Rare weekday Range Report

[yeoman]

I had the range to myself this afternoon! Part of my shipment arrived today. Some 250 SST's with Superglide sabots or some such marketing gumbo.

I first loaded and fired a 260 Harvester Scorpion to foul the barrel. For kicks, I aimed at a 50 yd target from the bench. Look how low this hit compared to the shot #1 fired from the flour fouled barrel last weekend. That one was about 2-3" below the center of the "Hillary" dot.
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The next 6 shots are at the 100. What a difference fouling makes in this barrel.

Cabela Hawken 50 GM barrel
open sights
100 yds
Harvester Scorpion 260
CR sabot
90 Pyro. Selects

6 shots 3 1/2", 5 shots 2 1/2" Outcast was 2nd shot

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Then took most of the "collectors item" 240 soft nose HP 44cal Hornadys to the 200. Pretty windy, but I was impressed with how flat they shot. I'd guess their BC is better than the 10mm/200s which are all Ive shot out there. I think without the wind I could have aimed pretty much dead on with these (meaning neither left nor right). Elevation is almost identical to the 10mm/200's. I stapled all my targets high on the backstop today. That seems to cause the biggest poof of dust from the dirt pile backstops.

200 yds
open sights
240 HP .430
90 Selects
Mag sabot
the two unnumbered are #3 and #4

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I returned to the 100 to try the 250 SST's. They were extremely easy to load. Based on recent comments here, they should have sprayed. I used 100 grains on the first one (far upper right) but backed off to 90 on the next 5. (100 just punishes my cheek with this gun. Can shoot 90 all day long).

100 yds
open sights
250 SST
Easy gilde (or whatever they're called) sabots
5 shot 90 grain group 4 1/4"

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Just for kicks, I loaded one last SST to send to the 200. I wasn't going to bother going down for the target, having already taken the picture on the backstop earlier. Look what happened. I know, I know .... pure luck, an accident... but do you think I'll be going back to send a few more 250 SST's down thar?

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[dmurphy317]

Don't you know you can't shoot a muzzleloader with open sights at 200 yards with any accuracy. That hole in the bullseye was obviously made by debris kicked up from the bullet hitting low and in front of the target.

No, really, that is some good shooting there. Congrats.

[yeoman]

Don't you know you can't shoot a muzzleloader with open sights at 200 yards with any accuracy

dmurphy - well, I'm clearly in the ongoing process of proving that!

I prefer to think of it as "you can shoot a muzzleloader with open sights at 200 yards with some accuracy"!

[dmurphy317]

I know what you mean. I do like to test all my loads out to 200 yards and try to practice at that range once I have a load tweaked at 100 yards. If you have an accurate load, shooting to 200 yards is not as hard as some believe. Of course with open sights it does take a fair amount of practice, not to mention good eye sight. I prefer a peep sight when going out that far, or a scope. I have shot some 6" or less groups with regular iron sights before at 200 yards but not with much consistency. I guess I need to spend more time practicing with the older sights.

[yeoman]

My 100 yd groups have shrunken by 1" since I started making the 200 part of my routine. Not certain that's why but given I haven't changed much else seems a likely suspect. I almost pulled a barely used man silhouette yesterday and was going to take it to the 300. Careful, belly aching laughter can cause separation of the cartiladge
between the ribs.

[cayugad]

That is some amazing shooting for open sights.. I have yet to try 200 yards, only because the open hay fields around here are too dry for muzzleloader stuff. But 100 yards is plenty of distance for me anyway. 300 yards !! WOW. How much hold over would that require?

[lemoyne]

cayugad,That is an interesting question,with 50/40 -200gr SW at 247 {I call it 250} which is the most I can get i am 2.7 inches high at 100 on at 150 around 4 inhes low at 200 and about a foot low at 250; this is with the Triumph and 120 gr of RS. The Omega will shoot 150 gr[3 pellets is what it likes] and it shoots a bit flatter. I dont really know not being able to get that much range but my best guess would be about 30 inches low the way I am sighted in, of course this particular combinatioon is the flatest shooting on that I know of, I am not even sure why I like to play around at long range I take most of my deer and boar at around 25yds. Lee

[cayugad]

Isn't that the truth... I shoot at 75 and 100 yards when the majority of all my shots hunting are under 50 yards. I guess I just like to shoot.