I bought an Optima pistol last year and zeroed it at 25 yards using 2 50 grain Triple 7 pellets and a T/C Shock Wave 250 grain bullet. I hunt the river swamp in the Florida panhandle and a shot is rarely over 25 to 30 yards max 50.

This year I want to use 80 grains of loose Triple 7 with the same bullet thinking this will lessen the recoil. I have a friend who uses 60 grains, but I don't want to go that low. Does anyone know what my velocity would be? It should still be plenty to kill deer and hogs.

Do you know anyone who has a chronograph? That'll take the guesswork out of it. If not, do you know what the velocity of your regular load is?

I am sure that 80 grains will be plenty, I have used 70 grains in a pistol on deer and contrary to popular opinion hogs are not bulletproof. Just guessing 100 grins of Triple 7 in an Optima pistol would be about 1350-1400 with 250 gr bullet. 80 grains might be around 1200, still plenty to do the job at pistol ranges.

I might suggest using Blackhorn powder instead of Triple Seven, IMO it is the way to go with 209 inlines. Cleaner burning allows repeated shots without swabbing the barrel.

I've got a manual for a T/C Encore at home that lists the velocity of different loads in both the rifle and handgun versions. The handgun velocities shouldn't be too different from what you could expect with the Optima. I'll take a look at the manual after I get home this evening.

According to the manual for my dad's Encore, 80 grains of powder with a 240 grain XTP in a Mag Express sabot will give you 1306 fps out of the handgun version of the Encore. So, you could reasonably expect a velocity close to that from your Optima with the 250 grain Shockwave.

I agree with TN Lone wolf. My 13 1/2" 209 x 50 Contender barrel shoots a 240 grain bullet over 70 grains of powder at 1250 fps according to my chronograph.

Good luck!

Thanks for the info. I could handle the pistol with 100 grains, but I thought 80 would make it more enjoyable. I shoot most of my deer and hogs with an Encore 44 magnum. The 12" barrel topped with a Burris Fastfire makes it a deadly gun for the swamp. It is a lot easier to carry than a long barrel rifle.

Billy:

Use the 3 F granulation of loose H777. It seems to be the velocity champ for specialty muzzleloading handguns. I have posted some results of testing with a 14" Kahnke pistol using 3f H777 and sabots. I averaged 1704 fps with a 240 grain XTP bullet.

The big key is to use the 3 F. I have found that 2f granulation will lower the velocities by 3-400 fps in my guns.

Most of the reviews I read on the optima pistol show groups opening up after about 90 grains. I think with 80 grains it was about equal to a 44 mag.

Very interesting. My Kahnke .54 Caliber will launch 425gr great plains bullets 1440fps with 90grs of FFFG black powder. Cram 70grs of 777 in it and it launches the 425grs over 1700fps. I spoke to the owner a few years ago about the velocity and he told me that the .54 would beat the .50 by a "wide" margin then he laughed and said if you can stand the recoil. He wasn't kidding. reflex264

The performance, all other things being equal goes up with the square of the caliber. With the same pressure the increased area in the base of the bullet means more force, so I am not suprised that the .54 does much better than the .50.

I would not have known the difference between 2F and 3F. Thanks for educating me. I am having a very hard time locating any 3F. All of the stores locally have 2F. Bass Pro had a free shipping day today and I was going to order some until I saw that they charge an additional $27.45 because it would be a hazardous package.

The reason that 3 f give more velocity is since it is a finer grain you get more weight for an equal amount of volume. The only reason to have to use 3 f is if you have limited chamber space like with a cap and ball revolver. With a 50 cal single shot this is not a problem so you can just use a little more volume of 2 f.

To get close just weigh the 3 f by volume 80 gr load and then weigh an equal amout of 2 f. You will find that the 2 f load will be a little bigger by volume than the 3 f load, but performance will be close.

I did a little research and found that 80 gr of Triple 7 fff is equivalent to 100 gr Black powder when measured by volume. 85 gr of Triple 7 ff is equivalent to 100 gr black powder.

http://www.handgunhunt.com/forum/ubbthreads.php/ubb/showflat/Number/123198/page/0/fpart/1#Post122649

Here is some info form my hunt last year I love the Optima handgun one of the best values for handgun hunting in the world today.