I have biger, faster, more powerful disease again!

Some of you will recall last time.  I'm sory about that.  To recap- Encore 50 shoots great (2 moa) with 100grains of 777 and a 295 grain Power Belt but I want MORE POWER!

I've tried 150 grains of 777 with that same 295 grain Power Belt and it shoots 12 inch+ groups.
I've tried going heavy with 370 grain TC conicals but that is not much better.  It looks like heavy is not the way to go and speed is the only way to capitalize on this guns strengths.

Does anyone shooting an Encore have a projectile that works good with 150 grains of 777?
I'd be willing to change powder if I had to as long as it's clean.  Frontier etc.

Thanks,
Joe

150 grains of Triple Seven (loose or pellets) IS NOT safe in ANY gun.

sign me in as your beneficiary..

dude..

you can only shoot things with a certain amount of killing power.

100gr of 777 and a powerbelt is gonna kill anything..

why....
whyy....
whhyyyy...

i do not get it sometimes.

Quoted: 150 grains of Triple Seven (loose or pellets) IS NOT safe in ANY gun.

Why not?

Quoted: Quoted: 150 grains of Triple Seven (loose or pellets) IS NOT safe in ANY gun. Why not?

Triple Seven is a high energy product designed to provide the muzzleloading hunter with higher velocities when used in the same VOLUME as black powder. To duplicate a black powder load velocity using Triple Seven, you must decrease the powder charge by 15%

Straight from Hodgdon's website.

T7 isn't blackpowder or Pyrodex.  It is some really powerful stuff.  A 150 gr. charge of T7 is nearly equivalent to a 180 gr. charge of BP or Pyrodex.  And who wants to shoot almost 200 grains of powder?

It might be safe in the Savage or other smokeless frontstuffers, but I wouldn't stand within a hundred yards of anyone shooting 150 gr. of T7 in any gun.  Esp. the cheaper/weaker stuff (Traditions, CVA, etc)

While the Encore and Omega (and maybe one or two of Knight's rifles) should be able to handle the 150 gr. charge of T7, it is inherently unsafe.

If you are interested in bigger faster or more powerful get yourself a savage 10ml2.  

I've sort of been watching this thread and can't really contribute much because with one exception I know squat about modern inline muzzleloaders, truth be told I had to do a goolge search to see what exactly an Encore is, but one thing I'm curious about is what exactly it is you're trying to kill that isn't getting dead enough with 100gr of T7? I don't mean to sound condescending or sarcastic with that question, but a 295gr bullet atop 100 grains of powder should stop just about anything you're likely to encounter in N. America with good shot placement. Without getting into safety issues, shot placement is most important so the accuracy of your 100gr load would be more important than any potential gain in power from switching to 150gr even if such were a safe load.

If you really need more power, consider switching to a larger caliber.

That's my 2 cents anyway.



Cpt. Redleg

At first I felt like an ass hat but I realize that I am fortunate to have not kaboomed.  I didn't realize the difference in 777 vs Pyrodex.  I was dissapointed in the 295 Powerbelt + 100 gr 777 as it did not pass through a 150# white tail.  I guess I will have to experiment with lighter and faster instead.

The 295 gr. Powerbelt and 100 gr. of T7 are a perfect match for the Encore.  Don't mess with success.  Complete pass-through would be nice, but as long as it goes down, no worries.

I shoot a 295 gr. copper clad PB hollow point over 90 gr. of FFG T7 in my Encore.  It will put 3 shots within an inch at 100 yards.  I shot a doe at a range of 120 yards in the boiler room.  It didn't pass through, but dropped her where she stood.