David Bradshaw Photos – Vol. 98, FA M83 44 mag, Sierra

[Lee Martin]

David Bradshaw Photos – Vol. 98, FA M83 44 mag, Sierra

Prior to the Safari Silhouette Shoot at Fusilier Complex, Arnaudville, Louisiana, a couple of new loads were tried in the Stroh-Bradshaw Freedom Arms M83 .44 Magnum. Shooting the revolver from a single sandbag “trunnion” rest, this is five shots at 50 yards. Load: Sierra 250 Full Profile Jacket (FPJ), 22.3/H110, Federal 155 Gold Match primer, Federal nickel case. Velocity from Shilen 10-inch barrel with .429” groove and 1:16 RH twist----taken on a Caldwell chronograph at 85-degrees Fahrenheit----averages 1426 fps, with 36 fps Extreme Spread.



Back up to 25 yards to check Point of Impact (POI). Sierra 250 FPJ over 22.3/H110. Scope is Leopold LER (Long Eye Relief) 2.5-8x32mm with factory target turrets and dot reticle. Leopold QRW quick release rings on JD Jones T’SOB mount.



...and return to 50 yards. With all five rounds fired in essentially the same wind, the leaker almost certainly belongs to the marksman



Five shots @ 100 yards reveals drop when dot/crosshair is zeroed for 50 yds (white paint behind gun barrel).



Same respective white dot Point of Aim (POA): left, 50 yards; right, 100 yards. Drop of Sierra .44 250 grain Full Profile Jacket @ 1,426 fps



Sierra .44 250 FPJ over 22.3/H110 @ 100 yards. Crank elevation knob, thinking 1/4” per click. Leupold LER handgun scope adjustment is very close to 1/2-inch per click.



100 yards
Consequence of mis-counting scope adjustment. Target on right shot first. Double-counting clicks puts Point of Impact (POI)——target on left. Leupold LER 2.5-8x32mm with optional target turrets exhibits accurate tracking, while micro-clicks in handgun installation register a thin hair on the plus-side of 1/2-inch per click. Same arrangement on rifle works in 1/4-inch clicks.



Lull in wind during recent range sessions with Freedom Arms ,44 Mag and Sierra bullets. Note Bradshaw’s preferred tripod, the all-machined Tiltall, made since 1947. Leopold 12-40x40mm spotting scope incorporates huge eyepiece (ocular) and long eye relief, which provide full field of view while wearing glasses. Many more expensive spotters, even with wide ocular lenses, fail to combine Leopold’s full field of view with proper eye relief.



Wind generally coursed from 12 o'clock or 6 o’clock. Site tape tied to tripod represents only flagging. Combine with reading mirage----when mirage is available----to dope wind drift, which reliably bends a bullet. Big bullets with superior dynamic balance characteristics track consistently. Marginal bullets go to Hell fast



Sierra .44 210-grain Jacketed Hollow Cavity (JHC) mixed with Sierra 250 FPJ to compare POI (Point of Impact) @ 100 yards, using nearly identical powder and charge, with same scope setting. Note wind drift caused by 9 o’clock wind, judged to be 5-to-8 mph.



Checking to see effect of 6-clicks left windage @ 100 yards.



A look at trajectory between 100 and 200 yards. Sierra .44 250-grain FPJ propelled by 22.5/H110. (22.3/H110 averages 1,426 from the Shilen 10” barrel with .001-inch gap). Blue cross indicates POA (Point of Aim).

Shots #1-5
Fired with reticle set for 100 yards, Sierra 250 FPJ drops 21-inches below Point of Aim (POA).

Shots #6-8
Up 35-clicks on Leopold 2.5-8x scope



Sierra .44 210-grain JHC (Jacketed Hollow Cavity) registers Point of Impact nearly identical to Sierra 250 FPJ at 200 yards. Remarkable. The Sierra 210 JHC came into play for the 100 yard stage of the Safari Silhouette Shoot. Any such coincidence of loads may be specific to an individual revolver.



-Lee
www.singleactions.com
"Chasing perfection five shots at a time"

[cmillard]

Bradshaw, by chance have you shot the bear tooth bullets 405 grain .430 out of that long, fast twist FA .44?

[cmh]

Thank you Mr Bradshaw..... with a 10" 44 FA Im taking notes

[bradshaw]

Jul 12, 2016 21:05:24 GMT -5 cmillard said:

Bradshaw, by chance have you shot the bear tooth bullets 405 grain .430 out of that long, fast twist FA .44?

Heaviest bullets shot are 300. Chamber exits----throats----measure .429". Most likely, long, heavy .430 bullets will not fully chamber without deep seating, which would starve boiler room. Have measured more recent M83 .44s with .430" throats.

cmh.... the 10-inch M83 .44 certainly milks velocity.
David Bradshaw

[cmillard]

got ya. even though it is a very fine shooter, as well as the operator, have you thought about having the throats honed?

[bradshaw]

Jul 13, 2016 8:51:36 GMT -5 cmillard said:

got ya. even though it is a very fine shooter, as well as the operator, have you thought about having the throats honed?

Have not thought about honing exit holes in Freedom Arms! Years ago Sierra president Bob Hayden said I was shooting his revolver bullets tighter than they tested for, and Hugh Reed at Federal Cartridge said I outshot their revolver machine rest. Placed in my shoes, I can think of others who would have been told the same thing. Reckon I ought to be happy to shoot in the shadow of those days. "Don't even think about!" jumped Lee Martin, as I broached the idea of honing exit holes in the cylinders of the .45 Colt/.45 ACP Ruger 03. Those .45 throats measure .4515-inch, and happen to shoot larger cast bullets very well, as we have tried to illustrate on the forum.

