50 caliber bullet review results

I've been doing a lot of testing of bullets lately out of my 50 caliber TC Scout Pistol which is a 12" barrel.   WARNING DO NOT ASSUME your gun whatever it might be is safe to handle the same loads.  I have carefully worked up to and way beyond what I'm showing here.  What I have found is 95 grains of 3FFF 777 for my gun is what gives the best velocity.....90grains velocity drops noticeably and 100grains appears to be the point where the speed drops a little or doesn't gain over the 95 grains of powder.  I've heard so much well meaning bs from fellow shooters over the years, but I'm always trying to prove performance rather than accept decades of traditional bs that just gets passed down from generation to generation without being questioned.  I'm no expert whatsoever these are just my findings that I wanted to share on what these bullets do.  The photo does not show the actual measured size, because my battery just died in the micrometer.  I'm going to discuss them from right to left in the photo now remember these are my findings not yours so I'm not out here to hurt your feelings your gun might and likely will show different results.

Powerbelt 250gr I found was a lot of hype and that was it.  I recall speaking to a tech at Powerbelt over the phone and as I recall the bullet diameter is smaller than others which I was told aids in loading and the plastic gas check swells up capturing any blow by gas and also helps guide it down the barrel and at same time being plastic you can go about 6 shots between cleaning.  I found all to be much different.  It doesn't load any easier and in fact not as easy as traditional waxed cast lead bullets, I still had to clean after 2 shots and sure you could get 3, but it didn't go down easy and the plastic gas check based on chrono results does a poor job of stopping blow by and it doesn't clean the bore like I was told it would and if you compare it to the Hornady that should give you some indicator of how it works.  I got distracted by someone talking to me and dryballed one of the 295grain pure lead bullets they make which has the same plastic gas check design.  I used a worm and got the bullet out which was a hollow point so that wasn't a problem as I'm sure a nylon tip bullet would be, but the plastic gas check detached itself in the bottom and could not be wormed out no matter how hard you tried and eventually I got it out with a cap, but what a pain in the butt!  Accuracy so far not great.  The price for 15 is $25 so they are not cheap either.

Hornady 250gr using a sabot the bullet has a .452 diameter and this design has been around along time.  Great results.  Obviously this sabot does a great job of keeping back the blow by which increases the velocity tremendously.  It's the hardest to load meaning the most friction going down the barrel and you still have to clean after a couple shots no different than a traditional cast lead bullet.  Velocity is by far the best and accuracy has been good even out to 200 yards.  Price is reasonable at $15 bucks for $20.

Black Widow Bullet company:  300gr.   Great people great bullet!  I got them over the phone last Fall and what I found is there is no hype it works awesome!  It loads easy and like any cast bullet you want to clean after a couple shots, but's it's the easiest to load of the bunch.  This heavy bullet produces better velocity than the Powerbelt and it's 50 grains heavier not to mention not as aerodynamic.  What this tells me and other cast lead bullets are telling me the same is lead does a great job of stopping blow by if it's a good bullet.  Accuracy is good and price is reasonable, but forgot the price.  I will be buying more from these folks.

Lee REAL 320gr:  Great bullet and loads better than the plastic sabots or gas checked.  Velocity is good and pure lead hasn't been any issues for me.  Accuracy is good.

Lee MaxiBall 370gr:  Great bullet and I pretty much have the same to say as on the REAL 320gr.

Things I find is you have to clean your barrel either after every shot or after 2 shots for best results.  Leading is a zero issue at these speeds....lead is your friend!  I tried running oiled felt wad on some cast bullets on top of the powder, but find nothing good  for me and it doesn't help in cleaning the barrel less often or better velocity.  Accuracy results I can't say.  If your using a nylon tipped bullet and or plastic gas check or plastic sabot you better know ahead of time how your going to retrieve it out of the barrel if something goes wrong it's not as easy as a traditional cast bullet that's for sure!  I tried the 250gr Lee REAL bullets, but they are like a hockey puck and accuracy not good for me!

Those are pretty impressive velocities from a Pistol You don’t see those velocities from Blackpowder Pistols very often  The TC Scouts are a Different Animal

You are talking 95 Grains by Volume right?

