Scorpion 240 Gr. Bullets With Triple Seven Powder

The next combination that we tested was Scorpion 240 Gr. Bullets over 80 Gr. of Triple Seven Powder. This combination had an average velocity of 1648 Fps. This is from the same rifle used in the first test. The barrel was swabbed with a wet patch followed with a dry patch between shots. In comparison with our first test, 80 Gr. of Goex FF powder and the 385 Gr. Great Plains bullet gave an average velocity of 2031 with the same bullet giving an average of 1519 FPS. with 80 Gr. of Triple seven powder.

The Scorpion bullet is a sabot type bullet. They were acceptably easy to load in our rifle. Accuracy in our rifle was very good with several shots touching. One of the surprising things that we discovered is that the point of impact between the 240 Gr. scorpion bullet and the 385 Gr. Great Plains bullet used in our previous test is very close. Both bullets shoot very close to the same size groups.

The other combination that we tried with the 240 Gr. Scorpion bullets was with Pyrodex 50/50 pellets. For anyone who doesn’t know, 50/50 is 50 caliber and 50 grains. We loaded 2 pellets for a 100 Gr. charge under the Scorpion bullet. This load gave an average velocity of 1742 FPS. Point of impact was again very close to the other loads tried. Accuracy was also comparable to the other loads tried. The pellets are very convenient to load. There was no great difference in cleanup between the different loads either. There is not any way to adjust the amount of powder with the pellets except in 50 Gr. increments, however the 100 Gr. load shot very well and had decent velocity.

So far in our testing of some different combinations, there has been no combination that has been significantly better or worse than others. That has been unexpected. The one thing that has been surprising is the performance of the riflescope that came on the rifle. The adjustments are crisp and precise and the image is good and clear.

In our enlightened age of high priced cartridges and shortages of components, a muzzle loader gives a lot of shooting enjoyment for less cost than cartridge firearms. It is possible to get decent groups without having to have the highest priced rifle and components. As the old saying goes, “A good time will be had by all.”