Hooked on long range BPCR.

[JeffinNZ]

Hi

Over Easter I finally got to shoot beyond 100m. I shot my .38/303 out to 500m and what a hoot! This is a 0.303 British blown out to .375 shooting a 274gr 20-1 bullet over 60gr Swiss 1.5Fg compressed .35 for 1370fps.

Nothing quite like hitting a 12 inch bull at 500m/550y! Once I got dialled in the rifle put 3 shots into 7-8 inches. REAL happy.

[Buckshot]

.............HA! So you're shooting a 38-60 ? Supposedly if you take a 30-40 Krag and blow it out straight you end up with a reasonable facsimile of a 40-60 Maynard. Steve Garbe shot a rifle chambered to such a thing and that's what he called it. I suppose if you just said it was a 30-40 blown out to 40 cal it wouldn't have been allowed. Anyway he won the BPCR Nationals at Raton with it several years ago.

There seems to have been a trend for the past few years for some of the guys to try and get the '38's to be competitive. I admit to having lost all track of what's hot and what's not in that sport, when Shooters.com went belly up.

................Buckshot

[shooter575]

JeffinNZ
That sounds like a interesting conversion.Got some more info on it? Case cap.What action you using.Would be neat on a Martini. Using one of the cheep SMLE with a trashed barrel would make a nice set up also.

Buckshot. A 40-60 out of a 30-40 Hmmmmm. Just what I need.Another idea!

[JeffinNZ]

JIM: Thanks for the interest.

The rifle is a converted MLE (Lee Enfield, Long Tom) ex NZ Army circa 1908 on the receiver. The barrel is a domestic .38 groove .375 made by the late Tony Hawkins who knocked out the best barrels you've ever seen but then up and died! I know!

I blow the .303 British cases out with 15gr Green Dot and a case full of corn meal and they fire form nicely in the .38/303 chamber; annealled first of course.

To be honest it is the UGLIEST rifle you are likely to see but MANNNNN does it shoot! I get sub 2 MOA on a regular basis which for a floppy Lee Enfield action is about a good as one can expect.

Case capacity is maxed at 60gr compressed with a seated bullet but if you had a long throat and maybe breech seated you could probably get 70gr in it. Not that's a big load for a .38. 60gr is heaps for me.

cheers

J

[shooter575]

JeffinNZ
Thanks for the feedback.I will keep it in mind.I need another project like another hole in my head.But ???? you know how it is.

[4060MAY]

If you blow out a 30-40 Krag to .40 cal and trim to 2.21 you will get a 40-60 Maynard 1882 cartridge, the original had a 300gr bullet IIRC, I'm shooting a 430gr bullet with 1-16 twist Badger barrel. with throating I can get 64gr Goex FF in the case with .25 compression. more powder than is needed. mostly shoot 58gr CTG.

The cartridge made into .38cal is suppose to be a 38-50 Remington, I believe originally for the Hepburn, among others. My 38-50Rem is on a Hepburn with a 1-12 twist Shilen barrel, I usually shoot 56gr Goex CTG with 321gr RCBS bullet for Chickens and NEI Gunn bullet for the rest. The 38 has almost no recoil and is a pleasure to shoot. last match on the rams 7/10 in some really nasty wind, it will shoot as long as the eyes hold up.

chuck

[JeffinNZ]

Interesting comments Chuck.

The .38-50 RH is basically what my .38/303 is. Sadly though my barrel is 1-18 so I can spin up the longer .38 bullets. I would like to shoot a 330-ish grain bullet but will have to wait for a fast twist tube.

cheers

J

[4060MAY]

Jeff
Are Green Mounatin barrels available in NZ ?
or is the price out of line?, Track of the wolf has them for $212 +ship.USD
1-12 tapered oct. nice looking barrel. just bought one for a RB.

