Thompson Center Black Diamond Escapade

[airedale]

So I have been putting together a pistol for Rimfire Challenge matches and picked up a See All non battery optic to mount on my Browning Buckmark. These little sights are marketed as 20 first century alternatives to regular open sights which with my old eyes have a bit of trouble with these days. Mounted up the sight and while it works just fine I found I can not acquire my sight picture quick enough to suit me for this Rimfire Challenge type shooting which is all about speed.

I decided to get use of this sight on an older muzzleloader I had sitting in my safe, a TC Black Diamond 50 cal. The Black Diamond had treated me good as I killed a couple of Deer with it back when I first got it. I just prefer hunting with the traditional style black powder sidelocks so the Black Diamond was put away at least 15 years ago and basically forgotten. 

I get the TC out from the back of the safe and the first thing I do is take my bore light and look down the barrel and see a Hornady XTP in a sabot looking back at me, I put the darn gun away charged and forgot about it, Dumb, Dumb, Dumb!! Never did that before but after reading some horror stories about having a corroded mess in the breech I feared the worst. 

So I take the breech plug out and push out the load and to my surprise the components looked exactly like the day they were loaded at least 15 years ago. Two completely intact 50 grain Pyrodex pellets and the Hornady XTP and it's sabot which by the way worked great for me.

Just for the hell of it and to satisfy my curiosity I loaded everything back into the barrel and went out to the range, put on a cap and fired it at a fifty yard target, Bullseye!

So take it for what it is worth but when I think about it everything makes sense to me as the powder charge like a cartridge was completely sealed in the breech with no way for air or moisture to get to it so it stayed effective.

Anyhow I got the "See All" optic mounted up and will be playing around with the old Black Diamond testing it out and maybe even trying to kill another Deer with it.

Al

 

 

Edited September 10, 2021 by airedale

[sbuff]

The TC black diamond is a shooter, never shot one that didn't group well with xtps. 

I store all my muzzle loaders with the breech plug out . Very shocked that pyrodex didn't corrode anything.. keep the powder moisture free and they will shoot all day long 

[rachunter]

Does that see-all sight work on the same principle as a peep-sight?


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[airedale]

16 minutes ago, rachunter said:

Does that see-all sight work on the same principle as a peep-sight?

No, it has two different reticles, one is what they call a triangular Delta and the other which is what I have is a crosshair type. I also went with the tritium model that can be seen in low light.

I can say it takes a bit to get the hang of using and not for everyone, for me it is much better on a long gun than handgun, it is a both eyes open deal and the more I mess around practicing sighting with it the better I like it it. 

There is a ton of youtube videos that will explain these sights much better than I can.

Al

Edited September 10, 2021 by airedale

[rachunter]

No, it has two different reticles, one is what they call a triangular Delta and the other which is what I have is a crosshair type. I also went with the tritium model that can be seen in low light.
I can say it takes a bit to get the hang of using and not for everyone, for me it is much better on a long gun than handgun, it is a both eyes open deal and the more I mess around practicing sighting with it the better I like it it. 
There is a ton of youtube videos that will explain these sights much better than I can.
Al

Thanks AL
I’ve given up on the peep sights. I’d do pretty go with them if I was shooting a shotgun pattern.


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[airedale]

For a change I think I will get the old Black Diamond 50 cal out of moth balls for the muzzleloading season coming up. I want to mess around shooting with the See All sight a bit more to get comfortable and confident with it. I will be sticking with two Pyrodex pellets and Hornady's XTP in a sabot, had good luck with it in the past and see no reason to change the load. 

I will make sure to unload at the end of the season LOL!

Al