POWDER?

[GRIMJIM]

This has probably been asked before but here goes. The pellets seem to be so much easier to handle especially in the field, does the extra grain variance give that much more accuracy?
I shoot two 50 grain pellets in my encore, is the accuracy that much improved by shooting say 115 grains loose powder?
Or whatever the combination might be. It seems to me the difference in accuracy would not be worth the trouble of fooling around with loose powder on a windy day.
I'm sure I'll be told how wrong I am but I am still curious.

[Biff Mayhem]

You get the same variances with either powder.... give or take approximently three grains using a brass measure & non-tamping versus pellets - which can be three grains off from one to the next. Learning how to seat the bullet the exact same way every time keeps consistency more than the three grain variance.

[kudzu]

In my tc thunderhawk, I trried shootin the pellets and went back to loose. Another thing I started doing was measuring my powder by weight instead of by volume. My groups went from1.5'' to allmost hole for hole. My load is about 115gr by volume which is 80grs by weight with 250sst with mmp sabot and changed nipples to the musket type. Never ever had a misfire with the musket caps and loose powder. Have had several misfires with pellets.

Good luck,DM

[Redhawk1]

I prefer loose to pellets, I like the ability to tailor my loads.  Also the loose powder is just as easy to handle when you pack it in pre measured containers.

[rickyp]

I have used the pyrodex pellets they worked ok . but to me they are not worth the extra money. I can get quite a few more shots per pound of powder then I can get with a box of pellets.

[mangulator]

My belief is you can tailor your load with loose powder and get more shoots per pound but when in a hunting situation the pellets work for me just fine. I have used both and I like the pellets for convience...

[flintlock]

As others have stated....You can taylor your load to the rifle better with loose (of course then you have to decide on Pyrodex, Goes, Triple 777, American Pioneer etc)....I have buddies that use the pellets and they work fine, especially with 209 primers, they split a box every other season or so...I still shoot either Pyrodex or Goex, because I also have 2 flinters I always have a good supply of Goex around...
My Knight Disc preforms best with 90 grs of Pyrodex RS or 90 Grains of FFF Goex....

If you don't mind the extra cost per shot with pellets and think they are easier to use, there is nothing wrong with that....

[doegirl]

I prefer the triple 7  pellets.  And yes, I'll be the first to admit it's because of the "easier" factor.  Plus,  I've shot my best groups using 150 grains worth of triple 7 pellets. The only problem I see with pellets is the ridiculously jacked up prices.  I laid into a supply of 50 grain triple 7 pellets @ $18.00 a box at a department store.  Considering the asking price is usually $30 a box, I lucked out.

[Redhawk1]

I prefer the triple 7  pellets.  And yes, I'll be the first to admit it's because of the "easier" factor.  Plus,  I've shot my best groups using 150 grains worth of triple 7 pellets. The only problem I see with pellets is the ridiculously jacked up prices.  I laid into a supply of 50 grain triple 7 pellets @ $18.00 a box at a department store.  Considering the asking price is usually $30 a box, I lucked out.

I got 8 bottles of triple 7 from WalMart at the end of the season last year for $6.00 each. Every year they sell all the triple 7 powder to clear there shelf's. 

[simonkenton]

You didn't say what groups you are getting with the pellets.
Most people find that they can fine tune accuracy with loose powder. They change it by five grain increments. You might get much better groups with ninety grains, than you are now getting. Only one way to find out.
You keep the powder in premeasured containers for hunting. You will not have a problem loading your rifle on windy days.
I don't like to hunt in windy weather, anyway.

[GRIMJIM]

I suppose if you can get a lot better accuracy it's worth the time to tailor a load to my gun and preload charges. I picked up a couple of pounds of loose and two boxes of pellets, and a couple of different bullets. I plan on spending the day at the range to see what the encore can do.

[kudzu]

GRIMJIM, what bullets did ya get and at what distances are you expecting to shoot, huntin that is.

[doegirl]

You didn't say what groups you are getting with the pellets.
Most people find that they can fine tune accuracy with loose powder. They change it by five grain increments. You might get much better groups with ninety grains, than you are now getting. Only one way to find out.
You keep the powder in premeasured containers for hunting. You will not have a problem loading your rifle on windy days.
I don't like to hunt in windy weather, anyway.

They vary from some slighty over an to inch to 1.25" w/ 150grains worth of pellets.  No, my gun groups up to 1.75" inches with 90 grains of ffg powder and 250grain shockwaves.  It definitely prefers the hotter loads.  I experimented with loose first (2 bottles worth) from 80-120 grains to figure this out.

[GRIMJIM]

GRIMJIM, what bullets did ya get and at what distances are you expecting to shoot, huntin that is.

I have some bullets left over from my knight rifle. 260 grain w/ sabot. look like 44 pistol bullets. jacketed w/ hollow points.
Also going to try 200 grain shockwaves.

As for distances, it will vary greatly. The public land I hunt has all different types of terrain, from dense woods to open wooded areas to cliffs and open prairies. Could have twenty yard shots, could have 200 yard shots. I would think that most will be under 100 though.

[Carroll B]

Two weeks ago I was testing out some Barnes Spit Fires and Hornady SST's, and used both loose Pyrodex and also 777 Pellets in my Omega.  With either bullet or either powder I was able to put 3 shots into one hole about 3/4'' long at 50 yards.  I shot two elongated hole groups with 6 shots using the above combination.  I swabbed the barrel with an alcohol prep pad between shots and will use the alcohol pads when hunting.  Using the alcohol pads made each shot load like the barrel had never been fired.  I was thrilled with the groups and the fact that I can use either loose or pellets and get more then enough accuracy for hunting whitetails.