TC Omega Accuracy Issues

[djmbow]

Based on a lot of research on this site and others, I selected Hornady's 44 cal., 240 Gr. XTP-HP bullet with their (MMP) green .430 sabot for my new TC Omega which is equipped with a TC 3X-9X variable power scope.
So far, I have tried various loads (80, 90, 100 grs. etc.) of Goex Pinnacle 3F powder with the XTP's and am not very pleased with the results.
The gun will group 2"-3' at 50 yards with an occasional flyer out to 5" and 4" to 5" at 100 yards with an occasional flyer out to 10" or so.
Also, this bullet/sabot combination is very hard to load and I must thoroughly clean the barrel after each shot so I can get the next one in there.
I have tried most of the swabbing/cleaning techiniques that I have seen other shooters recommend, and I finally settled on swabbing the bore with one Rusty Duck- Black Off cleaning patch followed by a dry patch prior to each shot ( so far, I haven't seen the reduction in fouling with the Pinnacle vs 777 or even Pyrodex for that matter that others have claimed).
My impression after firing manny rounds through this gun, is that with this bullet/sabot combination it seem to favor the lower powder charges.
For example, 80 grs.(by volume) of Pinnacle seems to produce tighter groups than 100 grs.
I am planning to step up to the 300Gr. XTP as soon as my gun shop gets them in, hoping that this bullet may behave better than the 240's I have been shooting.
I talked to MMP about the Hornady sabots I'm using and they told me they were actually MMP's, so I guess it wouldn't help to order new sabots from them.
I realize I could experiment with other bullet/sabot combinations, but I like the XTP's performance on deer size game and would like to stick with them if I could.
I started out with a 44 cal. (.430 dia.) bullet, vs the 45 cal. (.451 dia.)because I anticipated that they would be hard to load and based on what I have read, other shooters get pretty good performance (1"-1.5" groups)out of their Omegas with the smaller diameter bullets.
I was hoping that someone out there has experienced similar problems with their Omega and could offer some help--------

[UtahRob]

Here is a good price on the sabots your looking for.


http://www.cabelas.com/cabelas/en/templates/product/standard-item.jsp;jsessionid=VCKN2HU4WYOLNTQSNOFSCN4OCJVY2IWE?_DARGS=/cabelas/en/common/catalog/item-link.jsp_A&_DAV=MainCatcat20712&id=0020977213839a&navCount=2&podId=0020977&parentId=cat200005&navAction=push&catalogCode=IG&rid=&parentType=index&indexId=cat200005&hasJS=true&_requestid=31644

[gully1441]

I would use 100 or 150 gr of 777 or pyrodex with a 250 gr shockwave bullet. The sabot will load hard but once you get it beyond the QLA it will load easier, when you clean your bbl after each shot use presaturated patches then a dry patch, after the dry patch run a patch saturated with bore butter, over time this will cure your bbl and it will load easier.

[djmbow]

Thanks for the input guy's.
Maybe I'll try the TC Mag Sabots as was suggested.
Guess I'll try both the 240 and the 300 gr. bullets and see if they shoot the same, since of the two, I really prefer to hunt with the the heavier slug.
I know in advance, they are going to be tough to load in my Omega, but at this point, I'll give anything a try.
I didn't go to these initially, because I wanted the Hornady XTP bullet (not the Mag.) and I also wanted the 44 cal. (.430 dia.) bullet for ease of loading.
If there is anybody out there that has any other ideas, please let me know.
I should be able to make this Omega a "shooter" if I can get the right load for it.

[sabotloader]

djmbow

This has probably been discussed, but i would add if you do switch to a 45 caliber bullet you will have a lot more options in the availablity of sabots.

Right now the Harvester "crush rib" is the thinnest sabot out there, another one will make an appearance probably mid April.  A lot of people with tight bored Omega's are using the "crush rib."  I guess I am one of the fourtunate ones my Omega loads all 45 cal .451/.452 with the MMP HPH-24 sabots, I also shoot .458 (45-70) bullets with the MMP HPH .458 sabot.

