Decisded on a Thpmpson Center Impact.......advice on loads please!

[whacko]

OK so this year I decided I'm really going to go all in for deer season. Decided I'm going to use a muzzle loader even during shotgun season. Researched a lot and settled on a TC impact......got great reviews mainly for the hooded breach that keeps the weather out of the primer/breach area and also for the trigger. Yeah......the trigger seems GREAT......I dry fired it quite a bit and like the feel! similar to a GOOD s and w revolver in single action.........breaks like glass! Wish my henry rifle had a trigger like this $229 smoke pole. ANyway.....on to the question.......what load to use. Anyone else out there have the impact model? WHat load to you recommend.......I have 777 pellets (black box NOT the magnum pellets in the red box)........bought TC shockwave 250 grain mag express sabot and TC shockwave 250 grain super glide sabots. Will be testing it out Sunday........would you recommend starting at 2 pellets (100 grain) or go right for 3 pellets (150 grain) of powder? Also do you guys like sabots or would you go with lubricated bullets?

Basically.......what would an impact owner recommend for accuracy and also performance if you have killed a deer with this gun? Will try out the TC sabots Sunday but really need a place to start if you guys have experience
Thanks.

 

[pupchow]

I use two 777 pellets behind 250gr Shockwave sabot rounds, out of my TC Omega. I keep a load of pellets & Powerbelt bullet handy for a follow up shot. Those sabots leave a ring of crud, which can cause trouble when seating a second round. The sloppier fit of a Powerbelt makes it easier to seat for follow up shot.

 

[22lr]

Great choice. I have an impact as well and love it. I use 100 grains or blackhorn 209 powder / 290 grain Barnes TEZ Solid Copper Sabots / CCI 209 primers. I am not sure you can go wrong with this combination. I practice at the range with 300 grain Hornady Sabots which are less expesive and can be had at Dicks. I am not familar with the lubricated bullets, but I am not sure how they would be an improvement over the Sabots.

 

[whacko]

Thanks I'll try Barnes sabots as well. The ring of crud you mentioned..,..at the range do u guys swab between shots or leave the bore dirty? I'm new to muzzle loaders so any help would be appreciated.

 

[pupchow]

At the range, I clean the bore between each shot. I'm only there to dial in the scope/sights. The 777 stuff cleans up with water, so easy to do. The breech plug I clean when I'm done shooting.

 

[Tweed]

I have a Traditions Firearms Pursuit mzloader. I have only used sabots. picked up a pack of 250 grain 15 lead and 15 copper JHP rounds. use the lead for sighting in. I have been using 2 power pellets for sighting in and 3 for hunting. the blasistics are the same out to 100 yds and don't fall off as fast beyond that with 3. The main reason for using 3 in the field is the rod. for using 2 pellets I need to unscrew the tip of the rod, turn it around and rescrew it in to extend the rod. don't need to do that with 3 pellets. also 3 pellets just tears big holes in things, one shot kills. 250 grain for deer, 300 for bear.

 

[reveille]

I shoot a this out of my TC omega , Harvester scorpion 300gr bullet with a harvester sabot. 100 grains of pellets. I like these sabots because they have groves in them and are eazy to load. clean after every shot at the range when dialing it in. I use a mix or Windex and rubbing alcohol it dies faster. Never use lube to load your bullet

 

[boxerjake77]

I've used white hots, but they leave a nasty crud ring which needs to be swabbed out before loading again. Now I use BH209, this shit is the best bar none!! I can shoot multiple shots without swabbing the barrel at all. Groups seem to open up after about 6/7 shots. By open up I'm talking no more clover leafs. My CVA Accura V2 is a frighten tack driver, it puts holes in holes!!

100 grains of BH209
CCI Magnum primer
250 grain Harvester Scorpion PT Gold bullet in the crushed rib sabot

 

[Fixxah]

Manual is always a good reference. Gonna be fun.

