Twanger
06-02-2009, 04:45 PM
I spent some time at the range with the Encore and White Javelina. Mixed results.
T/C Encore: With the Encore 209X50 it appears that "Houston, we have a problem." I was printing 2 inch groups at 50 yards and 5 inches at 100. Yuck. :p. The load was my old standby: T/C 240gr XTP w/ two pyrodex pellets. This load has always been reliable for me, so I was cornfused! :confused: They were going down the bore far easier than normal, which provided a clue. Something had changed. Then I talked to Cecil Epp at PR bullets today, and he told me that somewhere down the line that this load had changed! It started out being manufactured at Hornady and ended up at T/C. The T/C load is noticeably looser fitting, and not nearly as accurate in some guns. Apparently mine! Dagnabit! This may explain my miss on a deer last season. I randomly grabbed a handful of XTP's and went hunting. I guess they were the loose ones. Cecil made a purchase recommendation, and I ordered some bullets from PR, and hopefully they will be in next week and fix this problem! I also ordered a couple of other kinds of bullets from Midway to try this weekend... including the Hornady FPB 350gr full-bore spitzers. After I test all of these things I'll post a report.
White Javelina 45-cal pistol: Having a good load for the 41-cal Javelina (40gr T73F & NE 405gr conical) I focused on the 45-cal gun. It wears a new Leupold 2X long-eye relief scope. Doc White sent me 250 White Powerstar saboted bullets he had laying around his garage in 350gr with 45/40 sabot. These go down the bore with much swearing and groaning, tight is an understatement, but the results are worth it. With 55 grains of T73F powder the MV of this load is around 1200 fps. First 3 shots printed inside an inch at 50 yards and right in the bullseye. I was please, and the range officer who was beginning to wonder if I could shoot after watching me swear at the Encore was impressed that a pistol could turn in a group like that. This made me bold, and I put the target out at 100 yards. Six shots went into about 5 inches. However, one was a hang-fire (flier) and one was a shot after I pounded the bullet down the bore because I forgot to swab - and was also a flier. The remaining 4 fell into about 3 inches, and I was extremely happy with that. I may up to powder to 60 grain and see if I can tolerate the recoil, which is currently 'quite spirited*', but hell - what's another 5 grains?
* The current load with T73F is just about equivalent in MV to the original 45-70 BPCR load used by market hunters to whack millions of buffalo in the 19th century. It makes me think about the possibility of taking a one of these shaggy beasts with a black-powder pistol... I wonder if it has been done in modern times?
T/C Encore: With the Encore 209X50 it appears that "Houston, we have a problem." I was printing 2 inch groups at 50 yards and 5 inches at 100. Yuck. :p. The load was my old standby: T/C 240gr XTP w/ two pyrodex pellets. This load has always been reliable for me, so I was cornfused! :confused: They were going down the bore far easier than normal, which provided a clue. Something had changed. Then I talked to Cecil Epp at PR bullets today, and he told me that somewhere down the line that this load had changed! It started out being manufactured at Hornady and ended up at T/C. The T/C load is noticeably looser fitting, and not nearly as accurate in some guns. Apparently mine! Dagnabit! This may explain my miss on a deer last season. I randomly grabbed a handful of XTP's and went hunting. I guess they were the loose ones. Cecil made a purchase recommendation, and I ordered some bullets from PR, and hopefully they will be in next week and fix this problem! I also ordered a couple of other kinds of bullets from Midway to try this weekend... including the Hornady FPB 350gr full-bore spitzers. After I test all of these things I'll post a report.
White Javelina 45-cal pistol: Having a good load for the 41-cal Javelina (40gr T73F & NE 405gr conical) I focused on the 45-cal gun. It wears a new Leupold 2X long-eye relief scope. Doc White sent me 250 White Powerstar saboted bullets he had laying around his garage in 350gr with 45/40 sabot. These go down the bore with much swearing and groaning, tight is an understatement, but the results are worth it. With 55 grains of T73F powder the MV of this load is around 1200 fps. First 3 shots printed inside an inch at 50 yards and right in the bullseye. I was please, and the range officer who was beginning to wonder if I could shoot after watching me swear at the Encore was impressed that a pistol could turn in a group like that. This made me bold, and I put the target out at 100 yards. Six shots went into about 5 inches. However, one was a hang-fire (flier) and one was a shot after I pounded the bullet down the bore because I forgot to swab - and was also a flier. The remaining 4 fell into about 3 inches, and I was extremely happy with that. I may up to powder to 60 grain and see if I can tolerate the recoil, which is currently 'quite spirited*', but hell - what's another 5 grains?
* The current load with T73F is just about equivalent in MV to the original 45-70 BPCR load used by market hunters to whack millions of buffalo in the 19th century. It makes me think about the possibility of taking a one of these shaggy beasts with a black-powder pistol... I wonder if it has been done in modern times?