I live in MS where we no longer have a muzzleloading season, just a "primitive" season. most people have switched to a single-shot .45-70 or .35 whelen (strange, i know) for use during that season. i've been thinking about making the switch too ... especially after cleaning the mk-85 after an extended range session w/ goex and swiss powder on friday. but the thought occurred to me today ... maybe i should try out that t/c triumph that i bought something like 2 yrs ago that's just been sitting in the closet.
its the plain jane model:
as you can see i added a nikon omega scope (havent tried that either) on warne rings and base. so off it went to the range. i used strictly t7 2f powder and cci standard shotgun primers. did all of my shooting at the middle berm at our range, which steps off to about 60 yds.
started off with 250 g. .452 xtp's and black harvester crush ribs. man that thing has a tight bore. too tight. i wasn't going to sit there and load those all day. i switched to some .429 210 g. sierra's that i had. used the green harvester crush rib with those. they still loaded too tight IMO, but it was doable w/ the range rod. so then i just blasted away and sighted the gun in.
this target looks haphazard, but it really wasn't once i got the scope dialed in:
started out hitting high/right, steadily adjusted toward the bull, went too far to the left w/ 2 shots, went back to just about centered and about 2" high. the big ragged hole is 10 shots. im pleased w/ that.
then i fired one more (crosshair centered on the bottom right black box) just to be sure i was dead on and 2" high at that range:
used a 90 g. by volume charge of powder. it was grouping well, and was easy on me. im sure i could push it harder w/out blowing the groups, but this works fine for my purposes.
so anyway, my thoughts. i have to grudgingly admit this rifle is much easier to use than my mk-85 or even the disc elite. the bore is too tight, but that's really the only downside. upsides:
real easy to load (and unload) the primers ... much more so than the no. 11's;
stock handles recoil well, straight back instead of bucking up in the air;
where is the blowback? i dont see any. none. nothing on the scope, either;
no safety ... just cock the hammer when you're ready to shoot. safe and simple;
accurate. no more so than my knights, and less so than the elite. but very good nonetheless;
and, perhaps most importantly, it truly is easy to clean. i can remove the breechplug with thumb pressure. no need to remove the barreled action from the gun to clean it. just run some patches down the bore and scrub off the breech plug w/ a toothbrush. no open action to clean up.
i like the omega scope, too. its a bit unorthodox in many ways. eye relief is a little TOO long, IMO, and the crosshairs are a little too thin. but its bright and clarity is great.
overall, im real pleased with the setup. im sure you are wondering about the little bullet holes in the top left corner:
that's the .270 remington sendero. the high shot was on a cold bore. after that i fired 6 or 7 in the ragged hole underneath. thats the most consistently accurate rifle i own.
its the plain jane model:
as you can see i added a nikon omega scope (havent tried that either) on warne rings and base. so off it went to the range. i used strictly t7 2f powder and cci standard shotgun primers. did all of my shooting at the middle berm at our range, which steps off to about 60 yds.
started off with 250 g. .452 xtp's and black harvester crush ribs. man that thing has a tight bore. too tight. i wasn't going to sit there and load those all day. i switched to some .429 210 g. sierra's that i had. used the green harvester crush rib with those. they still loaded too tight IMO, but it was doable w/ the range rod. so then i just blasted away and sighted the gun in.
this target looks haphazard, but it really wasn't once i got the scope dialed in:
started out hitting high/right, steadily adjusted toward the bull, went too far to the left w/ 2 shots, went back to just about centered and about 2" high. the big ragged hole is 10 shots. im pleased w/ that.
then i fired one more (crosshair centered on the bottom right black box) just to be sure i was dead on and 2" high at that range:
used a 90 g. by volume charge of powder. it was grouping well, and was easy on me. im sure i could push it harder w/out blowing the groups, but this works fine for my purposes.
so anyway, my thoughts. i have to grudgingly admit this rifle is much easier to use than my mk-85 or even the disc elite. the bore is too tight, but that's really the only downside. upsides:
real easy to load (and unload) the primers ... much more so than the no. 11's;
stock handles recoil well, straight back instead of bucking up in the air;
where is the blowback? i dont see any. none. nothing on the scope, either;
no safety ... just cock the hammer when you're ready to shoot. safe and simple;
accurate. no more so than my knights, and less so than the elite. but very good nonetheless;
and, perhaps most importantly, it truly is easy to clean. i can remove the breechplug with thumb pressure. no need to remove the barreled action from the gun to clean it. just run some patches down the bore and scrub off the breech plug w/ a toothbrush. no open action to clean up.
i like the omega scope, too. its a bit unorthodox in many ways. eye relief is a little TOO long, IMO, and the crosshairs are a little too thin. but its bright and clarity is great.
overall, im real pleased with the setup. im sure you are wondering about the little bullet holes in the top left corner:
that's the .270 remington sendero. the high shot was on a cold bore. after that i fired 6 or 7 in the ragged hole underneath. thats the most consistently accurate rifle i own.
