100 Yards With A Smoothie And A "Hail-Mary" Lobbed Into Target!

After I'd finished my COF at 25 & 50 yards with my 10 ga. Pedersoli SxS at the local Club's BP Match yesterday, I coached the Boy we got the rifle for while he was shooting the Hawken from 100 yards. When it was all over, I said to the Match Chairman I wanted to try to hit the target with my Smoothie from 100 yards away :shocked2: . He laughed and then he said go ahead and try, so I did :haha: ! Ended up guestimating the additional drop of the .715 round ball based upon the POA I used at 50 yards just a little earlier in the Match. Aimed about 6" over the entire target frame and lobbed one into the 5-ring :shocked2: ! So then I said how about that and he said "bet you can't do that again!". So I loaded her up again and raised the barrel a little more than the first time and lobbed the second one into the 6-ring :shocked2: !

Everybody just shook their heads as I was packing-up my stuff for the day, and the League Chairman grabbed my target with the two huge holes in it and signed & dated it to prove that I did it :grin: .

I didn't win the pistol match yesterday, but I did bring back something to talk about! Probably couldn't do THAT again if you PAID ME! :rotf: :haha:

Them BIG HOLES are easy to see :haha:

Dave

:rotf: Way to go!! I plan on taking my .54 out to the prairie and setting up targets at 100,200,and 300 yards just for fun. I'll keep you posted.

Sounds good to me! Don't be afraid to point that rifle several feet above what you're aiming at at 300 yards! Good luck!

Dave

Cool! :thumbsup:

Knowing what my 12ga smoothie can do at 75 yards, I always wanted to lob one or two into a 100 yard target but never have yet. Tough to do with these eyes now.

Hopefully, you'll get the chance soon! One of the guys said to mention that 12 ga. users should get Breneke Slugs to try. They work really well on deer too!

I used some 10 ga. wonder-wads with EXTRA Bore Butter schmeered on both sides, then the regular cleaning patch wet with spit. Goes down real easy and you can re-use some of the wonder-wads a second time :haha: . None of the spit-patches were burned so I think that I've found something that seems to work :hmm: .

Dave

That is highly impressive!!

If the wind will ever stop, and the fire danger too.

It tickles me to death hitting the long gong with my bess :haha:

I KNOW what you mean! I'm glad that I'm not the only nut-job to give it a whack :haha: !

Continued success! :thumbsup:

Dave

I shoot my trade gun, w/ a Getz barrel, in the Smoothbore match at the Idaho Territorials. Hafta pick a rock or something on the ground to aim at for 100 yards, 'cause I can't see the target around the muzzle, aiming about a foot & a half over at that range. Usually manage three or so holes in the target; once got all five on paper (some scored). Won't say how many balls I sent downrange to get that 5.

Welcome to the lead hurlers by aiming over the target frame club! :rotf: :haha: And good for YOU, you did it!

After going 2 for 2 hitting the scoring rings, I wasn't sure if I wanted to try a third time, that's for sure! It was getting late and everyone else was already packed-up, so I called it a day :haha: .

Dave

Awesome! :rotf: :haha:

I was at a match at a local club last Saturday. We have a standard 50 yard range with an earthen backstop. Behind the backstop the Cowboy Action shooters have erected a range full of gongs. The trees have not leafed out yet and I was able to see one of their big gongs on the hill behind and above the backstop. We guesstimated that it might be around 120 yards off. I announced my attention to hit that target with my .60 smoothbore. This particular smoothbore has a barrel 48 inches long and it weighs in at about 14 pounds. I stuffed 135 grains of 3F in it and held high on the target. They tell me I hit it, I couldn't tell for the smoke and the blast. Then one of the riflemen tried and missed. Some-days it is just good to be lucky. :wink:

At Friendship we have a smoothbore silhouette match and there are 4 knockdown bear gongs at 120 yards that are part of the match. I have knocked down 2 or 3 out of 4 with my Bess, course a couple of times the Bess hit about 10 feet in front of the gong and then bounced up and knocked down the target, gotta love them big ball.

Many Klatch

Great story & thanks for sharing!

It does take big balls to shoot a smoothie, doesn't it? :haha: Bouncing up and knocking-over a piece of steel--WOW! The energy upon arrival must be something else!

Dave

smokin' - Do you ordinarily shoot a .715 ball in your 10 gauge? I ask because I've recently got a beautiful 10 gauge double and was wondering about shooting ball with it. I would have thought you'd use a bigger ball(?)

Smokin, the balls bounced up and hit the bear target in the groin, that might help explain why the target went down. :grin:

Many Klatch

.715 is what was gifted to me, so that's all I've tried. I took the gun to Dixon's to have Gregg mike it for me and the left barrel is .730, the right is .750 and I'm using a 2 1/2" diameter standard cleaning patch wet with spit on top of the wonder wads with lots of extra bore butter schmered onto them. I'm only using the right side since the balls are just snug and need a slight push to get to the powder.

In examining the components post firing, I've found the two wads both separated and stuck together, and have re-used them in the same Match. The spit patches are slightly worn/frayed around the edges from firing and you can see the impression of the ball as well as residue from the extra bore butter, but no holes in the patches or burn marks around them.

For last Sundays' Match I managed a score of 39x50 on a B-6 from 25 yards and a 79x100 on a SR-1 from 50 yards, for an aggregate of 118x150. The League Chair told me that I had scored really well and I told him that I thought that I could do better at 25 yards he just shook his head :shake: when I informed him I got tighter groups at 25 yards a couple weeks back when I used the .125 OP wad on top of the powder charge, then a single wonder-wad with extra bore butter. The ball & spit patch were the same.

Never even tried the left side of the gun yet for balls, and I don't own huge pre-lubed rifle patches, just the standard Ox-Yoke .50-.59 cal .018 pillow-ticking that I use for the .50 cal rifle.

What are you doing in yours?

Dave

You sound like the type of guy that I'd love to shoot with with that story :thumbsup: . I'm feeling the pain all the way over here for the bear! :rotf: :bow:

Dave

Smokin, I usually have a lot of fun while I am shooting. None of us gets out of here alive so we might as well enjoy the trip.

Many Klatch

I just got it 5 or 6 days ago, haven't even tried it with shot in it yet! Actually, I've got a couple that I acquired over the long fierce winter I've gotta put some range work in now that it's finally spring.

Your story was inspiring! I wasn't even thinking of shooting ball in it until I read about the success you had.