Well I got up early this morning and got out to the range before the temp got too high. It was about 58 when I started and close to 70 when I finished. I only took my Magbolt and wanted to try serveral different bullets and loads and check their speed on the chrony.
First load I shot was a 348 PB over 100gr of 777 2F. Grouping wasn't bad but I only shot 3 just to get an idea of their velocity. the group was around 2" at 100 yards (I'm sure I pulled one) and the velocities were 1535, 1540 and 1530.
Second load was the 460 BS .501 over 90gr of 777 2F. I tried them to verify they were smaller than the .503's I have, they are. They shot pretty well, 1.25" 3 shot group at 100 yards with velocities of 1408, 1414 and 1369. I did try some teflon tape on two more to see if they would stay in place, they did but the accuracy was not good (6") despite the velocities of 1414 and 1410.
Third load was the 200 SW with 3 different powder levels of 777 2F (90, 100, 110). All three shot good with the 100gr load shooting best at 1.375" 3 shot group. Velocities were (@90gr) 1921, 1907 and 1872; (@100gr) 1948, 1988, 1988 and 2006. Unfortunately on thefirst shot at 110gr the sabot somehow hit dead center of the the second sensor body on the chrono and put a hole in it, this caused some of the plastic to cover the sensor inside and it would not work. I took the sensor apart when I got home and removed the plastic pieces and it still works.
The fourth load was some 300 PR QT's that I picked up a couple of days ago just to see what they would do. I shot them over 100gr of 777 2F. I only shot 2 and they were around 6" apart, I stopped there and will try they another day.
Final load was the 285 Buffalo SSB. I like this bullet for a couple of reasons. 1) it loads easy and shoots well with 100gr of 777, around 1.5" or less groups. 2) It shoots almost exactly 6" higher than the 460 load with little or no windage offset. The scope I have on the gun has a form of balistic reticle with hash marks going out from the center. On 9X they are spaced at 4.5" so I can sight in at 100 with the 460's on the center crosshair and use the first mark above center for the 285's at 100 and the center for 200 yards without having to re-sight in for the different bullet. Last time I chrono the 285 with 100gr of powder it was about 1785.
I may use the 285SSBor the 200SW for deer this year and the 460 for elk.
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David
Only one man in a thousand is a leader of men -- the other 999 follow women.
Groucho Marx
Nice report. I believe if I were so unfortunate as to be conceived a big game animal in New Mexico, I would be migrating to a new location offering greater liklihood of survival. Good shooting and sounds like an excellent selection of loads/scope combination for the season.
David, I am certainly glad you verified that a .501 is smaller than a .503. I would have been concerned otherwise! Just kidding. I know what you meant........I think.
Good shooting and great report. Now if Cayugad would just buy a chrono.............
Now if Cayugad would just buy a chrono.............
Never!! That keeps the mystery in my life... Beside, with my luck I'd shoot the thing.
Nice range report there David.
I was going to shoot today but it decided to turn into a person sauna around here. As the temperature increased, we got 10 minutes of sprinkles. After that you could just see the moisture out there in the heat.
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"Life should NOT be a journey to the grave with the intention of arriving safely in an attractive and well preserved body, but rather to skid in sideways, a total wreck, screaming Yahoo, with a big smile on your face."
Redpep,
Thats a good rule to follow. In my case I've had the gun for 5 years and bought it new. It is sighted in and I shot at least a dozen shots through the chrono with no issues. The last shot, for some reason, the sabot took a nose dive as it passed over the chrono and hit in the center of the far plastic cover that holds the sensor. If it had been the front of the chrono and had the display built in it would have been in the center of the display. How it hit in that place on the rear sensor I can't explain but it had a small piece of plastic the same color as the sabot. I'm going to fashion some kind of cover to protect the internal area before I use it again.
Cascadedad,
The .501/.503 was in reference to my earlier post about the labeling on the 2 boxes of Bull Shop 460's and the possibility that they were reversed in their labeling.
Dave,
I resisted getting a chrono for a long time but now find it an invaluable tool for verifying loads and developing data about those loads. I use to do it the old fashion way of shooting at various ranges and seeing what the load can do, I still do that but having the added level of confidence in the velocity and its consistancy is a nice bonus. With all the shooting and testing you do it would benifit many on this forum in addition to you if you got one.
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David
Only one man in a thousand is a leader of men -- the other 999 follow women.
Groucho Marx
The .501/.503 was in reference to my earlier post about the labeling on the 2 boxes of Bull Shop 460's
Now you have me really curious about whether the .504's are going to be sung enough and in the back of your mind remember that Dan does do a .5045 - think Cdaddy has some....
That package should be there this week - hopefully
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Keep on Shooting Muzzleloaders they are a Blast
Range report
Just kidding. I know what you meant........I think.
