or one could go to a smokeless muzzleloader, and shoot less than half the powder with half the recoil, and far less fouling, and still get 2000 fps. of course, fans of 777 have been able to surpass the 2k mark since its introduction - 150 grains and a 250 grain bullet will get you way over.
i can't wait until house bill 4554 passes and allows the usage of smokeless powder during muzzleloading season. what a senseless restriction.
what does a box of these pellets run? $30 for fifty shots? my goodness, hodgdon has a stranglehold on poor muzzleloaders these days, and smokeless powder = freedom. $24 gets me 140 shots, and i've got multiple powder makers to choose from.
gentleman, nothing comes without cost. you don't simply "re-formulate" and get 200-250 fps. it costs you something. fouling, recoil, pressure spike (which affects to accuracy), sabot stress (back to accuracy), etc. maybe all of those.
i'd be very skeptical about anything that comes out of hodgdon and their "quasi" smokeless brands. why does hodgdon so vehemently oppose smokeless powder in muzzleloaders? cause they have the corner on the market for an inefficient powder (that's why it smokes) that costs 3 times as much as the other options. don't kid yourself, there's good ol' nitro in that 777.
i'd continue to buy 777 in the powder version for the most cost effective solution, until i could save enough to buy a savage, an SMI conversion (encore or H&R), or a NULA, and shoot smokeless. chalk up the performance gains to marketing and money making.
(not that i'm knocking the performance of 777 in general - it remains, imo, the best option for muzzleloading season, in terms of accuracy, cleanliness and efficiency.)