I'm shooting a Rem 700 action with a PRbullets smokeless barrel, I'm shooting the 240gr .40/.50 dead centre bullets, I'm using 44-45grs of 5744 which is a highly recommended powder and load but I'm only getting 1850fps on the chrony and my drops are in agreement with that, that's barely a 2 pellet muzzleloader load, I'm not looking to hot rod it but I would really like to at least match a 3 pellet load. Would really like to hear what savage ML etc shooters are using and what velocitys your seeing, I have a few other powders to try including blackhorn.
Need help with smokeless muzzleloader
- Thread starter MaxKW
- Start date
With my Savage ML I had no happiness with dead center & extreme elite bullets, 5-8" groups. Best groups have been with 250 & 300gr Hornady bullets.
42gr SR 4759 MMP H.P. sabot 250gr FTX Hornady 2" group 2340 fps
41 gr V.V. N110 300SST factory sabot 1.5" group 2130 fps
46gr 5744 300SST factory sabot 2" group 2200 fps
42gr SR 4759 MMP H.P. sabot 250gr FTX Hornady 2" group 2340 fps
41 gr V.V. N110 300SST factory sabot 1.5" group 2130 fps
46gr 5744 300SST factory sabot 2" group 2200 fps
I'm not familiar with the 700 action ML but my friend and I have Savage 10ML II's and he ran in to a problem where his gun would no longer group. Turns out that the vent liner was getting dirty causing irregular ignition and groups would open up dramatically. He cleaned it out and the ground went from 20" back down the 2ish inches like the season before.
I went out tonight and tried some blackhorn and it clocked 2200fps and showed very good accuracy, my 5744 load is mentioned all over the net and is a Savage recommended load but it just wouldn't work for me.
The company that puts the barrels together recommends changing the vent liner every 100 rounds IIRC, he has been super helpful from pre sale right up to a bunch of exchanged emails last night, he's Canadian and I highly recommend him, this is not a plug for him I'm just really impressed.
The company that puts the barrels together recommends changing the vent liner every 100 rounds IIRC, he has been super helpful from pre sale right up to a bunch of exchanged emails last night, he's Canadian and I highly recommend him, this is not a plug for him I'm just really impressed.
My .50 cal. savage liked 4759 powder (43 grs) but it's become quite scarce . I went to 4198 powder and worked up a load from 60 grs and found the sweet spot to be at 65 grs. and 300 gr. bullets made all of the difference. The vent liner does need to be monitored, it's not that it gets dirty it gets eroded and opens up too large and groups begin to suffer. a pin gauge or torch tip cleaners are good to check it once it enlarges over .35 groups went south.
Speeds will be over 2300 fps. and the lead bullets don't seem to do well once speeds exceed 2200 fps.
Now realize these loads were with a stock savage smokeless rifle and designed to handle them safely, I believe the PR rifle has a Green mountain barrel but not sure what it's limitations are.
Speeds will be over 2300 fps. and the lead bullets don't seem to do well once speeds exceed 2200 fps.
Now realize these loads were with a stock savage smokeless rifle and designed to handle them safely, I believe the PR rifle has a Green mountain barrel but not sure what it's limitations are.
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303EppsFan
CGN Regular
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- Almonte,Ontario
You might pop over to Doug's Message Boards. They have a wealth of information on custom inlines as well Savage ML. You may find your answers there.
I think poor ignition is a cause of a lot of woes, including mine. Anytime the MV drops and the groups open up, look at your powder and primer combo. In particular, the substitute black powders such as 777, Blackhorn, Pyrodex, etc are quite hygroscopic. The absorption of moisture has a severe effect on ignition and combustion.
Thanks, I thought there was something wrong with my 5744 load, its recomended all over the place but I realize that alot of the people using it are shooting 100-150 yards and are not worried about top velocity. Blackhorn seems like the ticket to safely get reasonable velocities, If the rain ever stops I will get out and calibrate my scope/ drop chart and fine tune the speed if needed. My goal for this project at this point is consistent kill shots on deer vital size targets (STEEL AND PAPER) out to 350 yards. I will hunt with this rifle but the 350 yard cap is not for live animals.
The poor results I experienced were with smokeless powder, turns out it's just not the powder needed to get the velocities I need for this. On the topic of ignition i'm igniting very sucessfully large amounts (compared to smokeless) of Blackhorn with large rifle primers.
Yes - Blackhorn is held in high regard. The issue comes when you store it from season to season, and it absorbs moisture. Ask me how I know... I'm currently fiddling with the concept of dessicating my old 777, Pyrodex, and Balckhorn in the oven @ ~ 180 degrees, to prove things out.
I tried some IMR-4198 today and it was a great success, speeds are very good and accuracy was better that any other powder I've tried, here's a 4 shot group at 200yards, the 4th shot is the one on the far right after adjusting the scope, I'm using a Leupold Ultimate slam, it's a very good hunting scope but the reticle is very coarse for target work. After this group I switched to my yardage marks in the scope and at 300 yards I shot a 4.5" group.
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65-70 grs of IMR-4198, the group in the pic is 66grs, I think I will settle on 69-70 grs, .40/.50 240gr dead center bullets, federal large rifle magnum primer. I don't have chrony results but the 65gr load was about 2150fps but the conditions were good so I rushed that part and just got shooting.
