ChristopherO
10-13-2015, 01:48 PM
In 2011 when I moved from my home of 22 years some things were left behind, namely the concrete shooting bench. Finding the desire to make noise and smoke accurately recently I put together a new shooting bench out of treated lumber & plywood.
http://i608.photobucket.com/albums/tt167/WoodenBows/October%202015%20Shooting%20Bench_zpsv17xo831.jpg (http://s608.photobucket.com/user/WoodenBows/media/October%202015%20Shooting%20Bench_zpsv17xo831.jpg. html)
This was the second trip to Dad's farm in two weekends to do what I can to make this new 45/70 hit the mark. The first time I was not using a very steady rest but I was also working to know how much to filehttp://contentcache-a.akamaihd.net/items/it/img/arrow-10x10.png (http://castboolits.gunloads.com/#94640061) the Skinner front site post down, too. That helped considerably in keeping the boolits on the target this time. I loved the ergonomics of this shooting bench better than the last one I had. Good for me and my left handed brother. Plus it is high enough to keep from leaning over much at all.
Again, the projectile is the Accurate Molds 460-405C GC with a fairly soft alloy (see Pretty Mushroom in the Cast Boolits forum).
The test loads were as follows:
47 grains of H322
47.5 grains of H322
48 grains of H322
48.5 grains of H322
Part way through the testing I filedhttp://contentcache-a.akamaihd.net/items/it/img/arrow-10x10.png (http://castboolits.gunloads.com/#74751346) the front post down some more as it was apparent that the majority of the loads were hitting low, though some would rise up to the bullseye here and there. More than I wished they did. This is at 50 Yards.
http://i608.photobucket.com/albums/tt167/WoodenBows/October%2011%202015_zpsugsgjz3a.jpg (http://s608.photobucket.com/user/WoodenBows/media/October%2011%202015_zpsugsgjz3a.jpg.html)
The three high hits were after the sites were adjusted, then they dropped to the bullseye or lower, again.
Those four holes in the orange, those were made with one shot of each test batch. That's right, every loading is represented in the center. Wish they were all from only one of the loads and I would call it good, but it wasn't to be.
Musing on this I am attributing part of these variances to the loads, part to the heavy recoil and part to the fact that I need sandbags to rest on instead of the foam. Sadly, sandbags were another item I must have left behind in the move. I believe I was pretty steady while firing but sandbags are vastly superior for this type of sighting in. Making a new set is next on the listhttp://contentcache-a.akamaihd.net/items/it/img/arrow-10x10.png (http://castboolits.gunloads.com/#3429012).
Now I am pondering if I should back these loadings down to the low 40 grain range to see if this rifle will respond better with these boolits. I was hoping for good accuracy between 1,500 to 1,600 FPS. Maybe, maybe not. They drop out of the mold .460+ but the Lyman sizing/lube die is only .459. I can't find were Lyman sells a .460 die or I would give that a try, too.
Any suggestions are welcome.
Thank you,
Christopher
http://i608.photobucket.com/albums/tt167/WoodenBows/October%202015%20Shooting%20Bench_zpsv17xo831.jpg (http://s608.photobucket.com/user/WoodenBows/media/October%202015%20Shooting%20Bench_zpsv17xo831.jpg. html)
This was the second trip to Dad's farm in two weekends to do what I can to make this new 45/70 hit the mark. The first time I was not using a very steady rest but I was also working to know how much to filehttp://contentcache-a.akamaihd.net/items/it/img/arrow-10x10.png (http://castboolits.gunloads.com/#94640061) the Skinner front site post down, too. That helped considerably in keeping the boolits on the target this time. I loved the ergonomics of this shooting bench better than the last one I had. Good for me and my left handed brother. Plus it is high enough to keep from leaning over much at all.
Again, the projectile is the Accurate Molds 460-405C GC with a fairly soft alloy (see Pretty Mushroom in the Cast Boolits forum).
The test loads were as follows:
47 grains of H322
47.5 grains of H322
48 grains of H322
48.5 grains of H322
Part way through the testing I filedhttp://contentcache-a.akamaihd.net/items/it/img/arrow-10x10.png (http://castboolits.gunloads.com/#74751346) the front post down some more as it was apparent that the majority of the loads were hitting low, though some would rise up to the bullseye here and there. More than I wished they did. This is at 50 Yards.
http://i608.photobucket.com/albums/tt167/WoodenBows/October%2011%202015_zpsugsgjz3a.jpg (http://s608.photobucket.com/user/WoodenBows/media/October%2011%202015_zpsugsgjz3a.jpg.html)
The three high hits were after the sites were adjusted, then they dropped to the bullseye or lower, again.
Those four holes in the orange, those were made with one shot of each test batch. That's right, every loading is represented in the center. Wish they were all from only one of the loads and I would call it good, but it wasn't to be.
Musing on this I am attributing part of these variances to the loads, part to the heavy recoil and part to the fact that I need sandbags to rest on instead of the foam. Sadly, sandbags were another item I must have left behind in the move. I believe I was pretty steady while firing but sandbags are vastly superior for this type of sighting in. Making a new set is next on the listhttp://contentcache-a.akamaihd.net/items/it/img/arrow-10x10.png (http://castboolits.gunloads.com/#3429012).
Now I am pondering if I should back these loadings down to the low 40 grain range to see if this rifle will respond better with these boolits. I was hoping for good accuracy between 1,500 to 1,600 FPS. Maybe, maybe not. They drop out of the mold .460+ but the Lyman sizing/lube die is only .459. I can't find were Lyman sells a .460 die or I would give that a try, too.
Any suggestions are welcome.
Thank you,
Christopher