Another suggestion I might offer take a look at the Speer .452/250 grain or .452/300 grain GOLD DOT bullets.  They are bonded and from my Omega they are definitely winners.  You can purchase these bonded bullets a regular bullet price, then purchase the sabot that works best in your rifle.  When you see the 250 grain bullet you will see why it is so devastating on deer class animals.  The 300 grain has a BC of .232 and shoot great also but probably a little big for deer especially at ranges less than 60 yards.

If you make the switch to .45's I would really try the MMP HPH-24 or the regular Harvester - if they do work (load well) then try the "cush rib" - BUT in some Omegas the "crush rib" can be to easy to load resulting in blow-by.

Good luck

[toytruck]

You might want to try the Harvester crushrib sabots, they come in .50/.44(green) and .50/.45(black) and are supposed to be the answer to hard to load sabots.

I saw this on hunting net where a guy there had the same issues with his Omega...he tried the Harvester sabots/300 XTP's and problem solved.

I am looking into trying the Hornady 300 XTP with the Harvester crushribs in my Encore once I find a good price on both.  Hope this helps!

Sabot loader you beat me by 10 minutes.... :-)

[smokepolehall]

I don't have the Omega, i do have blk.dia. and it has a very tight bore. I can bend my range rod loading the xtp 300gr. with Hornady sabots. You can do as i did, i got box of .490 round balls and patched them. I shot  70 times using 75gr. by volume of pyrondex rs. It cleaned all the burrs and real tight spots out. You can try out your sabots and different weight bullets after that and they should start getting some accuracy. :grin:

[zfishingfool]

I have a TC omega for a couple of years now with a deer kill at 220 yards and I have been using the 300 grain shock wave with 150 grains of mag 3 powder and get about a one inch, three shot group at 100 yards

[HUNT]

Just shoot the Powerbelts with BlackMag3 loose powder and make sure you use the cleanbore primmers and you will have no problems at all. I have been shooting this set up  for a few years now. I can shoot 30 to 40 rounds with out brushing or cleaning. The shot groups are 3" at 50yds, and 100 yds. 4" at 150 and 200 yds. Groups are a bit large I do not use a scope and shoot with just a bipod. The key to many shots without brushing is the cleanbore primmers. Without them I could only shoot about 5 rounds then I would have to brush.

[Two Bears]

Well I have had 3 T/C Omegas and got rid of all of them because of the problems with reloading the darn rifle.
They shoot very accurately and for a BENCH gun it would serve you well as they are tack drivers....

BUT if you hunt with them you will get frustrated with them because of the inability to re-load the Omega without taking it apart and clean it then reassemble it to shoot it.

One would think that T/C would fix the problem with the Omega so the consumer would be happy with the products that they buy from them.

I hpoe that they do so that I can buy another one as I love that design .

[Dave Shooter]

Based on a lot of research on this site and others, I selected Hornady's 44 cal., 240 Gr. XTP-HP bullet with their (MMP) green .430 sabot for my new TC Omega which is equipped with a TC 3X-9X variable power scope.
So far, I have tried various loads (80, 90, 100 grs. etc.) of Goex Pinnacle 3F powder with the XTP's and am not very pleased with the results.
The gun will group 2"-3' at 50 yards with an occasional flyer out to 5" and 4" to 5" at 100 yards with an occasional flyer out to 10" or so.
Also, this bullet/sabot combination is very hard to load and I must thoroughly clean the barrel after each shot so I can get the next one in there.
I have tried most of the swabbing/cleaning techiniques that I have seen other shooters recommend, and I finally settled on swabbing the bore with one Rusty Duck- Black Off cleaning patch followed by a dry patch prior to each shot ( so far, I haven't seen the reduction in fouling with the Pinnacle vs 777 or even Pyrodex for that matter that others have claimed).
My impression after firing manny rounds through this gun, is that with this bullet/sabot combination it seem to favor the lower powder charges.
For example, 80 grs.(by volume) of Pinnacle seems to produce tighter groups than 100 grs.
I am planning to step up to the 300Gr. XTP as soon as my gun shop gets them in, hoping that this bullet may behave better than the 240's I have been shooting.
I talked to MMP about the Hornady sabots I'm using and they told me they were actually MMP's, so I guess it wouldn't help to order new sabots from them.
I realize I could experiment with other bullet/sabot combinations, but I like the XTP's performance on deer size game and would like to stick with them if I could.
I started out with a 44 cal. (.430 dia.) bullet, vs the 45 cal. (.451 dia.)because I anticipated that they would be hard to load and based on what I have read, other shooters get pretty good performance (1"-1.5" groups)out of their Omegas with the smaller diameter bullets.
I was hoping that someone out there has experienced similar problems with their Omega and could offer some help--------

