TC Black Diamond

[TC4ME]

I am new to muzzleloading and do not know much about it other than what I have read in this forum.  I wanted a quality firearm with a wood stock. I ended up purchaseing a Thompson Center Black Diamond. It appears to be very well made and feels extremely good shouldered. The model I bought is the 22.5 inch barrel, mainly because the stock is absolutely gorgeous. I am going to be using this rifle strictly for deer hunting. I am getting a little tired of my Ithaca model 37 12 ga. recoil, it is a brute. I hunt fence rows in a open area. My question is, is my rifle capable with the right load of reaching out to the 175-200 yd. range and if it is what kind of drop will it have approxiamately if sighted 2 inches high at 100 yds. Thanks for all replies.

[Skullmount]

My question is, is my rifle capable with the right load of reaching out to the 175-200 yd. range and if it is what kind of drop will it have approxiamately if sighted 2 inches high at 100 yds. Thanks for all replies.

TC4ME,

First cool name there :grin:

Yes it is capable

Drop, well that depends on lots of factors, what bullet? how much powder? etc
Any limits set by the states you plan to hunt?
Keep asking questions :-)
It all boils down to time at the bench, and patience in working up the right bullet / load combination for your gun.

Skullmount

[whitfang]

Skullmount is exactly right - it depends on the bullet weight and amount of powder.  You should have an owners manual for your Black Diamond which will have a ballistics table in it, which will give bullet drop data for certain bullet weights and powder charges.

The table for a T/C Encore shows that: with a powder charge of 100 grains of Pyrodex, and a 240 grain Hornady XTP sabot, a bullet sighted dead on at 100 yards will drop 4.8 inches at 150 yards, and will drop 14.1 inches at 200 yards.  So you should be able to look the data up for your rifle.

Note that the bullet TYPE comes into play also, as a hollow-point bullet will have a different ballistics coefficient than a boattail type bullet like  Deadcenters, and both will naturally be different than a roundball.

A ballistics calculator can give you theoretical bullet drop and other data at various ranges under different conditions; you can find these online, or buy one.

The figures in the tables are just approximations, as your rifle will  shoot differently than the one used to generate the tables.  You have to shoot yours at the range, sighted 2 inches high at 100 yards, then shoot it at  150, 175 or 200 to find the actual drop.  Which is great, because now you get a lot more time shooting.  :lol:

[simonkenton]

Try the Hornady 250 SST, better ballistics than the 250 XTP.
According to Hornady, with 100 grains of Pyrodex, if the 250 SST is sighted 2.8 inches high at 100, it will be dead on at 150 and  it will be 7.2 inches low at 200.
I would certainly shoot 777 rather than Pyrodex, much easier to clean up and more powerful.
If you could get your gun to be accurate with 100 grains of 777 you would get even better ballistics than these.
Have no fear you have a high quality rifle that is a very capable deer killer at 200 yards.

[Nic_58]

TC4ME, it's a T/C for me also!  I have a Black Diamond XR in .50 caliber and here are some notes from my last trip to the shooting range with it:

100 grains Triple7 ffg loose
250 gr. T/C Shockwave sabots
1917 fps average measured w/ ProChrono

If sighted 3" high @ 100 yds. with this load, you will be dead on @ 154 yds. and 6 1/2" low @ 200 yds. with 951 ft. lbs. of energy left remaining at 200 yds., plenty to still put a deer down.   And BTW, this load shoots EXCELLENT in the Black Diamond, you owe it to yourself to give it a try!  Good luck!

[oneshotonekill]

With the right load the black diamond will get the job done at 200 yds.  I own 3 black diamonds (2 .50's and 1 .45) the 45 is the x-range 26" and the 50 cals are both the 22.5" models one is SS the other blued.  They both like different loads so make sure you experiment with several bullets and propellents to find the best load if you will be shooting out to 200 yds. My longest ML shot to date was 207 yds (laser rangefinder) with my blued .50 black diamond shooting 100 gr Pistol Pyrodex, a 240 XTP and MMP sabot.  That load shot .5" at 100 yds in the blued rifle but was close to 2" in the SS.  I was sighted in just over 3" high at 100 which turned out to be almost 1" low at 150 and about 8" low at 200.  I held about 2" over the doe's back and double lunged her.  She went about 50 yards and went down.  I had been shooting that rifle at 200 yds so I was very comfortable taking that shot.

[simonkenton]

250 TC Shockwave is the same bullet as the Hornady 250 SST, only the TC has a yellow tip. The TC model also has a slightly thinner sabot which makes it easier to load in some rifles.

[big6x6]

If you're interested in lower recoil and 150-200yd shots, I'd consider a Shockwave 200gr for your .50.  According to Hornady, it has the best ballistic coefficient of any of the Shockwave/SST bullets.  When using my Omega .45 and 100gr 777 ffg I got 2051fps.  You'll need a little more powder to get to that velocity.  Sighted in at 3 inches high at 100yds the 200gr SST should be more than 3 inches above or below the line of sight from zero to 190yds.  I don't think you'll beat that.

[simonkenton]

big 6x6--How would that 200 Shockwave do with the Savage?

[big6x6]

"big 6x6--How would that 200 Shockwave do with the Savage?"

Ain't but one way to find out! :lol:   And I plan on finding out!

Still waiting on delivery of my HB Savage.  I don't know if it has been shipped yet or not. :cry:

[simonkenton]

I am gonna try them too.
Does the .50 SST loading jag work on the 200 grain SST?

[big6x6]

I'm sure it would.  I used a plastic D/C jag for practically everything.

Chuck

[simonkenton]

Great, I am sending off to Cabelas for the 200 Shockwaves right now.

Before this thread, I never heard of a 200 Shockwave. I bet with a  charge of 5744 that little guy would get moving downrange pretty good.