.38-50 Hepburn

[Aviator]

Good idea, Ian!
Wish I'd thought of it!

[ian45662]

Sorry Kurt :p. Steve I’ll bet we have a few descent days before the season starts so I’ll probably go out there again sometime soon. I’ll let you know if we do. I shot some of the 3F loads that I came up with the ladder tests. The 65 grains of 3F in the graf brass did very well. I shot it on turkeys. Shot some sighters and then went to the rail. Laid down 8 out of 10 but the 2 misses I called right and that’s where they went so I was satisfied with that. Shot the 66.5 grain load out of virgin Remington brass at rams. Hit 9. The miss was from a condition and things were starting to pick up. I tested a couple more loads at turkeys with the Remington brass and by that time wind and mirage was getting pretty switcy. The tests on turkeys with those loads were not going very well at all. I had 20 generic loads I made with my wife’s grease groove money bullets and so I just thought I would try them. In the same conditions they hardly missed. So now I am thinking maybe I will start trying them at matches. It seems like when conditions are up like they were yesterday my rifle and that bullet struggle with turkeys but this big 38 cal
Money was doing very well in them. Very very responsive. So this Saturday I will start to work up a load with them and see where it takes me. All of the paper patch loads had an avg FPS that hovered around 1400fps. The extreme spread for all of them was in the mid to upper 20s and that was for 15 shots at most. The extreme spread for the 19 shots I took with the grease groove bullets was 16FPS with an average speed of 1344. That is about as fast as the paper patch loads I used last season with the same weight bullet and I rang no rams…. So we will see. It is a lot quicker and easier to make grease groove ammo and if they shoot as good or better that would make my life a lot easier. Loading and casting for 2 people is starting to feel like work.

[Kurt]

That's OK Ian, I understand LOL

Well that report sounds good to me Ian. We got hit again with a white out yesterday but it was only maybe 6" but it's just not fit for me to get out.
Last season I had problems with a broken foot and a 60% compression fracture of the lower 5 in my back from a fall so I only shot a small match up at Merrill Wis with the .38-50 DZ Hepburn and it showed promise at 600 but there was that nagging flyer showing up. It did better on a smaller target at 600 than it did on one more than twice its size. Head scratcher. I think the .110" freebore plus a 1.5º shallow lead that chamber has is giving me that gremlin on and off. I'm working with PT&G for a reamer for a new barrel in mind for the Hep.
I like this little caliber so well that I called Gail at CPA and she build me another one. I had Her make it under 10# more for my Grand Daughter in mind so she can handle it off hand. She is a little string bean at 16 and she is shooting the .22 very good. If she wants to shoot the Friendship match with me this year I would be as proud as a bandy rooster in the chicken yard if she would shoot with me. She lives about an hour from Friendship. Her younger sister is next in line but she needs a little more time behind the .22 single shot.
I haven't shot the CPA yet but I been working finishing the wood. Got it sanded down in fine shape and I put three coats of pure tung oil on it for deep penetration of seal the wood and a couple coats of Formsby's Tung Oil blend filling the pours. The shiny wood is the first coat of Formsby's. about 20 more to go
I don't like a gloss on my wood so it will get knocked down and look like the two on the left when finished.

Kurt

[ian45662]

That's OK Ian, I understand LOL

Well that report sounds good to me Ian. We got hit again with a white out yesterday but it was only maybe 6" but it's just not fit for me to get out.
Last season I had problems with a broken foot and a 60% compression fracture of the lower 5 in my back from a fall so I only shot a small match up at Merrill Wis with the .38-50 DZ Hepburn and it showed promise at 600 but there was that nagging flyer showing up. It did better on a smaller target at 600 than it did on one more than twice its size. Head scratcher. I think the .110" freebore plus a 1.5º shallow lead that chamber has is giving me that gremlin on and off. I'm working with PT&G for a reamer for a new barrel in mind for the Hep.
I like this little caliber so well that I called Gail at CPA and she build me another one. I had Her make it under 10# more for my Grand Daughter in mind so she can handle it off hand. She is a little string bean at 16 and she is shooting the .22 very good. If she wants to shoot the Friendship match with me this year I would be as proud as a bandy rooster in the chicken yard if she would shoot with me. She lives about an hour from Friendship. Her younger sister is next in line but she needs a little more time behind the .22 single shot.
I haven't shot the CPA yet but I been working finishing the wood. Got it sanded down in fine shape and I put three coats of pure tung oil on it for deep penetration of seal the wood and a couple coats of Formsby's Tung Oil blend filling the pours. The shiny wood is the first coat of Formsby's. about 20 more to go
I don't like a gloss on my wood so it will get knocked down and look like the two on the left when finished.