I use 2-f eq 2 pellets with power belt bullet i think it is 290 or 295 gr hollow point in 50 cal omega. I can promise this it will kill anything you want. One lean mean killing machine.
Dave Shooter

[djmbow]

Bought a box of 30, 250 gr. Shockwaves and went to the range with the Omega  today.
Using 100 grs. of Goex 3F Pinnacle, I was able to keep all of my rounds inside a 3" circle at 50 yards.
However, when I moved the target to 100 yards, my groups increased to about 6" in diameter and there was nothing I could do to tighten them up.
I decreased the powder charge to 90 grs. wjth no apparent improvement and also increased the load to 110 grs and if anything. the groups got worse. I was swabbing the bore between shots with a wet patch, followed up by a dry one.
Don't know what to do at this point.
I've pushed about 100 rounds of Hornady 240 gr. XTP's through this gun and now 30 rounds of Thompson Center Shockwaves, (both with various powder charges) and I have never seen anything like a 1.5" group at 100 yards that others claim to be getting out of their Omegas.
I talked to one of the techs at Thompson Center Arms for quite awhile the other day (prior to shooting the Shockwaves) and he assured me that my problems would be solved when I switched to the Shockwave bullet.
Well, this didn't happen and since I only live about an hour from their headquarters in New Hampshire, I may just bring the gun up to them and let them fool around with it.
Some have suggested that I try Powerbelts in the gun, but I have seen so many bad reports on their performance on deer, I've been trying to avoid them. Perhaps I should just try some to see if I can get this gun to shoot a decent group and then experiment with some other bullet/sabot combinations.
I don't know what to make of the fact that my groups are opening up so much from 50 to 100 yards. Maybe one of the experts out there can answer this question.
It seems to me that I read someplace where this in an indication of something, but I can't remember what.
Any and all help will be appreciated.

[str8shooter48]

Well I have had 3 T/C Omegas and got rid of all of them because of the problems with reloading the darn rifle.
They shoot very accurately and for a BENCH gun it would serve you well as they are tack drivers....

BUT if you hunt with them you will get frustrated with them because of the inability to re-load the Omega without taking it apart and clean it then reassemble it to shoot it.

One would think that T/C would fix the problem with the Omega so the consumer would be happy with the products that they buy from them.

I hpoe that they do so that I can buy another one as I love that design .

I have an Encore and my two brothers have Omegas. I never heard of having to dissassemble a gun to fire the second shot. A quick swab with a spit patch between shots is a good idea when shooting 777 with 209 primers. It breaks up the imfamous crud ring and fouling that makes it tough to reload. I also found with American Pioneer powder and 209 primers I have shot up to 10 shots without swabbing and had no appreciable accuracy loss and still loaded fairly easy.

T/C's seem to have pretty tight bores at least the 3 guns I'm familiar with do. It takes some range time and expirimenting with different bullets, sabots, primers and powder. You'll will eventually come up with a winning combination.

