Holding it together at 50 yards

[JCB]

For those of you who know how to shoot a smooth bore with no rear sight. I’m having problems with getting good groups at 50 yards. At 25 I can shoot under a 2 inch group fairly consistently. When I move to 50 the best I’ve done is 8 inches and it’s usually larger. I’m shooting a .62 caliber with a patched .595 ball over 90 grains of 2f. Any suggestions.

 

[Rich]

For those of you who know how to shoot a smooth bore with no rear sight. I’m having problems with getting good groups at 50 yards. At 25 I can shoot under a 2 inch group fairly consistently. When I move to 50 the best I’ve done is 8 inches and it’s usually larger. I’m shooting a .62 caliber with a patched .595 ball over 90 grains of 2f. Any suggestions.

Assuming your hold is good, try adjusting your load. Few grains less, few more, tighter patch etc. It should group. All this is assuming your sight picture is good and consistent. It may not shoot dead center till you figure that part out, but it should group 2-3 inches.

 

[bang]

Mine was hitting a tad high. I noticed when the rear sight was all the way down it could be pushed down a bit. I trimmed the screw until it would push the sight all the way down. Made a bunch of difference.

 

[jbwilliams3]

As Rich mentioned, his comment is assuming you have consistency in hold and sight picture. In my experience, smoothbores are forgiving with load variation. A huge factor is sight picture and hold. I’ve had two smoothbores with no rear sight or even sight groove and with consistent hold, they grouped well. That tang screw is kind of a virtual rear sight. If you can consistently point your gun with your eye above the tang screw then you should group well. The tang screw becomes kind of a reference point that you can check yourself against. That’s in theory, of course. I’m no expert, but it’s worked for me in making me hold the gun consistently.

 

[Brokennock]

For those of you who know how to shoot a smooth bore with no rear sight. I’m having problems with getting good groups at 50 yards. At 25 I can shoot under a 2 inch group fairly consistently. When I move to 50 the best I’ve done is 8 inches and it’s usually larger. I’m shooting a .62 caliber with a patched .595 ball over 90 grains of 2f. Any suggestions.

Is this off the bench or offhand/freestyle? The load has to be able to do the job off the bench before it can be expected to shoot well offhand.
I have one smoothbore that likes and average to tight load, .600 ball with. 010 patch, the other won't group a tight load worth a darn with a tight load.l, shoots better with a .595 ball and .010 patch than with same ball and thicker patch or .600 ball and thin patch, but,,,, it shoots even better with no patch, just sandwiching the ball between a lubed wad and an overshot card. This is all off the bench. Can I shoot as well off hand, no, but the potential is there, and most people (even with modern guns) can't shoot up to their gun's potential.

When load testing I would put something on the gun to use as a rear sight, or figure out how to best line up the tang screw, just to make sure you are holding the same way every shot.

After the group is good off the bench it becomes a matter of gun fit and mounting the gun to the shoulder and cheek weld the same way every time. Your eye is the rear sight, so, if the gun is on a different place on your shoulder and/or your cheek weld is different on the stock from shot to shot, you are changing the rear sight.
At 25 yards, maybe the slight change doesn't show, but at 50 it does. Or, you are moving the gun to look where the shot went too soon, not following through, due to lack of confidence at 50.

 

[smo]

Great comments above.
My question is are the shots consistently low, high, left or right.

If so you may need too “tweak” the barrel a little to bring the gun back onto the line of sight.

 

[hawkeye hugo]

I, ve been told that a 28 GA is more accurate as larger calibers by some smoothbore shooters in Friendship.
They also bend there barrels for better sighting

 

[Griz44Mag]

For those of you who know how to shoot a smooth bore with no rear sight. I’m having problems with getting good groups at 50 yards. At 25 I can shoot under a 2 inch group fairly consistently. When I move to 50 the best I’ve done is 8 inches and it’s usually larger. I’m shooting a .62 caliber with a patched .595 ball over 90 grains of 2f. Any suggestions.

Some will call it sacrilege. I hunt with mine and like to take game home instead of wounding it to run and suffer.
A touch of epoxy and a buckhorn. It works and turned this Bess into a game getter instead of a safe queen.
And I LIKE IT!

 

[LANEY REECE]

Some will call it sacrilege. I hunt with mine and like to take game home instead of wounding it to run and suffer.
A touch of epoxy and a buckhorn. It works and turned this Bess into a game getter instead of a safe queen.
And I LIKE IT!
View attachment 26207

 

[LANEY REECE]

looks good GRIZ.

 

[smo]

A smoothbore at 50 yards can be every bit as accurate as a rifle in the right hands.

Even without a rear sight....

Hugo , I’ll have too agree with you on the 28 gauge and its accuracy.

I don’t own a 28 gauge but know a lot of Guys that do, and they perform well.

 

[hawkeye hugo]

Are you smo the Widowmaker?
These guys shoot very well with there smoothbore

 

[Griz44Mag]

A smoothbore at 50 yards can be every bit as accurate as a rifle in the right hands.
Even without a rear sight....

Well, those hands were not my hands......
With a rear sight I do just fine with a large bore smoothie - Without - well - not so good..
I shoot shot, mixed balls and a patched .735 - even downed a few dove with it. (Hint - don't let them get too close if you intend to eat them afterward)

 

[Griz44Mag]

Mine was hitting a tad high. I noticed when the rear sight was all the way down it could be pushed down a bit. I trimmed the screw until it would push the sight all the way down. Made a bunch of difference.

I think the OP was referencing a gun with NO rear sight at all....

 

[Brokennock]

I think the OP was referencing a gun with NO rear sight at all....

I think you are right. The o.p. says he is shooting with no rear sight.

I may be wrong but my impression from the o.p. is that this is a grouping issue, not so much a p.o.i. issue. So while a rear site might help with consistency of hold, all this advice about adjusting p.o.a./p.o.i. from various responders, by sighting changes and bending barrels seems odd.

 

[smo]

Are you smo the Widowmaker?
These guys shoot very well with there smoothbore

Yes , and Yes (They) do!

 

[smo]

BN, that was why I ask if he was consistently off in one direction or the other.

My thinking was if so, then the barrel could very well need tweaked to bring the ball back on the sight plane.

If he’s all over the place , then he needs to bench the gun and see where he’s hitting and try adjusting his hold/ sight picture.

Of course this is all assumptions based on the limited information.

My first thoughts were, he’s moving off the target... which can be caused by a number of things. Fatigue, jerking the trigger, flinching and so on.

 

[smo]

I think the OP was referencing a gun with NO rear sight at all....

That was my understanding as well.

 

[Kuntry boy]

Some will call it sacrilege. I hunt with mine and like to take game home instead of wounding it to run and suffer.
A touch of epoxy and a buckhorn. It works and turned this Bess into a game getter instead of a safe queen.
And I LIKE IT!
View attachment 26207

That sure is a pretty gun how about showing more pics I'like to see the whole gun just that 1 picture your just teasing us lol

 

[Treestalker]

Some will call it sacrilege. I hunt with mine and like to take game home instead of wounding it to run and suffer.
A touch of epoxy and a buckhorn. It works and turned this Bess into a game getter instead of a safe queen.
And I LIKE IT!
View attachment 26207

I won't tell if you don't! Bravo for thinking about the game animals instead of being hung up on PC/HC.