Getting a Knight Disc Elite and looking for some advise

[cur_dog]

Hi,

New to the forum and muzzle loading. Posted a little bit about myself on the link below.

http://modernmuzzleloader.com/phpBB/viewtopic.php?t=2113

Getting a Disc Elite this week and look for some advise on a few areas.

1) Pellets. I know I can get them in 30gr and 50gr. Can you combine them to make different loads. Like 2 30's and 1 50 to make a 110gr load? 2 50's and 1 30 to make a 130gr load?

2) Sabot loads. I borrowed a Encore from a friend on my first muzzle hunt this Nov. I shoot and did everything just as he had been doing. Was shooting 250gr shock waves over 3 T7's. Wicked load but harder than hell to load. Shot rings on the paper at 70 yards with it and 3 neck shots on the 3 deer I killed. What are my other options besides Sabots for my Disc Elite? Any ideas on how to make it easier to load Sabots? Sabots seem like the way to go over lead. I was afraid I was going to stick one of those shock waves in the barrel on the hunt. What are some of your favorite loads in your Disc Elites?

Here are a couple of pics of the deer I shot on my ML hunt.

http://pg.photos.yahoo.com/ph/curr_dog/detail?.dir=/29ed&.dnm=1f63.jpg &.src=ph

http://pg.photos.yahoo.com/ph/curr_dog/detail?.dir=/29ed&.dnm=5abd.jpg &.src=ph

http://pg.photos.yahoo.com/ph/curr_dog/detail?.dir=/29ed&.dnm=9b89.jpg &.src=ph

3) Any advise about anything to do with ML and my Disc Elite would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks,

Marty

[flintlock]

cur...T/Cs have a smaller bore than Knights...I would bet your Disk Elite will be easier to load than the Encore....I would recommend not using pellets for two reasons...Loose powder is cheaper and you can fine tune your load easier by measuring your charges...remember with a muzzleloader you are hand loading each shot....I can usually achieve better accuracy with loose powder than pellets....If you want to still use pellets than yes, you can use a mix of 50gr and 30s...I would start with 2-50gr pellets...Or 100 grs...If you use loose...I either use real bp (Goex) or Pyrodex R-S...I do have a buddy that uses Triple 7 in his Knight....

I have a Knight Disc....I use 90grs of Pyrodex or Goex....and 250gr T/C Shockwaves....my rifle prefers T/Cs over the Hornady SSTs....Actually it preferes last years T/Cs...because the sabots were shorter than what came with SSTs.

I  like the SST design bullets (btw...Hornady makes SST and the T/ C Shockwaves...same bullets)....The reason I use the SST design, is because of the aerodynamics of the bullet...I sight in  2 1/2 inches high at 100 yards...and I'm about 2 inches low at 150...I hunt both in the woods and fields...so I could have a 150 yard shot...If you hunt mainly in the woods....With closer shots you might want to try the .451 Hornady 300 gr XTP...they can be bought in bulk at a local gun shop....and you can order .451 sabots from MMP....If they load too hard or don't group well, try the .429 Hornada 300 grain bullets with the .429 green MMP sabots....Its trial and error what your rifle prefers...I would start with a 100 gr load (or 2-50 gr pellets) and go up and down by 5 grs until you find what your rifle prefers....If you try the Triple 7 loose powder...don't go over 120 grains...
Most of the rifles I have sighted in prefer 80-120 grains...and thats plenty for whitetails....

I clean my barrel between shots....remember you are handloading, so you want the barrel to be conditioned the same, so it will group well...I use rubbing alcohol,  put in a sprey bottle...dampen 3 cleaning patches and wring out excess....you don't want them dripping wet because alcohol will seep into the breech plug and cause a missfire...Run three alcohol patches down the bore (both sides) then a dry patch, then a lightly oiled patch and then another dry patch and you are raady to load again....Once you get a good group at 100 yards I would sight in 2 to 2 1/2 high at 100...and see how low you are at 150...Good Luck

[flintlock]

Just saw the other post on a Knight...My Disc also liked the 300 gr Barnes...Used to use with 2 pellets of Pyrodex..For some reason it never liked the 250s...Good Luck

[cur_dog]

Thanks for all the info flintlock. I will look into those loads. I'm going to try several and see what works. I was afraid i was going to break the rod when i was loading the bullets in the Encore. I was thinking about the pellets for getting used to the gun and simplcity in the beggening. Then move to the powder.

Thanks again for the info!

[NimrodRx]

Another vote for the 300 gr Barnes Expander.  My Elite flat out loves em.  After trying A LOT of different bullet and powder combos., the 300gr Expander over 100 gr of loose 777 seemed to be just the ticket.  MOA at 100 yrds is the norm.  True, they're not as aerodynamic as a Spitzer style bullet, but this is of little to no significance at 200 yards or less.  

This year I was able to recover my first bullet from a doe (the other five were all pass throughs).  She was laying quartering away in a corn field at 100 yrds.  The bullet went in just in front of the back haunch, traveled through the liver and lungs and lodged in the front of her thorax.  She never made it to her feet.  It was text book expansion - over twice the bullet diameter.  Weight retention was 90%.  The only thing lost from the bullet was one of the five petals.

[poncaguy]

Get an Omega instead....... :lol:

[cur_dog]

Thanks Nimrod, I'm hearing good things about the Barnes bullets. Think I'm going to get a box of several of the ones that have been suggested, pick a day i can spend most of the day on the range and do some shooting! Anything I need to do as far as "Break in"?

Thanks

[daddywpb]

Personally, I agree with Poncaguy, but if you insist, Basss Pro Shop has a blued Disc Elite with a contoured barrel and black composite stock on their website now for $199. Pretty good price I believe.

[NimrodRx]

cur, IMHO, break in and seasoning barrels might apply to the trad. BP rifles, but not these SS in-lines.  Mine shot as good out of the box as it does today with, I'm guessing, well over 1000 rounds through it.  

Just get out there and see what she likes.