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blue smoke
December 29, 2006, 11:49 PM
i got a new tc pro hunter for Xmas new to inlines .What load would be good in this gun .What kind of rings and bases should i use one piece or two pieces bases.What kind of powder should i use . Going to put a scpoe on it thinking about a leupold 3x9x40 or a nikon omega 3x9x40.please let me know what to do .

thanks jim

HUNT HARD HUNT SAFE:cool:

marcseatac
December 30, 2006, 05:40 PM
Try everything you can get your hands on, buy yourself a copy of Lymans Black Powder Handbook. They are available in most sporting goods stores if they sell reloading and BP stuff. Pick up some saboted bullets and some conicals like the Thompson Center Maxi-balls. Shoot 80 grains to get the feel for it, then crank er up.

You need a couple things:

Powder measure
powder flask
Handle for your ramrod
Pre soaked solvent patches
dry patches
ball puller tip
patch puller tip
Good quality jag extention that has knurled hollow end
black powder solvent

Pay very close attention to your loading rod when you seat a bullet and charge. Mark it!!! Paint or tape or something, then check it every time you load it. Very important. Safety first.

Watch the CD-Rom Thompson provided, by Sam Fadala, you'll be a pro.......

arcticap
December 30, 2006, 10:43 PM
TC's website has some scope bases to look at and a picture of a Pro with a one piece base:

http://www.tcarms.com/firearms/prohunter.php

http://www.tcarms.com/firearms/accessoriesDetail.php?theCategoryID=11&theTitle=Scopes%20and%20Mounts

There's been lots of threads here over the last several months discussing good bullet/sabot combinations, and there is customer feedback also listed on Cabela's & the Bass Pro websites (maybe on the Dixie Gun website too) which you can click on when you view their bullet/sabot selection.
The various 240-250 grain bullets/sabots are the most popular.

777 is probably the most popular inline powder, remember to reduce your powder volume by 15% compared to other BP substitutes when using it.
APP (American Pioneer Powder) is another popular one, as is Pyrodex which is corrosive.
Many people recommend loose powder over pellets because you can control the exact amount of powder that you want to use, and it's usually more cost efficient.
Since cleaning your muzzle loader is so important to protect your investment and obtain good performance, buying some good BP rifle cleaning equipment, solvent and lubricant (especially breech plug grease) should be a top priority.
Don't start shooting it until you can adequately clean and maintain it immediately afterward.
Sometimes a wooden or plastic mallet (and a conical bullet starter attachment) helps to get a tight fitting sabot started part way down the barrel, even with the QLA muzzle.
Lead bullets/sabots are cheaper to start practicing with before going out and buying the more expensive jacketed bullets. After sighting in and learning more about the gun's performance, then you can start experimenting with more of the different bullets.
Beautiful rifle you have there! :)

masterhunter
January 22, 2007, 10:34 PM
blue smoke, you probably wont be happy with that gun;) ,so being the nice guy that I am I will trade a cva bobcat for it....even up:D
I'll even pay shipping.

Archer66
January 25, 2007, 04:42 AM
Hello all,

I would think masterhunter has a really nice cva to offer such a swap.:D

Blue smoke you own one of the finest rifle systems ever made. I've been using TC encore and contender smoke poles for 15 years now and I cant see switching anytime soon. I still chunk a patched ball at a deer occasionally with my old beat up hawken. I have a thunderhawk that is in real good shape that is basically in my safe waiting on my oldest son to take up muzzle loading. I have taken several deer with it also and it does a great job, but none compare to the TC. The Encore (Pro Hunter) are pretty finicky as far as loads go. I recently sighted in a friends TC who gave me an odd looking sabot with a sub base attached to it. It really wasnt even a sabot, more of a hunk of lead with a hunk of plastic glued to its rearend. I can honestly say I have never witnessed a more sporadic volley of bs in my life. At 30 yards I had a hole or 2 in the target with some hits as far away as 14", in no one particular direction. I switched to the hornady SST's and moved to 100 yards after 3 at 30.
I'm the local gunsmith in an area that thrives on hunting and I have had the fortunate pleasure to scope and site quite a few of these. I have had the best groups with 120 grains of triple 7 pellets and either a 250 grain hornady sst or a 260 gn dead center. Stick a magnum sub base on these and your group can tighten up some. Most of my clients insist on using 150 grains of pyrodex pellets. After 5 to 10 rounds 3 or 4 times a day you get a real good idea of why it's called a "magnum". If you are going to shoot 150 grains of pellets I would advise a long eye relief scope and to turn your hat around backwards to keep it on your head.
I would do as previously suggested and start low and graduate up. 90 grains used to be a "standard" of sorts and is really all you need for hunting.
Once you find the right combo of powder/sabots that hits for you next is fine tuning. You can try different primers and, yes, they can make a difference in accuracy. I have had the best results by just flat out refusing to use a 209 primer. I remachined my breech plug to use trimmed 22 hornet cases and got my groups to 1.5" at 100 yds. It's caught on lately to use .25 acp cases so you dont have to trim them down. I followed suit and was glad I did. Besides getting my m/l barrel to shoot as good a group as my 300 barrel does, I didnt have to clean between shots anymore. I also attribute that to using TC's borebutter. I use it on everything now. I'm just not sure the wife appreciates gun goop on her can opener when it starts squeeking.
I started using the Tally one piece bases for scopes and they seem to do well. They also come in hardwoods camo. Stick with a quality scope, the recoil on my TC sent a Simmons 3x9x40 back to them for service. They sent me a 3x9x50 pro sport back with documents stating that recoil was the cause of damage. I put a BSA 4x12x24 catseye on it that I really liked but it only made it one season. I can only assume that what I was seeing stuck to the lens on the inside was strips of paint from the inner tube wall. It didnt seem to affect accuracy but it was way to annoying to look through. I put a Nikon on it and so far so good. I guess what gets me giggling is hearing that "ting!" on a crow target at 275. It just dont seem right for a smoke pole. Well as you can see im a little long winded on the tc's. I hope you enjoy yours as much as I do mine.
Below are a few things that some may find interesting about the TC's. Happy shootin.


if you have any creep on your trigger or want to lighten it up, expect to pay around 60 bux. They are easy and a lot of folks are doing it themselves (but research is a must for safety's sake).
If you ever feel a need to get oversized hinge pins installed understand that it voids the warranty.
TC doesn't make or recommend shooting cartridges in WSM, WSSM, or Ultra Mag barrels in any caliber for the pro hunter/Encore or G2/Contender frame. Its a pressure thing. There are custom shops that will send you a barrel in those configurations.
All Encore and Pro Hunter stuff will interchange, the contender and G2 barrels will swap but the stock/grips wont.
The G2 and the Pro Hunter have the same size hammer spring but the older contender spring is different.
The Pro Hunter has a 7/16" hinge pin and the G2 has a 3/8" pin.
If you shoot 10 rounds out of a 45/70 super 14 barrel, with one hand, that are loaded a little heavy, you will bend the case hardened stock bolt and likely bleed from some part of your body.
You can consistently hit a soda can at 700 yards with a 22-250 barrel on a calm day.
If you have indentations on the breech face combined with cocking problems or misfires then you probably have a headspace issue.