'74 Sharps 50 2 1/2 at 1200 yds.

[RMulhern]

I had a rather rewarding experience this afternoon. It's been so blasted hot here the past two months I fired my first rounds since about 60 days ago because we've had rain, rain, and more rain over the past few days and this afternoon it was running but 82F with cloudy sky which was most rewarding; not the hot boiling sun we've had for so long! I've been curious about how my C. Sharps 50 2 1/2 would perform with PP bullets from 1200 yards so yesterday I loaded up some 690 gr. PP bullets from a KAL mould using 114 grs. Swiss 1F with a .250" BM lube cookie and went to the range. It's been so muddy from all the rain I went down this morning on the 4 wheeler, used the weed whacker on the target mound as the Johnson grass was growing strongly and since I haven't had a chance to use Roundup on it....it had gotten rather 'jungle-like'! Had to go to the house and change clothes as when I got finished....my clothes were soaking wet from sweat! Boy...I LOVE LOUISIANA WEATHER!!:takinWiz::takinWiz: Didn't have a zero for 1200 but my 1000 yd. zero was 202 so I came up 50 pts. over that and first shot.....no hit on the 72"x72" mainframe! Had a good break so being suspicious that I had shot over....I came down 5 pts. and after a full 5 seconds got a BIG BONG back in sound. A look through the spotting scope showed a hit 4" above the bottom of the mainframe plate! Made a correction but too high as I got a hit just outside the 44" bull at 12 o/c. Came down 2 MOA and got a BONG.....low again at 6 o/clock about 6" outside the bull! Made a correction and got a BONG.....view through the scope showed a hit inside the 10 ring plate at 8 o/c! Wind picked up slightly and fired another...NO BONG that time and I feel sure that one went right because of a wind pickup! Fired two more rounds and those impacted right outside the bull at 11:30. Next two rounds fired I got another 10 in the 20" 10 ring plate and the last I fired went just outside the 10 ring about 2". My son drove up with my two grandsons just before I fired the last round and parked right beside my bench so I told him to turn his engine off and listen! Fired a round and a full 5 seconds later......BOOOOOONNNNNGGGGG!! Well....my son said...."Dad...mind if I try that?" I told him sit down and let 'er rip! After a slight bit of coaching on paying attention to using the spirit level inside the Distant Thunder front sight and how to place his chin slightly upon the comb of the stock....he fired a round and got a BOOOOONNNNNGGGGG!! He grinned big with that!! Couldn't take any photos of the target guys as I just wasn't going to drive my truck down the range road and screw the road up with ruts but here's a photo of my bench. It's one my son had made that I can pull anywhere on the range and the photo shows it a full 200 yards south of the 1000 yard firing line! Once upon a time I read a story about a guy getting crossed up on the plains with some Comanche but he quit shooting because he figured they were too far as he estimated the range at around 1200 yards. I wish that ole boy had been here today!

[NickSS]

Good shooting and a fun story. I know what you mean by waiting for a hit at long range. I shot a 1200 yard match on paper targets at that range one time and had time to lean over and look throung my spotting scope and watch the bullet hit the target. I was only shooting a 45-70 with 500 gr slugs. I forget my sight setting but it had to be near what you had on and maybe more as I was only shooting 65 gr of powder.

[Don McDowell]

Glad you got to burn some powder again.

[cajun shooter]

I was telling a cowboy shooter the other day about how you can fire a round from a 45-70 then lean over and watch it hit the target. He laughed and said I ain't never seen that. Glad you got out to send a few down range. This heat and my health problem of only being able to breathe with my left lung has kept me from shooting any rifle. Shot two stages at a SASS match and had to quit after firing the second stage. I could not breathe and had to go home and sit in AC. Rick, Just think how great it's going to be in August. I had a first cousin that came from about the middle of the coast of California to stay with me for a month. She came in August and stayed one week saying she would never return to Louisiana.

[John Boy]

Rick, a Tip of the Hat to you for your reloading and shooting prowess! Do believe you have a Billy Dixon Match winner ...
http://www.friendsofbillydixon.org/a...ly%20Dixon.pdf

[RMulhern]

Rick, a Tip of the Hat to you for your reloading and shooting prowess! Do believe you have a Billy Dixon Match winner ...
http://www.friendsofbillydixon.org/a...ly%20Dixon.pdf

John Boy

Don't know about that but I sure do grin when that heavy slug 'thumps' that steel and a strong BOONNNNNGGGG comes back!! Frankly....I couldn't care less if I shoot a match or not! I can go AT MY OWN PACE here!!



Oh...I don't care for the 40/65 cartridge! It's not even an original Sharps cartridge!! I call it the LOTDC!!

