40-90BN and paper patch

[Distant Thunder]

"Now seeking to be completely humbled..."

Well you've pick a good cartridge to accomplish that!

My first BPCR had a standard greaser chamber in .40-90 SBN. It was not the best cartridge to start out with and I knew less than I do now after almost 30 years of loading and shooting these rifles. I never really got anything close to target accuracy with it with either GG or PP, but I got it as a hunter. Today I am sure I could make it work for that purpose. I had it rebarreled to .40-65 and it is sooooo much easier to work with. It still has a GG chamber but I shoot a 2-diameter PP bullet in it and couldn't be happier with the rifle. Accuracy is very good.

I think you will find that the other cartridges you've loaded, the .45-70, .40-65 & .50-90 are a piece of cake compared to the .40-90 SBN. You should get whatever your heart desires though.

If you look at match results from all over the world for the past 20 years I don't think you'll find many .40-90 SBN at or even near the top, especially on a regular basis.

Orville chamber is very popular these days and I have no doubt it allows for easy shooting of PP bullets. Those I know who have rifles chambered with that design are happy with it. I don't see it winning any matches for those I know. So I have opted to stay with Shiloh's standard GG chamber for my next rifle. Maybe I'll try a 7 degree lead in the one after that.

Someone will have to explain to me how that 7 degree lead starting from the outside diameter of the case mouth and tapering into the bore is a good thing accuracy wise. To my thinking that is a huge area that a bullet must bump up into and then have to be squeezed back down from .472" diameter to the .450 bore and .458 groove diameters in a .45 caliber.

I don't know what the dimensions are in a .40 caliber PP chamber with the 7 degree lead, but the idea would be the same. The bullet is expanded to the same diameter as the outside of the case neck and then forced into a much smaller hole! Make me understand how that is a good thing?

Again, it is a very popular chamber design and it's an old design. I'm just the kind of guy who has to understand (and see) how something works before I can put the hopes and dreams for my next rifle on the line. It's not a small investment in time not to mention money.

If you want to shoot in long range BPTR matches and be competitive go with a .45-90 or .45-70 (you want conserve powder) and the standard Shiloh chamber. You can shoot GG or PP and win matches. Myself and others have done that and are doing that now.

If, however, you want a .40-90 SBN you should do so and you should go with the chamber design and twist rate that have the best chance of getting you where you want to be. That is how I answered the same questions I had on my soon to be Shiloh .44-77. Just be honest with yourself and choose what gets you where you want to be. Piece of cake!