What did you SHOOT today?

[dan]

Work during the week so shooting is done on Sunday. I will take the .44s out a couple of 1911s and a few other guns. I always take at least 5 guns with me.

[Thunderjet]

Sighted in a new LH Savage 93 22LR I just picked up. Put on a set of Weaver bases, Nikon 3x9 AO rimfire scope, and Warne low rings. Rifle is way more accurate than it should be for the $205 it cost.

[sixshot]

Took my Bisley 41 magnum out to play today, wanted to see where it was shooting with my heavy loads using the 230 gr. Keith slug & 18 grs. of 2400. Almost always I've used 17 grs. with this bullet but had 3 boxes loaded heavier & wanted to see how they would run. Also had my 10 1/2" 44 magnum Bisley, this one is scoped (Leupold 4X) I don't care for scopes but have them on 3 different guns now because of my eyes. My load in this gun today was the Keith load of 22 grs. of 2400 with a Keith 250 gr. slug. Both bullets were powder coated & this one, just like the 41 mag. is one grain over what I normally shoot.
I didn't want to shoot from a rest, I was using my Fowler steel target at 50 yds & behind it I had a target stand with 2 white targets stapled to it to catch any misses so I could look through my binoculars & see what was going on without walking down to the target in case I missed.
First up was the 41 magnum using iron sights, I love this gun & its taken quite a bit of game. I was shooting from the Keith reclining position, not perfectly steady like a bench but its very similar to how the gun shoots in the field because I use this exact position quite often in the field. The first shot hit the steel hard! I had my Swarovski's around my neck & looked at the newly painted steel, it was almost dead center so I tripped off 4 more shots & walked down range knowing that all 5 had hit the steel.
Four of the five looked good, I knew the last one was somewhere left on the steel because of the way it danced at the hit. The problem was I had forgot my foot stool but I did have a partial bucket of wheel weights with me so I was using it to put my feet on. The only problem was I had to put my feet pretty close together & it was causing some discomfort. Normally I have my feet spread & bend my knees in to form a "V" but with this bucket I couldn't do that & my right leg (the numb one) would start quivering after the third shot, bummer!
Here's my steel target & you can see the 5 hits, the bottom left was the last shot. I had put one of my custom taller front sights on this gun for the heavier 250 gr. LBT bullet so monday I'll have to make a sight adjustment then I'll move back to 100 & just sit on the ground so I'm not cramping my legs.


This load clocks 1335 fps out of the 5 1/2" Bisley & shoots very well from the reclining position, I'll be able to tighten this up a bit in the next few days.
Here's the 41 Bisley with my custom front sight, a set of my Holly stocks & my Barranti cross draw rig.


After a fresh coat of paint I switched to the 10 1/2" 44 magnum & the great 250 gr. Keith with 22 grs. of 2400. The gun had been zeroed earlier with the same bullet & 10 grs. of Unique so I wasn't sure where we were going to land at 50 yds. Again the first shot went almost center so I ran the next 4 but it wasn't easy, my right leg would start doing the Tea Berry Shuffle if I held too long, 3-4 times I had to stop & re-start my trigger squeeze because my feet were so close together. That won't happen again. I haven't clocked this load but I did kill my last bear with it using my blued 10 1/2 gun & it was running about 1500+ fps without looking at my notes. It really had the steel dancing. You can see 3 shots very close together about center & one just above them, the 5th is lower & right. So, all 10 shots from both guns were on steel at 50 yds even though I was pretty uncomfortable after the first 3 shots.
If you're not wearing nice pants you can sit on the ground & lean up against your truck tire, works as good as a chair & foot stool. Here's my long barrel Bisley 44 I got from Fermin with a set of Walnut stocks I put on it.



Dick

[sixshot]

Shot both guns again today but moved back to 100 yds & painted the other side of the steel white this time & turned the targets to the brown side for a background. Friday I had the white back ground & a black steel target.
Strange thing with the iron sighted 41 magnum showed up that I will have to test again. The first string was the same as friday, 18 grs. of 2400 & a 230 gr. Keith cast slug & a Winchester standard/Mag primer. Before shooting I had made a sight adjust because friday I was a tick low at 50 yds. I could tell the shots were going high so I walked down range & took a photo. The shots were centered but high. You can see the shots went between the chains & high.


I decided to shoot 3 shots of the same load except for either CCI or Federal primers, not sure which, both are silver so I couldn't tell. Just wanted to see if there was a difference, I wasn't prepared for what happened so I'll have to re shoot another day.
The 3 shots went way low & way left, they shot good but what a difference! Not sure if its for real or not, that's quite a difference just for primers.


