RMulhern
01-31-2011, 09:10 PM
conclusion...which you may not agree with but the conclusion I've formed seems to be valid....for me anyway! Two days ago....I took my Shiloh 45 2 7/8 to my range and put up an NRA HP 200 yard target. This target has a 7" 10 ring. I was using 112 grs. Swiss 1F with WLR primer and two .060" card wads atop the powder....bullet seated .160" into the case. Bullet was the .446" PP Money Bullet which I have been trying to get to shoot for me! Well...off the bench I managed to put ONE ROUND into the 10 ring!! All others stayed within the 13" black but no grouping whatsoever!! Looked like a friggin shotgun load!! All bullets were within 2/10 gr. weight-wise with no visible exterior defects; wrapped with .0015" paper. Now...I would expect this if I were blind or couldn't call my shots but that 'ain't' the case...not yet anyway!! Needless to say...my **** was somewhat chapped! This is the rifle that I just got back from Kirk Bryan. Kirk put a 7* leade into the chamber for me. I didn't suspect the rifle; sights were tight and all was well with it. But that bullet.........??
Today I went back to the range after I pulled the bullets on the remaining 16 rounds I had loaded with the .446" Money Bullet and I reseated the cases with bullets from a KAL mould with cupped base weighing in at 537 grs...and a meplat of .150". These bullets were patched with a paper of .0020" giving a per side thickness of .0040". Had to ride my wheeler down to the range to paint the target first as we've had much rain and the range was very wet. I then rode back to the Bears Den...got my truck and went back down to the bench I had set up at 600 yards. I didn't have an exact zero for this bullet so I fired two sighters which were close working off an old zero I had for another bullet. The final 14 rounds went into the 10 ring plate; group built up slightly left of center but held excellent elevation throughout the string. Was wiping after each shot; 2 NAPA damp patches, one dry..same as always. Needless to say...I had a BIG SMILE[smilie=w::mrgreen: on my face!
Am I basing my 'conclusion' on the theory that if one is going to use PP bullets that a very careful selection of paper thickness must be made......upon the two days previous incident with the .446" Money Bullet?? No! Not hardly! I have tried that bullet on much more than one occasion but to date....I have never gotten it to give me accuracy such as I got this afternoon with the KAL bullet. Powderburner has advised me that he has had the same experience with the .446" bullet that I have been having and I'm not speaking for him of course but me thinks that we both are of the opinion that if one is going to use PP....it might be best to not use patch paper that is under .0020" thickness! In all of my previous testing and shooting of PP bullets....I have never used paper with less than .0020" thickness. On some bullets for my 50 2 1/2 I've used paper with a thickness of as much as .0030" and ALWAYS had good results. But with the .446" bullet....to get the dude to fit the bore....I've always had to resort to the thinner paper.....with damn sad results afterward! I will finally give up on it....and continue to run the as cast bullets through a swage die that takes them down to .444" which shoot really well! When patched wet and dried...these come out at .4505".:castmine::mrgreen:
Wish I could have posted a photo of that group guys but I dang certain wasn't going to drive my truck through all the gumbo mud and cut my road up! It'll be dry one day.....after all this storm comes through we're expecting to hit tomorrow afternoon! Hope all my Wyoming/Montana friends don't have to suffer too much through the blizzard about to hit! HANG TIGHT GUYS!! ADIOS!!
Today I went back to the range after I pulled the bullets on the remaining 16 rounds I had loaded with the .446" Money Bullet and I reseated the cases with bullets from a KAL mould with cupped base weighing in at 537 grs...and a meplat of .150". These bullets were patched with a paper of .0020" giving a per side thickness of .0040". Had to ride my wheeler down to the range to paint the target first as we've had much rain and the range was very wet. I then rode back to the Bears Den...got my truck and went back down to the bench I had set up at 600 yards. I didn't have an exact zero for this bullet so I fired two sighters which were close working off an old zero I had for another bullet. The final 14 rounds went into the 10 ring plate; group built up slightly left of center but held excellent elevation throughout the string. Was wiping after each shot; 2 NAPA damp patches, one dry..same as always. Needless to say...I had a BIG SMILE[smilie=w::mrgreen: on my face!
Am I basing my 'conclusion' on the theory that if one is going to use PP bullets that a very careful selection of paper thickness must be made......upon the two days previous incident with the .446" Money Bullet?? No! Not hardly! I have tried that bullet on much more than one occasion but to date....I have never gotten it to give me accuracy such as I got this afternoon with the KAL bullet. Powderburner has advised me that he has had the same experience with the .446" bullet that I have been having and I'm not speaking for him of course but me thinks that we both are of the opinion that if one is going to use PP....it might be best to not use patch paper that is under .0020" thickness! In all of my previous testing and shooting of PP bullets....I have never used paper with less than .0020" thickness. On some bullets for my 50 2 1/2 I've used paper with a thickness of as much as .0030" and ALWAYS had good results. But with the .446" bullet....to get the dude to fit the bore....I've always had to resort to the thinner paper.....with damn sad results afterward! I will finally give up on it....and continue to run the as cast bullets through a swage die that takes them down to .444" which shoot really well! When patched wet and dried...these come out at .4505".:castmine::mrgreen:
Wish I could have posted a photo of that group guys but I dang certain wasn't going to drive my truck through all the gumbo mud and cut my road up! It'll be dry one day.....after all this storm comes through we're expecting to hit tomorrow afternoon! Hope all my Wyoming/Montana friends don't have to suffer too much through the blizzard about to hit! HANG TIGHT GUYS!! ADIOS!!