Lapping the bore ith JB Bore Paste and converting to a 25ACP breechplug conversion seemed to do wonders for my Encore. The new breechplug eliminated most of the crud ring fouling associated with 777 and I am able to load to reload twice without swabbing out the crud ring.

 Lapping the bore made a substantial difference when loading too. I had a hard time loading SST/Shockwaves. Clean or fouled it was tough. After lapping the bore the effort to load was dramatically reduced.

T/C makes a great gun, you just have to take the time and expirement with them and find out what they like. I don't think there's a problem with the guns, they just need a little finessing. Thats the fun part of the shooting sports :-)

[Two Bears]

Well I have had 3 T/C Omegas and got rid of all of them because of the problems with reloading the darn rifle.
They shoot very accurately and for a BENCH gun it would serve you well as they are tack drivers....

BUT if you hunt with them you will get frustrated with them because of the inability to re-load the Omega without taking it apart and clean it then reassemble it to shoot it.

One would think that T/C would fix the problem with the Omega so the consumer would be happy with the products that they buy from them.

I hpoe that they do so that I can buy another one as I love that design .

I have an Encore and my two brothers have Omegas. I never heard of having to dissassemble a gun to fire the second shot. A quick swab with a spit patch between shots is a good idea when shooting 777 with 209 primers. It breaks up the imfamous crud ring and fouling that makes it tough to reload. I also found with American Pioneer powder and 209 primers I have shot up to 10 shots without swabbing and had no appreciable accuracy loss and still loaded fairly easy.

T/C's seem to have pretty tight bores at least the 3 guns I'm familiar with do. It takes some range time and expirimenting with different bullets, sabots, primers and powder. You'll will eventually come up with a winning combination.

Lapping the bore ith JB Bore Paste and converting to a 25ACP breechplug conversion seemed to do wonders for my Encore. The new breechplug eliminated most of the crud ring fouling associated with 777 and I am able to load to reload twice without swabbing out the crud ring.

 Lapping the bore made a substantial difference when loading too. I had a hard time loading SST/Shockwaves. Clean or fouled it was tough. After lapping the bore the effort to load was dramatically reduced.

T/C makes a great gun, you just have to take the time and expirement with them and find out what they like. I don't think there's a problem with the guns, they just need a little finessing. Thats the fun part of the shooting sports :-)

I now have an Encore and can shoot it all I want and not have to swab it between shots :grin:

Also I for one as a consumer do not want a rifle that you have to swab between shots because I hunt with this rifle and do not want to deal with swabbing after a shot in the woods.....It does not make sense to me.

Now if I was a bench / target shooter I would have excepted this problem and enjoyed shooting the TACK DRIVER Omega as they do shoot awesome.

I have had several Knight wolverines and a couple of Bighorns that I could shoot ALL DAY LONG and not swab the barrel and could shoot a golf ball at 75 yards off hand with them....I wish that I did not sell them  just to get the "next best thing" in muzzleloaders. I miss them. :cry:

[Two Bears]

Bought a box of 30, 250 gr. Shockwaves and went to the range with the Omega  today.
Using 100 grs. of Goex 3F Pinnacle, I was able to keep all of my rounds inside a 3" circle at 50 yards.
However, when I moved the target to 100 yards, my groups increased to about 6" in diameter and there was nothing I could do to tighten them up.
I decreased the powder charge to 90 grs. wjth no apparent improvement and also increased the load to 110 grs and if anything. the groups got worse. I was swabbing the bore between shots with a wet patch, followed up by a dry one.
Don't know what to do at this point.
I've pushed about 100 rounds of Hornady 240 gr. XTP's through this gun and now 30 rounds of Thompson Center Shockwaves, (both with various powder charges) and I have never seen anything like a 1.5" group at 100 yards that others claim to be getting out of their Omegas.
I talked to one of the techs at Thompson Center Arms for quite awhile the other day (prior to shooting the Shockwaves) and he assured me that my problems would be solved when I switched to the Shockwave bullet.
Well, this didn't happen and since I only live about an hour from their headquarters in New Hampshire, I may just bring the gun up to them and let them fool around with it.
Some have suggested that I try Powerbelts in the gun, but I have seen so many bad reports on their performance on deer, I've been trying to avoid them. Perhaps I should just try some to see if I can get this gun to shoot a decent group and then experiment with some other bullet/sabot combinations.
I don't know what to make of the fact that my groups are opening up so much from 50 to 100 yards. Maybe one of the experts out there can answer this question.
It seems to me that I read someplace where this in an indication of something, but I can't remember what.
Any and all help will be appreciated.