 

[whacko]

I've read the manual and the IMPACt will take 150 grain s or 3 pellets......the muzzle velocity for a 250 grain projo with 3 pellets is estimated at 2197,fps........I like that .........but I'll try different stuff u guys have mentioned. I think my first mistake was buying a pack of 30 projectiles........what if they suck out of my gun? I'll stick to smaller packs and try different stuff.

 

[boxerjake77]

What type of sabot you use makes a big difference in your groups. Find one your ML likes and stick with that. Mine likes the the harvester crushed rib. Not hard to load, not easy either. I plan on using a few more bullets to test, but they will all be put in the crushed rib sabot.

 

[whacko]

What type of sabot you use makes a big difference in your groups. Find one your ML likes and stick with that. Mine likes the the harvester crushed rib. Not hard to load, not easy either. I plan on using a few more bullets to test, but they will all be put in the crushed rib sabot.

OK so you can buy bullet and sabot separate? I'm sure the bullet is not 50 cal if using a sabot.......the pack I bought came with the sabots already. What size bullet do you use with the crushed ribs harvester sabot

 

[boxerjake77]

You sure can. I've bought packs that come with the combo too, but I've noticed inconsistency in accuracy using different sabots and same bullet and weight. My ML likes the harvester sabots, yours may not. I use a .45 diameter bullet in the sabot. I have some Smackdowns in 250 grain, the supplied sabot pushes way too easy down my barrel. Surprisingly I can get a 3" group at 100 yards with them, but with a change in the sabot, I'm right around an 1" at 100 yards.

The load you use has a great deal to do with your accuracy. I'm still working on my hunting load, it will be between 90-110 grains of BH209 powder with a 250 grain bullet.

I wouldn't recommend powerbelts unless you like picking fragments out of your meat.

 

[whacko]

Thanks.....as u can tell the muzzle loading thing is new to me. Guess when u get into muzzle loading you are basically a "reloader"........trying different combos of pdr projo and sabot if abuse em.

Anyone out here not use sabots and go with a regular copper jacketed projo?

 

[boxerjake77]

Read this forum inside and out.

http://www.frontiermuzzleloading.com/

 

[exojam]

I am going to try some Hornady 50 Cal 300gr FPB with my Impact with 2 pellets before the season starts and see how it goes.

I will also be looking for a scope within the next week or two for it.

 

[whacko]

I am going to try some Hornady 50 Cal 300gr FPB with my Impact with 2 pellets before the season starts and see how it goes.

I will also be looking for a scope within the next week or two for it.

I'm going to try it out today at the range....I'll come back on this afternoon and update. I'm going to stick with the fiber optic sights that came with the rifle.......3 of the trips I have planned involve deer drives .......I'm thinking a scope wont be helping me too much trying to hit a walking deer. Been told by the guys who do deer drives that red dot or iron sights are better for drives.

 

[HorizontalHunter]

I have one and it is a great shooter. You can see my range report in the link below:

http://www.cthuntingnshooting.com/vBforum/showthread.php?14979-50-TC-Impact-Range-Report

I settled on the Hornady 250g LnL with 777 pellets. I really like the Hornady sabot with the tail for hunting as it holds the pellets and keeps the load together for an easier reload in the field.

The only issue that I have had is getting the breech plug out after a trip to the range. After trying many breech plug lubes I found that regular automotive anti-seize works the best for me.

Bob

 

[exojam]

I'm going to try it out today at the range....I'll come back on this afternoon and update. I'm going to stick with the fiber optic sights that came with the rifle.......3 of the trips I have planned involve deer drives .......I'm thinking a scope wont be helping me too much trying to hit a walking deer. Been told by the guys who do deer drives that red dot or iron sights are better for drives.

Yeah I have never done a drive before so I could not make an honest recommendation or comment on the scope - no scope for one.

I have some access to places this year that will have fields and visibility over a few hundred yards so I would like a scope on there. Not that I plan on any 300 yards shot or anything but maybe 150 or so.

Have fun at the range today.

