the best is this just hype?

[codywilliams]

well i just got back from the range . I shot  powerbelt .225 cal with 100 and 150 grain pyrodex pellets . i didnt get any more than 3 to four inch grouping at 75 yds . It was really kind of dissapointing . the gun is a .45cal beartooth magnum made by new frontier , an inline with break open action, it has a 1:28 twist, and i have a tasco 3-9 scope . It seemed like a good combo. I tried cleaning after every shot , and I also used some 155 grain sabots. they shot about the same.

[Mel Taylor]

Cody,

I don't know anything about your particular rifle but my .50 caliber Savage has a range of from 105 to about 125 grains of Pyrodex in which to get decent 100 yard groups. Below 105 and above 125 accuracy goes to he2l.
Stay within that range and groups stay below one and a half inch at a hundred yards. For that reason I don't use the pellets. That's with 250 grain Hornady XTP pistol bullets and MMP brand sabots.

Ahhh… I may be sticking my neck out here since I surely don't have any experience with Powerbelts but other people whose opinions I respect tell me the hoopla about the Powerbelts is strictly hype.

Mel

[codywilliams]

i can say one thing about the powerbelts, they sure are alot easier to load than sabots. The gun didnt seem to kick as hard either. I didnt really notice a jump in accuracy though. I dunno with it being a new gun maybe thats the reason for the spread, I didnt use any thing fancier than my arm and a rest for sighting it in. I wonder about the twist is 1:28 common? I wonder what is the best twist for mloaders?

[Mel Taylor]

1:28 should be good for shooting modern bullets including Powerbelts. The sabots which required the most effort to shove down the barrel also gave the best accuracy in both my rifles.

Are you doing the same thing the same way everytime you load? And are you  careful to apply the same amount of pressure to the ramrod each time when seating the bullet? That seems to affect accuracy more than any other single factor in my rifles.

[Triple Se7en]

You limited yourself by buying a 45 vs a 50 cal.
You limited yourself even further by using pellets vs loose powder.
You limited yourself even-even further by purchasing a rock-bottom entry-level break action rifle.

45s are a fussier caliber & have less options on store shelves. Also, 1-32" to 1-38" twists are an optimum 45 cal twists for sabot/bullets. 1-20" to 1-24" 45 cal twists are optimum conical twists. That's why Knight went to a 1-32" twist with their 45s and White rifles rule the 45 cal world shooting heavy conicals in their 1-20" twists. There are exceptions to this because every bore is different in the same make, model & caliber. 1-28" 45s generally shoot your light sabots well, but a slightly slower twist shoot even better.

With new rifles of any price, I shoot a whole pack of cheap conicals first to smooth-out burrs in the bore & get my open & scope sights on paper. If I owned a new 45, I then would buy a popular sabot/bullet like Hornady XTPs 180 grain 40/45. I then would buy a 2nd bullet that's longer & pointier to try... like the T/C Shockwaves 40/45 200 grains. That gives you a variety.

I make sure my bore is dry (no oils or bore butter) before I shoot. Then I carefully adjust my powder load in five grain increments to narrow my groups (you can't do that with pellets).

If that don't work, I either slightly loosen or really tighten the stock to barrel bolt(s). Then I shoot again to check my groups.  If that ain't satisfactory, I grab a flashlight & I check the stock fit to the barrel & fill in gaps with pieces of el-cheapo paper plates or fine-sand the uneven parts with sandpaper or file.

Inexpensive guns that are troublesome at first can become darn good shooters. I takes a lot of tinkering sometimes but the reward is special because you made that bullseye happen with brains, determination & experimentation.