Hard Loading

[oscar23]

I recently purchased a TC Omega. this weekend I took it out to the range to fire it for the first time. The weather was cold about 25 degrees. Holy crap it took me and a buddy of mine (both of us) to load the barrel. I weigh 220 lbs and he weighs close to 230. I didn't think I was that weak before I tried to load it. The second, third, fourth shots were no different. I ran a TC wet patch down it three times followed by a dry patch and it still loaded extremly hard. This took all the fun out of shooting this gun. Is this normal ??? I was using the 250grain schockwave that came with the gun and also I tried the 240 XTP. The Xtp seemed to load a little better. I had to use two gloves on the end of the ramrod with all the might I had to get this to seat. Tell me this can't be right. Can I use a little gun oil on a patch to help or will this hinder the accuracy. Oh and by the way with open sights at 100 yards I was all over the target. Shot about 10 times was all. Very disapointed -

 

[Mountain Man]

I recently purchased a TC Omega. this weekend I took it out to the range to fire it for the first time. The weather was cold about 25 degrees. Holy crap it took me and a buddy of mine (both of us) to load the barrel. I weigh 220 lbs and he weighs close to 230. I didn't think I was that weak before I tried to load it. The second, third, fourth shots were no different. I ran a TC wet patch down it three times followed by a dry patch and it still loaded extremly hard. This took all the fun out of shooting this gun. Is this normal ??? I was using the 250grain schockwave that came with the gun and also I tried the 240 XTP. The Xtp seemed to load a little better. I had to use two gloves on the end of the ramrod with all the might I had to get this to seat. Tell me this can't be right. Can I use a little gun oil on a patch to help or will this hinder the accuracy. Oh and by the way with open sights at 100 yards I was all over the target. Shot about 10 times was all. Very disapointed -

Your reference to gloves on the end of the patch makes it sound like you don't have a T-handle. I didn't know that anybody ever loaded modern, saboted projectiles in modern muzzleloaders without a T-handle! :shock: I don't think I'd be able to get most of my loads down the barrel without one. It's hard enough sometimes even with.

You might try getting a bag of MMP HPH-24s and/or a carton of Harvestors. They both have notably thinner petals than the sabots supplied with Shockwaves, and I would assume the 240 XTPs. Was the diameter of the XTPs .430/.44, .451, or .452? Were they XTPs or XTP Mags?

 

[oscar23]

I thought about a T handle while I was out on the range. I'm new to this and don't know all the little tricks that I probably should. I have to get one somewhere. XTP 240 diameter not listed on box.
I also called TC and they said that was very unusal, and told me to send the gun in and have them inspect it. He mentioned that they have seen barrels that were under sized. What do you think

 

[sheephunterab]

I recently purchased a TC Omega. this weekend I took it out to the range to fire it for the first time. The weather was cold about 25 degrees. Holy crap it took me and a buddy of mine (both of us) to load the barrel. I weigh 220 lbs and he weighs close to 230. I didn't think I was that weak before I tried to load it. The second, third, fourth shots were no different. I ran a TC wet patch down it three times followed by a dry patch and it still loaded extremly hard. This took all the fun out of shooting this gun. Is this normal ??? I was using the 250grain schockwave that came with the gun and also I tried the 240 XTP. The Xtp seemed to load a little better. I had to use two gloves on the end of the ramrod with all the might I had to get this to seat. Tell me this can't be right. Can I use a little gun oil on a patch to help or will this hinder the accuracy. Oh and by the way with open sights at 100 yards I was all over the target. Shot about 10 times was all. Very disapointed -

Try using a short starter over the end of the rod.

 

[Mountain Man]

If T/C says some barrels are undersized, I'd take their word for it!

If that doesn't solve the difficulty, I would get some MMP HPH24 sabots and try those. My Savage has a tight barrel, and while I can load standard MMP and Hornady sabots, I do get better groups with HPH24s.

I would not lube your sabots or barrel, though.

Good luck!

 

[MLKeith]

Is your Omega a blue or stainless? I have a stainless one and I have slugged the bore and it measures .500 exactly. I can barely get any sabot bullet combination down the barrel. I blame it mostly on the stainless as stainless tends to machine rougher than high carbon steel. I polished mine with 200 up and 200 down strokes of JB bore paste and it is now possible to load a single shot after which I must really clean everything spotless before a second sabot can be loaded. I find that with Tripple Seven it is impossible to shoot anything after the first shot without a major cleaning chore. I have found that with Black Mag'3 I can sometimes get three or four shots without the big cleaning chore.

 

[lyleK]

I had the same issue with my Knight - I ended up going to a .44 cal bullet with MMP sabots. I shoot the Hornady .44 cal HP/XTP's. Load like a charm and shoot great !

 

[chuck bianchi]

Try Pr. Dead centers. with Black mag 3 powder .

 

[rjhans53]

Ok really silly question here, did you really clean the packing oil/grease out before you went to the range, I thought I did with a disc extreeme, but later carb cleaner proved me wrong, it loads like a champ now

 

[rjhans53]

Ok really silly question here, did you really clean the packing oil/grease out before you went to the range, I thought I did with a disc extreeme, but later carb cleaner proved me wrong, it loads like a champ now

 

[oscar23]

Your right it is a stainless barrell
And no I didn't clean the barrell before I shot.
Thanks for your imput guys.
Damn it just seems like a lot of work to just fire a shot, almost takes all the fun out of it.
I have read on here where guys will shoot 30-40 rounds and have to quit
because their shoulder is sore. Hell it would take me all day to shoot that many times and my shoulder wouldn't be sore but my arms would fall off from loading.

 

[Mountain Man]

I normally only shoot 12 to 15 rounds, maybe 18 or 21, in a three to four hour range session. Between setting up, weighing charges, swabbing between shots, waiting for barrel to cool, checking groups, range delays due to people wanting to go down range ever 10 or 15 minutes ( ), clean up, and tear down, I normally average about 5 shots per hour at the range.

Muzzleloading is NOT about the volume of shots. IMO, it's about precision, forethought, patience, repeatability, and finding and waiting for the right ingredients and moment to make your shot whether on paper or at game.

 

[Redclub]

I have an Omega which I use for Elk hunting in Co. And are not allowed to use sabots so I use powerbelts 348 Grain aerotip and they are a real pleasure to shoot. They load so easy. after I ran about 3 packs or more through the Omega I tried shockwaves and they loaded pretty good, not easy like a powerbelt though. I wonder if it was because I shot so many conicals through it that it really smoothed out the barrel. In
my Savage I can usually shoot about 3 shots and thats all as I have a bad shoulder and pushing those sabots are quite difficult. Hunting is fine though.
Redclub

 

[sheephunterab]

Try giving the barrel a good cleaning to get the packing grease out and use a short starter to start the bullet and then use the wooden part over the rod to seat the bullet. We have three Omegas and none are hard loaders with the SSTs but I guess it could happen.

 

[sabotloader]

oscar23,

There may be another problem also. Most people I have heard discuss the Omega talk about the tight barrels. And as most of you know there is no standard for the bore of the barrel and I will also tell you there are some awful tight TC barrels out there.

Another problem - when TC switched from Harvester sabots to MMP HPH sabots they were being supplied with the wrong ones. The short petelled black sabot that came with some packages were the older 185 to 300 grain sabots designed to be packaged with Hornady SST's (they are thicker) Then TC switched to the MMP HPH-24 sabot, it is the thinnest that MMP makes. I am talking about 50 cal sabots. TC also went back to MMP and had them reconstruct the 44 cal sabot to a thinner sabot because of the trouble loading in the Omegas. When I talked to Connie about them she said they were being built for a contractor and could not be sold to the public at this time. Now you may be able to buy these new sabots both the black 50 cal HPH-24 and the Green 44cal HPH-24 in TC's Mag Express packages of sabots. I have not looked.

Also, I tested some Harvester "crush rib" sabots in my Remingtons and A&H - they are definitely the thinnest sabot I have encountered. The HPH-24's and the regular Harvester Black 50 cal sabots all go down with relative ease - no short starter involved and the "crush rib" go down really easy - not as easy as a PowerBelt but easy - In my A&H there was a slight down side - I lost a little bit of velocity, I think it was about 100 ft. per second with the "crush rib" vs the HPH-24 or the regular Harvester.

Just some information I have gathered... I wish someone around here had an Omega - but we in the Pscific Northwest can not use them because we have to use a percussion cap ignition so you do not see to many of them.

 

[oscar23]

Thanks Guys

 

[LFM]

I bought a short T Bar starter with my first but then I realized that the ram rod is small and using your palm it is a real job the first few times pushing a sabot down the barrel. I then added a wood palm saver that is round and has a hole drill into it slightly for use with a ram rod so it is round and saves your palm especially when you are having some difficulty getting a sbaot down and seated.

No sure but might want to get a capper to help get the primer / cap in place... Good Luck...
LFM

 

[Hunter280man]

I know of two other people right now that are having the same issues as you. The advise on cleaning the gun is priceless.....they are packed with some tuff stuff that doesn't come out very easy. A wire brush might even be neccisary.

The other idea of polishing the bore is a great idea. I helped a fella fix a traditions last night that had similar problems. A little elbo grease can fix alot. I do this with every rifle I buy....and am always surprised to feal the difference in loading. And, the accuracy change. :wink:

 

[oscar23]

Ok this is what I tried. I cleaned the gun with alcohol, windex, TC - cleaning patches and then dry patches. I took out the breach plug and cleaned that along with making sure the whole barrel was clean. Ran about 30 patches through it. The bullets that I was shooting were TC mag express 240 grain (diameter not listed). I bought a pack of thirty with sabots. I ordered MMP HPH-24 sabots and tried them. Holy cow what a differance, they load and shoot like a dream. Those sabots that came with the bullets are way to thick for my gun. I guess I will have to buy bullets and sabots separate from now on. Thanks everyone