 

[whacko]

OK I'm really liking this muzzle loader thing! My son and I had a blast today. Found out the gun likes 250 grain tc shockwaves with the magnum express sabots more than 300 grain hornady xtp with magnum express sabots. Loading a 250 grain tc sabot with 150 (three pellets) grains of powder was terrible for accuracy.....I looked at the sabot after shooting with 150 grains of powder and the sabot was shredded. Best scenario I can come up with to explain it is the extra muzzle velocity of 150 grains caused the sabo to "skip" the rifling and not even spin. The shot group opened way up with 150 grain. I didn't even bother with a 300 grain projo with 150 grains of powder. I'll post target pix tomorrow. Have to say experimenting is part of the fun!

 

[boxerjake77]

I see no need for a magnum charge. If you really want to fine tune your ML, you gotta try BH209. It will out perform any pellets and won't foul your barrel with a curd ring that negates you from loading a follow up shot. You may find 85 grains or 105 grains is the sweet spot, you can't fine tune with pellets.

 

[whacko]

I see no need for a magnum charge. If you really want to fine tune your ML, you gotta try BH209. It will out perform any pellets and won't foul your barrel with a curd ring that negates you from loading a follow up shot. You may find 85 grains or 105 grains is the sweet spot, you can't fine tune with pellets.

My son and I were thinking the same thing. Hodgson 777 pellets is all we had. I stopped at two shops on the way to the range to look for different powder to try but it seems I'm a little early for the "season" so not much to chose from. To keep the crud down I "spit patched" between each shot and I had no trouble at all loading the gun..........

 

[whacko]

First impressions: The Impact feels light and “handy”. Almost like a carbine. Sights areVERY easy to see with the fiber optics but the rear sight should be farther back on the barrel. The break open “hood”was a bit tight at first to release but loosened up after about 10 rounds through the gun. Trigger……outstanding…..wish some of my rifles had triggers this nice……felt like about 2 pounds……no creep at all……it just clicks with almost no rearward travel after the hammer falls…..T/Cdid a great job with the trigger.
Zeroing: Note: I decided to “spit patch” after each shot to keep the bore from fouling up too much and keep things standardized as much aspossible. First thing I learned is not to push the spit patch down too far…….found if I went all the way to the breach the rod gut stuck something terrible……so I satisfied that by swabbing down until I felt the slightest resistance and stopped. Decided to go with one spit patch after each shot into the bore and out twice and stuck with that to keep things standardized. First shot landed 4 inches high and about 1inch right. Second shot went straight through the first shot hole! Well……no reason to waste time and ammo so let’s adjust. This is when things get onto the negative side. The windage adjustment does not “click” you have to loosen the screw and move the sight by hand then retighten. So I was smart enough to make a pencil mark on the sight and base to at least have a reference point. Elevation…..well……it came out of the box with the elevation set all the way down as low as it would go…..and I’m shooting high so that can’t be good. Especially as my goal is to set this gun up poa/poi for hunting use (obviously). But……shooting at 50 yards for zero I decided a little high is not necessarily a bad thing. Moved the rear sight to the left a bit and tried again…..this time I hit bull…….no kidding……for some reason the elevation came down on its own or I didn’t have the same sight picture. Made no adjustments and the next round hit ½ inch above bull almost touching the last round. I’ll leave it alone at this point and start trying different load combinations! Guess I was lucky!
So far this seems like a gun I can hunt with no problem. Need to settle on a sling and get some tubes or find some way to pack extra loads in case I need them. Thinking the sling with the tubes that come attached to it are probably going to be the way to go.

Top pic is 250 grain T/C shockwave with mag express sabot and two pelelts of 777 Bottom is 300 grain hornady XTP with mag express sabot two pellets 777 both at 50 yards. As I said before......going to 3 pellets was terrible.......6 inch group all over the target.

 

[HorizontalHunter]

I see no need for a magnum charge. If you really want to fine tune your ML, you gotta try BH209. It will out perform any pellets and won't foul your barrel with a curd ring that negates you from loading a follow up shot. You may find 85 grains or 105 grains is the sweet spot, you can't fine tune with pellets.

