Author Topic: Hello. I just joined (Read 490 times)

Felixthekat · « **on:** December 04, 2004, 10:00:18 PM »

Name is Dave, I live about 30 miles North of Detroit, MI. Got my first deer this year opening day of gun season.(12 GA) Small button buck. but I got the first one out of the way. She's a tasty one that's for sure. :grin:

Reason I am here: I want to know more about muzzle loading etc cause I am pretty clueless as of right now.

Last Friday I purchased a Traditions .50 caliber Tracker 209 In-Line Rifle w/ 3-9 x40 stock traditions scope POS I am sure. It was on sale and I wasn't sure how much I was going to enjoy muzzle loading so I bought a bargain gun. Anyway I took it to my friends to sight it in today.

What I was shooting.

Triple 7 50/50 pellets 50 gr

TC Maxi-Hunter .50 cal 350 GRains. doesn't say what they are, but they come in a yellow plastic like box and they smell like skoal tobacco. lubricated with natural lube 1000 plus.

Winchester Primers W209

I am new to muzzle loading but not new to shooting a gun.

My friend has helped me sight in my .270 and 12GA. Never had a problem, he is pretty good as far as I can tell.

I was at about 50 yards resting on a large tree branch to start, aiming at a large circular piece of wood about 4 feet by 4 feet, fired, High and to the right, missed by a mile. Ok he figured the scope needs adjusting. Next shot, High and to the left, another adjustment. So we moved in to 30 yards for the next 7 shots regardless of how it was adjusted I was LOW and to the right. We adjusted it to every way you possibly could. still low and to the right.

After the 3rd shot, I started running a patch through it between every shot.

So he thought, maybe the factory scope is a POS. We take it off. Try the iron sights out. About another 8 shots STILL low and to the right no matter what. Mind you we were taking turns shooting the gun just to make sure it wasn't user error. I eventually run out of ammo. Not to mention I think it is ridiculous to have to spend gobs of money sighting in a gun when if maybe I bought a more expensive model it may have been easier, still though, the damn gun shouldn't take that long. again I am a rookie so I wouldn't know for sure.

I go back to Dicks Sporting Goods. tell them what happened, they said, HMM< maybe a bad gun. We can exchange that for you. I was like cool. and then I thought. "should I just upgrade to a better gun?" They had a T/C .50 caliber Black Diamond for $249.00 with starter kit, no scope. I thought I could get that, throw a $80-100 scope on it and be cool. Well I decided to just make the even exchange and get the same model gun back. I didn't want to spend a heap of money on something I would probably only use a weekend or possibly 2 out of the year.

Before anybody jumps on my case about a REPOST question. I have been reading as much as I could about the Traditions 209 tracker for the last couple hours before I joined the site and posted this thread. I have read good things and bad things about this gun which is not a shock to me when it comes to anything. I did read a post about a possible trigger issue on this gun, not sure if it was this model though.

Oh, I also picked up some Shock Wave SAbots 300 brain spire point that the guy at dicks recommended.

Is this gun a POS? Am I doing something wrong? IE< ammo, pellets primer etc? I just never spent so much ammo trying to sight in a gun before, usually about 4 or 5 shots and I am golden. I know I will get mixed replies about whether I should have or should upgrade to a different gun. I almost think I should have myself. but jeez a friend of mine has a bargain bin muzzle loader and hits dead nuts time and time again. I can understand a little off in target practice but not EVEN hitting the board at 30 yards. My grandma could probably pick up my shotgun at 30 yards, not even look at the sights and at least hit the target.

Is it possible to get a defective gun?

Thank you in advance and all replies will be considered and appreciated.

Sorry for such a long post. I appreciate the people who took the time to read it, I hope someday I will know more about Muzzle loaders and be able to help out a rookie like myself.

AndyHass · « **Reply #1 on:** December 05, 2004, 04:40:25 AM »

Weclome! You have just been sucked into an inescapable addiction :wink:
About Traditions/cheaper guns....some of them are great shooters. When you go Knight or T/C, the odds are VERY small of getting a bad gun. They simply increase as the brand quality goes down.
My first two frontstuffers were Traditions. While both required some work (triggers) when I got them, they turned out to be accurate guns in the end. I have a Lightning inline that needed 200 rounds through it to smoothen the bore before it shot really well though.
Odds are the gun isn't THAT inaccurate. The first thing I'd do is switch to loose powder....MUCH cheaper. With all bullets, start in the 75 grain range and if it's accurate there work your way up. Some guns just won't group well with high charges. This is a long and boring process, but usually worth it.
Try a variety of ammo. The 300gr SST they recommended you buy is a good one to try. the 250gr is good too, I've seen very few guns that don't shoot it well.
Continue to swab between every shot. That way you always have a consistent amount of fouling in the bore.
Am I reading correct, you are shooting off a tree branch? While unlikely, shooting off a hard, spring object can wreck havoc on accuracy. At the least put a folded towel on the branch. Better yet, shoot prone off a stuffed bag or backpack or something if you don't have a bench setup available.
Finally, the upgrade would have probably saved you a lot of headache. Despite their cheapness, Traditions are now overpriced compared to the quality you get with a low-end T/C or Knight. The Diamond is supposed to be an accurate gun, and fairly easy to sight in, from what I have heard.
Good luck!

