Manual

25
CHARGING THE T/C ENCORE CONT’D
Loading Conical Bullets or Sabots
When Using Pyrodex
®
Pellets
Start by loading the pellets into the bore,
following the specific pellet manufacturer’s
instructions.
Next, start the projectile into the bore and
then use your ramrod to push the projectile
the remainder of the way down the bore,
until it is seated firmly against the pellet(s)
(Figure 6). Do not pound on it, as this will likely crush the pellets
and effect the reliability of ignition. It could also deform the bullet
and will undoubtedly affect accuracy .
With successive shots, fouling may build up enough in the bore
to make loading of subsequent shots more difficult, or even
impossible. The more fouling that is present, the more difficult it
will be to seat your projectile to the same depth. This will cause
differences in pressure, which will in turn affect accuracy. While
at the range, you should clean (swab) your bore (with a powder
solvent like Thompson/Center’s No.13 and suitable jag/patch
combination) after each shot, for maximum accuracy. In the field,
you can expect to fire two to three shots before swabbing may
be necessary. The more powder you use in each charge, the
more fouling will build up. When you experience progressively
more difficult bullet seating due to buildup of fouling, you must
clean the bore or safe loading will become impossible. See the
sections on "Cleaning" and on "Unloading/Uncharging".
Once the sabot has been loaded, it is nec-
essary to carefully mark your ramrod to
indicate the depth of the fully seated pellet
and projectile combination that you are
using (Figure 7).
If you are loading sabots, make sure that
the bore has been cleaned and that all of
the oil or lubricant has been removed.
The drier the bore, the better when shoot-
ing sabots, as this will improve accuracy.
PELLET
PELLETPELLETPELLETPELLETPELLET
BORE
Seat the
p
rojectile
firmly
against
the
pellet(s)
FIG. 6
FIG. 7