26Charlie
02-27-2016, 08:32 PM
I decided to do some shooting of guns I haven't fired for a long time, the contender being one. I have a .25-35 octagon 10" bbl. for it, and exhumed some cast loads I was experimenting with back in the day. I tried a load of 7.0 gr. 800-x with the RCBS 25-85-FN bullet, put together back in 2008. I have written about this bullet before; I couldn't get it to shoot in .25-20 rifles, and this was no exception, got a 5.2" group of 15 shots at 25 yards. I let the mould go down the road to a friend who thought it might work in his .25-20 single shot.
[I am shooting off my back porch, hence the 25 yard range, since the bullets go into a swampy woods, so it is safe to shoot until the green leaves come back and I can't see back there. The weather has been unpleasantly cold and wet, not much snow. Just itching to shoot some targets.]
The second load was much better, the Lyman 257388 88 gr. pointed gas check, 12.0 gr. 2400. seven shots went into 1.1", with two outliers making the nine shot group 2.15". These have been in the box since 1990. Both loads were in .30-30 brass.
[I am shooting off my back porch, hence the 25 yard range, since the bullets go into a swampy woods, so it is safe to shoot until the green leaves come back and I can't see back there. The weather has been unpleasantly cold and wet, not much snow. Just itching to shoot some targets.]
The second load was much better, the Lyman 257388 88 gr. pointed gas check, 12.0 gr. 2400. seven shots went into 1.1", with two outliers making the nine shot group 2.15". These have been in the box since 1990. Both loads were in .30-30 brass.