First time MLII use - range report and a couple of questions

[generalist]

Hi guys.; first post I have been a passive ML hunter over the past ~10 years with an old Omega ML and 777 pellets. I am an avid hand loader for pistol and rifles.Anyway, found a old stock but new in box MLII at a local gun shop. Could not walk past it.

Took her to the range today just to:

1) safety / function check
2) zero iron sights (for back up / non scope state use)
3) Mark witness mark on ramrod (DONE)

Results;
Ran a quick ladder string from 40-44 gr AA5744 & CCI 300M primers over the included 300gr XTP's and black MMP sabots.

1 shot ea (fps), 55F

40gr 1784
41gr 1801
42gr 1819
43gr 1839
44gr 1872

no issues on firing - safety / function all was fine.

Q1: So, velocity seem slow to you all?Could the sabots have messedup the chrono readings? Traditional PROCHORONO use it all the time for my std hand loading. I was expecting ~2100 at 44gr.
Q2: I could not get the rifle tozero. Ran out of adjustment on the factory iron sights. Horizontalwas ok, but shooting almost 6" high vertically at 100Y, rear sight was in lowest possible adjusted position on the ramp. Could not bring her down to zero.


So, I ran the same ladder with some 300SST-ML's and Hornady red sabots I had to check fps and POI again:

1 shot ea (fps)

40gr 1741
41gr 1740
42gr 1826
43gr 1846
44gr 1880
Manual said I could go 2 gr over 44 as maximum, so ran those below with the SST's
45gr 1907
46gr 1763  - concern. Sounded like a lesser bang / almost a squib. Stopped.

Q3: Same general fps as 300 XTPs. Still slow?
Q4: Still shot to same 6" high POI (could not zero)
Q5: I had not cleaned at all but made the last shot that sounded weird. Wondering if flash hole in gun was getting clogged and I got a poor ignition (precleaned / checked flash hold before going to range). Will tear her down tomorrow and clean her up.

All charges were individually weighted at home and before going to range in hand powder scale and transferred with plastic vials to range.

thanks for your thoughts!




 [/span][/span][/span][/span][/span]

[generalist]

HI just following up. All was good upon teardown - vent liner and flash hold pretty clean. Did see ~3 pieces of unburnt powder in bore ahead of breech plug before I cleaned the barrel, so for sure that last shot did not get complete ignition. Breech plug came right loose - almost too easily. Almost finger loosened it with my 1/4 drive extension. Do you all torque them? Almost wondering it it was a little loose and I got some pressure blow by?

[jims]

If you go to the load information on this site by TG in Pa there are many loads. You just might find yours.

[sw]

I’d use a different powder. 5744 ignites well, is very accurate, builds up a lot of pressure for speed, is SLOW.
You really have an old ML2 with the manual having 44g +/- 2g for various powders and for 250 & 300g bullets. You have the second manual.

To optimize your load, consider 44g VV110, a wool wad, Barnes 250 TEZ, a Win or preferably a CCIm 209. Keep tabs on your ventliners and change out by 0.035” using a set of propane/natural gas circular files to measure. Also, drill out the crud that builds up in your breechplug. Consider ordering a breechplug with a bushing in it to eliminate the ventliner use. The plug fouls more quickly with Fed209A. I’d use VV110 if possible due to its extreme temperature insensitivity.

There are other good 250-300g bullets: 300 SST, Parker MH and BE in 275g are great, Pittman and Fury have various bullets, and, very hard to beat, the Barnes 250TEZ (you don’t want the boat tail TMZ).

I’d clean the barrel thoroughly after each shooting session. You can shoot the gun twice with no wait, but then, 10-15 minutes between shots to keep the sabot from getting heat softened. No oil or oily cleaner in barrel. I’d clean with muzzleloader barrel cleaner like TC #13. Then dry patch. Consider Burris Signature Rings with various sized inserts so your scope can remain relatively centered. These guns can kill mediocre scopes. The Weaver Classic Extremes (Natchez) have held up well for lower priced scopes.

Good luck. Hope this helps.

[generalist]

Tried another range test. Same results. once I get to 44gr of 5244, increasing to 45 or 46 per the manual velocities flatten and actually start decreasing. I have not surpassed ~1925fps with 300 gr projectiles (HOR SST, XTP & Parker Black max) and MMP black sabots(very tight in bore) or HOR Red sabots (very loose in bore). I also find a couple grains of unburnt powder when I get home to clean in front of the breach plug.Vent hole and breach plus are perfectly clean. using CCI 300M primers. No misfires.

I called MMP sabots. they think I am losing gas seal and getting gas blow by at near max loads. They are sending me some sub bases and also some longer "HPH?" sabots to test to see if velocities increase on the Chrono.

I will report back after the new sabots and bases arrive, but wanted to share my experiences and ask if there are any other ideas.

The Good news? the Parker 300 Black maxes are printing a solid 1-1.5" groups at 100Y with Black MMP sabots and 44gr of 5244.

[yule]

Be very careful on this site! Next thing you know, you will be going sabotless, with a .45 barrel.

[Deleted]

Feb 2, 2019 10:15:13 GMT -5 yule said:

Be very careful on this site! Next thing you know, you will be going sabotless, with a .45 barrel.

Isn't that where we all end up?

[ourway77]

When I had my Savage I used Reloader #7 63-68 grains dirty but very accurate and a 250 SST and sabot I killed my share of deer to 200 + yards

[hightechredneck]

Dec 30, 2018 17:40:44 GMT -5 generalist said:

 Did see ~3 pieces of unburnt powder in bore ahead of breech plug before I cleaned the barrel, so for sure that last shot did not get complete ignition.

It was probably burnt. It's actually common to have burnt granuals that look unburnt left behind with some powders.