T/C .44Mag vertical deviation?

[SandSquid]

sand bagged, 100 rounds at 100 Yards, from my Thompson Contender .44 Magnum w/ Vortex Optics Crossfire 2x20 EER V-Plex reticle.
Shooting 240 Grain Truncated Cone Bevel Base (.431") hard cast lead from Penn Bullets, on top of 24.5 gr. Hogdon Lil'Gun


65342

Thinking that the vertical deviation is from load inconsistency, or the jerk behind the trigger?

[John Allen]

I wouldn't complain about that at all. I think you killed that poor ten ring and wounded the nine ring.

[SandSquid]

Always room for improvement.

[lostsixgunner]

Nice shootin'. Probably small difference in your grip pressure from shot to shot... I wouldn't let it bother me much.

[Tatume]

Congratulations on some very fine target shooting. Like you, I believe that one group fired with a large number of shots is much more informative that several groups fired with fewer shots per group. Accuracy testing is meant to answer the question "where is the next shot most likely to go?" Or, "by what margin am I likely to miss the point of aim?" You have established the answer to the question far better than someone could have with 20 five-shot groups.

Vertical hold is often more difficult than horizontal. It's very easy for the human eye to split a symmetrical shape into halves with a vertical line, such as the cross hairs of your scope. Pick up a small board and estimate the center, then measure the distance from each end, and you'll probably find your mark is pretty close to the middle. It's more difficult to split along the horizontal, so if you're using a center hold, that may be the source of the error (plus the fact that you've already shot the center out of the target). Many people use the six-o'clock hold for exactly this reason. As we get older and our visual acuity diminishes, it gets harder and harder to resolve the thin white line we keep between the front sight or cross hair and the bull, and the six-o'clock hold begins to fail us. So, we're stuck between the rock and the hard place.

If your purpose is to test loads, you might want to consider a specialty target. One that has visible points at 12, 3, 6, and 9 o'clock may make it easier to alight your cross hairs.

Take care, Tom

[selmerfan]

I'd say it's the guy on the trigger. And I'd also say the guy on the trigger is doing a heck of a job! Very consistent load, and light differences in hold pressure and/or trigonometry can result in variations in muzzle flip. Muzzle flip can cause huge vertical variations out of a pistol. Follow-through is very important - keep your head down and follow-through, just like any other shooting. I'd be tickled pink with that target though!

[dale2242]

Vertical stringing has always been a problem for me with Tenders.
I`m not sure if the problem is me or the nature of the beast....dale

[shorty500M]

good shooting and good info shared to which i will add- if a Tender has vertical issues it pays to check grip screw tightness. Friend had a new to him early contender in .221Fireball that was stringing. Asked me to try it since had more experience. Same result. Checked it and could barely feel grip move on frame. Torqued screw and it became a shooter

[SandSquid]

Thanks for the feedback, will take all suggestions under advisement next time I have the opportunity to get to an outdoor range.
All relaoded same-same, grip screws torqued, Contender cleansed and ready to go, just waiting on an opportunity.

[quilbilly]

Vertical stringing has always been a problem for me with Tenders.
I`m not sure if the problem is me or the nature of the beast....dale
Nearly all my Contenders string a bit vertically - even the carbines. I think it is the nature of them so I shoot two, let cool 90 seconds.

[Gibbs44]

Ayecarumba. Hey that is way beyond the minute of deer I worry about. I'd like to keep 6 in 8" at 100 yards, but 100 in a group like that. Good load, good gun, good shooting.

[SandSquid]

I just want to know I can humanely harvest any animal walking on the North American Continent from 100 Yards/Meters

[justing]

good shooting!

[dale2242]

Shorty, Interesting that you say a buddy had vertical stringing issues with a 221.
I was given an octagon 221 barrel. It has the worst stringing issues of any Tender barrel I have.
Finally got a good load, but it took some trial and error....dale

[lovedogs]

Nothin' wrong with that group. Something I've noticed is that sometimes you can get stringing if you don't rest the grip right. If your forend is rested the same each time be careful about the grip. Grip rest seems more critical than forend on Contenders. I like to rest the forend solidly on a good sandbag with the trigger guard tight against the bag. The rear is a bag I made by filling a piece of inner tube with floor-dry. The object is to use something not too solid. I push the grip down into the rear bag then raise it ever so slightly and use my thumb and a finger to adjust elevation so the grip isn't resting too solidly. If the grip is solid it'll throw the shots. Once you get the hang of it you can consistently shoot good groups and they'll shoot to the same POI as in the field. For absolute accuracy you can place the grip on a padded board but it'll shoot to a different POI than when you use field positions. Just my experience.

[flipajig]

Good shooting. My 44 gave me fits I couldn't get it to shoot to save my life. Now it gets fed a steady diet of cast Boolits sized at .429.
I have a load with a Lee 310 RF 1260 fps I'm not afraid of griz
Flip

[shorty500M]

Shorty, Interesting that you say a buddy had vertical stringing issues with a 221.
I was given an octagon 221 barrel. It has the worst stringing issues of any Tender barrel I have.
Finally got a good load, but it took some trial and error....dale

yup his was an old octagon barrel too. But issue was entirely the loose grip on his. Tenders were new toy to him at time and the .45 Colt octagonal he got also had the same issue but the mild cowboy loads werent torqueing the gun enough to show up at 25yds like the Fireball did at 100

[Hamish]

Tatume gave a very good answer. I seem to remember something by Mike Bellm about vertical stringing in the Contender and the causes.

I have to wonder what you would see shooting either Dead Frog or Creedmoor style for the same 100 shots.

One thing I would note is the fact that you have no dropped or thrown shots over that string. :mrgreen: