Did you shoot anything today ?

[chuckdog]

Let me preface this post a bit.

I've shot a few Colt S A A's over the years, but this is my first owned. I've been fortunate enough to know many collectors and shooters of old west firearms that haven't minded me enjoying their favorite weapons along with them. Still remember the first one I shot. It was a pre-war .44-40. I was hooked!

With their slicker lighter pull 4 click action the one's shot earlier made me gravitate to the one time much more affordable old models of the Ruger Blackhawk. They're not nearly as approachable as they once were.

When the opportunity to get the 3rd Generation 4 3/4" Colt came I actually had the cash in my pocket. A "Bucket List" firearm had become a reality.

I spent a fair amount of time shooting the revolver yesterday and have to admit, Colt 1982 is/was still capable of building a dead-on excellent revolver!

Granted, my eyes are the limiting factor. I have learned that a larger target center/bull and focusing on the firearms sights works better than the opposite when shooting for group.

I simply can't do both. I'm much faster focusing on target with blurred sights, but accuracy does suffer.

Taking time to focus the sights, it shoots 6 shot groups that eat the center of the target up at 12 yds. (Yea, 6 not 5. I'm shooting not carrying!)

Many times in life we get something that we've wanted a long time only to be let down. So far the only let down with this has been waiting till my eyes can't do it justice.

Thanks for taking the time to read.

 

[Dub]

Let me preface this post a bit.

I've shot a few Colt S A A's over the years, but this is my first owned. I've been fortunate enough to know many collectors and shooters of old west firearms that haven't minded me enjoying their favorite weapons along with them. Still remember the first one I shot. It was a pre-war .44-40. I was hooked!

With their slicker lighter pull 4 click action the one's shot earlier made me gravitate to the one time much more affordable old models of the Ruger Blackhawk. They're not nearly as approachable as they once were.

When the opportunity to get the 3rd Generation 4 3/4" Colt came I actually had the cash in my pocket. A "Bucket List" firearm had become a reality.

I spent a fair amount of time shooting the revolver yesterday and have to admit, Colt 1982 is/was still capable of building a dead-on excellent revolver!

Granted, my eyes are the limiting factor. I have learned that a larger target center/bull and focusing on the firearms sights works better than the opposite when shooting for group.

I simply can't do both. I'm much faster focusing on target with blurred sights, but accuracy does suffer.

Taking time to focus the sights, it shoots 6 shot groups that eat the center of the target up at 12 yds. (Yea, 6 not 5. I'm shooting not carrying!)

Many times in life we get something that we've wanted a long time only to be let down. So far the only let down with this has been waiting till my eyes can't do it justice.

Thanks for taking the time to read.


View attachment 1061162

 

[Nimrod71]

I went to a dove shoot today. I carried my one yr. old Boykin. I am trying to make him a bird dog. He had some bad experiences to start with. We had him about a week when my wife left the vacuum cleaner in the living room. Barny came running around the table hit the vacuum and the handle fell and hit the floor sounding like a rifle shot. It scared him, he ran under the recliner. About an hour later he did the same thing. Made him gun shy. I worked the gun shy out of him and he will retrieve anything except a dove. The feathers are the problem, they are dry and stick in his mouth.

Now today, Yes I shot my old Rem 1100 12 ga. I have regressed from Berettas and my super black eagle to my 50 yr. old 1100. The birds were few and far between and it was cool out there in that windy field. I fired 12 shots and got 3 doves. I know that is not good, but heck I'm and old man trying to shoot doves and control a 1 yr. old Boykin, can't keep my eyes on both. I have to say Barny did better this time than last. He did find the birds and played with them, but to begin with he would pick them up and bring them to me. Finely, I got him to retrieve them by throwing them out and letting him find them and I turned and walked away from him. I didn't call him I just throw the bird and turned and walked away. He brought the bird to me and delivered to hand. I can hardly wait to take him to another dove shoot.

 

[Dub]

I went to a dove shoot today. I carried my one yr. old Boykin. I am trying to make him a bird dog. He had some bad experiences to start with. We had him about a week when my wife left the vacuum cleaner in the living room. Barny came running around the table hit the vacuum and the handle fell and hit the floor sounding like a rifle shot. It scared him, he ran under the recliner. About an hour later he did the same thing. Made him gun shy. I worked the gun shy out of him and he will retrieve anything except a dove. The feathers are the problem, they are dry and stick in his mouth.

Now today, Yes I shot my old Rem 1100 12 ga. I have regressed from Berettas and my super black eagle to my 50 yr. old 1100. The birds were few and far between and it was cool out there in that windy field. I fired 12 shots and got 3 doves. I know that is not good, but heck I'm and old man trying to shoot doves and control a 1 yr. old Boykin, can't keep my eyes on both. I have to say Barny did better this time than last. He did find the birds and played with them, but to begin with he would pick them up and bring them to me. Finely, I got him to retrieve them by throwing them out and letting him find them and I turned and walked away from him. I didn't call him I just throw the bird and turned and walked away. He brought the bird to me and delivered to hand. I can hardly wait to take him to another dove shoot.

You, sir....had a most excellent day today.

A day full of wins.









Also sounds just like my brother in law.....he owns several nice shotguns....but always seems to grab his 1100.

 

[GregoryB.]

I loaded 42gr of IMR 4831 with a 80gr Siera BTSP in my new to me Ruger #1 Red Pad 243. Found a VX1 scope in the safe. Zeroed in 4 shots then shot a 1 in 5 shot group. Now I will play with the load a little and see if i can tighten it up a hair or two.

 

[Nimrod71]

Greg, I like your bench and that is a great rifle. Shoot an enjoy.

 

[GregoryB.]

Nimrod, my bench is 2 saw horses and a piece of scrap plywood.

 

[nmurph]

I shot about 50 rounds through my new-to-me Sheridan Blue Streak in 20cal. I also shot about 20 rounds through my Gamo .22 caliber break barrel. The total cost was probably fiddy cents.

 

[rosewood]

Hit the range yesterday. Re-zeroed my Vortex scope on my M&P 10 after the scope was returned from warranty repair. Tested some new .308 loads with 150 SGKs in the gun, getting just over 2700 FPS from the 18" barrel, quite happy with that, now have to do some fine tuning on the load to tighten the groups. Tested out some 7mm-08 loads in my CVA Hunter. Verified some old Federal 10mm Hydra shocks were still functional in my 1076 and they were. Patterned some .410 turkey loads I loaded on Tuesday night.

Probably spent a Hamilton in just primers....

Rosewood

 

[Dub]

Hit the range yesterday. Re-zeroed my Vortex scope on my M&P 10 after the scope was returned from warranty repair. Tested some new .308 loads with 150 SGKs in the gun, getting just over 2700 FPS from the 18" barrel, quite happy with that, now have to do some fine tuning on the load to tighten the groups. Tested out some 7mm-08 loads in my CVA Hunter. Verified some old Federal 10mm Hydra shocks were still functional in my 1076 and they were. Patterned some .410 turkey loads I loaded on Tuesday night.

Probably spent a Hamilton in just primers....

Rosewood

Mighty productive range session......hugely productive.

I hope to pick your brain some when I finally get my AR-10 .308 scoped and eating some handloads. 150 SGK is one sexy bullet choice, too. I've had good luck with them several years ago. Tight groups and stellar results on deer.

 

[Nimrod71]

This morning was the start of a good day. I was up at 5 a.m. to let Barny out to take care of his business and go to his pen. He is a great little Boykin. Then back in the kitchen to make coffee and breakfast for my Wonderful Wife. Phone rang my ;7Up called to see if I was up and ready to head out to the rifle range. I told him I had to load the Sugaru and I would be on my way by 7. I had my 2 cups of black coffee, cheese toast, grits, eggs, Lee bacon and home made sweet potato bread and I was ready to start loading up for the range.

I am been reworking two of my rifles, the 22-250 I changed out the scope rings, the Mod. 70 250 Savage I changed the scopes so both of these needed to be sighted in. For my 6 mm Rem target rifle I had changed from 85 gr to 70 gr bullets so the scope had to be adjusted. I loaded up the 3 rifles and their ammo and headed out.

I was the first one at the range so I got my pick of the shooting stations. I got set up and started with the 22-250. I place the target at 100 yrds. I fired the fist shot, no hole on the sheet of paper. I fired again, no hole, I walked to the target and I found the holes, abut 3 inches high and 8 inches to the left. Back to the bench and a quick adjustment of 24 clicks to the right and 12 clicks down. I fired two more rounds, the shots were on the paper but still to the left and high. Another 24 clicks to the right and 12 down and two more shots, Still to the left about 2 inches and 2 inches high. More adjustments and I am down to 3 rounds. I fire all 3 and it is better but the group is good. Still got work to do on this one.

The 250 was next. I had loaded both 87 gr and 100 gr. bullets for it. I plan on hunting with the 100's and the 87's are for varmints. I fired 3 of the 100 gr rounds first and they were to the left of center about 2 inches. The group was not as good as i like but it would kill a deer. I adjusted the scope and fired 3 more rounds, On target with about a 2 inch group. OK for deer.

I took a break and had some coffee and two Holts glazed donuts and a cinnamon roll. Sighting in rifles is hard work and walking back and forth to check targets I had to keep my strength up.

Now for the 6 mm. This rifle can shoot better than I can hold it. I only had 6 rounds loaded with 70 gr. Sierra Match Kings and IMR 4895 powder. I fired the first three and they grouped a little high to the right. I adjusted the scope and fired the next 3. These were in a quarter size group, not to bad, but the rifel will do better. I was about to put the rifle up when 7Up pulled up. I told him I had shot up my ammo waiting on him. He got his rifle and equipment out and set up next to me. He needed a wrench an opened my shooting box to get one, he ask what rifle was I shooting and I told him 6 mm and he said there is a box of 6 mm ammo in the shooting box. I checked the box and it was some I had loaded back in 2019 and had forgotten they were in the box. I was ready to shoot. However, these were a different load than what i had been shooting. There were the same bullet but were loaded with IMR 4320 powder.7

7UP reset out targets at 100 yds. We were ready to start the shoot out. I let him fire first. He is shooting the new Ruger target rifle in 6.5 CM. His first shot was to the left of center about half inch. He fired again, about a quarter inch below the first, he fired again this one hit high and left of the first shot. Not bad.

My turn, I fired my first shot hit the edge of the target dot, my target dots are the size of a quarter. i fired again, this shot is in the target dot. I fired the third shot, in the dot.

7Up starts his second round. First shot hits left edge of dot, second shot is in dot. He fires third shot and it touches the second. Good Shooting.

Now I have got to do better. My first shot is in the target dot. I fire again, this shot is the dot. I fire my third shot, it is in the dot making the second and third shot one big hole. Good Shooting.

I am pleased with my shooting, I could do better back when I was younger, but I think I did good for and old man. Now it is back to the reloading bench.

 

[Dub]

Now that's what I call a super day @Nimrod71

 

[gma1320]

I shot my Winchester 1897 12 gauge today. I checked the pattern with my loads I use for hogs and a turkey load. It patterns both well so it will be my new hog and turkey gun. I will say with the 2 3/4 #4 turkey loads I'm purdy sure it knocked my shoulder out of socket???. It was really cool shooting a 112 year old gun though. I'm looking forward to chasing some pigs and turkey with it.

 

[Darkhorse]

