Two and a half foot drop at 100 yards?

[bear3855]

Alright folks, I was able to find a solution to my screw issue. Turns out, the wedge screw from any old Uberti revolver will do the trick, and I had one laying around so ground it down and tapped it out, and took it to the range yesterday.

This time I got smart, and put up an unshot sheet of cardboard on the target, so I could see where I hit, no matter where. Naturally I'm pretty excited to take a shot since I was thinking that vented screw was the source of most of my frustrations. I decided to try the .010s first, just so I wasn't altering too many variables at once, but figured even if I had to adjust some things, I should be doing a lot better. I aimed at center, probably about 42" above the ground. Imagine my surprise to find a hole in the cardboard just 2" off the ground. 40" drop? That's considerably worse than before...

I tried a .015 patch next, just to see if it would change anything. It did bring it up considerably. Probably 16" drop on that one. And from then on, even with .010s, it was about the same. I don't know what was going on with that first shot, but whatever, it seems to have shot consistently after that. Back at the 50, I had about 6-8" of drop. Just about the exact same as before. The screw evidently made no difference at all, certainly not a positive one. Doesn't make much sense to me, but there you have it. Bringing the charge up to 63 grains didn't seem to make a difference either.

I think I can *mostly* count shooting technique out of the equation. I also took my Sharps back out, and ended up shooting two sub-2 inch groups (both aimed at center, one ended up toward the top of the black, the other toward the bottom; used two different bullet weights) with that at 100 yards, using iron sights and the double set trigger, same as with my Hatfield. I'll be honest, I doubt I could ever pull that off again, but at least I don't think I'm completely lost when it comes to hitting what I'm trying to hit. Best and worst shooting of my life, all in the same day haha!

I'm just about at my wits end on this one. Next time, I'm taking out my chronograph and I think I'm going to try 2F. I wonder if a little slower burn would help me out with a 38" barrel. I'll up the charge a little to see where that will get me if it's measuring much slower than a .440 ball should. Otherwise, maybe it's time to play with the front sight.

 

[Joemolf]

Alright folks, I was able to find a solution to my screw issue. Turns out, the wedge screw from any old Uberti revolver will do the trick, and I had one laying around so ground it down and tapped it out, and took it to the range yesterday.

This time I got smart, and put up an unshot sheet of cardboard on the target, so I could see where I hit, no matter where. Naturally I'm pretty excited to take a shot since I was thinking that vented screw was the source of most of my frustrations. I decided to try the .010s first, just so I wasn't altering too many variables at once, but figured even if I had to adjust some things, I should be doing a lot better. I aimed at center, probably about 42" above the ground. Imagine my surprise to find a hole in the cardboard just 2" off the ground. 40" drop? That's considerably worse than before...

I tried a .015 patch next, just to see if it would change anything. It did bring it up considerably. Probably 16" drop on that one. And from then on, even with .010s, it was about the same. I don't know what was going on with that first shot, but whatever, it seems to have shot consistently after that. Back at the 50, I had about 6-8" of drop. Just about the exact same as before. The screw evidently made no difference at all, certainly not a positive one. Doesn't make much sense to me, but there you have it. Bringing the charge up to 63 grains didn't seem to make a difference either.

I think I can *mostly* count shooting technique out of the equation. I also took my Sharps back out, and ended up shooting two sub-2 inch groups (both aimed at center, one ended up toward the top of the black, the other toward the bottom; used two different bullet weights) with that at 100 yards, using iron sights and the double set trigger, same as with my Hatfield. I'll be honest, I doubt I could ever pull that off again, but at least I don't think I'm completely lost when it comes to hitting what I'm trying to hit. Best and worst shooting of my life, all in the same day haha!

I'm just about at my wits end on this one. Next time, I'm taking out my chronograph and I think I'm going to try 2F. I wonder if a little slower burn would help me out with a 38" barrel. I'll up the charge a little to see where that will get me if it's measuring much slower than a .440 ball should. Otherwise, maybe it's time to play with the front sight.

Well at least you are having fun. Post a picture some close ups of the barrel to stock. Could it be the twist rate.

 

[biliff]

Alright folks, I was able to find a solution to my screw issue. Turns out, the wedge screw from any old Uberti revolver will do the trick, and I had one laying around so ground it down and tapped it out, and took it to the range yesterday.