Running out of time & wanted to check the scoped 44 so I switched over & I liked it. For shooting from the Keith reclining position at 100 yds I was really pleased with this group. Keith 250 gr. powder coat & 22 grs. of 2400, about as good as I can hold from this position.


Here's a better photo of Bill Fowler's target stand, not sure if its AR plate or J400, either way its hard metal & you can get whatever size you want, we use this one a lot, black on one side, white on the other.


Dick

[cherokeetracker]

Dick, Is that bullet the 429215 ? I do know that it has been accurate in my 44 mag, and I was using mag primers with the 2400. I know you said that they were not necessary so you have me curious about what is working best for you. I am hoping to get a chance this week and will be making an effort to run some at 100 yds.

Charles

[sixshot]

Charles, no it was the 250 gr. Keith slug from an old 4 cavity Lyman #429421 that I've had forever. The primers are standard LP, either CCI or Federal, I'd have to go look but I've never used magnum primers with 2400 except some of the standard/mags that Winchester sells & that's what puzzles me about yesterdays groups with the 41 magnum. I can't believe that much difference with a primer change at 100 yds. I'll be re-shooting in the next couple of days to see if that holds up. I was getting some cloud movement & that might have something to do with it at 7pm, & shooting straight south, not sure yet. If I was shooting east or west it wouldn't have mattered.

Dick

[whitworth]

Back on the range this afternoon with the .45 Colt Bisley by JRH. Out of the gate I shot this five-shot group off of the sticks with Garrett's 365 grain +P load. I am really starting to like this revolver!

[CraigC]

That'll get it done!

[paul105]

I am continually impressed with the shooting skills of Lee Martin, sixshot, whitworth, hoover, bradshaw, tek, 2 dogs, and others who are equally skilled but don’t post or only post infrequently or my memory challenged brain unintentionally left out. It shows what serious commitment, experimentation and dedication to the sport can result in.

Over the last several months, I kinda got sidetracked looking for a 1911 9mm. Tried the new Colt LW Commander, the Ruger LW CMD, and a full size Springfield Armory Range Officer. Ultimately settled on the Ruger after replacing several fire control parts with some taken from another gun that had an action job. Also replaced the factory thumb safety with one made by Colt and the rubber grips with a set of Chip McCormic thin panels. The gun still shoots high and needs a new front sight, but all in all it is a delight to shoot.

Helped my son wring out a full size HK USP 45 Variant 1,2 for use as a backup while bow hunting elk here in Montana (I carry the 329 PD). After thorough research, it appears that the USP 45 is capable of continuous use of 45 Super level loads. My son had been carrying the Glock 20. Neither of us felt/feel comfortable carrying the Glock with one in the chamber, so were looking for an alternative. The USPs “long” double action first shot and thumb safety (if desired) with the .45 Super load fit the bill. Tried the Buffalo Bore 230s and 255s along with several hand loads, finally settling on a hand load using new Starline +P brass and Nosler 230gr JFPs at 1,100 fps. With 12 +1 capacity, it is reliable, portable, reasonably powerful and quite controllable. If anyone is interested, here’ a link covering the subject pistol-forum.com/showthread.php?16503-HK-USP-45-field-pistol .

During all of this I managed to get out with my favorite M69 but have been neglecting the single actions until the couple of days.

House cleaning resulted in several partial boxes of ammo that needed shooting, so I ran some thru my 4 ¼” 45 Colt FA97 a couple of days ago. Some of those loads were 315gr Lee FPGCs over some H110. I was reminded why I have put over 25,000 rounds thru this gun – fun with standard .45 Colt load and excellent recoil handling quality of the M97 grip even (for me anyway) with the with the 300+s. This gun weighs in at 35 oz and it’s small frame is a pleasure to handle.

Yesterday, I finished up shooting the “partials” in my 3 ½” round butt .45 Colt M97, but I was using the .45 ACP aux cylinder. These were 200gr SWCs over a moderate charge of HP38. The gun, with this load is a ton of fun to shoot. I was just shooting steel. Our range has a variety of steel targets ranging from small dueling tree at 20 yds, plate racks at 30 yds (different shapes), various others at various ranges out to 70 yds where there is a full size popper and another one that is about 1/3 size. I was ringing steel with satisfying regularity. Every time I take the little belly gun out with the ACP cylinder I’m reminded how much fun it really is.

