SlippShodd
04-19-2012, 12:48 PM
... that I shot yesterday! Incredible.
There was a method to my madness, though. I had to test some loads made with my new 429421 boolits, softer alloy than I usually cast, using some Felix lube I was a bit unsure of. In true Elmer Keith style, I fired them all at a bare patch of ground in a field 400 yards away. Needed a stiffer load than 15 grains of Red Dot to carry acceptably, but the results were very satisfying, and even running the Lewis Lead Remover through the Redhawk couldn't produce any lead from the bore.
The other gun was my '95SS Marlin in 45-70. The Microgroove rifling has been typically unforgiving of cast loads run as hot as I like to hunt with, and the gun is no fun to plink with using full throttle loads. And it's too expensive to feed a constant diet of FTX bullets or LeverEvolution ammo like it prefers (sorry to invoke the J word, R5R). So, I beagled my .45 Colt mould and planted some 260 gr. .458s over 12 grains of Unique. Surprisingly enough, they shot to point of aim with the normal scope zero out to 85 yards at least, and surprised the $#!+ out of a couple of ground squirrels... at least I guess they were surprised, they had nothing to say about it actually. Bore produced nothing but greasy powder residue, and my only complaint was that the short, flat boolit didn't feed as smoothly as I would have liked, but that's a pretty lame complaint about a truly fun load.
All in all, a good day.
mike
There was a method to my madness, though. I had to test some loads made with my new 429421 boolits, softer alloy than I usually cast, using some Felix lube I was a bit unsure of. In true Elmer Keith style, I fired them all at a bare patch of ground in a field 400 yards away. Needed a stiffer load than 15 grains of Red Dot to carry acceptably, but the results were very satisfying, and even running the Lewis Lead Remover through the Redhawk couldn't produce any lead from the bore.
The other gun was my '95SS Marlin in 45-70. The Microgroove rifling has been typically unforgiving of cast loads run as hot as I like to hunt with, and the gun is no fun to plink with using full throttle loads. And it's too expensive to feed a constant diet of FTX bullets or LeverEvolution ammo like it prefers (sorry to invoke the J word, R5R). So, I beagled my .45 Colt mould and planted some 260 gr. .458s over 12 grains of Unique. Surprisingly enough, they shot to point of aim with the normal scope zero out to 85 yards at least, and surprised the $#!+ out of a couple of ground squirrels... at least I guess they were surprised, they had nothing to say about it actually. Bore produced nothing but greasy powder residue, and my only complaint was that the short, flat boolit didn't feed as smoothly as I would have liked, but that's a pretty lame complaint about a truly fun load.
All in all, a good day.
mike