BPTR Rifle Suggestions

[Gunlaker]

I'll definitely make sure I fit it into the schedule :-). I'm still not even home yet. Yesterday I pulled into the Shiloh shop and ordered the rifle. It was so windy on the I-90 that I was only going 55 and getting 10 mpg average!

The new rifle is probably going to be another .45-90, but it depends on whether Kirk can get the weight up to 13 lbs or so. If that won't work then it'll be a .45-70 and I'll use it for midrange and silhouette. I'm not a fan of guns that are too light for long range. The recoil eventually wears me down and I start pulling shots. But if we can get it to 13 lbs it'll be perfect.

As it stands its an 1877 with a 1:16 twist 32" round barrel. Extra fancy wood, checkering, round ebony tip, set up for scope blocks but also with a windgage front sight. It's going to be a looker for sure, and I'm sure it'll shoot like a laser beam.

Chris.

[Don McDowell]

Sounds like a good rifle.
To get to Oak Ridge from here it's a bit over 2 days drive.

[Gunlaker]

I just had a look and it's 2700 miles from my house. I think I'll stay home and just read the match reports :-)

[Don McDowell]

Yup, it's a fair pull.

[Rockridge]

I want to thank all who have given their opinions on this subject!
I had a great time at Byers and learned SO Much, and continue to learn so much! Thanks to all for the tips and tricks.

Chris, Congratulations on winning the Shiloh and I really enjoyed meeting and talking with you also! (Also, much Thanks for helping fix my glasses!) As you said, reading the wind is as much Art as Science. The science part I kind-of understand...... the Art part I'm still working on!

Don: Thanks for stepping in at the 1,000 yard line and helping Steve Anderson. I learned so much about reading the wind from that as from anything.

Back to the original question: I wound up getting a Shiloh 1874 in 45-90, 34" heavy bbl. that weighs almost 13 pounds. I noticed that my 45-70 was working OK at 800 & 900 yards, but was having problems at 1,000. When I left the cartridges in the sun and they got warmed up, they (as well as I) did better. I'm assuming that the additional heat created a touch of increased pressure and a corresponding increase in velocity. That 45-70 load is 65g of Swiss 1½Fg behind a 540 Brooks Creedmoor greaser. If I were going to continue using a 45-70, I would try 2Fg for the increase in velocity.

There are lots of things to work on for me. Some of them are: I need to learn to read the wind better! I really should be wiping and not blow-tubing. I need to find a more stable sitting position (I broke my back in 5th grade and find it difficult to shoot prone...), etc., etc, etc.

The education continues!

Ed
Rockridge

[Don McDowell]

Ed it was my honor to be able to help a bit, and really looking forward to shooting with you again.
Reading the wind is just something that takes a bit of time, especially when figuring wind and mirage beyond 600 yards. One thing you might do some time is just sit down with your spotting scope, pick out some distant object,and one of those wind held annonometers. See what that machine tells you and then look to see the mirage thru your scope. That seems to help condition your mind to correlate between what you see and feel to the conditions. Altho there are times you'll see conditions that don't make any sense at all as to where the bullet strikes.. But that's just part of the game.
You're going to like that new rifle I'm thinking.

[beltfed]

Rockridge,
If you went to a properly designed DDEPP(DualDiameterEllipticalPaperPatch) bullet for that 45-70 which would
provide for seating it out so it is only up to 0.100" into the case, you could easily put 85 grains of Swiss 1.5 under it.
And easily reach accurately to 1K;
Of course, as you said, wiping would be the way to go for sure
beltfed/arnie

[beltfed]

Check out the Buffalo Arms molds:
JIM453545E and JIM455545E
beltfed/arnie

[Gunlaker]

Ed I think that .45-90 will help a fair bit. Definitely develop a good wiping routine. It will help a lot. If you shoot over a chronograph you'll be able to see the difference when fine tuning your wiping routine. I tried a few different ways, but have settled on ( for now ), a Tipton nylon brush using 2" or 2.5" patches wetted with 30% napa water soluble oil and 70% water. No dry patch, just mop the bore. You don't want to use patches that are too wet. Squeezing them out in a potato ricer makes them just right.

Chris.