Ruger single action .45s with .449 and 450-inch throats need a visit to the sawbones.

No, the bullet must come to the Freedom Arms .44, and to the Ruger 03.
David Bradshaw

[cmillard]

fair enough. .449 and .450 throats--that's what mine measured on my .45 bisley. shot poorly until I corrected them. now shoots outstanding.

[potatojudge]

Great writeup! I've got an 83 in 44 mag, 6 inch barrel, and the same scope you're running so this gives me plenty of data and food for thought. For me that scope brings the balance back towards my hand, so I bet that weight out at the end of your barrel really helps settle the gun in while on target.

Mind if I ask what the hole above the ERH boss is? Do you think the lightened hammer makes much difference?

[bradshaw]

Jul 13, 2016 12:04:30 GMT -5 potatojudge said:

Great writeup! I've got an 83 in 44 mag, 6 inch barrel, and the same scope you're running so this gives me plenty of data and food for thought. For me that scope brings the balance back towards my hand, so I bet that weight out at the end of your barrel really helps settle the gun in while on target.

Mind if I ask what the hole above the ERH boss is? Do you think the lightened hammer makes much difference?

The 6-inch barrel on a Freedom Arms Model 83 is a good thing. Moderates recoil better than the 4-3/4-inch and carries neater than the 7-1/2-inch. Strange, how longer barrel reduces recoil while boosting velocity. Long as you can carry it, barrel length is free lunch. Years I lived with and tried not to sleep with a Smith & Wesson M-29 6-1/2-inch on my hip, never once grew envious of another barrel length. First question a hand gunner must answer, can he or she deliver with the gun in hand? During those years I considered the 6-1/2-inch 29 a wand, nearly magical. And a bib difference importability over a 7-1/2-inch barrel. Leathesmiths understand when we say Carry is Big Time. The skin must fit the carcass.
David Bradshaw

[zeus]

Jul 13, 2016 12:04:30 GMT -5 potatojudge said:

Great writeup! I've got an 83 in 44 mag, 6 inch barrel, and the same scope you're running so this gives me plenty of data and food for thought. For me that scope brings the balance back towards my hand, so I bet that weight out at the end of your barrel really helps settle the gun in while on target.

Mind if I ask what the hole above the ERH boss is? Do you think the lightened hammer makes much difference?

In the old days, FA offered a replaceable forcing cone. That is the Allen head hole that goes into the forcing cone area.

[bradshaw]

Dan, a.k.a. bigmuddy....

Your 4-inch M-29 .44 Mag won’t be bothered by the Sierra 210 JHC seated over 22.5/H110. Sample accuracy of this round @ 200 yards from Freedom Arms M-83. These targets were shot to compare Points of Impact between a couple of Sierra bullets. Remarkably close POI for different weights with same powder charge.

May be worth noting for folks who haven’t shot steel, handgun silhouette competitors routinely switched from lighter to heavier bullets when going from chickens, pigs and turkeys, to rams----without, mind you, any windage adjustment, despite often changing bullet brand between c,p,t and ram.

The Sierra .44 210 JHC cruises well between 22.5/H110 and 26/H110. Rugers don’t care. In the interest of longevity, the S&W M-29 inhales the 22.5/H110 (or Win 296) without a cough. As may be noted by these targets, the lighter bullets have not heard that they’re supposed to be unstable.
David Bradshaw

[bigmuddy]

Thank you David. I'm amazed at the POI similarities between the different bullet weights. I'll be trying the 210's in the next couple days.

Dan

[seancass]

I need to review this thread occasionally and remind myself that I need to learn how to shoot! Really good stuff here!

[ratgunner]

Very impressive. Love both of my FA

[bradshaw]

Kevshell.... most of my scopes are “blued”----anodyzed----not silver. Were I looking for a Leupold 2.5-8x EER, I wouldn’t argue blue or silver. Tracking has been good on this Freedom Arms .44 Mag, the first M83 made in a caliber other than .454 Casull. For its after-life (after silhouette), Jim Stroh turned a Shilen 10-inch, 1:16” twist with .429 groove barrel with a few dimension specified to my satisfaction. Contrary to various fanciful declarations, a 1-inch revolver group @ 100 yards is hard work. Leastwise for this shooter. Most revolvers can’t come close, even with a best-balanced bullet.

To compliment a good revolver, the scope must possess ZERO parallax, or damn close. Leupold fit this scope with micrometer-click adjustments which repeat well, as tested from 100 to 300 yards---and back. Windage as well as elevation must repeat in order to count clicks. Leupold also fit a dot-on-crosshair reticle. A dot pulls the eye to center. Whereas, the eye easily wanders on a crosshair (to a lesser extent on standard Duplex).

Hunting starts at lowest magnification. There is time to crank up; there is not time to crank down. Targeting starts at 6x to 8x. Dry-fire, with appropriate protection on M83, starts the show, proving or disproving soundness of artificial rest. Two basic rests work for this muzzle-heavy revolver: 1) two sandbags, one under barrel, another under butt; 2) trunnion rest----barrel-frame junction nestles sandbag. As shown in photos, turret contacts forward scope ring to act as recoil shoulder.
David Bradshaw