What cal/action for 200yd match

[218bee]

Hi all, I am in the process of joining a new range in the area and was out there Sunday and was talking to some old timers who were getting ready to leave and I asked them what they were shooting, they shoot once a month at 200 yards, with single shot rifles using cast boolits (plain base no gas checks). Hey sounds cool to me. As I said these guys were leaving so I did not want to keep drilling them with questions but one mentioned he shoots a 357max cut and necked to 32 cal. Said guys try all different stuff, lots of wildcats and the old standbys such as 32/40..38/55 and maybe a 40/65 or such....but seems most shoot 25-32 cal. I did not ask if scopes are ok or not.
I am guessing this is a form of a "Scheutzin" (or however ya spell it) match. I am sure some of you gents are familiar with this form of competition. If you were building a gun for such a thing what action and caliber would you choose and why.I do not have deep pockets so I could not afford to call Ballard Rifles and have them set me up.
I do have a Rolling Block smokeless powder action that presently has a 45/70 barrel on it that I'm thinking may make a good base for a 32/40. I am thinking this would be a good round which I could play with in both Black and Smokeless. I don't think I want to go as heavy as a 38/55 but dont know. Definately wouldn't go with a 45/70 as I shoot that alot with Black and cant keep up with the recoil as shots fired get into the twenties or so. I would like to find a Martini action or such but they seem to be rather scarce and since I got this Roller it should work no? I guess I could also rebarrel a Ruger #1, or do a TC Encore type deal.
Anyway give me some suggestions about how you in yhe know would go about this project with a small pocketbook in mind. Thanks for suggestions

[Don McDowell]

Building a rifle and small pocket book , don't go together to well.
If I were looking for something of a 200 yd cast bullet gun, I'ld be sorely tempted to go to www.galleryofguns.com type in 32-40 in the gunfinder dealy, and see what dealer closest to you would get the best price on the limited edition 1885 in 32-40. Comes with a marbles sight, would only need to change the front to a lyman 17 or similar to be somewhat competitive right out of the box.

[Frank46]

218 bee, have to agree that champagne tastes and a beer pocketbook don't exactly go together. However having said that here goes. remington did make a lot of target rifles using the rolling block action. if money is tight you would be well off to check out the green mountain barrel website. get the barrel and have that done first. sights next and so on and so on. John Taylor of Taylor machine can do the installation of the barrel and sights as well. Or better yet have John re-line your 45-70 bbl with one of the J.T's liners. That will save you a bunch of money and those liners have a good reputation. What you will save on the bbl will most likely get you your sights. If only shooting at 100 and 200yds you could get away with a mid range venier windage adjustable rear sight and a globe front sight. John Taylor has an excellent reputation for excellent work. Come over to the assra.com web site and
join and than you can draw upon the experiences of many like minded shooters. Frank

[leadman]

You might want to go earlier in the day and watch these guys shoot. See what they are using and if there might be someone using something like a NEF rifle. If so you could probably find a good 30-30 and install a WGRS on the rear and a Lyman globe on the front.
This would get you started. Once you learn the ropes and get to know what you need then look for a "better" rifle.
Who knowa, maybe you will meet someone that can help in your search.

[calaloo]

218bee.

Go to www.assra.com and there you will find a wealth of information on the type of shooting you are thinking about.

Are you interested in shooting offhand or benchrest? Different stock styles are called for depending on your interest.

Many schuetzen shooters use Ruger #1 rifles rebarreled to one of the .32 calibers. There are several .32 wildcats made from .357 max brass. All of them are breech seated.

Randy Wright has a very good book on the subject and I believe information about buying it is on the assra site.

[218bee]

Thanks to all above answers. Never thought of a relined barrel. I am thinking they shoot off bench rest. Would you think the 32/40 a decent round for this type of shooting?

[Boz330]

The only thing that might be a problem is shooting the 32 with BP. I have an 8MM Roller that I tried that with and it fouled really quick. The 38-55 would be better in that respect. With just smokeless the 32 would work great, and you wouldn't even need a case as big as the 32-40.

