liam_g
32 Cal.
- Joined
- Aug 28, 2006
- Messages
- 29
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Well, I hit the range this morning for one of my last sessions before the elk hunt (season opens next Saturday, 10/07). Spent the whole time at the 50 yard range. I would have liked to shoot some at the 100, but it was full with a waiting list!
I had a great time at the 50 yard range though. I've settled on a load for the hunt: 80 grains Pyrodex RS under a 430gr TC MaxiBall. The sights really do seem to be set up for conicals, rather than round balls. I finally got round balls shooting near center target at 50 yards, but I had to put the open rear sight all the way to its lowest setting. The Lyman 57 peep just can't get prb's on target ... still about 7" high at 50 yards at the lowest elevation. I got excited last time, because I was able to get the groups to around 3 or 4 inches high at 25 yards, but the 50 yard groups are still just amazingly high. Conicals are working great though. I might try 90 grains again (the Lyman recommended max load) to see how it shoots, but I was very happy with the groups and the level of recoil with the 80 grain load:
I'm really happy with shooting under 1" at 50 yards! According to the Lyman handbook, the 80gr load should be giving me 1280fps at the muzzle, for 1565 fpe. At 100 yards, it's still going 1042 fps, for 1037 fpe. The 90 grain load only gains 52 more fps at the muzzle, so I will likely just stick with 80 gr. And beyond the energy figures, I imagine that this bullet is going to penetrate like crazy.
I also shot some using a walking stick for a forend rest, which I'll be carrying on the hunt. I was able to shoot within around 3" at 50 yards using that setup. I have one more range session, possibly two, and will concentrate on shooting with the walking stick and some offhand shots using the sling. I think I've found my load, though.
Regards,
Liam
I had a great time at the 50 yard range though. I've settled on a load for the hunt: 80 grains Pyrodex RS under a 430gr TC MaxiBall. The sights really do seem to be set up for conicals, rather than round balls. I finally got round balls shooting near center target at 50 yards, but I had to put the open rear sight all the way to its lowest setting. The Lyman 57 peep just can't get prb's on target ... still about 7" high at 50 yards at the lowest elevation. I got excited last time, because I was able to get the groups to around 3 or 4 inches high at 25 yards, but the 50 yard groups are still just amazingly high. Conicals are working great though. I might try 90 grains again (the Lyman recommended max load) to see how it shoots, but I was very happy with the groups and the level of recoil with the 80 grain load:
I'm really happy with shooting under 1" at 50 yards! According to the Lyman handbook, the 80gr load should be giving me 1280fps at the muzzle, for 1565 fpe. At 100 yards, it's still going 1042 fps, for 1037 fpe. The 90 grain load only gains 52 more fps at the muzzle, so I will likely just stick with 80 gr. And beyond the energy figures, I imagine that this bullet is going to penetrate like crazy.
I also shot some using a walking stick for a forend rest, which I'll be carrying on the hunt. I was able to shoot within around 3" at 50 yards using that setup. I have one more range session, possibly two, and will concentrate on shooting with the walking stick and some offhand shots using the sling. I think I've found my load, though.
Regards,
Liam