For one thing the sights on the Omega SUCK, The fiber optic is way to big to really shoot pinpoint accuracy at 100 yards.

Try a rear peep sight with a small aperature and you will see a big difference on your target...Also try shooting at a very large solid dot at that range so you will have something to aim and hold on which will make it easier on you as you will see where you are when you touch off the trigger.

[Two Bears]

I also shoot .458 (45-70) bullets with the MMP HPH .458 sabot.


That sounds like fun!
where do you find these sabots? For the .50 cal?

[str8shooter48]

Two Bears, What kind of powder are you shooting out of your Encore? I'd like to be able to shoot without swabbing it is a pain in the a$$. Like I said earlier I'm using a 25 ACP breechplug conversion. With 777 I can reload twice without swabbing, and with APP I can go about 10 shots.

[djmbow]

Well, I went to the range today and tried every load combination I could think of and this Omega will just NOT GROUP at 100 yards!
I tried 295 gr. Powerbelts with 100 grs. of Goex Pinnacle and I couldn't get a 4" group at 50 yards with them.
I tried 45 cal, 300 gr Hornady XTP's (man are they a bear to get down the Omega barrel) and still was all over the paper with them.
I finally shot a bunch of 300 gr. Shockwaves and switched from the Goex Pinnacle to 100 grs. of Goex 2F Black Powder as the tech at Thompson Center recommended.
Still, I saw no visable improvement in the group size at 100 yards.
I even shot some Pyrodex through the gun to make sure I covered all the bases.
Some guy at the range thinKs I have plastic fouling in the bore.
He looked at the groups I was getting when the gun was brand new, vs what I'm getting now and he said when his Omega started doing this, he used something to take the plastic fouling out of the bore and his groups
returned to normal.
I told him I was sorry, but I've had it with this gun.
I'm tired, my shoulder hurts and I'm almost broke from all the ammo I've bought for this gun over the past few weeks.
I called Thompson Center and told the tech in the Repair Shop it was coming back to them tomorrow.
He said OK, he'd take a look at it and do what ever it takes (including replacing the barrel if necessary) to see that the gun would group at 100 yards before he sent it back to me.
Can't beat that for Customer Service can you?
Will keep you guy's posted on my progress---------

[Two Bears]

Two Bears, What kind of powder are you shooting out of your Encore? I'd like to be able to shoot without swabbing it is a pain in the a$$. Like I said earlier I'm using a 25 ACP breechplug conversion. With 777 I can reload twice without swabbing, and with APP I can go about 10 shots.

I use 85grains of BM3 powder with Hornady XTP 300gr bullet and the Harvester sabot for the .452.

I have also used Pyrodex powder and can still shoot this Encore without swabbing the barrel so I don't think that the BM3 was any huge factor in my ability to shoot it without swabbing after every shot. BUT the BM is cleaner, the draw back is that BM3 is VERY EXPENSIVE!

When I burn this last pound of BM3 up I will sue my Pyrodex powder as I bought out the Walmart store when they had them on clearance @ $5.00 a pound :shock:    So I ended up with a 12 year supply of Pyrodex.

Morer than likely I was lucky and ended up with just the right barrel to just be able to shoot it and not swab it.

Keep in mind that I have had 3 Omegas and could not shoot it without swabbing between shots, But others (few of them) here on the forum do not have that problem, Just luck I guess...

