100grns or 150grns WHICH IS BETTER ?????

[maddhunter]

For years I shot an inline percussion cap CVA and had very tight groups out to 150yrds shooting 100grns of Pyrodex pellets and 295grn Powerbelt bullet. I now have a CVA Kodiac and have shot it a few times using 150grns and not quite satisfied with the groups of 8 inches at 100yrds. Is this typical ??

Just wondering if ya'll have better groups using 100grns instead of 150 or is it just my gun???

I use Pyrodex pellets and 295grain Powerbelt bullet.

I was wanting to use the 150grns for the added downerange energy and to make a little longer shot. But if it won't hold a tighter group than that I won't be able to shoot any farther anyhow.

Should I maybe try a lighter bullet or even a different one??

[Guest bowhunter56]

I worked at basspro for a few years and talked to alot of hunters, who hunted deer and elk.

what they told me that 100 is plenty for deer, i shoot 95gr..and most used 150 for bigger game like elk...bullet weight and distance does play into it, i use loose 777, and prefer the loose to pellets, it's just what ever works for you, you do have to do experimenting to find out what works best in your gun(s)....Andy

[johnf]

I use 83 gr. of 777. That get's me the tightest groups in my gun. I figure a 240gr bullet is going to leave a pretty big hole regardless of how fast it's going. I would rather know where the hole is going to be then know it's going to be 1/16th of an inch bigger.

[wtnhunt]

Shoot loose powder here, and have found that with working up my loads that 120 grains of pyrodex gives me the best performance with the bullets I am using. Would suggest trying different loads and seeing what gives you the best accuracy.

[Guest trackerman64]

being the owner of a dozen different muzzleloaders i spend a lot of time shooting various loads just to see how they work. over the years i have found that in general 90 - 110 grains of loose powder loads will often group a bit tighter than loads using 150 grains or pellets. if all you are looking for is a group good enough to take a deer with at 100 yards then it really does not matter much. but if you want to touch holes at 100 yards consistently then i have found that usually requires loose powder at very specific grains according to what load your particular gun likes

[Randyman]

My CVA Optima Pro shoots much tighter groups with 100gr. VS 150 gr.

[bgcorn]

I have a cva optima pro also and I use 2 50gn 777 pellets and 295 grn powerbelt. it shoots great. also killed several deer with this combination. I think 100 gr works better and had just as much knock down.

[Brad6639]

Ive tried both in regular pyrodex pellets. With 777, you have to remember that its 15% more powerful than regular pyrodex, so definetly dont use 3 pellets of it. Now with that being said, personally from what Ive found, 3 pellets is a waste of powder and money. The 3rd pellet isnt all the way burned before it leaves the barrel, so its just falling out of the gun as it burns anyways, so that wont help you any. How much range do you need, i have a 160 class (gross), that fell to a cva optima magnum (not pro), with a cci primer, 2 triple seven pellets, and a 240 grain t/c sabot(hollow point) and the distance to him was 226 yards and he dropped with 1 shot. The magnum is mostly just hype, the only way I will ever use 3 pellets is if Im after something that could potentially hurt you if you dont anchor it with a good first shot.

[Hoosierbuck]

I made up a little rhyme to help myself remember these things:

"If a little is good, more must be more better.

100 grains just kills deer, 150 kills them deader."

You can reproduce that without having to pay any royalties of copyright fees. Insightful, ain't I?

HB

[Brad6639]

Dead is dead, there a lot of people who think you need a cannon to kill a deer with a rifle as well, and buy the biggest baddest gun that they can find and then they shoot it once and are afraid of it and flinch as they shot goes off. Ive heard way more stories of groups opening up with 150 grains, I dont think its due to recoil because ml's dont have a lot of it, but I think theres too much pressure and consistency goes out the window. That 10 pointer that was 226 yards away also weighed 292 pounds on the hoof, so I took down a magnum deer with a non magnum load, pretty cool huh? Slowly the 150 grain load hype is going out the window. It isnt pushed as hard as it used to be, and theres reasoning for that.

