Henry BBS 100 yards

[MyFlatline]

My Apologies for the thread drift Elbow...I decided to create a new post as not to take away from yours.

Hannibal, not as bad as you had me expecting, we battled a few rain storms but did get to put a few down range. I took the Henry Big Boy Steel 357 and 45 colt, both have the 16.5" barrel. Am gonna try and post 50 yard targets and 100 beside each..
Keep in mind, I worked up these loads a 50 yards and never tried them out further.

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[CastingFool]

I found out my BBS in 45lc with a 20" barrel makes a good varmint gun. Killed 6 woodchucks with it, anywhere from 50 to 72 long steps. I do have a scope on it. My basic load is a Lee 252-200 RF (50% coww, 50% plumbers lead, and 2% pewter) with 9 gr of Unique.

[Hannibal]

If those are 1" dots, that's similar to mine. I find it rather alarming that the group opens up so much between 50 and 100 yds, but it is what it is, I guess. At least it appears yours shoots as well from the factory as mine does after several hours of lapping. Perhaps they'll all get better with time.

[MyFlatline]

The 45 lc is a joy to shoot

[MyFlatline]

If those are 1" dots, that's similar to mine. I find it rather alarming that the group opens up so much between 50 and 100 yds, but it is what it is, I guess. At least it appears yours shoots as well from the factory as mine does after several hours of lapping. Perhaps they'll all get better with time.

They are 3/4 " dots.. I was a bit amazed the it opened that much, especially the 45lc. Did you try and work up a 100 yard load? That might be interesting to see...and see haw it does at 50...

[buckshotshoey]

That is about the max range for a .357 at a deer. You might stretch that a little, but not much. Every one of those = dead deer.

[Hannibal]

I have not done much at all with it, to be honest. I loaded up some jacketed stuff that shot best before I lapped it, and shot 30 or so @100 yds to convince myself it was better, and it's not been out of the safe since.

I keep getting distracted by other things . . .

Hopefully, I'll have time this fall to work with it again.

[MyFlatline]

That is about the max range for a .357 at a deer. You might stretch that a little, but not much. Every one of those = dead deer.

I agree, doubt I would take a 100 yard shot where I hunt. Both are for walking the sloughs and thick Florida swamps. Average 50 yard shots on Deer and hogs.

[Elbow]

Well shot mine with the Lee 358 158 Alox lubed 2400 Williams peep sight at 125 yards. Not a great group but all in an 8' circle which is a dead deer and just about all my old eyes can do. I am sure with a scope the gun will group way better than that but if I need a scope the old Winchester Model 88 308 I've had since I was ten years old is coming out!

[buckshotshoey]

Well shot mine with the Lee 358 158 Alox lubed 2400 Williams peep sight at 125 yards. Not a great group but all in an 8' circle which is a dead deer and just about all my old eyes can do. I am sure with a scope the gun will group way better than that but if I need a scope the old Winchester Model 88 308 I've had since I was ten years old is coming out!

Yep. It's a tough shot when the factory front sight completely covers the target at 100. A good scope or red dot might give the opp better results. I found the red dot to be more then adequate for the ranges I hunt.

[modified5]

I keep eye balling these things and wanting one in .357.
You guys are making it harder to resist!! :grin:

[MyFlatline]

Yep. It's a tough shot when the factory front sight completely covers the target at 100. A good scope or red dot might give the opp better results. I found the red dot to be more then adequate for the ranges I hunt.

Even tougher when you can't see the front site. All my rifles wear some type of optics, I couldn't see to shoot otherwise. Bless you all with good eyes. Progressive glasses are hard to shoot with for me.

[Ramjet-SS]

Both my rifles are the Brass Big Boys they shoot really well but it took about 100 shots from each to get them to settle down. I have no issue using them for what they are intended 100 yard deer gun where most of my many harvests are 50 yards or less.

[buckshotshoey]

I know what you mean. Im getting very far sighted myself. Thats why I put a red dot on my Henry. Really didn't want to. But had to.

[robg]

Use that load in my win 94 trapper .same sort of accuracy ,what's not to like?

[Hannibal]

There is a member on this forum that goes by ErnieBishop that is shooting some groups from a pistol that would absolutely embarrass most of us.
Is he full of . . . stuff? I've no idea.
But based upon what he's posted, I'm not about to give one of these rifles a 'pass' because 'It's just a pistol cartridge'.

They should shoot under MOA @ 100. EASILY.

Now, if they won't, there has to be a reason. Ammunition, firearm, or shooter. Which it is, I'd like to know.

But I'm bettin' I can guess.

[Ramjet-SS]

Consistency is the key to shooting groups.

some things that need to be consistent from shot to shot are;

Bullet weight
Barrel postion and harmonics.
Shooter
Wind
Powder charge
rifling with regard to fouling
velocity
sight picture
cartridge thickness
lube

Pick one. Change the placement of the the shots.

Mr. Bishop also shoots a very specific barrel that is free floated and designed around a very heavy projectile designed for long range shooting. A lever gun has many squeez points on the barrle because free floating is not something we do. Yes the guns should shoot close to MOA but it takes effort and a shooter capable of being consistent.

[buckshotshoey]

The question remains.....do you NEED a .357 to shoot 1 moa or better. Tough chore considering the front blade completely covers the target at 100 yards. Yes, I know it can be done. I volunteered for pit duty at the President's 100 finals at Camp Perry. Seen those finalists do amazing feats of accuracy at 600 yards.

But does it need to be that way for a .357 rifle? I believe it doesn't. If you can put 3 shots in a 3 inch circle @100 yards, that is more then good enough for the intended use of the gun. And 100 yards is going to be about max range anyway. One might argue that if it can shoot one moa, then you can take longer shots. But would it be ethical? The 357 Mag., 158gr at 1830fps - 1175 ft. lbs at muzzle, is down to 715 ft. lbs. at 100 yds. It would be too weak at 200. Maybe too weak at 150.

Maybe because I don't need "on paper perfection" in my life anymore, a 3 inch group out of a deer rifle, and a pistol caliber to boot, would make me happy.

Now a 3 inch group out of my .243 would make me unhappy, no doubt! But that is intended to be a long range varmint exploder.

[Hannibal]

That's perfectly acceptable for hunting purposes. I just like to know what my firearms are capable of.
To each their own, I expect.

[fecmech]

They should shoot under MOA @ 100. EASILY.
I respectfully disagree.

[buckshotshoey]

That's perfectly acceptable for hunting purposes. I just like to know what my firearms are capable of.
To each their own, I expect.

In no way saying you are wrong in the way you or anyone else evaluates your Firearms. Just offering another point of view.

Chuck Hawks has another view. He considers a .357 rifle to be more of a 75yard gun (for deer).

Here's a couple of interesting articles on the subject. Great reading!

Handgun Cartridges in Rifles
http://chuckhawks.com/handgun_rifle_cartridges.htm

And Minimum Deer Cartridges
http://www.chuckhawks.com/minimum_deer_cartridges.html