Keyhole from 200gr Shockwave

[hoyt19]

Any simple answers on what causes this to happen??? I just got a new scope or my Encore, and wanted to try out these bullets, both of my 50 yrd shots showed a perfect side profile view of the bullet. It also seems that the bullets didnt sit real well inside the sabot. Any ideas on the issue here guys?

[Guest bow_hunter101]

How many grains of powder are you using?

[hoyt19]

3 (50gr) 777 pellets

[Guest bow_hunter101]

For a TC Encore, 150 grains of powder should be fine. The 777 powder even seems to shoot cleaner than Pyrodex. I would make sure the barrel is clean and the bullet is packed tightly against the powder when you load it. If that doesn't work try using a different bullet maybe without a jacketed sabot (http://www.powerbeltbullets.com/). I guess it's possible you could have gotten a defective pack of Shockwaves, but if that's the case, I would think many people would be having problems with them.

[hoyt19]

I was thinking the same thing. An interesting point was that I had 2 300gr XTP's in my ML box, so I fired those to see what happened, and the flew perfect. Looking at the bullets and sabots now, it almost looks as if the sabot are too small for the bullet.

[Guest bow_hunter101]

That brings up another point I hadn't thought of. With 150 grains of powder that 200 grain Shockwave my be too light. I shoot 100 grains of 777 powder with a 270 grain Powerbelt in my muzzeloader. With that much powder and that light of a bullet it could cause the bullet to tumble when you shoot. That would definately explain the side profile shaped hole you were getting. By the way, most sabots fit very tightly in the jacket (and can be a real pain to load in the barrel!) which is why I prefer the Powerbelts.

[hoyt19]

So by shooting 150 grs with a light bullet, am I shooting it at too high a velocity, or creating to much pressure causing that?

[Guest bow_hunter101]

Shooting too light of a bullet at too high of a velocity can cause it to tumble. The bullet comes out so fast it's not able to keep a straight trajectory and will tumble in flight. This was a big problem with some .22 magnum loads. If you want to use the Shockwaves I would try going to the 250 or 300 grain size. Or if you use the Powerbelts try the 270 or 300 grain size.