[Keith Lewis]

I also have an Omega which is a bear to get off a second shot. I completely gave up on 777 as the crud ring was so severe I had to use a brass brush between shots. I can only get about four of five shots off with Black Mag'3 without a swab between. Usually when hunting I don't need that many but I do like the ability to have a second shot if necessary without a complete rifle cleaning routine. I also have to select thinner sabots than what come with the over the counter bullets as none of them will load in my rifle.

[AndyHass]

I've shot Dead Centers and Shockwaves out of my Omega, and getting them down the bore has never been an issue.  I don't use a short-starter.

The crud ring for 2nd shots was a problem.  I did the .25 ACP conversion and no more crud ring.  I swab between shots even in the field, but if I wanted to I could get 2-3 shots before swabbing.

Mine was accurate out of the box, thoug a bit inconsistent.  I bedded it and now it is a real tack driver.

While the guns are rated for 150gr powder, I've seen few that shoot accurately this high.  The hottest accurate load in mine is 110gr 777 under a 200gr Shockwave.  A friend has an Encore (similar or same barrel) that is not accurate with any bullet over 85gr 777.

[djmbow]

Well, the Omega got delivered to Thompson Center in person this morning.
I'm sort of relieved the problem is in their hands now.
It should be interesting to see what they come up with for a solution.
I told the guy to make sure they got it grouping at 100 yards before they sent it back and he assured me they would.
He told me that Thompson Center is coming out shortly with a new bullet/sabot combination that load much easier than anything on the market right now.
All he could tell me was that the bullet will be a "spire point", similar to the Shockwave combined with a newly designed sabot.
Should be interesting--------
My Omega should be back to me in about two weeks.
I'll let you guys know what happens.

[Deer Dave]

I get great accuracy with 2   777 pellets  (100 gr.) and either the 240 or 300 gr. Hornady  XTP or the XTP Mag.  No crud ring, and  Loading has never been a problem, as they load with little resistance. I clean the bore with Shooters Choice , and a bronze brush......which I have found out does a great job of removing any powder or plastic fouling. I also use Remington primers. I really like my Omega.  T/C will get  it  to shoot for you. They are a Great Company.


Dave

[Two Bears]

Well, the Omega got delivered to Thompson Center in person this morning.
I'm sort of relieved the problem is in their hands now.
It should be interesting to see what they come up with for a solution.
I told the guy to make sure they got it grouping at 100 yards before they sent it back and he assured me they would.
He told me that Thompson Center is coming out shortly with a new bullet/sabot combination that load much easier than anything on the market right now.
All he could tell me was that the bullet will be a "spire point", similar to the Shockwave combined with a newly designed sabot.
Should be interesting--------
My Omega should be back to me in about two weeks.
I'll let you guys know what happens.

Why don't they fix the gun instead of "Inventing a bandaid" for the tight barrels???

[str8shooter48]

Well, the Omega got delivered to Thompson Center in person this morning.
I'm sort of relieved the problem is in their hands now.
It should be interesting to see what they come up with for a solution.
I told the guy to make sure they got it grouping at 100 yards before they sent it back and he assured me they would.
He told me that Thompson Center is coming out shortly with a new bullet/sabot combination that load much easier than anything on the market right now.
All he could tell me was that the bullet will be a "spire point", similar to the Shockwave combined with a newly designed sabot.
Should be interesting--------
My Omega should be back to me in about two weeks.
I'll let you guys know what happens.

Why don't they fix the gun instead of "Inventing a bandaid" for the tight barrels???

Are the barrels really tight? You bought a 50cal gun. What are you trying to stuff down it. A 44cal .429/.430 diameter or a 45cal .451/.452 diameter bullet encased in a plastic sabot. Unfortunately the sabots come in different length and thicknesses. I had a hell of a time loading SST/Shockwave bullets using their enclosed sabots. I bought a package of Harvester sabots and I saw a dramatic improvement in loading the SST/Shockwaves.

