Max Accurate Distance w/ RCBS 250gr K

[Bigscot]

Ok. I have shot several loads in my SRH 44 mag w/9.5 barrel with the 250 gr K. My best groups at 25yds is a little over 1.25" with one ragged hole using an aimpoint. The range is 1.25" to 2.00".
I read here one time that the the Keith style boolit or boolits with a wide metplat may tend to loose accuracy as the distance gets over 50 yds. One explaination I read was due to a decrease in rotational spin. I am looking to put a scope on this gun to increase MY range out to 100 yards.
I had a scope on it at one time and could get <2 in groups at 50yds with 240 gr XTP's using 296 and I-4227.
Will the Keith boolits have sufficient accuraty at 100 yds with a 9.5" barrel?. The current groups were shot with 2400 and 296 with the tightest being with 296.
I am wanting to do more hunting with the SHR this year and use the Keith if it will work.
Any thoughts?

BS

[Char-Gar]

Elmer Keith used the bullet to kill a wounded Mule Deer buck at 600 yards. The range limitation of the bullet is determined by the skill of the shooter.

[BCB]

Bigscot,

I was shooting the 44-250-K bullet today from my SRH 9 ½” topped with a Burris 2x-7x ‘scope. I like this bullet, but I am never going to be able to kill anything at 600 yards with it!!! Maybe I could make the dust fly on the side of a mountain at the range but that would be about it!!! Now to the serious stuff…

I have two loads that stay just a tad under 1000 fps. They are 7.0 grains of Green Dot and 6.5 grains of WW-230. I shot several 3-shot groups with them at 50 yards and they were all under 2”—between 1.5” and 2”. I CAN NOT shoot proportionally the same accuracy at 100 yards. They will stay at 4+” at 100 yards but rarely near the 3” mark. I know this SRH will shot better groups at 100 yards but it is with the Lyman 429650 (315-320 grains). Most of the time, this bullet with a hefty charge of WC-820 or H-110 will stay between 2”-3”. The 44-250-K will not do that, at least not with any load combo that I have tried. Between 900 fps and 1000 fps shows the best overall consistent accuracy at 50 yards or a few yards farther.

Heavy loads at velocities of 1325 fps will also shoot 1.5” to 2” groups at 50 yards, but every once in awhile they open up a bit. Still they are more than accurate enough for deer out to 75 yards. This will probably be the load I carry for white-tails this year.

This bullet will shoot with better accuracy if I heat treat them. But the only problem is the fact that they will punch a hole straight through a deer. I suspect the ones cast from wheel weights and not heat treated will do the same. Putting a soft tip on them is the answer. A person on this board has sent me a few soft tips to try and they expand excellently. I suppose a person could cast some of the 44-250-K’s from pure lead and not worry too much about leading as there won’t be that many shots fired at one setting—or at least there shouldn’t be!!!

So in summing this post, <1000 fps gives me the most consistent accuracy. And, although I know there will be people who get very good accuracy with them at 100 yards, I can’t say that I can—at least not yet. Still it is an easy bullet to cast, and a real good off-hand plinker from my SRH. Good-luck…BCB

[MtnGunner]

I have shot quite a few whitetails when I lived in PA using cast bullets. Punching a hole right through the deer is exactly what you want. Those 250 grain SWC will punch right through shoulders and other heavy bone and leave a nice hole to bleed out. If the deer goes very far this gives you a good blood trail to follow. I wouldn't worry about casting your SWC soft enough to expand. I prefer complete penetration to a bullet that stays in the deer.

[44man]

I have found that the heavier boolits shoot better and farther in the .44. Accuracy at all ranges is better when you get to 300 or more grains. I have to admit getting tremendous accuracy from 240 gr jacketed but cast seems to be better when heavier.
One thing to remember with revolvers is that they are very hard to shoot from sandbags due to grip pressure down into the bag. Any variation in density of the bag under the grip will give a wide verticle dispersion. Any other way to rest them will give the human error of movement and shake that will cost you in group size. They are just hard to shoot and getting a consistant recoil is almost impossible. The guns and boolits are way more accurate then we can shoot them.
I have put 5 shots in 1/2 to 5/8" at 50 yd's and as small as 1-1/2" at 100. But it can't be duplicated day to day only because we can't control the rest or grip or body movement from day to day. Revolver point of impact is very dependent on recoil and where the barrel is when the boolit leaves. Any variation in grip pressure or hand position from shot to shot will open groups.
If the gun is not shooting good with a good load, scratch it off to being your fault and try again another day.
I have shot from Creedmore with open sights at pop cans at 100 yd's. I busted every can without a miss on some days. Then shooting at paper, I got horrible groups. The next day gave me a great group on paper and I could barely hit a can. I blame myself and not the gun. Sometimes a couple of glasses of ridge ripple might have let me shoot better. Revolvers can drive you to drink!

[Blackwater]

44 man, try using two small, rather flat sandbags on either side of the grips, and resting both hands but not the grip on them. Darn steady if you use a strong grip and keep the wrist "stiff," like in a strong hand shake.

Also, if you don't have two suitable sand bags, you can also rest your wrist and maybe the very butt of your shooting hand on the bag, leave the grip free to recoil without touching anything, and use your left hand's base to rest solidly on the bench while you snug the upper portion of it with moderate rearward pressure to gain additional support and steadiness.

I use method 1 for revolvers and method 2 for Contenders, usually. Takes a little time and jiggling around to get them set up right, but when testing loads, I can rely on the results I get much better with these two setups. Just an FWIW.

[felix]

My trick, and it works OK enough (for me because I am no pro) is to push with the right hand and pull with the left hand. Both hands with a lot of force, enough to see the front blade wiggle around the bottom of the target. That is the most consistent for me overall. ... felix

[44man]

I have tried every way to rest a revolver there is and found Creedmore position shoots the best groups although a little larger then from bags. Creedmore depends on how much wiggle your body has on a given day, maybe from too much coffee. But overall it is more consistant. It also gets the sights farther away and makes them easier to see. I can't shoot open sights from the bench anymore because the sights are too close to my eyes.
All of my revolvers have a LOT of recoil because they use hunting loads and heavy boolits. I don't want to put a hand under the grip!
I tried a pistol perch and it was thrown almost off the bench every shot.
I also have a sling stud under the grips. It rips into a sandbag.
With the heavy recoil, even a slight change in pressure will get the barrel in a different position when the boolit leaves.
With as many great groups that I have shot and some of the long range results, I know what my loads are capable of so I don't worry when I shoot some bad ones, it's only me. My aging vision is at fault too. When I was young, I shot very tight groups because I could see the sights and targets crystal clear. Now I need scopes and red dots which have no focus on them so the dots are fuzzy.
The funny thing is that I never had any problems with the single shot pistols and have put 5 shots in 1/2" at 100 yd's and 1-1/2" at 200 yd's. I have a pile of 200 yd groups that are under 2" from the MOA, 7BR, 7R Wichita and XP100.
The most fun is to take the .475 Linebaugh and bust pop cans at 100 yd's from the bench. Have to watch it doesn't hit you in the head though.
I guess what I am saying is that with extremely heavy recoil, it is going to be harder to shoot tight all the time and barrel time in the revolver is longer then the pistols.
I can still shoot, but can't see for beans any more.
I hope this clears some things up!