zero load development?

[Gunlaker]

I've sold off a few rifles to focus on BPTR. This is a .45-70 that I haven't shot before today. I might not have to do any load development at all on this one. This target is ten shots at 223 yards. With the exception of the flyer in the ten ring ;-), the rest of the group is only 2" tall. It's unfortunately a fair bit wider than it is tall, but that's my fault I think.


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The load is Starline brass, WLR primer, 80gr Swiss 1.5, 0.030 Veg wad to compress powder, 0.060" LDPE wad, Buffalo Arms 446535 sized to .445". Wet patched with 8lb Seth Cole and seated 0.105" into the case.

The rifle is an original action with a 32" Badger barrel that Steve Rhoades chambered for me.

Chris.

[BRUCE MOULDS]

well chris if you include the flier and remove the effect of air movement it is a very good start.
if it never got better you would not panic.
cudos to steve.
keep safe,
bruce.

[Gunlaker]

Unfortunately Bruce I can't blame the horizontal on wind as it was a calm day :-). I didn't have the best sight picture though as I'd left my inserts at home. The one in the rifle is very thin and not ideal for me. But I think the root of the problem is an inconsistent trigger finger.

Chris.

[Bent Ramrod]

The load is very similar to mine. Maybe 80 gr powder with a 525-550 gr boolit should be recommended as a baseline starting paper patch load for the .45-2.1.

I find that changing rifles, ranges, bench setups and likely my undershorts :lol: causes differences at the target until I track the nuances down and either eliminate them or accommodate myself to them. I've only recently started hitting the 500M Ram targets at Three Points with the frequency with which I used to hit that square 600 yd gong in Ridgecrest off the bench. That's with the same rifle and paper patch load. The bench setups and stool heights are different here, as are the distances (metric), wind patterns and target shapes. There's a "home range advantage" for sure.

I get cases of the "horizontals" in little or no wind conditions. The leather bag on my front rest seems to twist out of plumb sometimes; that may be aggravating it. I guess I ought to try some baby powder on the leather, but I hesitate to add another variable.

Shooting ten shots with a .45-2.1 exactly the same way is no small feat. I think you're well on your way.

[Gunlaker]

I know what you mean about switching rifles and other things around. It's surprising how different two different rifles can be when it comes to shooting them well. I tend to switch between Sharps and Winchesters a fair bit. Differences in stocks make a big difference for me in prone shooting. I need a while to get used to a rifle it seems.

This group was off of sandbags. Last year I only shot my BPTR rifles off of sandbags maybe 3 or 4 times as I try to shoot prone as much as possible. Now I'm looking to get a second rifle up and running that I can use for long range so I'm going to use the bench once a week for a little bit.

Chris.

[kokomokid]

Is the brass crimped to hold the bullet?

[Gunlaker]

No I've never crimped any black powder ammunition. The bullet is just tight enough in the case that it won't fall out if you hold it upside down.

Chris.

[BrentD]

Chris, sounds very familiar to me. Very familiar.

This was either my first or second load. I forget which.

http://www.public.iastate.edu/~jessie/PPB/Highwall%2045-70/Highwall%20517%20Prolate%20Target%20200%20yds.JPG

[CraigOK]

Its really amazing to me what you guys can do with these older rifles and how well they shoot.

[BrentD]

Craig there is nothing old about my rifle. It was built less than 10 yrs ago. With a good bullet, barrel and gunsmithing, they will shoot.

[BRUCE MOULDS]

brent,
are they eohippus or some such animal on the receiver?
looks nice.
keep safe,
bruce.

[BrentD]

Those are horses from the Chauvet-Pont-d'Arc Cave, also a lion and an elk and an auroch or two, a mammoth are on the other side.

[Gunlaker]

Craig mine is not completely original either. The action is a reworked original, but the barrel and wood are newish.

That is very nice shooting Brent. :-)

Chris.

[BrentD]

Chris, you are shooting just as well. Now you just have to watch for even the light breezes because you have a rifle and load that is accurate enough to benefit from it.

[country gent]

Sounds like my ammo also. I ony have enough tension so bullets dont fall out. I recently had a spacer ring made (I believe its .400" thick 7/8" bore and 1 1/2" od with most calibers tapers this amount up seems to be good to size with the lock ring set to full length resize for me.

[jimofaz]

Chris ... I lucked into a "zero load development" with mostly sub-MOA results pretty much right outta' the gate several years back with an 18-1 twist Shiloh 1874 in .40-60 Maynard. Load details below. Jim
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