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Thread: Paper patch testing at the silhouette range.

  1. #1
    Boolit Buddy
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    Paper patch testing at the silhouette range.

    So Friday the local silhouette club was open for practice. I decided to test a few things out with my paper patch loads and I figured I would share my experience. The first thing I tried was shooting short brass. This was actually the second time I have tried this with the same results. Brass was .010-.015” short. I honestly could tell absolutely no difference in the way they shot compared to how the brass that fits my chamber exactly. Up until now I have been trimming after each firing but I may actually start trimming it a little shorter so that I don’t have to trim after each firing. I anneal after each firing and due to the way I have to size the mouth I do actually get some stretching after each firing which is why I am constantly trimming. Next up I tried a bullet that was about 20 grains lighter than the one I am shooting. Not only is it lighter. It is smaller. I had to use 9# onion skin paper. It was also cast from 20:1. I used the exact same powder charge though that I do with my other loads. So I sighted in on the rams with my heavier slower loads then went to the rail with the lighter bullet. Nocked down ram after ram. I kept going back from one bullet to the other without adjusting the sights. The hits were all in the same general area with the lighter bullet being about 1 min lower or less on the ram than the slower bullet was. The heavier bullets are going 1330. Not sure what the lighter bullets are going at with the Swiss loads I am shooting now but with OE they were going right at 1400 so I am assuming they are somewhat close. I only had 10 of the smaller bullets so it wasn’t a totally conclusive test but interesting none the less. I am going to try it again. So the next test I did was to put my old greaser load against my pp load. The greaser load is 120 FPS slower then my pp load. The wind and mirage were getting tricky as it was later in the day so I figure turkeys would be best way to see what the effect would be with the different bullets. Greaser load used a 540 grain creedmoore while the pp load is using a 536 grain elliptical. I got zeroed in and just held center on the turkey. Didn’t make any adjustments. The greasers were hit and miss. Horizontal stringing that I am assuming was coming from the variable winds and mirage but the paper patch loads were laying the turkeys down without much effort at all which is how they have pretty much been treating me all season. Just like with the other test I would shoot 2 of one bullet then switch over to the next and keep going back and forth between the 2 loads. The pp loads seem to eat the conditions much better than the greasers. The last test I did was to just send 1 damp arsenal patch down the bore over top of one of those Remington squeegee things. Didn’t dry the bore or anything. Just left it damp. Hit 7 turkeys in a row then missed one and went back over to the brushes and hit some more. I shoulda just kept doing the 1 patch thing a little while longer but by then I was running low on ammo anyways. So if your still with me here is a recap. The 20:1 bullets did better than I thought they would. Out of 10 shots fired they hit 9 rams and that sight setting was with the 536 bullet. Brass that is .010-.015 to short may actually be just fine for paper patch and silhouette or at least that does seem to be the case with my rifle. I am going to repeat all this stuff again. May try the short brass at a match next weekend and see how that turns out.


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  2. #2
    Boolit Master

    RedlegEd's Avatar
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    Hi. Nice write up. You didn’t say, but I’m assuming (yes, I know) that you kept the same COAL and just seated your bullets out a little further in the short cases? Also, did you notice anymore blow by at the case mouth than normal? Ed
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  3. #3
    Boolit Buddy
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    The same OAL was kept. My compression plug pushes the wad about .125” below the moth of my longer brass. I didn’t change the compression plug at all nor did I even bother to make sure the brass was all the same length. I guess that means some bullets were deeper in some cases than others but if I were to measure from the base of the case to the tip of the bullet that measurement would have stayed consistent. I just picked some brass that I had set aside for greasers and decided to see how they worked and I am very please since now I have a lot more brass at my disposal. The cases looked exactly the same as the longer ones after firing.


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  4. #4
    Boolit Buddy Distant Thunder's Avatar
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    Ian,

    You're not having any trouble with paper rings using the shorter brass? I had paper rings in my .40-65 chamber using short brass. They didn't seem to have any adverse effect but I figured they couldn't be good so I stopped using the short stuff. I was seating .125" deep in my normal length brass at that time and keeping the same c.o.a.l. I have since gone to a seating depth of only .075" in my normal length brass and while that might not be deep enough in the short brass if I set my compression die a bit deeper for the short brass so the bullets are in the case the same .075" I might be able to shoot the short stuff and avoid the paper rings. I may have to try that, more useable brass would be good.

    DT

  5. #5
    Boolit Buddy
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    I have fired some 70 rounds now of this shorter brass and I can’t seem to get any paper rings. I look for them but I never seem to get any. I am shooting 14:1 so that may be the difference but I ran those 20:1 bullets through the same short brass and didn’t get any rings with them either but I only fired 10 of them so nothing real concrete with that yet. Since shooting paper patch in this c sharps I have had 1 paper ring. It was at a match and I was using brass that fit my chamber. I honestly can’t remember If it was a hit or not but it’s the only one I have noticed in some 2200 or so paper patch rounds fired now


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  6. #6
    Boolit Buddy
    Join Date
    Oct 2015
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    Nice range report Ian, sounds like you really have your PP loads dialed in. Have you shot them for group at 100 or 200 yds ? Hope to get up to Ashland and shoot with you sooner than later.
    Regards, Richard

  7. #7
    Boolit Master


    Join Date
    May 2010
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    Great write up.
    I would love to see a comparison of the greaser vs the same greaser minus grease and add a patch.
    I’m guessing the elliptical is a smooth sided boolit?

    I guess I’m wondering how much good the patching does for a grooves bullet really?
    I have some grooves molds and play with patching but I’m always wondering if I’m wasting my time with grooves bullets? Should I be purchasing a smooth sided mould?

    I’m loading smokeless but I’m sure there is a crossover on accuracy and bullet designs.

  8. #8
    Boolit Buddy
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    Richard I shot them on paper as often as I can. 10 shot groups seem to hover right around the moa mark. The last 200 yard group I shot was going the be under the moa mark but I pulled one low and it opened the group up a little. I called the bad shot so I will count it as a flier. I have some 5 shot groups at 200 that right about 1.5”. If I could get some 10 shot groups in there that would be real nice .


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  9. #9
    Boolit Buddy
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    Michael the paper patch bullets were smooth sided. I am shooting bore diameter bullets which is a little different for what you will want for your smokeless loads


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  10. #10
    Boolit Buddy
    Join Date
    Oct 2015
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    Nice looking group Ian. I was able to cast about a 100 bullets last night that I plan on loading in a few days. The .063 LDPE wad material came in so I will use that instead of the double .032 LDPE wads. Also will test out the loads with my new Oehler chrono.
    Regards, Richard

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Abbreviations used in Reloading

BP Bronze Point IMR Improved Military Rifle PTD Pointed
BR Bench Rest M Magnum RN Round Nose
BT Boat Tail PL Power-Lokt SP Soft Point
C Compressed Charge PR Primer SPCL Soft Point "Core-Lokt"
HP Hollow Point PSPCL Pointed Soft Point "Core Lokt" C.O.L. Cartridge Overall Length
PSP Pointed Soft Point Spz Spitzer Point SBT Spitzer Boat Tail
LRN Lead Round Nose LWC Lead Wad Cutter LSWC Lead Semi Wad Cutter
GC Gas Check