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Do You Plan Your Range Sessions?

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Do You Plan Your Range Sessions?

Old 05-14-2008, 03:00 PM
  #1  
Boone & Crockett
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Default Do You Plan Your Range Sessions?

I usually have a definite plan in mind when I head to the range. Here are some of the things on my "to do" list.

1. Haven't shot the Mustang in quite a while, and have only ever shot it with Pyrodex or T-7,never real black powder. Need to try it with my abundent supply of GOEX FFFg and my favorite bullets (250 and 300 grain Gold Dots) and see how it does for accuracy and velocity.

2. In the .58 Zouave, .575 balls shot better than .570 balls (both with .018 patches). Need to try some .020 or thicker patches with the smaller balls and see what happens.

3. Along the same lines, I wonder if a tighter patch in the .54 Great Plains will shoot even better than what I've been getting with that gun? Guess I need to try those .020 patches in the GP also.

4. Last month I shot one 5-shot string of 300 grain Lee REALs out of the .54 Great Plains with 95 grains powder. Got a five-in horizontal group. I'm sure that was too much powder for the REAL. Need to try some 70 and 80 grain loads.

5. Looking at my targets from the .50 Renegade with the pitted barrel, I see that all of the six different bullets I tried were shot with the same load - 80 grains Pyrodex RS.Not great accuracy with any of them, but both the 300 grain Gold Dots in crush rib sabots and the Remington 300 grain SJHPs in MMP orange sabots did group into about two inches at 50 yards. Maybe I need to try a few different powder charges with those bulletsbefore I chop off the barrel.

There are more, but these are my top five. What about you?


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Old 05-14-2008, 03:13 PM
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Default RE: Do You Plan Your Range Sessions?

Good luck getting those .020 patches down the GP's bore. I couldnt do it in mine. .018 does good but for some odd reason, i can only get 2 shots down bore i have to swab to get the next down. I just started to swab between shots and get the accuracy it deserves
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Old 05-14-2008, 03:29 PM
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Default RE: Do You Plan Your Range Sessions?

Hey gander, I'm using .530 Hornady balls. Not to get personal, but what size are your balls?

I've shot two five shot strings with the .530s and .018 patches without wiping the bore at all between shots, once back in April and once last week. Each time the fifth shot loaded as easily as the first. I'm sure I could have just kept on shootingmore shots without swabbing. Maybe it's the humidity down here softening the fouling? Here are the targets.


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Old 05-14-2008, 03:46 PM
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Nontypical Buck
 
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Default RE: Do You Plan Your Range Sessions?

on my new englander. umm, yes and no.

on my Knight USAK. YES
next range session.
405gr 457 homecast
5 shot of 80grs of 2f triple7
5 with 85grs
5 with 90grs

80grs of pyro rs
5 295gr powerbelts.

55grs of pyro rs
5, surprise.

need to get into better planning on my new englander. [8D]
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Old 05-14-2008, 04:06 PM
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Default RE: Do You Plan Your Range Sessions?

Had a smart remark at the tip of my tongue ..err.. finger but darn if i am gonna say it

.530 here also. I get a lot of tight fouling at the last 4" of the barrel.
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Old 05-14-2008, 04:45 PM
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Nontypical Buck
 
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Default RE: Do You Plan Your Range Sessions?

Semi,
Where do you download your targets from?

Thanks

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Old 05-14-2008, 06:33 PM
  #7  
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Default RE: Do You Plan Your Range Sessions?

Hey HuntAway. Those are targets I built for 8 1/2 x 11" paper withMicrosoftWorksWord Processor software, so I can print oneout and make as many cheap (read "free") copies as I want on a friends office copy machine.

After I've shot a target, I scan it into my PC to a picture file (jpeg) with a Cannon MP160 model scanner. I use a sheet of pink construction paper behind the target when I scan it so the bullet holes show up better. The scanned picture file is usually around 200 KB, too big to post in this forum. So, I open my free Photobucket account, and use the"browse" feature to find the picture in my PC file and then upload it to my Photobucket album. This reduces the picture file size to 100 KB or less. Then I use the forum's "Add Image" options to copy the picture from Photobucket to the post. There's another way to reduce the file size (see below). I use the Photobuck option because I can use the "Direct Link" code for the Photobucket file to put more than one photo in a post (Cayugad taught me this trick).

Another Way: e-mail the picture from your PC picture file to yourself. The picture e-mail system gives you the option to reduce the picture size. Then open your e-mail and save the smaller picture to a special file folder (I created a "forum pictures" folder). Then you can use the "Embed picture in post" feature of this forum to copy the picture from your special folder to your post.

Did ANY of this make sense?? I got confused just writing it.
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Old 05-14-2008, 06:41 PM
  #8  
Nontypical Buck
 
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Default RE: Do You Plan Your Range Sessions?

ummmmm what? lol just kidding. I like to use photobucet as well.

Do you have it saved as a word doc? Maybe email it to me? [email protected]

Thanks

H.A.
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Old 05-14-2008, 07:24 PM
  #9  
Boone & Crockett
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Default RE: Do You Plan Your Range Sessions?

Don't have it as a word document, only in Microsoft Works. I sent you what I have. If you can't get it to print, let me know and I'll try to figure out something else.

The target would be fairly easy to build in Word. Set the side margins at .5 and the top and bottom margins at .25. Set everything for Center Alignment, then create a Table with 7 columns and 9 rows, with column width and row height set at "excatly 1 inch". That will give you the basic grid and you can build pretty much anything you want from there.
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Old 05-14-2008, 07:34 PM
  #10  
Boone & Crockett
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Default RE: Do You Plan Your Range Sessions?

Hey Gander, just had a thought about the fouling you are experiencing. What powder are you using? I'm using 3F GOEX.
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