Chuck

[bart55]

I have a hajeed martini witha really trashed bore and barrel ,I wonder if that would be a good start for one of these any suggestions . My shoulder seems to ache a little more as I get long in the tooth ,maybe this would be a good alternative to the 45 70 and 5070 I shoot now , or maybe just a good excuse for another project

[Bigjohn]

I have a hajeed martini witha really trashed bore and barrel ,I wonder if that would be a good start for one of these any suggestions . My shoulder seems to ache a little more as I get long in the tooth ,maybe this would be a good alternative to the 45 70 and 5070 I shoot now , or maybe just a good excuse for another project

Bart, I have been considering blowing a .303 British case out to .40 cal which comes in a close second place as a 40/60 Maynard. I happen to have a Martini Enfield .303 action (complete) which I feel is suitable for such a conversion.

If your action is a 303 British action there will be no need to alter the extractor claws; however if yours is a 577/450 action your will need to alter the extractor and sleeve the firing pin. 303 actions already have the firing pin work done. As for strength wise, the actions are quite capable of with standing a .40 cal. on a 'blown' out 303 or 30/40 Krag.

The only other thing to watch out for is the length of the cartridge case you base your cartridge on. This is because to enter the chamber the cartridge must turn a slight curve to eneter the chamber. I have a .303 action which has been converted to .45/70 Govt.; long projectiles not seated in the case cause a slight problem at loading and required a little bit of extra manovering to get it into the chamber.

I once had a Martini Cadet converted to .357 mag., .38 spl cartridges went in no problem; .357 mag's required a little extra effort in manipulating the breech lever.

Inspite of the limitations on projectiles, the Martini 45/70 shoots well, I hope to take it game shooting some time soon.

John

[JeffinNZ]

CHUCK: Yes, I can get a GM barrel over here is need be but the Hawkins tube is cool for now. I really have no need for a heavier bullet at this point as I am just punching paper - no silhouette in my area......yet.



J

[Bad Ass Wallace]

303 and 30/40 case are being used for BPCR 38's. Another gaining popularity is the 348 Winchester expanded to 38 which will give 72gn of powder capacity. Coupled with a GM 1 in 12" barrel bullets up to 370gn can be used.

Of course for a traditionalist, the 50/90 in a 14lb Sharps with 650gn Paul Jones boolit and 105gn FG is hard to pass at 1000yds

[Dale53]

Even my head hurts thinking of that. After shooting a hundred or so of a little ol' Browning BPCR or my Sharps '75 in 40/65 (with 422 gr bullet ahead of a case full of Swiss 1 1/2) produced all of the fun that I needed for that day (and many just like it).

Dale53

[montana_charlie]

Bad Ass Wallace,
Looking downrange over your left shoulder, I noticed how you rest your rifle in the cross sticks. Have you tried (and didn't like) resting close to the muzzle?
CM

[waksupi]

Bad Ass Wallace,
Looking downrange over your left shoulder, I noticed how you rest your rifle in the cross sticks. Have you tried (and didn't like) resting close to the muzzle?
CM

Good question, Charlie. I get my best accuracy with the barrel resting on the sling of the cross sticks, myself.

[montana_charlie]

And another thing, Bad Ass...all that (cough) SMOKE!
Don't you get any wind in Australia? Looks like you need to set up some fans to (cough - hack) blow that outta there...

Where I shoot, the smoke is gone before the rifle finishes recoiling, and the wads fall twenty feet to the left of the line of sight.

Every now and then one of my wife's hens gets her butt turned into that wind...and ends up laying the same egg three times.
CM

[JeffinNZ]

Every now and then one of my wife's hens gets her butt turned into that wind...and ends up laying the same egg three times.
CM

[Bad Ass Wallace]

Nothing like Wyoming, I hope



I actually won a new set of delux cross sticks in a recent shoot. I am so impressed with that 650gn Creedmoor boolit. We had a 12-15mph cross wind that day and while the 45/70's and smaller were occasionally 1/2 a buffalo to the left due to wind, that big muther just kept punching them near center.

[shooter575]

Hey BAW,Them sure be some nice shooting sticks! I like the croch of a tree I have at my backyard range.Tough to take to a shoot somewhere else though

[KCSO]

I tested my 50 cal cross stick rifle and my Sharps by resting at various points until I found where each would grop the best. It was a big surprise to find out that just where you rest could make a large difference in group size. My 50 Cal rests best on the second rr ferrule and the Sharps is best just ahead of the fore stock on a leather strap rest and on the front of the fore stock with a hard stick rest.