jbtazgrabber · « **Reply #2 on:** December 05, 2004, 12:20:35 PM »

ok maybe it was the gun......leave it as the past.....a new gun clean all over reel good.....go buy some pyrodex its cheaper. a powder measure.. i meant pyrodex rs loose powder....set at 80 grains a shoot what bullets you have and go buy some 240 or 250 gr. sobots with bullets wallyworld specils for 700 or so...get 30 yds and shoot...i never count first bullet...once you find something it likes increase powder....but rember i killed 4 deer the year with 80 gr. and 250 gr. sabot....i would shot 3 shots then see where they group...then and only then would i move the scope...whene i get a new bp i find what it likes first...i dont care if its 3 feet low...only whene i find a load then do i get it to shoot where the scope is,or sights..by shooting 3 shot groups you will know if the gun likes a bullet or not...i dont clean between shots....but i would between diferent bullets but id still not count the first shot....just my 2 cents worth id like to know the outcome of this so keep us poasted....and welcome to bp...JB

Felixthekat · « **Reply #3 on:** December 06, 2004, 07:52:56 AM »

Well I am going to call Dicks and see if they will let me take the one they gave me back and get the T/C Black Diamond. It's either that or spend $400 on a Omega they have, they don't have much of a selection. I figure if I have to spend tons of money getting it sighted in it should be worth spending the extra money on a good gun and be done with it. If they let me do that I will go from there if they don't I will definitely be switching to pyrodex loose power, decreasing the load and everything else you guys have suggested. Thank you very much and I wish I could have known this before it all makes sense to me, I just hope that if I do get stuck with this gun I don't have to shoot hundreds of rounds through it before it actually shoots well.

EDIT: Talked to dicks, they will let me upgrade, I am going to get the .50cal T/C Omega synthetic stock, blue barrel.for $379.00 I hope that's an ok price.

Thanks again for everybody that replied.

Felixthekat · « **Reply #4 on:** December 11, 2004, 07:58:38 PM »

I can see this topic is a hot one!! :-D

Anyway, I got to shoot my Omega yesterday and it was just beautiful.

straight out of the box minus the initial cleaning. 3 shots in the size of a nickel @ about 35 yards. I was a happy camper. This gun was worth every dollar I paid for it over that POS Traditions tracker. I almost got to shoot a deer with it this evening too, but it got to be too dark. oh well better luck next time, I want to thank everybody in this forum for all their input, I have read lots and learned lots and am a very happy proud owner with my new T/C Omega :mrgreen: Now I just have to find a scope for it.

Nic_58 · « **Reply #5 on:** December 12, 2004, 04:57:52 AM »

You made a VERY wise choice by going with the T/C Omega. They are superb guns. I have one and it is an excellent performer. Also, they are very easy to clean with the drop breech. Put a good scope on it and you will be really amazed at it's performance. Also, when you need help w/ load development, etc., there are a bunch of happy Omega shooters out there that will be more than happy to help you out. Everybody has to start somewhere and it looks like you are on the right track! Enjoy your new Omega, and I bet you will end up shooting it more than once or twice a year like you posted earlier! :grin: Just remember, a great gun like the Omega deserves a decent scope. I'd hate to see you put a POS scope on it or you might end up with more frustrations. Good luck!

Felixthekat · « **Reply #6 on:** December 12, 2004, 08:19:42 PM »

Quote from: Nic_58

You made a VERY wise choice by going with the T/C Omega. They are superb guns. I have one and it is an excellent performer. Also, they are very easy to clean with the drop breech. Put a good scope on it and you will be really amazed at it's performance. Also, when you need help w/ load development, etc., there are a bunch of happy Omega shooters out there that will be more than happy to help you out. Everybody has to start somewhere and it looks like you are on the right track! Enjoy your new Omega, and I bet you will end up shooting it more than once or twice a year like you posted earlier! :grin: Just remember, a great gun like the Omega deserves a decent scope. I'd hate to see you put a POS scope on it or you might end up with more frustrations. Good luck!

I am sure it is because I am new to M/L and all but holy christ I had a hard time getting that thing clean, everytime I thought it was clean I would put another patch through and it would come out with stuff on it. I bet it took me the better part of 2 hours to get a clean patch and even then I am not sure. I used a brush, have a bore light. HOT soapy water, bore cleaner. jeez. I am sure I will get better at it with time, I am just paranoid because I don't want to screw up cleaning it and end up messing up my barrel. I still have a while left for hunting with it so I will get plenty more practice cleaning it as well. Oh and I have no intentions of putting a crappy scope on it. I will be sure to put something nice on. :grin: