Re: Ultimate
Indyultra said:
I own a Howa action BP Xpress Ultimate with a Zeiss 4.5-14x44. Randy you seem pretty upset about the article and the gun. I'll give you any info on the gun I know of.
1. 200gr Proydex with a 300 TC shock wave Shoots avg 2340
2. 250gr Proydex with a 300 TC shock wave shoots avg 2510
My gun my Chrony.
Both hardly rates an "upset," just a bit of disappointment over the minimalistic, half-hearted writing of Mr. Fadala in this instance, as noted-- and the continued and obvious misrepresentation of Ultimate Firearms of their gun that has been going on for some four years by now.
It would be difficult to make a case that 2340 fps with a 300 gr Shockwave has ANY different ballistics than 2340 fps with the same projectile out of a Savage 10ML-II.
Their brochure says:
"
No Brag, Just Fact ? Completely burns 4 Pyrodex pellets ?Documented kills at over 500 yards ? Advanced recoil dampening system ? 55 second cleanup ? Fastest lock time ? No blow-back ? Accurate
? Powerful ? Easy to load ? Weatherproof ? Safe ? User-friendly ? Sealed breech
? .50 Caliber"
Well, the "no brag" statement has a few problems. Their "fastest lock time" no brag is a lie.
The advanced recoil dampening system may be "advanced," I think a Sims pad
is advanced-- but a recoil pad is hardly new technology. Silly to try to call it more than it is.
As for "completely burn Pyrodex pellets," that point is also rather silly. Only 50% of Pyrodex burns in any gun-- even if you used just one pellet in an Omega, only half of that pellet turns to gas. You may or may not get all the gas that can be had from a lump of charcoal, or a pellet of Pyrodex, but the ashes in your Weber of the smoke in the air tell anyone that complete combustion has not taken place.
The claim that large bore rifle primers are "10X hotter than a 209" is foolish-- actually, a 209 is hotter-- and produces
more gas.
Lothar Walthar barrels are nothing to brag about-- those familiar with Marlin and Daisy have had that little low-cost option for years. Hart, Lilja, McGowan-- those are the barrels that win championships, and are in demand.
A Howa action is a Howa action-- is there some basis for saying it has a faster locktime when you stick in a BP Xpress than anything else?
All this, the highest priced muzzleloader you can buy, you can't use smokeless powder, and you can't even buy one direct-- unlike most, it is a form 4473 arm. For the money, the Savage 10ML-II and the New Ultra Light Arms muzzleloaders never looked so good.
The "Custom aluminum chassis provides a harmonic-free barrel". Another new branch of physics at work-- aluminum bedding blocks are old news. Hasn't anybody heard of a Bell & Carlson Medalist stock?
http://www.rifle-accuracy.com/medalst2.htm
All starting at $1800 with an aluminum block. What is the resale value of one of these white elephants? Some will say it just makes infinitely more sense to buy a Savage instead, and use the $1300 surplus cash to actually go hunting. :shock:
I hope anybody that drops their cash on a BP Xpress is happy, of course. Everyone is entitled some liberty in trying to present their product in a pleasing fashion, of course. Locktime lies, new theories on how Pyrodex creates gas, tortured bedding block theories that remove all harmonics from a barrel, inventing a new way a large bore rifle primer works------------ well, it is a very, very low form of wit.
No Brag, Just Fact? Only in a room with rubber wallpaper.
So we can shoot a sabot at about 2300 fps. So can a Savage. So can an Omega with three pellets.
If you want to do it with less recoil, you can sure do it with a Savage-- you don't need 200 grains of pellets to get the job done.
You can also do it with a 250 gr. bullet and an Omega and just three pellets. No whitetail can live on the difference. All this boils down to what the
purpose of a 4 (
or make it 5 or 6 if you choose) pellet burner might be.
If they want to call it a "500 yard gun," I can't see it. I'll use your MV of 2340 fps, and Thompson's inflated BC of .24.
With a 100 yard zero, that is 119.43 inches of drop at 500 yards. With just a 10mph crosswind, that blows your bullet 57.31 inches away from your crosshairs. The bullet has gone sub-sonic at 1098 fps at anything above 40 degrees F. They don't call it a sonic boom for nothing.
Ten feet of hold-over, and allowing for nearly six feet of wind drift for every 10 mph of cross-wind, and you
might hit something . . . if it doesn't move. :shock: Despite any wondrous claims of locktime, the time of flight tells the tale, nearly a full second after the bullet leaves the muzzle-- .967 seconds with the inflated T/C BC.