Kurt

How is it coming along Kurt? Have you been able to shoot that beauty yet?

[Kurt]

Not yet Ian,

I shot 17 rounds through it but nothing worth telling about it yet.
It's just not been fit for serious range development. It's been a strange winter.
Took another fall on the ice and that didn't help the compression fracture of the lower 5 I got earlier.
Getting to be a wimp.
I was hoping to make Friendship this month but the rehab medics are getting in the way.

[ian45662]

Hopefully April will be a better month.

[Kurt]

Back to the .38-50 Hepburn again.

Made the trip back to Alma Michigan last weekend to give the .38 another try. I been sort of not shooting for a year down from four cases plus a year to less than a 1/2 case. Also I wanted to see if I could hold up shooting Lodi that I really would like to attend.

The weather at Alma was cold and misty and I kept adding sweat shirts and ends up also putting a wind blazer over a flannel shirt and two sweat shirts and still shivered sitting on the stool LOL. One of the Girl target setters ran around in a tank top shirt and I was all bundled up and still cold LOL. But I had a good time with very good people to spend time with. I will say the Alma matches are well run and every person attending are top notch. A very friendly bunch.

Not many showed up just 18 that shot on Saturday and the scores were on the low side from normal.
The winds were not too bad but a few quick unexpected blasts that changed from the side to a full head wind and switching back to a calmer fishtailing breeze but sprinkling on and off.

I loaded two boxes of 100 with 60 grains of 2F KIK I had left with the 371-359-E DD PP bullet with my 1/18 solder/lead alloy 1.420" long at 354 grains.
I missed two turkeys and two pigs and one Ram on the first bank 3 on the second bank. I was shivering so bad and I'm surprised I shot as well as I did and I managed three chicks so I had some chicken in the nudie and not just some feathers. I did manage the high score for the scope class with a 25
Greg Vest won the irons with a 28 Saturday. I dont know the finish for the two days.
The water had ice on it when I pulled out Sunday morning.

I did not shoot on Sunday. The pains were just too bad and I needed the cross sticks to keep me on my feet walking to the bench. I will have to pass going to Lodi.

This Hep has had it's up and downs from time too time but I feel the problem is me controlling the rifle.
Shooting the swinger and I spent a lot of time on the Ram on Friday and I had several that looked like I could cover with my hand and during the match the misses were horizontal and not vertical, two just under the belly.
The little .38 had no problem laying the Rams down so that settles my mind on the lay downs.
I sure would like to see what it does at the 1K.

Kurt

[ian45662]

Good shooting!! Which one of your 38d did you use? That 38 will hold up at 1000 and beyond. I won a 1200 yard match with mine last October. So far I have had a somewhat slow start of the season with mine. I have been playing with some grease groove bullets and I have been basically testing stuff at matches but I think we have something good. Won’t know for sure for a couple weeks. Are you planning on coming to any Friendship matches this season?

[Kurt]

Ian,

That is good to hear that it held up at 1200 yards.
I havent worked with the CPA .38-50 yet except with the wood
I just havent shot much for several months but I'm planing on Friendship and the Alma matches matches this summer
I used the Hepburn at Alma and it shot very good using loads I had I wanted to use at Friendship last summer but as the match went on I was a 4 shooter on every bank dropping the second silhouette on each bank till I got to the rams on the third relay I got the first 4 again on the first bank and it just got unbearable the second bank and I dropped three.

I see this little .38 that Arnie got my interest fired up with is a great caliber from what I have seen at this point. I think the .38's sort of got a reputation of long range failures trying to push it too hard with the .38-72 maybe. This is something I will try to find out later this year at Lodi and maybe Harris after getting the back fixed.

Kurt

[Semtav]

Kurt
If the long travel is the only thing keeping you from coming out this fall, I know of a lonely 40-82 Borchardt that needs a little Loving. You could airline out and we could fix you up with all the ingredients.
I know of 3 shoots in a little over 2 week period the first part of September you could attend without much trouble.