Powerbelts are supposed to be true 50cal diameter bullets I don't hear too much complaining about hard loading in a T/C.

I'd take a good look at your components before I'd rag on T/C for producing guns with tight bores.

[djmbow]

str8shooter48 wrote:

"I had a hell of a time loading SST/Shockwave bullets using their enclosed sabots"
"I'd take a good look at your components before I'd rag on T/C for producing guns with tight bores."

djmbow response:
HUH?

[str8shooter48]

str8shooter48 wrote:

"I had a hell of a time loading SST/Shockwave bullets using their enclosed sabots"
"I'd take a good look at your components before I'd rag on T/C for producing guns with tight bores."

djmbow response:
HUH?

What part don't you understand? I said I had a hard time loading Hornady SST/T/C Shockwaves bullets when using the sabot that came packaged with them. I purchased a package og Harvester sabots to use with the SST/and Shockwaves and the loading effort was cosiderably reduced. The Harvester sabots have thinner petals than the MMP sabots supplied with those bullets. The bullets seem to fit better in the Harvester sabots.

[djmbow]

str8shooter48:

Here's the part I "don't understand":
First you say you can't load a Thompson Center Shockwave in a Thompson Center Omega without changing to a thinner sabot and then you tell me "not to rag on Thompson for producing guns with tight bores."
Well, if a Thompson Center bullet is too hard to load into a Thompson Center gun unless you modify the sabot, one would have to assume the Thompson Center gun had a "tight bore" wouldn't one?
Now what part of this don't you understand?

[str8shooter48]

str8shooter48:

Here's the part I "don't understand":
First you say you can't load a Thompson Center Shockwave in a Thompson Center Omega without changing to a thinner sabot and then you tell me "not to rag on Thompson for producing guns with tight bores."
Well, if a Thompson Center bullet is too hard to load into a Thompson Center gun unless you modify the sabot, one would have to assume the Thompson Center gun had a "tight bore" wouldn't one?
Now what part of this don't you understand?

T/C buys the Shockwave bullets from Hornady. When the Shockwaves first came out they had a thinner sabot. I believe it might have been a Harvester. They were easy to load in an Encore, Omega or whatever. For some silly reason they went with the same sabot as the Hornady SST which is made by MMP. This was a big mistake on T/C's part. If you have a n SST or Shockwave put it in a sabot and push it down hard into the sabot,then look where the petals end at the top of the base cup. What do you see? It bulges out. Therefore making it tough to load.

Correct me if I'm wrong but is a 50 cal bore suppose to measure .500?

Well here we go I miked a T/C Shockwave in the MMP sabot supplied with the bullets at the bulge the biggest diameter it measured .510. Then I measured a Shockwave in a Harvester sabot no bulge and the largest diameter was .502. A  PR Bullet Extended Range bullet and sabot measured .501.

Guess which one is the hardest to load. Right the one that measured .510. I hope this helped explain what I've been trying to get across here.

I believe I've read a few posts here where Savage owners had the same complaint with loading SST/Shockwaves. Maybe they have tight bores too?

No I think T/C screwed up marketing the Shockwaves with the new MMP sabot when the original Shockwaves loaded fine with the sabot they originally used. Lets see what the new bullet/sabot combination is like. I'm still not convinced T/C bores are undersize.

[AndyHass]

The notion that a 50cal is a 50cal is a fallacy.  T/C don't have tight bores any more than other manufacturers have loose bores (I had a Traditions I felt unsafe relying on the DC bullets to stay on the powder).

I've personally taken a caliper to the bores of 5 different brands of "50cal" ML.  Guess what?  The variation might surprise you...

Centerfire bores are very standardize by the requirement of the ammunition.  ML bores are less standardize due to the forgiveness of their ammunition.  It is up to the shooter to pick a bullet/sabot combo that both fits and is accurate in their bore.  C'mon, it's just an excuse to get more bench time