Most folks in Blackpowder use Volume Measures, I differ there  Everything i do is by Weight, I Precisely weigh my Powder Charges to a 1/10th of a Grain. I only use a Volume measure 1 time to find out what Volume to Weight a Particular powder is? From that point on i weigh all of my Charges by Weight. I don’t like the Variances you can get with Volume Measuring, I have seen Volume be off SEVERAL Grains when Checked by Weight, this is unacceptable to me. I get asked fairly often if i feel it is that much better? My answer is simply YES Think about it this way, Would you expect a High end Centerfire Rifle to Shoot Sub MOA with Powder Charges weighed by Volume, Possibly varying several Grains? NOPE, Then how can a Guy expect his Muzzleloader to Shoot Sub MOA with Powder Charges in Volume, varying several Grains? Muzzleloaders are not Magical Rifles that Shoot perfectly no matter what you do, if you expect Sub MOA from your Muzzleloader you need to remove EVERY Variable you possibly can, Precisely weighing your Powder charges is one of them, a very BIG one of them

Yes volume. Although I like your thinking as I agree with the rest. I will revisit this soon with you.

Lewis,

From what I have read it sounds like powder by volume is not as accurate, but it's the way of the old and the way of all the manufactures and so they just stay with volume so everyone understands. If you go by weight no doubt it has to be more accurate as it's consistent. Although in theory a measurement of weight such as 100grains would likely overflow a 100 grain powder measure by volume so depending on what your shooting your more likely going to have to make up a bunch of tubes of pre weighed powder to have with you. Ok Sunshine give me an example what might 100 grains by volume would weigh? Though if your trying for accuracy and max safe power then the recommended manufactures guide lines are just that. Although it would be important what a certain manufacture guarantees what a safe max load is and of course don't go near or exceed although some of my gunbuilder friends have told me what they test proof their rifles at and nobody I have ever heard of has even come close shooting a max load that would danger the rifle if your bullet weight and other parameters are kept the same. That's a lot to think about. Ok spell the beans I'm listening!

For example, with my Can of Triple Seven 3F, 80 Volume weighs 70 Grains in WEIGHT. I find the exact same thing with my Can of Pyrodex P, A guy needs to Check this with his Own Can of powder, NEVER Take someones word for it.

Some folks think it takes longer to accurately weigh their Charges? I have never understood that thinking?? I pre weigh my Charges and place them in Vials, when i get to the Field my Powder Charges are already done and Ready to Load, No messing around with a Volume Measure, spilling powder Etc. I simply open a Vial and Pour my Powder Charge in, Simple as that. If accuracy is the primary Goal I can’t see any other way than PRECISELY Weighing your Charges, Just like a Centerfire Rifle Velocity will Go up & down with inconsistent Charges, How can you expect these to Group well?

I use these Glass Vials, and carry case. This setup is from Buffalo Arms Co.

Perfect I will have to give it a try. Can you use your powder dump you use on smokeless powder? I also have a Lyman electric powder measure, but it only works good on spherical powder.

Not related to this, but what flints do you use? I have one flinter and I went to English as everybody said to use them. They area fine, but they don't last and. It originally came with agate and they worked just fine also. This is my if everything goes to hell in a handbag gun and your now out of cap's at least you can find a rock of flint on the ground to work.

I'm a reloader of over 50 years. I have been weighing black powder, Triple Seven, and BH209 for accuracy since I started using BP. I agree 100% with weighing every load and because of the example you used with smokeless powder. All of my side locks shoot well along with my inline rifles. I wipe the barrel between every shot and some say I loose my accuracy doing so but that's part of what I feel is consistency. If my Muzzle loaders were to shoot any better. It wouldn't be me shooting.. It would be someone like you Idaho!

I found your test very interesting. I have an Encore .50 cal pistol that uses a .50 cal rifle barrel I cut down. I assumed pretty much what you found testing velocities which is why I settled on 80 gr of Alliant Black MZ. My next poeder is going to be T7. I'm shooting a 300 gr Hornady XTP on a Harvester CR sabot. Thanks for the input.

1275 with 95gr 3fg T7 and the 250gr powerbelt, does not sound correct at all. Sounds more like it picked up pieces of the base on the powerbelt.

I do with my powder charges something very similar to Lewis. I'll pour a charge by volume and weigh it. Then I use a Lee dipper and weigh out additional charges dumping them into similar vials

I don't know which hornady that is, but I can say from experience that the Monoflex copper works very well on big game.

So does the XTP