#311413 in -06

[atr]

11-10-2014....shot these at 50 yds with my 30-06 J.C. Higgins model 50
Attachment 121508
measures about 3/4 x 7/8
22 gr of 2400 sized .311

I shot the last 5 at 100 yds and the spread was more like 3"

[NVcurmudgeon]

That's good accuracy from your JC Higgins. I have shot nine five shot groups in my JC Higgins 51L (the improved small ring Swedish Mauser that replaced the 50 for an average of 1.825" at 100 yd. There are a lot of myths about the 311413 being inaccurate, but I have found it to be very good in .30/06 and .303 British. My load is 16.0 gr. 2400 for about 1500 fps.

[Ben]

UUmmm, 22 grs. of 2400, .......More than a bit fast for the 413'.

The nose has no support, it won't tolerate speeds much beyond, 1,800 fps.

Your 413's will do much better at 1,600 - 1650 fps.

Try 16.5 grs. of 2400 - 17.5 grs. of 2400.

I believe you'd see a big change in your groups.

Ben

[Harry O]

I have found that the 311413 is very accurate with light or mid-range loads. I have never been able to get it to shoot with fairly heavy loads. One plinking load I have used it for has 13.0gr of Red Dot behind the bullet. I have tried it with and without filler and found that filler is not needed with powder that is that fast and easy to ignite. It is also quick and easy to load with a Lee plastic scoop.

[madsenshooter]

I have tried everything I could come up with to get Belding and Mull's version of the bullet, their 311169, to shoot good at higher speeds. Harder alloys, slower powders, etc. Keep it within it's happy range, which is slower than what you have it going atr, and your 100yd group will be more like that nice 50yd group. A friend and I were shooting golfballs at 100yd with my Krag cutdown and hitting them pretty regularly with the bullet going 1400-1500fps. Just a little faster than what you're now going, you'll be lucky to keep them on an 8.5x11 sheet @100yd. Has to be something in the balance of that design. I even tried an early George Hensley version that had an extra band out front. If anything, it was worse at high velocity that my B&M.

Mention of J.C. Higgins piqued my curiosity. I'd been wondering just who the heck he was, as I have couple of their old rifle scopes, and was aware that Sears next went to Ted Williams, who I know of. So here's the wiki skinny on J.C.:

The brand name, J. C. Higgins, was based on a real person, John Higgins who was a Sears employee. He moved from his birth country of Ireland to the United States in his late teens and began working for Sears in 1898. He spent his entire working career with Sears and was Vice President for the company for a period of time. He was actually born with no middle name but the Sears Co. presented the idea of labeling their sporting good line with his name and saw it more presentable labeling the brand as J.C. Higgins. He worked with the company until his retirement as head bookkeeper in 1930. Higgins died in 1950. His expertise in sporting goods or sports is unknown. (We're all born without a middle name, aren't we?)

[atr]

Being stubborn and obstinate I refuse to budge....so went back to the same load once again....
at the range last Saturday (25deg F) snow on the ground
Shooting at 50 yds I shot a (5) shot group measured .625 x .625 center to center....cold barrel
I adjusted for elevation and windage and at 100 yds was hitting the clay targets every time.
New time I will print on paper at 100 yds so I can measure the spread. However the clays are 3" diameter, so I know I am hitting within the diameter.
thanks for your thoughts guys
atr

[madsenshooter]

If it leads to fun, obstinance is not a character flaw. The weather here is cool and I have a large quantity of an alloy that doesn't like too much pressure. So I think I'll get my B&M 311169 out and cast a bunch. Keep on having fun atr. Phil Sharpe claimed he had an accurate load with your bullet going close to 2000fps. Maybe so if his rifle had a slower twist, more on the order of 1/14. If it didn't, then I don't believe him. Seeing as how you're already getting decent accuracy at a speed higher than most of us do, maybe your rifle doesn't have the standard 1/10 twist. 1/12 maybe? Or maybe not, the .308 model 50 had a 1/12, maybe yours got a barrel that was for the .308.