The 4 ½” FA97


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The 3 ½” M97
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Paul

[sixshot]

Paul, that's a fine looking gun & your photo's are excellent as well. My buddy Fermin called me a few days ago & we were comparing notes about our eyes when shooting with iron sights & both agreed that our best days are long gone. There are "some" days we can get it done but not on demand like the old days, shooting iron sights demands many things but good eye sight is key & age has a way of handing you your pride in a very small sack.
Having to go to a scope is a bitter pill to swallow for me, wish I could use a red dot but that's not an option so the Leupold 4X's get the call & seeing just a bit of wobble is hard on my trigger finger.
While at Raton each year I've seen some outstanding iron sight shooters you never hear about, plus some that everyone knows about. These guys with young eyes can do some amazing things at distance with good guns & good ammo & some of them are doing it standing. I've watched Lynn Thompson, shooting offhand, double action hit some very small targets & do it with great consistency. The old hide stretcher Doc Barranti has set beside me here in Idaho & done some fine long range shooting, Sheriff Russel Cottle is another that's a crack shot & he's about my age, Tyrone, Darrell Harper, Glenn Swaggart, Bill Fowler, Stump Buster, Bud McDonald, Madbo, & of course Bob Baker. I set beside Bob Baker & spotted for him as he smoked an Idaho rock chuck almost in my back yard with one of his single shots at a tick over 635 yds. Yes it was scoped but a 12-14 mph wind added a degree of difficulty!

Dick

[sheriff]

Dick, your experience with the different primers surprises me. I'd have expected maybe a little high/low or left/right variance, but that's a pretty good shift. I'll be interested to see some more on that.

[jsh]

9-11-16
Got the FA .357 out and went and shot a round with my IHMSA friends.
Got my shooting box out and had the wrong glasses. Oh well I am here and came to have fun and visit.
No sense in a fouling shot lets just do it. Got on the line and got a bad leg cramp right in the middle of a string, went wild on #3 chicken. At least I thought I had a good excuse and chickens at 50 are an easy fix.
Moved to pigs @100. Bang clang, bang clang. Where is #3? Looked and it is there but it disappeared when looking at the sights. All I can see is an air gap between front and back legs. Centered up and raised up a bit and still shot under and between. Oh well still having fun.
On to turkeys. I won't lie. I hate these things, steel or in the flesh. They were made to shoot with a scatter gun!
Cleaned the first five. I could see my hits were pretty good on elevation but windage was a tad off, on click left is to much I already knew. Next five. I hugged the edge of the leg a bit and they were dropping nicely. Number 4 and a cloud came out of no where, should have went back to my original hold but didn't and nicked enough to turn him. If it had been a .44 or .45 it would have spun him off. Cloud went away and center punched the last bird.
On to Rams. I had worked on these the last match and had my notes. Went down like clock work 10x10.
Wrong spectacles, leg cramp and no spotter I scratched out a 37x40. Pretty happy with that, as normal it was all operator error on any misses.
Jeff

[paul105]

Dick,

I’m a year younger than you and know full well about age related eyesight problems and open sights. I cringe every time you post about shooting from Elmer’s shooting position. Last time I tried it (several years ago), my hips cramped up so bad I had trouble getting up off the ground (no mean feat even without cramps LOL). Been fighting back and hip problems for several years now. Been a little better lately, and have been bow hunting elk with my son five time already this season and will be out more when he gets back from his annual hunt “with the boys”. He already killed his bull, but went back until the end of the week to help anyone else who needed assistance packing out their kill.

Jeff,

Good shooting! Back in the mid/late 80s, I lived in Midland, TX for a while. They had a handgun silhouette range. Never shot competition, but would shoot them for fun. I remember knocking over the 100m pigs off hand with my newly acquired Field Grade 6” FA83 .454 using 300 gr JHPs over a full charge of H110. Guy next to me commented “wow, a guy with a .454 who knows how to shoot it” or something to that effect. Also remember lobbing 45 ACPs at the Rams – bang – wait, wait, wait, wait, “clink”. Wasn’t all that consistent then, and even worse now.

Now, I’m kinda like the guy in the TV add who says “I’m terrible at golf, but want to be terrible as long as I can”.

Paul

[sixshot]

Russ, I don't think it was the different primers as much as it was the sun going behind the clouds, just no way a primer switch would make that much difference at 100 yds but I'll re-shoot in the next couple of days to prove it to myself. Been skinning elk & running errands for the boys & grandson's.

Dick

[savit260]

A little double action practice with the 627 tonight. 15gr IMR 4227 under a 158gr Rainier.