Hold that foreend!

[Rick Mulhern]

Back several years ago I posted a photo over on the Sharps Rifle Forum showing my method of testing loads and accuracy thereto of my BPCRs and I was somewhat chastised because of the front rest that I WAS NOT USING! This is my front rest:

Untitled by Sharps Man, on Flickr

A rolled up shooting mat with a 2" piece of galvanized pipe stuck in the center to keep it from collapsing too much. I use this because early on when I tried the popular system of a commercial rest I could not obtain what I thought should be optimum accuracy from my rifles. IMO with heavy recoiling rifles to gain maximum accuracy the shooter's forward hand needs to be placed near the foreend of the stock and in this manner the recoil is somewhat dampened along with helping to prevent the rifle from jumping violently upward! As soon as I abandoned the commercial rest I started out with and went to my current method as shown above I proceeded to appreciate the accuracy of not only my loading procedure but also the fine rifles build by Kirk Bryan and family! When I use this method of shooting, whether it be from a bench or afield I make certain that my forward hand is resting upon either the roll above or my backpack which I have with me! I have taught all my grandchildren this procedure and they all are fine shooters...all 7 of them. I am well aware of the F-Class shooters that would think that my diatribe on this would be horse-schitt and that is their perogative but their style of shooting and rifles are quite different from what I and many others are using!

Here's an article that may interest some of you:

http://www.ballisticstudies.com/Knowledg...orend.html

[Don McDowell]

Rick how you getting along with that old Hawken?

[Rick Mulhern]

It shoots mighty fine! I use a charge of 110 grs. KIK 2F with a 530" swaged Hornady ball and a .017" thickness pillow ticking patch lubed with Canola oil and cut at the muzzle! Shoots mighty good out to 200 yards. Haven't tried it any farther!!

[Don McDowell]

When I shot my 54 I used 55 gr. for most of the target shooting , and 110 for hunting and long range targets.

[Kurt]

Rick,
That is a mighty fine looking shooter. For some reason I thought you had the full stock. Sure like the wood.
If that hammer wouldn't be on the wrong side I would try to talk you out of it.
Just for the heck of it, try some straight Vaseline for patch lube. I can shoot a whole 25 shot over the log match with out having to swab the bore.

[Rick Mulhern]

Here's both of 'em:

FlPerc by Sharps Man, on Flickr

When I was learning how to hold for 100 yards I fired the two shots you see at the top of this target....which I cut out and keep in my den. I found out how much of the front sight NOT TO HOLD.....and shot the remaing five as you can see here! This was with the .50 caliber flinter using 100 grs. KIK 2F and Goex 3F in the pan!

100yd by Sharps Man, on Flickr

The half-stock Hawken will do the same thing!

I have had a ball shooting these things!

[Kurt]

Yes, that is what I had in mind. That is a fine looking early Hawken.
The last one I build was supposed to be a full stock, but I got in a hurry making the stock from a plank I got cut from sugar maple and when I was cutting out the barrel channel I got in a hurry and used a router. Sneezed and it ended up being a 1/2 stalk I wanted the old look on the wood so I used a citric acid and fire to get the dark old looking wood. It hides most of the good Maple figure unless you see it in the light. It is a .58 caliber I made for a Alaskan Moose hunt that I never got done. But it dropped a 235# field dressed buck on a full boiler room full of steam when I saw him at 160 paces. I held on his nose and the ball went through both shoulder blades and took out the spine knocking him sideways.
The barrel is 1 1/8" across the flats to take a heavy charge.

[Rick Mulhern]

Fine tool their Kurt!

Carries a WALLOP!!

[bruce moulds]

rick,
have you taken the head off a turkey with one of those guns yet?
shooting with your rest holding the forearm will set you up for that job much better than off sticks or a bag.
there is no argument between fclass technique and black powder technique.
reasons include differences in barrel time, rifle weight, stock design, and recoil.
most fclass open rifles weigh about 22 lb, and their cartridges have a lot less recoil than black powder guns.
the stocks are much straighter, and designed to track on bags.
forends are wide and flat to minimize torque reactions, while ours are small and round, or we just use a round barrel.
barrel time with black powder is far greater than with fclass guns.
international fclass allows free recoil, and this works for those guns.
with black powder guns, a good consistent hold on the forend is unquestionably worthy of consideration.
keep safe,
bruce.

[Rick Mulhern]

Bruce

No turkey yet....this is the only one I've 'kilt':

Turkey Tgt by Sharps Man, on Flickr

Was obtaining a 50 yard zero on this target in anticipation of doing it but this past Spring things were just too bunched up to spend much time hunting. The high shots were after I filed down the front sight to get anywhere near the right zero so it was a process after the file job of learning a finer bead! I put two in this Ole Gobbler's eye and nicked his 'brain' with another! I figure I can do it.....maybe before long I will!!

These rifles are accurate....one just has to spend enough time using fixed sights to learn about how to hold the front sight in relation to the rear barrel sight!