My first dedicated cast bullet shooter......and it's a gem.

[xringshutr]

Hope is shoots as good as it looks. Chambered in......what else??.....35 Whelen!!!
Really cool old 1903 sporter that had the original military barrel drilled and cut rifled to 35 cal, then contoured. All Lyman sights, beautiful matte bluing, and a basic, but classy Bishop walnut stock with a satin oil finish.
I have 3 molds to test out initially, an original 358009, RD 359-190, and a recent NOE 360318. One of those should shoot well...if not all of them. Not sure on twist rate, but I'll be testing that soon. Thought I would share. You don't want to know what I gave for it, but I did REALLY good.

[Yodogsandman]

Beautiful rifle in an awesome caliber!

[Scharfschuetze]

Wow! That is a nice old Springfield. I'll bet that you have some fun with that. That long slide Lyman sight on it is probably worth more than what you paid for the rifle. For a Distinguished Rifleman like yourself, that sight will be a treat to use.

I took the liberty of checking its manufacture date and it looks to be circa early 1917 which I believe makes it a single heat treat receiver. It's only 40 Ks and a year or so date wise from one of my 1903 Springfields. There is some concern over the "brittle" nature of some of the single heat treat receivers which you will soon hear about I'm sure. I limit mine to cast boolit loads and pressures.

I'll be interested in hearing how well the old girl does. My favorite 358 cal mold is the RCBS 35-200-FN that throws a boolit of about 200 grains.

[Uncle R.]

That's a beautiful rifle and a great find. Congratulations to you - and forgive me if I'm a bit green with envy. May you enjoy your .35 sporter long and well!
<
Uncle R.

[UBER7MM]

A dedicated cast shooter in 35 caliber, a '06 case and peep sites! What more could a man want?

[Treetop]

What a classy rifle, xring! If it were mine, I would never, ever, let a J-word travel through that beautiful barrel! Tt.

[Larry Gibson]

.................. That long slide Lyman sight on it is probably worth more than what you paid for the rifle........

Now how am supposed to conn xringshutr out of that sight:sad:

Just kidding.....very nice old "classic"! I too highly recommend the RCBS 35-200-FN, please keep us appraised of how she shoots.

Larry Gibson

[xringshutr]

Thanks for the kind words about the rifle gents. My crappy pics really don't do the rifle justice, it is in superb shape. I'll try to keep you all updated on how it performs. Unfortunately work comes first right now, so she'll just have to wait a little longer till I send a few down the tube. Have no fear though, when I get the chance to shoot, it will be on top of the list of project guns to develop a couple good loads. Goal initially is to find a nice load for a big Nebraska whitetail this fall.

Scharf,
Any idea on what model the long slide Lyman sight is? Just curious. I'll do a little research on my end, but just thought I would ask.

[retread]

Forgive me Lord, the sin of envy is upon me.

[Larry Gibson]

........Scharf,
Any idea on what model the long slide Lyman sight is? Just curious. I'll do a little research on my end, but just thought I would ask.

How many clicks per moa on the elevation?

Larry Gibson

[Scharfschuetze]

You might also unscrew the elevation tension knob, push it in and then slip the elevation slide up and out from the base. The model number may be on the backside of the slide or on the base.

Larry can correct me (probably will) but I think that it's most likely a Model 48, possibly with a suffix of "S" for Springfield.

Larry alludes to clicks per MOA and rotation of the elevation and deflection. That's important as older Lymans had 4 MOA per one rotation of a knob and newer ones have 3 MOA per revolution. Given that, each hash mark on the slides will indicate either 4 or 3 MOA or one revolution. Makes it a snap to re-zero after making adjustments for range, windage or a new load.

[xringshutr]

I just had a chance to look at the sight closer. Scharf is dead on, it is indeed a Lyman 48S-O3A3; and being blinded by "new rifle plague" caused me to miss that designation on the front portion of the sight base. :oops: It has 4 clicks between each number indices for both windage and elevation. Nice clean clicks. No slop/play in the elevation slide, so it should be pretty consistent for return to zero when playing/clicking between loads.

[Larry Gibson]

You have the "good one". As Scharfschuetzer mentions it is probably worth more than the rifle, especially in the excellent condition it appears to be in.

Larry Gibson

[youngda9]

I have a very similar rifle in 358, same 800K serial # as well. I had JES turn it into a 358win. I really like that boolit design. I hope you have good luck with that fine looking rifle. Thanks for posting.

[Echo]

Beautiful - just Beautiful... Actually, Beautiful AND Spiritual...

[WILCO]

Really enjoyed the pics!

[TCLouis]

Simple Elegance is still elegant.

That is NICE.

Don't forget the 35 caliber 200 grain GB that was here several years ago.

Mine come out at 220 grains in my alloy, with lube and GC.

[Artful]

Wonderful - now show us some targets with all the holes in little clusters.

[W.R.Buchanan]

X Ring: That is a fairly new Lyman #48. The Identifying feature is the shape of the knobs, and the square bottom on the elevation slide.

