Encore Ml Ammo Suggestions

[Guest bbdtonyd]

Using 250 Grain Shockwaves In A 50 Cal Encore And Going To Oklahoma On A Whitetail Hunt, How Many Pellets, 2 Or 3 For Powder?

[Guest bbdtonyd]

1

Using 250 Grain Shockwaves In A 50 Cal Encore And Going To Oklahoma On A Whitetail Hunt, How Many Pellets, 2 Or 3 For Powder?

[johnf]

Which ever one shoots the most accurately at your longest conceivable distance is what you need to shoot. A 50 cal. ML is going to have enough energy to take a deer sized animal if you can hit it. Worry more about accuracy and less about power.

Oh, and welcome to the forum.

[Hardwood_HD]

i shoot 2 pellets out of my black diamond with those bullets

[wtnhunt]

Welcome to the forums. You should probably see what works best for your gun. Shoot loose powder here. With pyrodex, I use 120 grains of loose powder with a 240 grain tc xtp mag sabot.

[Tominator]

I use 2 in my Encore with the Shockwaves. Excellent results.

[1olhunter]

Because of the poor ballistics coefficient of muzzleloader bullets (compared to rifle bullets), I believe a maximum charge (150 grains) is necessary to have a sufficient velocity for a maximum trajectory.

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. 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 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. 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 and then use ballistics tables and practice to determine your maximum range.