Since I could no longer get my Winchester Wildcat .22 caliber round nose at the store (and shot off the whole brick last week) I picked up a brick of Federal Hollow Point .22 caliber. Now Federal are not my favorite brand, but I set up a target with a 1" bull at 25 yards and shot off a tube to make sure they were accurate. I guess you could say I was pleased.
I then moved it back to 50 yards and shot off a few more. Actually at 50 yards they were hitting high. But when I checked it I turned it over to shoot the .58 caliber.
At 50 yards I held a true six o'clock hold on the yellow tape and shot three times. All three hit right where the sight was on the paper. So I adjusted my hold and shot three more. Again, right where the front sight was, but I do not like to shoot a covered sight picture. I shot a couple more on the dirty barrel and they hit a little to the right for some reason. Maybe that is why I do not like to cover where I want the ball to hit.
I was shooting 120 grains of Graf's & Sons 2f black powder, and Speer .570 roundball. I was using a pillow tick for patch and moosemilk as a lube. Shooting inch and a half groups with open sights was plenty good enough to make me smile today. Using Dynamite Noble caps, this is a powerful load. I do believe it would take most anything in north America with a well placed shot.
I then finished the day out blasting an assortment of items like cans, plastic bottle caps, rock (one of my favorite when they explode) and sticks. All in all this .58 Green Mountain Barrel with the 1-70 twist is a roundball shooter. I had not shot it for a while and when I was getting gear off the shelf to shoot the .22 it kept yelling for me to go outside.. How could I refuse..
__________________
"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."
284 grains if memory serves me.. of course the .62 caliber uses a 324 grain.. now that is getting rather large.
__________________
"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."
What is this Graft and son powder you are talking about?
Graf's & Sons black powder is made by Wano Powder Company of Germany. It is made under the brand name of Graf's & Sons and sold by Graf's & Sons in their online stores, etc. It is meant to compete with Goex Powder. Wano is the same people that make some of the higher end black powders like Wano and evenSchwitzen Powder I was told. This is a very high quality powder. It is a good strong powder, equal to Goex in my opinion. I do think it fowls a little more, but unlike some, fowling of a bore is little concern to me. For instance I shot over twenty rounds that day and swabbed the barrel twice to see what would happen to the accuracy. You can spot them in the tape, to the right.
I purchased a couple cases of the Graf's and Sons over the years. Especially when there was a powder scare a while back and Goex had a plant mishap and you could hardly find it. Also, normally Graf's and Sons is a dollar or two a pound less then Goex.
It works excellent in flintlocks and sidelocks. Also do shoot it in my inlines with excellent results. Check the Graf's & Sons web site. I am sure it is listed. A dirty powder, but a very dependable powder with excellent energy.
A little trivia.. black powder brandsvary in strength of couse we all know, but also in the kind of wood that is used to make the charcoal which is a key element in the production of black powder.
__________________
"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."
Good shooting there Cayugad. I love the .58 and often find myself picking up the Zouave when I just want to have a little fun making smoke.
__________________
My wife says I'm totally nuts, but I think I'm Semisane.
Things I've Learned: (1) It's not possible to please everyone, but quite easy to piss everyone off. (2) If you love animals as I do, then you're not a vegetarian. (3) There's no need to act stupid, even if you're very good at it. (4) If you eat right and exercise, don't smoke or drink, you're going to die anyway.
Withouta doubt.. the .58 caliber is sweet. I really do want to hunt more with it. My trouble is where I normally hunt that 32 inch barrel might be a hassel. Where my 22 inch barrel models are a little easier to swing around in a blind or up in a tree. Although I have one stand now that I am sure I can use it in, and the shots are a little longer then average since it over looks a hay field. That extra barrel might come in handy.
__________________
"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."
.58 Big Bore Fun
of course the .62 caliber uses a 324 grain.. now that is getting rather large.