Older versions had radiused elevation slides and the knobs were much smaller.

First Pic: Lyman 48 C on my M2 Springfield circa 1935. note elevation knob.

Second Pic Lyman 48 bought off Ebay for my 03A3 Circa 1960's and note that I radiused the bottom end of the slide. Re finish of the sight is in progress as is the gun.

Pic Three. Lyman 48 HVA circa 1978 This sight was on my Husky .30-06 and will now be mounted to my M1896 Swede. It is essentially NIB. Note: bottom of slide is square.

The normal 48 Series Elevation slide has 60 MOA of elevation all of the 48 ABC models had the smaller knobs and the ones for M2's (22LR) had 5 MOA per revolution and 1/2MOA clicks. The later versions 48 S, M, HVA, W, etc. Have the same 60 MOA of elevation but have the newer design of knobs. They are 3 MOA per revolution and have 1/4 minute clicks.

The Long Slide versions designed for Long Range shooting (1000 yards) have 105 MOA of travel and everything else is the same as whatever time period they were made. I have only seen these on Springfield Target Rifles. I'm sure they have been mounted on others, I just haven't seen them. I have also seen both early style knobs and later style knobs.

The hash marks on the elevation slide are 3 MOA apart or in the case of the earlier version 5MOA apart or in short,,, Each hash mark on the slide is one revolution of the knob from the last one.

In the case of the 5 MOA knob you could release the half nut by pressing on it and then manually move the sight up 20 MOA and then release the half nut and the Elevation Screw would pick up just the same as if you have turned the knob 4 turns.

When lowering the slide you would do the same thing except that the slide would be pushed down until the mechanical stop screw hits the top of the sight base. If done correctly this would have been your "Mechanical Zero." or basic zero for whatever load you used the most, and all other loads would be dialed in in relation to that Mechanical Zero.

In the case on needing 20 MOA with a slide with only 3 MOA per revolution, you would slip the slide up 7 hash marks and then back the elevation screw off one MOA. Or 7 x 3=21 21-1= 20 MOA total.. Before returning to Mechanical Zero you would turn the knob back to Zero and then slip the slide back down to the stop.

After zeroing your rifle at either 100,200 or 300 yards the elevation knob lock screw is loosened and the knob is set to zero and the screw retightened. Then the pointer on the sight base is loosened and moved to zero . Then the small set screw on the elevation slide is turned down until it contacts the top of the sight base.

That will be your mechanical zero.

These sights are pretty cool things and once you learn how to work one they are very exacting sights that can be made to cope with any distance you choose to shoot. All you have to know is the bullet trajectory of your favorite load, and the distance and you can dial in whatever you need to hit the first shot everytime.

The really cool thing is that they repeat! So what you did yesterday will still work today. These sights were THE best method of sighting a rifle for more than 50 years. And they are just as good now as they were back when.

This wouldn't have happened if they didn't perform.

On my M2 .22LR,,, the gun is sighted dead on a 75 yards. It is 1" high at 50 yards and 3" low at 100 yards. I shoot chickens pigs and turkeys with the Mechanical Zero, then raise the sight 6 clicks or 3 MOA for Rams at 100.

Off a rest,,, I can hit with every shot.

Not so much off hand, but we are getting there.

Hope you find this blurb helpful, not an expert on this subject (Talented Amateur maybe?) and if I've made any errors don't hesitate to correct. I am still learning about these things and there is a lot to know.

Wish I would have figured this out 40 years ago.

By the way,,, You lucky dog! You scored big on that gun! Now shoot hell out of it!

Randy

[xringshutr]

Wow Randy. What a great write-up and explanation on the Lyman 48. Thanks for sharing. I wouldn't even dream of correcting you, as I doubt you have any errors in your info. I'll zero it as you explained and see how it goes. We are doing an addition on our house and SUPER busy with summer activities, etc, so when the leaves start to turn is when I will get a chance to get this old girl out to see what it will do. I'll keep the results posted on this thread. It just may take a little while. 4 kids, new addition, garden and 1000 other projects take precedence right now. :groner:

[W.R.Buchanan]

Xring: What you have is the perfect Rifle for shooting short Range or Cowboy Silhouette with Cast Boolits.

It is also a great hunting caliber and suitable for anything in N/A and lots of Africa too.

However you will shoot it more in one day at a Silhouette Match than you would in years of hunting and there is no messy clean up afterwards. No BBQ with fresh backstraps either but you could fake that.

Once you find the boolit/load you like for that gun I would try it dead on at 100 yards and then go to 200 and see what the drop is. If the drop is less than 6" then you could conceivably shoot the whole course with no changes or maybe a minor one at the Rams at 200 M.

I don't know what your trajectory is going to be, but you can find out by zeroing at 100 and then shooting at 150, 200, 250, 300, which would cover just about any circumstance you could face with that gun.

Keep notes on your shooting sessions. That way you can make a range card for the gun and always have the correct info with you.

You are going to enjoy shooting that one!

Good Luck!

Randy