Muzzleloading loads

[vatreefarmer]

My 50 cal TC Omega absolutely loves a load of Hornady 300gr XTP (44 cal 0.43 dia) with the green Hornady sabots made for the 0.43 bullets. Loaded with 150gr of Triple 7 pellets it is a deer slayer. Yes, it's like shooting a cannon, but by golly deer don't like receiving it. Sadly, Hornady has stopped making the green sabots item 6750 and I'm down to just a handful left.

So it's time to find the next best load. I still like a 300gr bullet in my TC, simply because it has never let me down. Expansion is amazing and it just doesn't care if it hits shoulder bone or not. Bullet stays intact with a huge mushroom on the few bullets that were recoverable.
Hornady does pre-package a 300gr XTP with the BLACK sabots so I imagine that is using a 45cal bullet as opposed to my current 44 green sabots. Should I expect this new option to shoot at the same POI as my older load? I realize it's still a 300gr projectile and not much difference between 44 and 45 cal projectiles as far as BC as long as the sabot thickness yields the same OD. I'm probably being a little OCD about this, but I don't like changing things once a find a load that performs well.

[Transom]

Maybe maybe not. You can buy sabots direct from MMP if you want plus it is more economical to buy bullets and sabots separately. Hornady likely did not make sabots they probably resold the. Me I’ll stick to a .530 PRB with 70gr goex. With a big bore you do not need much velocity to do the job and the soft lead flat out kills.

Btw the 44 bully’s you were using were probably made for 44 magnum. The 45 cal xtps come in two flavors a standard and a mag. The standard is made for .45 colt applications and the mag is made for 454 cassul type applications. Choose accordingly.

[VaZ518]

Can’t say whether they’ll shoot the same or not, but I shoot the same xtp’s in harvester crush sabot’s with great luck. Much easier to load than the hornady sabot’s and great accuracy.

[vatreefarmer]

Can’t say whether they’ll shoot the same or not, but I shoot the same xtp’s in harvester crush sabot’s with great luck. Much easier to load than the hornady sabot’s and great accuracy.

That's exactly what I wanted to learn here. Thanks! I ordered 100 sabots to go with the 100 bullets I have left. I'll try the new sabots vs the new 45 combos and see which groups best in my rifle. I know how well the 44 bullets perform so a tie goes to old standard.
Thanks!

[vatreefarmer]

Maybe maybe not. You can buy sabots direct from MMP if you want plus it is more economical to buy bullets and sabots separately. Hornady likely did not make sabots they probably resold the. Me I’ll stick to a .530 PRB with 70gr goex. With a big bore you do not need much velocity to do the job and the soft lead flat out kills.

Btw the 44 bully’s you were using were probably made for 44 magnum. The 45 cal xtps come in two flavors a standard and a mag. The standard is made for .45 colt applications and the mag is made for 454 cassul type applications. Choose accordingly.

That is one of my concerns, I have no interest in a "mag" bullet that may no perform as well at slower speeds.

[yetti462]

If you want a good performing bullet. Shoot the Barnes. They flat wreck a deer.

[vatreefarmer]

Update. I got the 50 cal (45cal black sabot rounds) to group well with 120gr triple 7 pellets and have taken 2 bucks so far, and my buddy has taken a buck with the same load. These are not the "mag" designated bullets btw. We DON"T like this load, it just does not expand as well as the 44cal green sabot ones did. 45 caliber hole going in and a 45 cal hole coming out. All 3 bucks were recovered within 80 yards with a good blood trail. But that's largely because we made 3 well placed shots. All 3 shots were double lung and one of them also got top corner of heart. These are shots that we are used to dropping the deer within 20 yards with our previous load. So I'm shopping again.

The Hornady SST-ML seems to be very well reviewed for both expansion and accuracy so I've ordered a few boxes to have on hand by this weekend. I have need to thin out a few does and still have one bucktag left.

[mrlawler1]

I did the 150 grains of powder for a few days...that didn't last...my optima shoots a 245 grain Thompson sabot with 2 50 grain 777 pellets and it's a tack driver...this setup makes this rifle my second favorite that I own....

[vatreefarmer]

I did the 150 grains of powder for a few days...that didn't last...my optima shoots a 245 grain Thompson sabot with 2 50 grain 777 pellets and it's a tack driver...this setup makes this rifle my second favorite that I own....

Exactly. Finding a load that performs well and you KNOW exactly where your projectile is going and that it will end with a quick clean kill is tantamount. It's exactly what I had with my previous load until they stopped making it.

[adchunts]

I’ve been using this load for a few years now:

120 grains Triple 7 (two 60 grain magnum pellets)
Hornady 250 grain MonoFlex ML

Really like the monometal bullet. Have only recovered one bullet from an animal, the rest have been complete pass through.

The one I did recover from a hard quartering away shot.

[adchunts]

Here is what the exit hole looks like for the MonoFlex ML:

[CGWright]

Before Michigan made muzzleloader season a free for all, I used Barnes Spit-Fire TMZ and 150gr of BlackHorn 209 in my Omega. It was a tack driver. The Spit-Fires come in 250gr and 290gr. I used the 250gr and it was devastating on deer, even at 200 yards. Bullets had 95 -100% retention even after ribs or shoulders.

[vatreefarmer]

So a few results in the past 24 hours:
Yesterday I shot a buck with my old/current load of the 300gr 50 cal (45+ sabot) XTP bullets. Buck ran 90 yards through thick briar cover. Upon dressing the buck had a clean 45 cal hole through the relatively intact lung. That's not good.
This morning my buddy who shoots the same load shot a buck with similar results. 45 cal in and 45 cal out. Buck ran about 90 yrds.

However, this morning I was able to try the new 300 SST load at a mature doe at maybe 100 yards and the results were much more impressive. Upon dressing her the heart was completely destroyed- not a clean hole but absolute destruction! The exit hole was about double in size. This is how a bullet should respond. So far I'm happy

[adchunts]

So a few results in the past 24 hours:
Yesterday I shot a buck with my old/current load of the 300gr 50 cal (45+ sabot) XTP bullets. Buck ran 90 yards through thick briar cover. Upon dressing the buck had a clean 45 cal hole through the relatively intact lung. That's not good.
This morning my buddy who shoots the same load shot a buck with similar results. 45 cal in and 45 cal out. Buck ran about 90 yrds.

However, this morning I was able to try the new 300 SST load at a mature doe at maybe 100 yards and the results were much more impressive. Upon dressing her the heart was completely destroyed- not a clean hole but absolute destruction! The exit hole was about double in size. This is how a bullet should respond. So far I'm happy

The first scenario is exactly why I went on a quest to find the best muzzleloader bullet I could. Had several icepick through deer with little to no blood trail. Glad you found a combo that works.