7br
02-13-2006, 10:11 AM
Sunday was not a particularly great day for shooting. Temp was in the 30's with a 30 mph wind coming directly from the north. I have a couple of experiments that I had cooked up and was wanting to try.
First on the agenda was the Lyman .41 gaschecks vs Hornady .44 checks on a 235gr LBT LFN .41 bullet. Once seated, the .44 checks have a decidedly concave profile on the base of the bullet. Set the bullet on the base and you have the weebles wobble type situation. The load was 19.8gr of WW 296, starline cases and Fed Large Mag Match primers. 15 with some older lyman checks I traded for and 15 of the hornady .44 checks. I used 5 rounds to get sighted in at 100yds. I shot 2 five round groups of each load. Without measuring, I would guess all 4 groups were in the 3-4inch range. I really couldn't tell much difference in the groups. I think I would need shoot a lot of groups to make the differences stand out. Will be getting in gator .41 checks from the group buy. The scope is off the revolver, so will be quite a while before I get back to this.
Second test with the .41 was to recover a bullet with the hornady check to see how it looked after firing. I had saved 5 laundry detergent bottles and one milk jug. I lined them up a 100 yards and put a round through them thinking that somewhere along the line the bullet would stop. Evidently, it must have been 5 or 6 inches into the ground as I did not recover the bullet and I didn't hear any rattling in the bottom of the jugs to make me think the bullet had came apart. Total penetration in water was over 30 inches. Will use phone books next time. I also want to try two alloy bullets.
Third on the agenda was a T/C contender with a 10" barrel. I started sighting in at 25 yards. Three bullets in a quarter size group with two touching. I moved out to 100 yards and things went south in a hurry. The loads were WW Cases, Rem 7 1/2 small rifle primers, RCBS 55gr bullets. The powder was 8.0gr of 4227 and 4.1 grains of WW231. I wound up with a 5in wide by 8 in high group with the 4227 and a 3 in wide by 5 in high group with the 231. I am sure the high winds wreaked havoc on the small bullets. The IMR 4227 left kernals in the barrel, but the 231 looked pretty clean.
This is the first time I have gotten to shoot this barrel. One of the interesting things is how much the brass changed. I now have a long neck, but instead of a graceful, flowing shoulder, it is fairly well defined at about a 50degree angle. It also looks to have lost a lot of taper. Need to form the other 85 cases, trim and really get to testing.
I also ran 15 rounds of Norma 150gr j bullets through my father's Argentine Mauser. Several observations. I handled the recoil better off of bags than standing. This is a first for me with any rifle that has substantial recoil. The 150 gr bullets shot about 4in low at 25 yards. At 100 yards, I couldn't really get a good sight picture and I had a hard time getting a group. This will require some more thought. I had originally thought the rifling was pretty well toasted after spending quite a bit of time cleaning. After the rounds Sunday, the bore looks pretty good.
Hopefully, I can get pics of the groups posted soon.
First on the agenda was the Lyman .41 gaschecks vs Hornady .44 checks on a 235gr LBT LFN .41 bullet. Once seated, the .44 checks have a decidedly concave profile on the base of the bullet. Set the bullet on the base and you have the weebles wobble type situation. The load was 19.8gr of WW 296, starline cases and Fed Large Mag Match primers. 15 with some older lyman checks I traded for and 15 of the hornady .44 checks. I used 5 rounds to get sighted in at 100yds. I shot 2 five round groups of each load. Without measuring, I would guess all 4 groups were in the 3-4inch range. I really couldn't tell much difference in the groups. I think I would need shoot a lot of groups to make the differences stand out. Will be getting in gator .41 checks from the group buy. The scope is off the revolver, so will be quite a while before I get back to this.
Second test with the .41 was to recover a bullet with the hornady check to see how it looked after firing. I had saved 5 laundry detergent bottles and one milk jug. I lined them up a 100 yards and put a round through them thinking that somewhere along the line the bullet would stop. Evidently, it must have been 5 or 6 inches into the ground as I did not recover the bullet and I didn't hear any rattling in the bottom of the jugs to make me think the bullet had came apart. Total penetration in water was over 30 inches. Will use phone books next time. I also want to try two alloy bullets.
Third on the agenda was a T/C contender with a 10" barrel. I started sighting in at 25 yards. Three bullets in a quarter size group with two touching. I moved out to 100 yards and things went south in a hurry. The loads were WW Cases, Rem 7 1/2 small rifle primers, RCBS 55gr bullets. The powder was 8.0gr of 4227 and 4.1 grains of WW231. I wound up with a 5in wide by 8 in high group with the 4227 and a 3 in wide by 5 in high group with the 231. I am sure the high winds wreaked havoc on the small bullets. The IMR 4227 left kernals in the barrel, but the 231 looked pretty clean.
This is the first time I have gotten to shoot this barrel. One of the interesting things is how much the brass changed. I now have a long neck, but instead of a graceful, flowing shoulder, it is fairly well defined at about a 50degree angle. It also looks to have lost a lot of taper. Need to form the other 85 cases, trim and really get to testing.
I also ran 15 rounds of Norma 150gr j bullets through my father's Argentine Mauser. Several observations. I handled the recoil better off of bags than standing. This is a first for me with any rifle that has substantial recoil. The 150 gr bullets shot about 4in low at 25 yards. At 100 yards, I couldn't really get a good sight picture and I had a hard time getting a group. This will require some more thought. I had originally thought the rifling was pretty well toasted after spending quite a bit of time cleaning. After the rounds Sunday, the bore looks pretty good.
Hopefully, I can get pics of the groups posted soon.