I shot a little Thursday if that counts?
I wanted to check the sights on my .40 caliber flintlock. I built this rifle 15 or so years ago to hunt turkeys with. It's built with premium parts and will shoot all shots into one hole at 50 yards if I do my part.
A couple of years ago my eyesight deteriorated to where I couldn't accurately shoot with iron sights. So I made simple rear peep sights for my flintlocks which restored my accuracy and allowed me to see again. After a couple of hunting seasons I decided I needed to drill out the holes in the peeps to allow me to see my targets better. Like a fool I drilled them freehand, missed dead center, and had to resight both rifles.
So I wanted to bench the .40 again to establish precisely where those round balls were hitting.
At 50 yards I aim for the wing butts, drops them right there mostly. Closer in I want to try some head shots so the aiming point becomes more critical. I had forgotten how flat the .40 caliber shoots with my load, at 50 yards with a 6 o'clock hold it hit about 2" low. Then I remembered my aiming point was dead on the target so I shot 2 more aiming at the bull. I had 2 shots touching in the bullseye. Good enough.
Then holding dead on the bull at another target placed at 30 yards I shot 3 shots. This is the range I would attempt a head shot so it was more critical. I had 3 shots touching almost centered in the bull.
I will call this rifle ready to hunt some turkeys.
This rifle is extremely accurate and up to 50 yards can put all shots into one big hole. It has also accounted for several nice birds. I have a Browning "Special Purpose" Maxus I bought to hunt turkeys with but I never take it. All my turkey hunting is done with this 40 caliber flintlock.

 

[chuckdog]

I shot a little Thursday if that counts?
I wanted to check the sights on my .40 caliber flintlock. I built this rifle 15 or so years ago to hunt turkeys with. It's built with premium parts and will shoot all shots into one hole at 50 yards if I do my part.
A couple of years ago my eyesight deteriorated to where I couldn't accurately shoot with iron sights. So I made simple rear peep sights for my flintlocks which restored my accuracy and allowed me to see again. After a couple of hunting seasons I decided I needed to drill out the holes in the peeps to allow me to see my targets better. Like a fool I drilled them freehand, missed dead center, and had to resight both rifles.
So I wanted to bench the .40 again to establish precisely where those round balls were hitting.
At 50 yards I aim for the wing butts, drops them right there mostly. Closer in I want to try some head shots so the aiming point becomes more critical. I had forgotten how flat the .40 caliber shoots with my load, at 50 yards with a 6 o'clock hold it hit about 2" low. Then I remembered my aiming point was dead on the target so I shot 2 more aiming at the bull. I had 2 shots touching in the bullseye. Good enough.
Then holding dead on the bull at another target placed at 30 yards I shot 3 shots. This is the range I would attempt a head shot so it was more critical. I had 3 shots touching almost centered in the bull.
I will call this rifle ready to hunt some turkeys.
This rifle is extremely accurate and up to 50 yards can put all shots into one big hole. It has also accounted for several nice birds. I have a Browning "Special Purpose" Maxus I bought to hunt turkeys with but I never take it. All my turkey hunting is done with this 40 caliber flintlock.

I enjoyed reading your post.

Sounds like something I could enjoy too!

 

[Nimrod71]

Dark, that is good. I to have that eye problem with open sights.

 

[Dub]

Excellent post @Darkhorse

Righteous kill and very sweet weapon used !!!

Always enjoy reading your posts....and always learn something from them.

 

[killerv]

Took the t1x out this weekend, really liking it.

 

[Darkhorse]

I enjoyed reading your post.

Sounds like something I could enjoy too!

Maybe you could Chuckdog. I've found it takes a special person to begin traditional muzzleloading then stick with it long enough to really learn it. I started in 1976 and have no plans to stop.
I'd recommend to most people to buy a replica caplock or flintlock to learn on but if your anything like me you won't be satisfied long. Then it might be time to consider a custom built flintlock. You can build one yourself for a $1,000. or have one built for a good bit more. The parts are rather expensive but worth it to me.
Flintlocks take some time to learn to shoot well and maintain but it's a lot of fun once you get going. I don't shoot centerfire's a much as I used to but I shoot my flinters regularly. To shoot one well requires good form and concentration. If you can shoot a flintlock well then you can shoot anything.
I hunt deer with my .54 maybe 95% of the season and turkeys 100%. You must be prepared to not harvest game some or often.
DH

 

[pacecars]

Took the 9.3x62mm Steyr-Mannlicher out for some shooting today. I shot some PPU 286 gr soft points and the some Nosler Trophy Grade 285 gr AccuBond and both of those shot great. I fired 10 rounds of some Nosler Trophy Grade 250 gr AccuBond that I just got and this is what they looked like

https://postimg.cc/gallery/phQ12gy

There was no sticky extraction or any other indications of an issue. I sent the pics to Nosler and am waiting to hear what they have to say