Shooting Conicals
 

I went out to try the NE460 conicals today in my KP1. I didn't have a wad and I couldn't get them to impact high enough. I think it was not getting a good seal. At 50 yards I was about 8 inches low with the sights maxed out. I only shot a couple of them after I figured this out.

I ordered some .510 .125" wads from TOTW but I think they are backordered and I am not sure how long it will be until I get them.

My question is will this help with my impact point by getting a better seal?

These are the first conicals I have attempted to shoot and I couldn't wait to get the wads in to try them.

I started at 70gr of 777 fffg and went up to 90 and it made a little difference but not enough.

RE: Shooting Conicals
 

How did they group for you?

RE: Shooting Conicals
 

I didn't shoot enough times to see if they were grouping good. However they were all withinabout 2 inches left and right. I kept moving the sights up and upping the powder each time so it kept getting a little higher. The first two were almost touching even with the sight adjustment.

Could be the shooter though. I was using open sights but on a bench.

RE: Shooting Conicals
 

Did those .503s load pretty easily in your KP1? I can load .504s in mine without much effort.Me and iron sights don't agree these days. I remove them and slap on a scope... so I can't offer you much help with the irons. I seriously doubt the wads will gain you much at all so far as elevation. You should probably be thinking about a new, higher rear sight (or a lower front). You might give Knight a call and see what they suggest.

RE: Shooting Conicals
 

I agree with UC, doubt you can make up 8 inches with a wad. I say also lower front or higher rear sight.

Sometimes raising the charge actually lowers the POI. Weird, but true.

Until you get some new sights, you can still find the sweet spot with these bullets. For that, it doesn't really matter where they are hitting, only that they are grouping, so just fire 3 shots with each load before going to another one. That way, when you get some new wads/sights, you will already have your load, just have to adjust your sight.

RE: Shooting Conicals
 

The first thing I would look at is whether the bullets are the correct diameter for your bore. How easy do they slide down? Can you shake it off the powder by holding the gun muzzle down and shaking it up and down hard? If so, you need to consider a slightly larger diameter bullet. Sometimes a difference of .001" is all it takes. NE does have at least a couple of sizes for their bullets. Getting the correctsize will help in sealing the bore and getting the best performance out of them.

At 70 grains 777 your velocity is probably about 1200 fps and at that speed the total drop from bore axis is around 3" at 50 yards. The difference your seeing is probably a combination of the point of exit in the barrel vibration (low point of vibration) and the sights (or sightingtechnique)you have. At 90 grains 777 my guns push that bullet between 1450 and 1500 fpswhich givesa total drop of about a 1/4" at 50 yards.

Are you seeing about a 2.75" difference in point of impact between those two loadings without adjusting the sights?

Either way you will probably want to look into the lower front sight (so the rear sight doesn't get too high, unless you need it higher) to help get the impact up where it needs to be. If you are using a 6 o'clock hold, that can cause the impact to be lower than a dead on hold. I personally like to use a peep sight when I'm not using a scope, it just seems to work better for me than regular iron sights.

RE: Shooting Conicals
 

By my estimation, you need either a rear that is .100 to .125" higher (or a front that is that much lower). The sights are Williams Firesights and Williams ( 800-530-9028 ) might be able to sell you an inexpensive insert to go in that rear that would cure your problem. Give them a call if Knight doesn't fix you up.

RE: Shooting Conicals
 

Why not switch to pyrodex? I remember posts on here long ago telling people to switch to pyrodex as it will make your POI higher due to the pressure difference.

RE: Shooting Conicals
 

Thanks for all the comments and suggestions. I sent Knight an email to see what they would reccommend. The NE460 that I have are .503 and they do load very easy. I have only ever shot Sabots and I thought they would load easier from what I have read. I am not sure if they will fall off the powder if I shake it but I will try that. I was going to order some from the Bull shop but I went to Japan and when I got back and around to ordering them he was not accepting orders any more. I am trying to work up a load to go elk hunting the first of Oct so that leaves the Bull shop out.

RE: Shooting Conicals
 

If you get a 3/8" black Iron pipe you can sharpen it and cut wool felt wads your self. I do it all the time and they help a bunch. Ron