This time I got smart, and put up an unshot sheet of cardboard on the target, so I could see where I hit, no matter where. Naturally I'm pretty excited to take a shot since I was thinking that vented screw was the source of most of my frustrations. I decided to try the .010s first, just so I wasn't altering too many variables at once, but figured even if I had to adjust some things, I should be doing a lot better. I aimed at center, probably about 42" above the ground. Imagine my surprise to find a hole in the cardboard just 2" off the ground. 40" drop? That's considerably worse than before...

I tried a .015 patch next, just to see if it would change anything. It did bring it up considerably. Probably 16" drop on that one. And from then on, even with .010s, it was about the same. I don't know what was going on with that first shot, but whatever, it seems to have shot consistently after that. Back at the 50, I had about 6-8" of drop. Just about the exact same as before. The screw evidently made no difference at all, certainly not a positive one. Doesn't make much sense to me, but there you have it. Bringing the charge up to 63 grains didn't seem to make a difference either.

I think I can *mostly* count shooting technique out of the equation. I also took my Sharps back out, and ended up shooting two sub-2 inch groups (both aimed at center, one ended up toward the top of the black, the other toward the bottom; used two different bullet weights) with that at 100 yards, using iron sights and the double set trigger, same as with my Hatfield. I'll be honest, I doubt I could ever pull that off again, but at least I don't think I'm completely lost when it comes to hitting what I'm trying to hit. Best and worst shooting of my life, all in the same day haha!

I'm just about at my wits end on this one. Next time, I'm taking out my chronograph and I think I'm going to try 2F. I wonder if a little slower burn would help me out with a 38" barrel. I'll up the charge a little to see where that will get me if it's measuring much slower than a .440 ball should. Otherwise, maybe it's time to play with the front sight.

All this probably indicates you are also shooting low at 25 yds. As far as I can tell from reading thru the posts is you have not benched the gun at this distance but only shot it offhand and gave a vague "tad low" or "may have been around two inches low" answer as to where it hits. Shoot the gun at 25 yards FROM THE BENCH. If it is hitting low at this distance you need to adjust your sights. All the fiddling around with powder, patch etc. isn't gonna correct an 8" drop at 50 yds.

 

[bear3855]

All this probably indicates you are also shooting low at 25 yds. As far as I can tell from reading thru the posts is you have not benched the gun at this distance but only shot it offhand and gave a vague "tad low" answer as to where it hits. Shoot the gun at 25 yards FROM THE BENCH. If it is hitting low at this distance you need to adjust your sights. All the fiddling around with powder, patch etc. isn't gonna correct an 8" drop at 50 yds.

There is no bench at the 25 yard range unfortunately. I was getting consistent drops of maybe an inch or two offhand, but for what it's worth at 50 yards the drop is about the same offhand as it is off the bench, so as scientifically as I'm able to tell, I think it is low at 25 and is obviously low at 50 and 100. However, I will be trying a few more options and chronographing the shots before I modify the sight.

 

[R Ellis]

You are just wasting your time powder and bullets . You have been told many times to get it groping at 50 yards and sounds like you have not as of now followed that advice If it is shooting low it should still group if you r aim point is the same for each shot the group can be low on target but will tell you if load barrel and bullet are accurate in your gun you need to know this first then adjust sights or replace them to get lined to point of bullet impact

 

[bear3855]

You are just wasting your time powder and bullets . You have been told many times to get it groping at 50 yards and sounds like you have not as of now followed that advice If it is shooting low it should still group if you r aim point is the same for each shot the group can be low on target but will tell you if load barrel and bullet are accurate in your gun you need to know this first then adjust sights or replace them to get lined to point of bullet impact

I mentioned pretty early on that it was grouping fairly well at 50 yards (though I probably could have worded it more concisely so that's my bad), just really low. It was the same this time, at 50.

Just to clarify since it comes up a lot, and I tend to go into too much detail, I think it shoots fine up to 50. It just shoots low, and I'm trying to bring it up. It seems like it's got to be losing pressure somehow, but I'll figure that out with the chronograph.

 

[R Ellis]

OK so if it groups fine and you are happy with it just fix the sights my filing or replacing problem solved

 

[Urban Coyote]

All this probably indicates you are also shooting low at 25 yds. As far as I can tell from reading thru the posts is you have not benched the gun at this distance but only shot it offhand and gave a vague "tad low" or "may have been around two inches low" answer as to where it hits. Shoot the gun at 25 yards FROM THE BENCH. If it is hitting low at this distance you need to adjust your sights. All the fiddling around with powder, patch etc. isn't gonna correct an 8" drop at 50 yds.