[Guest HiVoltg30]

Shooting my Winchester X-150, I’ve been able to shoot 2 inch groups (3 shots) @ 100 yards off a bench rest with 150 grains of Pyrodex pellets and a 348 Gr. Lead PowerBelt hollow point with only the extra addition of a peep sight.

I’ve switched between 100 grains & 150 grains of pellets and found virtually no difference in pattering.

Though my buddy can do the same thing in his Knight Bighorn and get crazy pattern's (one shot bullseye, the next off the paper) although, I don't think he could successfully hit the ground with his hat in less than three tries.

So I think it really comes down to the gun, and the shooter.

[Guest youngBlood]

I was using the same set up last year, 295 grain powerbelts, and 150 pyrodex. It would shoot good groups if you cleaned it after every shot. I was told that not all of the 150 grains of pyro would burn off, thats why it was so dirty. Im trying some new 777 Magnums this year, which he said 2(100 grains), would be as strong as the 3 pyrdex i was shooting. Not only that, its supposed to be VERY clean.

heres a good link I just found on the new pellets. http://www.chuckhawks.com/hodgdon_T7_magnum_pellets.htm

[maddhunter]

Thanks alot guys that was very helpfull.

Has anyone tried the Jim Shockey's Gold ???????

[wtnhunt]

Has anyone tried the Jim Shockey's Gold ???????

Honest opinion, don't waste your money on it. I tried it last year and was thoroughly disappointed.

[Guest HiVoltg30]

It says in the article that "Use of two “Triple Se7en Magnum” pellets gets you right in the middle between two and three Pyrodex Pellets". So can you use Three (3) T7 Magnum pellets in your gun (one rated for magnum loads). or will that push the pressures too high?

[Brad6639]

3 777 pellets are too many, thats eq to like 180 grains.

[Guest gt2003]

See what works best in your ML. I've gone all the way down to 80 grains of 777 and a 220 grain precision rifle all lead bullet. The performance is out of this world and the accuracy is really good too. I used to shoot 300 grain bullets but they just aren't needed for deer and IMO neither is 150 grains of powder. You might consider shooting both loads at the maximum distance you normally hunt and see what the difference is. Good luck and let us know what you end up with. Greg

[1olhunter]

After reading everyone’s opinion of how useless it is to use 150 grains I thought I would chime in with my 2 cents. I have tested my TC Encore over my chronograph with 2 pellets (100 grains) of 777 and 3 pellets (150 grains) of 777. With 2 pellets my average velocity was 1650 fps and with 3 pellets the average velocity jumped to 2220 fps, apparently my encore is actually burning the third pellet. Using the 245 grain Barnes Spitfire I can achieve consistent minute of angle groups with 100 or 150 grain of powder. I sight all my rifles in using a point blank range of +/- 3 inches from zero. With the velocity of I get from 2 pellets I set my zero at 135 yards, the rifle is +3” at 85 yards and -3” at 157 yards. With three pellets of powder I get 570 fps velocity gain, this allows me to set zero at 172 yards. The rifle is then +3” at 120 yards and 3” low at 201 yards. I have gained 44 yards to my point blank range. I hunt in areas where a 200 yard or greater shot is not out of the question, I get a sense of confidence knowing that if the animal is within 200 yards all I have to do is hold steady on the center of the vitals and squeeze. To further illustrate the difference in the powder charges, if I was to get an opportunity to shoot at a buck at 225 yards with my encore, with the 2 pellet powder charge I would have to compensate for a 22” bullet drop, whereas with the 3 pellet powder charge I would only have to compensate for a 6” bullet drop. The difference in bullet energy is also dramatic; from my encore the three pellet charge has the same energy at 150 yards as the 2 pellet charge does at the muzzle. With all this said, I believe a hunter first obligation is to be accurate; a well placed round with half the energy is always better than a gutshot with lots of energy. My advice is to find out what works for you and your gun.

[mehunter]

I have two T/C's an omega and an encore, and they both shoot tighter groups with 100 grains. Tried 150 when I sighted in the first time but it would throw a round every couple shots. I am using 2 777 pellets, and 250 grain shock waves, and have 1 1/2 groups at 100 yards consistently.