So, I made it to the range again! That's two weekends in a row.
This trip was more informative and I got some decent results... and learned (relearned in some cases) some lessons.
I took 13 different slug types to the range which was probably too many but some were out for a second spin (elimination testing) and some were modifications of slugs that had worked reasonably well before.
Overall results were mixed but I got three not bad targets out of it all and some confirmations of slugs not to try again or things to watch for.
All shooting was at 50 yards and all from a smoothbore single shot with rifle sights.
I also had a good rest this time. I made myself a cross stick rest with base that worked very well. While it is made from scrap lumber and my carpentry skills are far from good it turned out pretty well and works perfectly (in my opinion anyway). Pic sitting on the snow in my backyard:
I like it anyway! It is easily adjustable and allows me to sit high so better to absorb recoil and I shot 70 rounds last Sunday so lots of recoil!
Base is 18" long with 18" feet on it and cross sticks are 22" or so long with lots of height adjustment.
First the successes!
1) Lee 1 oz. slug sized to remove taper then paper patched to snug fit. Same as I had done with the 7/8 oz. slugs last outing and in fact these were loaded at the same time but not shot. Pic:
Not too bad.
- largest spread = 6”
- 4 in about 4”
2) Home made TC 490 gr. HB glue filled in shotcups:
- largest spread = 7” (could be the shooter)
- 4 in 4”
3) Full bore knurled 565 gr. slug (glue filled) from home made mould:
- largest spread = 6 1/4” (could be the shooter)
- 4 in 5 1/4”
- the nice clean holes (5) are from the 565 gr. slugs. I ran out of targets so re-used one here with some tape on the back.
This time this slug was loaded over a hard card wad column and worked not badly. Last time I had loaded these over a cushion leg after cutting petals off the wad. I won't be doing that again as they shot very poorly!
So those were the successes and not too bad overall.
Lots of failures too:
- Nessler Ball clones were tested again both as cast so slightly under bore diameter and knurled up then sized to bore diameter. Neither shot well.
These are from a mould I made based on an old drawing. Nessler Balls were used widely during the Crimean war and in the American Civil War. There were a kind of Minie designed for smoothbore muskets and supposedly improved both accuracy and range over the typical loose round ball. Couldn't prove it from my testing!
They weighed 585 grs. and packed quite a punch out to 125 yards smashing a fairly large rock... but accuracy was poor.
- Lee 7/8 oz. slugs. Well, another failure here but that is my fault in loading. This time out I felt and heard significant differences in recoil and BANG! and I actually had 3 bloopers out of 10 shots. I used Unique which is likely a little slow for such a light payload but certainly there was very inconsistent ignition/powder burn. That would explain very poor accuracy. Some were shots as cast and some with added glue skirt but all gave poor accuracy. These will be retested with faster powder and maybe to a recommended recipe as well!
- 0.678" RB's. Another anomaly! I have had very good results in the past but these last two trips not so good. However, to qualify things. The payload is slightly long and the fold crimps started to open slightly. Again, there was inconsistent recoil and BANG! so I am guessing that ignition/powder burn was not consistent. Poor loading technique on my part.
Several other slugs were shot as well with some of the same observations made re inconsistent ignition. I did have trouble with roll crimping the Federal hulls last time so used mostly fold crimps this time. The fold crimps seemed to work better with these hulls. Some slugs had roll crimps and some fold crimps.
I need to buy a bunch of new hulls that are suitable for roll crimping. My Fiocchi hulls roll crimped very nicely but the plastic is a little more flexible than the Federal hulls.
I also learned (relearned a few lessons):
- make sure the payload fits properly!
- make sure the crimp is good and solid
- I noticed that I had mistakenly used Claybuster wads for several wad slugs and every one I recovered had burned/blown/damaged gas seal... EVERY ONE! I had grabbed a handful of wads thinking they were Winchester wads (not Winchester AA Red wads though). Now the Winchester wads I recovered were all good. DON'T USE CLAYBUSTER WADS FOR SLUGS! I knew that.
- I had also used some left over Winchester AA Red wads for some 0.678" RB loads. Recovered Winchester AA Red wads were all damaged... I knew that so why did I used them? Who knows!?
- Take a hat! Actually while it makes a good excuse... the sun actually was in my eyes for part of the shooting making it difficult to see the sights... really!
Overall it was a much better day and as always, good to be at the range. Having gotten better results and learning (relearning) a few lessons was good too. And... I like my new rest! It helped eliminate some (but not all) shooter error.
There's more but you guys are probably bored by now. I'll post more when I have things all tuned up and have some impressive targets to post (hopefully).
Next trip will likely include some Russian Paradox slug testing thanks to Kraken Fan #69 who sent me a large box of slugs to play with. Interestingly the tail wads fit into my full bore 565 gr. slugs like they were made for them so... I may just try that out too.
Longbow