.38-50 Hepburn

[Don McDowell]

I've seen a couple of people shoot 38 xx of some variety at creedmoor matches once, next match they weren't.

[Kurt]

Yes I followed that a while back because of my interest in the .38-65 Win I used to shoot.
They were using the .38-72 and I think they tried to push that bullet too hard. You can only push a soft lead bullet so hard and things go sour.
I followed the old writings from the creedmoor day and wondered how they shot so well using the 500 to 520 grain PP bullets close to 1.4" long in the slow twist rifles they used mostly back then and I had moulds and swage dies made of those bullet profiles and I found that they shot very well in my 1/19 twist Shiloh's and those bullets were 1.4" long at those weights I cast and swaged. They held me hight at the MT 1000, Q and Alliance.

I saw Dan coming out with the designs close to what he used for the HP matches pushing the lead bullets close to the tangent and secant design and that started the race for the tighter twist riflings to keep them stable and I think that was the end of the .38's for the long range matches using the .38-72.

[ian45662]

I’ll get my pit crew to snap photos of the holes and maybe we can see if they are oblong or not.

[ian45662]

I've seen a couple of people shoot 38 xx of some variety at creedmoor matches once, next match they weren't.

Unless it is a complete and abysmal failure then I will try again. Not really sure what to expect with this test but we will have a relay at 800 one at 900 and 3 at 1000. If I can keep the 3 1000 yard relays in the lower 80s then I will be happy. If I have a lot of dirt diggers and or just wild shots then we may just try a different bullet but I don’t usually give up
On something after just one shoot. Not unless it is very obvious which this might be……. Only one way to find out.

[ian45662]

New chicken bullet came in. 260 grain .369 diameter. I will patch it just under groove diameter. Should use somewhere in the ballpark of 46 grains. May try to shoot it a little next weekend

[Kurt]

That should be a little powder puff when the powder is lite. I hope you don't ring a chick LOL.

I like the short ogive radius it has. but it needs to grow another .250"
Sky is clear, winds low about 5-7 mph and the temp 65. It's a .38-50 day this morning here.

[Kurt]

I took the little .38 to the range today loaded with some old lumpy 2F KIK powder, 62 grains of it and some blue box Win LR primers to save my good components.
I used the 371-345 DD and the 371-360 DD. The 345 I loaded in the case and not breach seated. This bullet .125 DD base is not a proper fit in my large freebore chamber of .100" plus and it really showed today in the wind that was making the tree tops sway pretty hard. Breach seating this bullet has shown very tight groups. Today it was a 6" with 25 rounds fired.
The 371-360 DD has a DD base .250" long and it's .020" longer with a blunter nose and the 25 rounds except 3 that walked out held 2".
I think I will set the KIK powder aside for the mid range matches,

At one time I thought having a reamer made and set the barrel back enough to eliminate the freebore but I will keep it as it.
I always said "don't fix what aint broke"

[ian45662]

Very nice. Hope to see you and you 38 on the line sometime. I was hoping to make it to Alama but that’s up in the air at the moment.

[Kurt]

Ian,
As much as I like the Alma matches but It's up in the air if I will make that 800 round mile trip unless the gas prices get back down to a reasonable price. I had to fill up the Jeep yesterday and here local it was $5.24 a gallon.

Kurt

[ian45662]

Wow. Had a pretty bad start at 800. Never did find paper. Put crew couldn’t hear my bullets or anything so I figured I was pretty much screwed. After watching me load and fire as fast as I could for 25 min and never find paper my wife was a little worried but tried anyways. 3 shots and she was on. She ended up with a 78…. I took a 0. When I was at the pits it had dawned on me that I was trying to shoot the 800 yard event with an estimated 1000 yard setting. So we tried at 900. Took a while but we found paper. I shot an 80 at 900 and was somewhat rushed since it took so long to find the paper but we finally had a long range setting. 1000 yards was much better. 2 shots and I was on paper. Had plenty of time to wait on conditions and shot an 86. Made a mistake on the last shot that put my 6 o’clock on the 7 ring. I think My 86 was the highest 1000 yard score of the day so I’m happy about that. 2 more relays at 1000 today so we will see how it holds.