Bob

[Don McDowell]

The 32-40 was the premere bench rest round in its early days.

[NickSS]

you should look at the game before getting a gun for it. My club has monthly CF lead bullet shoots that recently have evolved into reduced size silhoettes all fired at 200 yards. You can shoot any lead bullet shooting rifle in these matches. I personally use a 38-55 rifle shooting both black and smokeless powder. It is a C Sharps 1885 clone and was not cheap by any means. Others shoot ballards, Remingtons, Sharps and a few shot up with lever actions. I myself have used my 94 Winchester loaded with lead bullets on several occasions. The 32-40 is a great cartridge with both black powder and smokeless. I am saving my cash right now to add one to my collection. I did have an original Ballad in that caliber until a friend of mine talked me into selling it to him. With a 1 in 16 twist it did not foul out quickly and with a blow tube I could fire off 50 rounds without cleaning with good accuracy.

[218bee]

As suggested above I took a peek at the Win HiWall in 32/40. Anyone have experience with one ? I assume its made in Japan like the Brownings and those seem to do ok. I really need to investigate this more, but sometimes I get anxious and want to jump right in....I really do need another rifle though (and a bigger safe)

[jhrosier]

If scopes are OK, I would consider an Encore in 30-40 Krag.

Jack

[Don McDowell]

218bee , I have one of the miroku made lowalls in 22 lr, its a shooter of first quality.
I know of about 3 of those highwalls in 38-55 in use for bpcr buffalo matches, and they are all match winning capable.

[4060MAY]

218bee
this is a suggestion only.
use the 45-70 with SR 4759 no more than 23grs, no wad no filler.back the weight of the bullet down ie 400gr from 500gr
use floral foam cut to 1/4" thick and press it into the mouth of the case only to prevent spilling powder into the action.
use a portable capper such as Lee, and de-cap with what ever you can figure out, I started with a rod that fit the case with a pin and hit it with a small mallet.
set the powder measure up at the bench, make a breach seater for the bullet, can be just a wood dowel or an elaborate one like one from Russ Weber. look at what the guys are using at the match.
try to get the bullet started squarely in the rifling, all the way in isn't necessary, some of the bullet in the case is ok.
fixed ammo is ok, but breach seating seems to work better for the Schuetzen game.

This will get you in the game, then the guys shooting the match with you will see you are serious and they will answer questions and render advice, most will be good. just like this forum you have to figure out what is best for you.

After a couple of matches, re-lining the 45-70 to 32-40 will work good enough to give you the confidence that is needed to do well.
then as you compete there may be guns available to meet your needs.

I shot Schuetzen for about 5years then one day a guy let me shoot a Ram at 500M with his Rolling Block and I was hooked badly.
Steel clanging beats paper punching For Me, still shoot a paper match or two but am not as serious as I once was.


Hope this helps

Chuck

[218bee]

Thanks Chuck, by your monicker can I assume you clang steel with a 40/60 Maynard?

[cajun shooter]

All the above is great advice. You do need to go back at the start of a match to have a better idea of what is going on. I don't know your age but that will have a lot to do with what sights you buy. A good set of sights will be a good outlay also unless you find a rifle that has them installed. You need to spend more time researching before you buy.

[218bee]

Cajun, you are right I do need to research more before I buy. But am excited when I think about a new to me firearm and have not bought one in a while so I got the "itch". If I happen to get the "wrong" rifle for this game it will certainly be one that I will enjoy on my own anyway. I love single shots and different actions/calibers are usually fun for me to play with. But you are right if I want to compete I need more info. I am 52yrs old and I know a nice set of peeps are around $400 or so. I hate to put a scope on one of these

[nitroproof]

http://castboolits.gunloads.com/attachment.php?attachmentid=5499&d=1196555530

My 200 yd target rifle is a Whitney Rolling Block. I had it relined to .38/55.
Wears a Leatherwood Malcolm 3x scope. I also have Shaver long range tang/front sights for it.