[montana_charlie]

Frankly....I couldn't care less if I shoot a match or not! I can go AT MY OWN PACE here!!

I envy you your shooting range, Rick.
But, I could not trade Montana for Louisiana...just to get out of the wind.

CM

[RMulhern]

I envy you your shooting range, Rick.
But, I could not trade Montana for Louisiana...just to get out of the wind.

CM

CM

Read you LOUD & CLEAR Charlie unfortunately me Irish ancestors were 'very tired' of fighting the British when they hit the shores of the USA and this looked like a good place to stop for a rest! They're all buried 6 miles south down at Alto, La. This here be my Great Great Granpappy Peter S. (Sherlock) Mulhern.




He was wounded 3 times during the Northern War of Aggression and captured three times....last time toward the end of that conflict whereby he signed a Parole! The Yankees gave him a horse and 7 days rations to come home! He rode to a point south of Vicksburg before the battle there....jumped his bronc in the Mississippi River and came home and basically it's from his loins from whence the remainder of the family came!

To my knowledge there isn't any cotton or rice grown in Montana and since I made several million bucks working those crops with airplanes....I guess I had to trade Montana and Wyoming for this area instead! I'm quite certain Grandpappy Pete would have loved to have seen Montana though!

Charlie....the wind does blow here; quite frequently...and hard and I'm usually having to contend with a fishtail wind as my range faces due north! Keith Lay has also discovered this also because we've been up to 26 MOA of windage while I watched him still shooting 10's from 1000 yards!!

[longranger]

Mr Mulhern,

Love your stories,
It twas but a few years ago,I realized that I was only a second generation here in the U.S.A.Then it dawned on me my kids are third gen. here.My daughter married a young engineer from Camden S.C. his family like yours just did not see fit move from what made them happy.His family came when Charleston was bunch of mud huts and Indians and they are all buried within walking/horseback distance from each other.My daughter and son in-law moved 70 miles north of the family home a few years ago, he catches more grief from his family because they moved.I have to go back to Ireland to see any thing older than 2 generations.

[RMulhern]

longranger

Thanks for the kind words! Was in Buffalo a few years back and was impressed with the surroundings! My sentiments at the time were if I could move.....Buffalo, Wyoming would be it....or close to there!!

Take care!

Mr Mulhern,

Love your stories,
It twas but a few years ago,I realized that I was only a second generation here in the U.S.A.Then it dawned on me my kids are third gen. here.My daughter married a young engineer from Camden S.C. his family like yours just did not see fit move from what made them happy.His family came when Charleston was bunch of mud huts and Indians and they are all buried within walking/horseback distance from each other.My daughter and son in-law moved 70 miles north of the family home a few years ago, he catches more grief from his family because they moved.I have to go back to Ireland to see any thing older than 2 generations.

[longranger]

Mr. Mulhern,

You would be one of a few colorful characters that live here(real cowboys here).Seems Buffalo has attracted folks from all over who know how to behave.Our police officers are so slow they want to start shooting the excess deer in town.
If I could not live in Wyoming I could live in the south,I like the coastal parts of the south,but my god July and Aug are brutal.
I have learned a pile from you,Shiloh's forum and here,follow the guys who are having success.Some of you folks have forgotton more than I will ever know.

[Tom-ADC]

I to enjoy reading RMulhern's adventures, have a good friend old navy shipmate that lives in Greybull WY, sounds like a great place to live, not sure at my age how we'd do the winters up there, probably better than the heat is AZ.

[Doc Highwall]

I have not counted the generations of family in this country but I know that they have been here since 1630 with a land grant of a Kings Mile.

[RMulhern]

I have not counted the generations of family in this country but I know that they have been here since 1630 with a land grant of a Kings Mile.

Doc

I need a few of those signs! Where to get??

Thanks!

[Doc Highwall]

My brother got it for me and he is on the lookout for more as I have been asked before about where to get one.

[RMulhern]

My brother got it for me and he is on the lookout for more as I have been asked before about where to get one.

Found it:

http://www.jpcycles.com/product/152-...utm_medium=cse

[longranger]

Greybull is similar to Buffalo as town size goes ,a little smaller,built along the river in the cottonwoods,beautiful.
I just ordered one of those signs,cool

[kennisondan]

nice write mr Mulhearn and really fine shooting. It has been a tad moist and the occasional trifling wind has played its hand here lately as well.. I love La. but not sure why exactly.. the heat is a killer, for sure. Is that a long head land near corn ? or is it milo or sugar cane ? I am about to go to our lease and set to clearing out the roadways between stands for a firing line that can be gotten to and kind of private.. near krotz springs, la.
thanks for sharing.. 1200 yards is one fine shot..
dan kennison

[RMulhern]

kennisondan

That's corn! About 30 more days and it's history!!