As recommended in this quote, bench it and establish a baseline to work from.

This glue thing is pretty interesting, is it possible some previous owner tried to glass bed the barrel in an attempt to correct a problem like maybe excessive drop? Not that glass bedding would correct such a problem but who knows what one might try.

I think I mentioned the possibility of run out in an earlier reply. My guess is you'd need to remove the breech plug to inspect a barrel for run out, a qualified gunsmith could tell you. However, if the barrel is in fact glued in this may not be possible.

I'm curious so I'll check back now and then to find what you figure out, good luck.

 

[bear3855]

As recommended in this quote, bench it and establish a baseline to work from.

This glue thing is pretty interesting, is it possible some previous owner tried to glass bed the barrel in an attempt to correct a problem like maybe excessive drop? Not that glass bedding would correct such a problem but who knows what one might try.

I think I mentioned the possibility of run out in an earlier reply. My guess is you'd need to remove the breech plug to inspect a barrel for run out, a qualified gunsmith could tell you. However, if the barrel is in fact glued in this may not be possible.

I'm curious so I'll check back now and then to find what you figure out, good luck.

Not only is it apparently glued on, it also has a patent breech so I'm not sure how I would even begin to look for such a thing. Luckily I do know a great gunsmith in town, for things that might be a bit over my head.

 

[J. Paul]

Alright folks, I was able to find a solution to my screw issue. Turns out, the wedge screw from any old Uberti revolver will do the trick, and I had one laying around so ground it down and tapped it out, and took it to the range yesterday.

This time I got smart, and put up an unshot sheet of cardboard on the target, so I could see where I hit, no matter where. Naturally I'm pretty excited to take a shot since I was thinking that vented screw was the source of most of my frustrations. I decided to try the .010s first, just so I wasn't altering too many variables at once, but figured even if I had to adjust some things, I should be doing a lot better. I aimed at center, probably about 42" above the ground. Imagine my surprise to find a hole in the cardboard just 2" off the ground. 40" drop? That's considerably worse than before...

I tried a .015 patch next, just to see if it would change anything. It did bring it up considerably. Probably 16" drop on that one. And from then on, even with .010s, it was about the same. I don't know what was going on with that first shot, but whatever, it seems to have shot consistently after that. Back at the 50, I had about 6-8" of drop. Just about the exact same as before. The screw evidently made no difference at all, certainly not a positive one. Doesn't make much sense to me, but there you have it. Bringing the charge up to 63 grains didn't seem to make a difference either.

I think I can *mostly* count shooting technique out of the equation. I also took my Sharps back out, and ended up shooting two sub-2 inch groups (both aimed at center, one ended up toward the top of the black, the other toward the bottom; used two different bullet weights) with that at 100 yards, using iron sights and the double set trigger, same as with my Hatfield. I'll be honest, I doubt I could ever pull that off again, but at least I don't think I'm completely lost when it comes to hitting what I'm trying to hit. Best and worst shooting of my life, all in the same day haha!

I'm just about at my wits end on this one. Next time, I'm taking out my chronograph and I think I'm going to try 2F. I wonder if a little slower burn would help me out with a 38" barrel. I'll up the charge a little to see where that will get me if it's measuring much slower than a .440 ball should. Otherwise, maybe it's time to play with the front sight.

I had a slightly bent barrel that caused me issue with a rifle years ago. I finally took it to a Smith and after 2 weeks I got it back. Zero clue how barrel got bent, was less that 1/16" over length of barrel but it sure threw things off.

 

[biliff]

I think I mentioned the possibility of run out in an earlier reply. My guess is you'd need to remove the breech plug to inspect a barrel for run out, a qualified gunsmith could tell you. However, if the barrel is in fact glued in this may not be possible.

Given the only problem is vertical orientation, run out is largely irrelevant as it is easily corrected with a sight adjustment. We're only talking about taking approximately .07" off the top of the front sight to get it on at 50 yds, so I'm pretty sure its tall enough.

 

[William Lincoln]

Velocity shortens the time gravity can pull down the
projectile from POA. High velocity =flat shooting.
More powder with appropriate barrel = higher velocity.
The deer will not know the amount of drop, so long
as you adjust for it to hit the vitals.