Old 777 pellets... could that cause accuracy problems?

[TroyTwpSlayer]

Good morning all... new to the forum. Got out my trusty .50 cal Encore last night... used up my last box of T7 pellets and started a new box. I don't shoot this too often... in Ohio your allowed one buck and I've been blessed with my bow before muzzleloader even comes around. I got an invite to a late season muzzleloader hunt in Indiana next month, so I wanted to make sure it's ready to go. I could not get this thing to group at all (vertical stringing, flyers) I'd say 6-8" groups at 100 yards... usually prints 1-2" groups. Stayed with my trusted procudure. Cleaned between each shot (both sides of a split patch, both sides of a dry patch), 5 minutes between shots. I did put a new Leupold scope on it... everything is tight. It was a little windy (maybe 10 mph - straight from my bench to the target) I used 2 - 50g pellets. Tried 2 different bullets and sabbots (260 grain Extreme Elite HP and 250 grain Hornady SST) I was looking at my powder and the box said 2003, but it's been kept in an air tight army can, inside my safe. I'm beginning to wonder if that is the problem? What do you all think? Thanks in advance for any help on this! Jeff

 

[elite-50]

Ain't no deer in Indiana :wink: I have been reading quite a bit of Leupolds going bad, maybe the scope? I'd def. try a new jug of powder if it was shooting good before.

 

[Busta]

Ain't no deer in Indiana :wink: I have been reading quite a bit of Leupolds going bad, maybe the scope? I'd def. try a new jug of powder if it was shooting good before.

elite-50,

Where have you been reading about Leupolds going bad? I would like to read that, please.

TTS,

I would bet my best rifle it is your powder, pellets start absorbing moisture as soon as they are put in those leaky non-sealed plastic boxes. I know you said it has been in an airtight ammo can, but everytime you take them out they are absorbing moisture.

Get new pellets, not ones that have been sitting on a store shelf for a few years, or better yet some loose powder in a sealed jug.

I still don't know why Hodgdon still puts thos pellets in the non-sealed boxes, but they do. At least the IMR White Hots are in plastic tubes, so that must help out a little.

 

[TroyTwpSlayer]

Thanks Busta... if I can find it, I'm gonna try that Blackhorn 209. Cabela's in Dundee, MI and Bass Pro in my home town are both sold out of BH209.

I used to dabble in benchrest shooting... when I can't get decent groups out of whatever I'm shooting, I get very frustrated. It's funny... I trimmed the forearm so it wouldn't hit the action, went to the Vari-Flame adaptors so I could use small rifle primers, new scope, new bullets, new ram rod, new bullet seater all in hopes of really getting some tiny groups... it's been the opposite so far. My buddies really think this is funny... I'm always trying to acheive better groups.

Makes me want to try out that Savage smokeless muzzleloader! I've got jugs of different smokeless powder that I'll likely never get around to using that I could use in that Savage if I owned one. Bought a gun from a guy once who's dad did a lot of reloading... I asked him about the jugs of powder I saw in the garage and he said... " Do me a favor, just take it all and get it out of the house as it makes my mom nervous". There was a favor I didn't mind doing!

I'll report back on here what I find out this weekend if I get out shooting. Thanks, Jeff

 

[cayuga]

I was shooting some Triple Seven pellets that I OPENED NEW and all I got was a "poof" out of them in my Knight. I too would suspect the powder. Also I would go to loose Triple Seven and try that.

 

[Old No7]

To pellet or not to pellet...

"Old 777 pellets... could that cause accuracy problems?"

I'm with cayuga... I was also thinking that even new pellets could be a source of accuracy problems. So using old ones??? For sure...

I also second his suggestion to try loose 777 powder. It's really not that hard to handle at the range or in the field once you get used to it (and get a few needed accessories too...). :wink:

Tight groups,

Old No7

 

[TroyTwpSlayer]

I will admit that the color of those pellets wasn't as dark as I remember when they were new... so they may be the issue. Might have to make homemade fireworks out of the rest of them :shock:

 

[coastmloader]

The same thing is happening with my Genesis I been using 777 pellets that a friend gave me last year thought it was the shockwaves was thinking about changing bullets but went and picked up some loose 777 today and try that before I change bullets so far I tried regular shockwaves and ez glides shockwaves

 

[UtahRob]

Being that the pellet are not in sealed boxes ( are they ) and i see some sit in a stores all year i wounder if they can go bad before you even buy them ? If i remember right the boxes have a plastic cover that does not cover the whole box ,( is there a seal inside?) . If i ever used them i would store them in a air tight container .

 

[TroyTwpSlayer]

They are stored in a plastic box that has no sealing lid. The wrap plastic around the box (center) but not the ends. I think the shrink wrap is on there more as a theft deterant than anything else. Called around for BH209 yesterday... Bass Pro by my house was $40 and in stock and Cabela's (about a 40 min drive) was $25 (he thought it was on sale) should be more in today or tomorrow. Wonder how these 2 can be so competitive and be so far apart on this powder? I'll call Cabela's when they open and see if more came in. He said it was selling as fast as they could put it on the shelf. Can't wait to try it out.

 

[Widude]

I swung through Cabale's in WI the other day & they had B209 in stock. I think it was $29.99, not sure. I didn't get any since I have 1.5 containers for this season. When I get back I talk to a buddy who is looking for some. Now he's off looking semi locally. I agree some of those pellets can sit on a shelf for awhile before being sold.

 

[Lee 9]

Any hygroscopic [water absorbing] powder can go sour. I also played with small primers, the rifle primers worked best but if there was any difference accuracy it was in the wrong direction. [I also am a bench shooter although I gave competition up when I retired] I am shooting the Endeavor Encore and getting some half inch groups with STS, Winchester and CCIm primers and think that the story about sabot and bullet being lifted of the powder before the powder could burn is not true. If it was we would not be getting 1/2 inch groups with BH209 which requires hot primers.
Busta
"Where have you been reading about Leupolds going bad?"
I do not know where he read it but mine lost the ability to hold its POI when it was only 18 months old so I went back to Nikon.