I have never shot BH209 but you will typically get better accuracy when you work up a load with loose powder. The "proper" way to work up a load is to shoot repeated three round groups increasing the powder charge by 5 grains for each group. Normally you start at the caliber ie:50 grains for a 50 caliber muzzleloader. You will find a sweet spot, or two, where the groups are the tightest.

I have had great success with the 250g Hornady Lock-N-Load SST Low Drag Sabot. It went down the barrel easier than any of the others I tried and it also grouped the best.

Bob

 

[exojam]

Hopefully wacko does not mind me asking this in the thread but here it goes.

I have only shot an MZ for one year and always used pellets. For those that use powder is there any worry about any of it coming through the breach plug hole? I know it it small but it seems like when you have the MZ in an upwards position to pour the powder down it could get a small amount through. Is this the case or am I just over thinking it this morning. Thanks.

 

[whacko]

Hopefully wacko does not mind me asking this in the thread but here it goes.

I have only shot an MZ for one year and always used pellets. For those that use powder is there any worry about any of it coming through the breach plug hole? I know it it small but it seems like when you have the MZ in an upwards position to pour the powder down it could get a small amount through. Is this the case or am I just over thinking it this morning. Thanks.

Ask away.....really good question actually.

 

[boxerjake77]

No a issue at all. The flash hole is too small, and the granular BH209 is too big.

I've tried loading a powder charge, then seated my bullet. Shook the ML around, tipped it upside down. Then loaded a primer, and it fired perfect.

 

[dvajda]

I have been using 2 power pellets for sighting in and 3 for hunting.

This is a terrible terrible idea. You sighted in with A, but you go hunting with B? This is completely illogical, and you are flying by the seat of your pants. I use 2 pellets behind a 250gr TC Shockwave, and can get touching groups at 100 yards out of my Omega. I have won the black powder shoot at my club 3 yrs in a row. When I use 3 pellets, my group is about 6" or more! The difference between 2 and 3 pellets is massive, not to mention the impact point IS NOT the same at 100 yards, unless "same" is "within a foot". Everyone I have talked to says the accuracy with 3 pellets is garbage, and no one hunts with 3, they just use 2. I have gone completely through the hips of a deer (was blocked by a tree from a good shot) with 2 grains and 250gr bonded, and it went in and out and the deer bled to death by the time I walked over. I have also hunted 250 lb+ wild boar with it,and it broke shoulder bone no problem.

I'd say go with two pellets if you want any accuracy, there is no real need for the extra power, you probably won't be able to apply it. Maybe if I were hunting moose...

 

[exojam]

No a issue at all. The flash hole is too small, and the granular BH209 is too big.

I've tried loading a powder charge, then seated my bullet. Shook the ML around, tipped it upside down. Then loaded a primer, and it fired perfect.

Thank you.

 

[whacko]

This is a terrible terrible idea. You sighted in with A, but you go hunting with B? This is completely illogical, and you are flying by the seat of your pants. I use 2 pellets behind a 250gr TC Shockwave, and can get touching groups at 100 yards out of my Omega. I have won the black powder shoot at my club 3 yrs in a row. When I use 3 pellets, my group is about 6" or more! The difference between 2 and 3 pellets is massive, not to mention the impact point IS NOT the same at 100 yards, unless "same" is "within a foot". Everyone I have talked to says the accuracy with 3 pellets is garbage, and no one hunts with 3, they just use 2. I have gone completely through the hips of a deer (was blocked by a tree from a good shot) with 2 grains and 250gr bonded, and it went in and out and the deer bled to death by the time I walked over. I have also hunted 250 lb+ wild boar with it,and it broke shoulder bone no problem.

I'd say go with two pellets if you want any accuracy, there is no real need for the extra power, you probably won't be able to apply it. Maybe if I were hunting moose...

brand new smoke pole guy here and I figured this out already. Exact same results as you......2 pellets I had good groups with tc shockwaves (pix above) went to 3 pellets and the group was over 6 inches.