Horaday Pa pellets inconsistent loading

S

Semper Fi

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Joined
Oct 18, 2025
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Anyone else having trouble with these? Yesterday while sighting in my TC Hawkin with a Green Mountain barrel, I found a great difference in the seating of the mini balls they sell. Some would load with just some initial resistance, then flow smoothly and others out of the same box literally stuck in my barrel forcing me to pound the ram rod with a hammer to seat. I tried running a solvent patch and then a dry patch after each shot but still had the same problem. Not suprising the ones I had to pound down went who knows where.
 
what twist is your GM barrel? 1:28 or 1:60. If its a 1:28 try using 250 gr or 300 gr .452" Hornady XTPs with a Harvester black crush rib sabot. You'll be surprised at the accuracy.
 
Your muzzleloader has a bore problem, switch to bigger patched round balls, not mini balls. A better seal stops the ramrod from sticking
 
Thank you for your advice, but about at lease half the balls seat without any problems. As I posted I cleaned between shot the same way every tikme. I don't understand it. I just recieved a new shipment of Tradition miniballs today, so I'll see how they load. I can't just weight the balls to compare because they are already greased up.
 
Kyle said:
Your muzzleloader has a bore problem, switch to bigger patched round balls, not mini balls. A better seal stops the ramrod from sticking
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Kyle, I've been thinking about your post saying I have a bore problem. What is a bore problem that would cause this? And how do I prove it? I would hate to replace the barrel if it is not necessary. I'm 80 and on a fixed income.
 
Okay, yesterday I mic'd the remaining Hornaday conicals and 5 out of the 20, that I had left, were oversized compared to the rest. Not bad oversized, but enough that they were a problem for my barrel. I bought a box of Redzone conicals and mic'd them and all were identical. I haven't shot them yet, but I will and report back. I'm guessing that my barrel is tight and that is why I had to pound the oversized, compared to the rest of the Hornaday conicals. Pounding = bad accuracy!
 
Semper Fi, thanks for the update. I am glad you got it sorted out! The oversized conicals were the root cause and forcing you to pound them down. You don't have to replace the barrel...just use the Redzone conicals or whichever brand fits perfectly..that should solve the problem completely. Happy shooting!
 
Hobbit said:
Semper Fi, thanks for the update. I am glad you got it sorted out! The oversized conicals were the root cause and forcing you to pound them down. You don't have to replace the barrel...just use the Redzone conicals or whichever brand fits perfectly..that should solve the problem completely. Happy shooting!
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Yep!
 

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