Simmons Pro Diamond 4x32mm on .45 GMB
 

I have been having so much fun shooting the Green Mountain Barrels on a Renegade stock, that I changed over to a .45 caliber Stainless Steel Green Mountain Barrel today.

Rifle: T/C Renegade stock w/ .45 cal SS GMB
Scope: Simmons Pro Diamond 4x32mm
Powder: Goex 3f RWS caps
Sabot: Harvester 45/40 crushed rib sabot
Projectile: Speer Gold Dot 180 grain 40 cal & Hornady 200 gr XTP 40 cal
Distance: 52 yards according to range finder
Weather: 16º windy cold and snowing (not real nice out)

As I sat in the house today, feeding the wood stove I wondered what I could do? It was snowing outside, and kind of windy. I wanted to shoot but talked myself out of it twice. Third time was a charm though, I gave in.

I loaded the .45 caliber Green Mountain Barrel with the 180 grain Speer Gold Dot hollow points first. These are a 10mm or .40 caliber bullet if you like. I used the light blue Harvester Crushed Rib sabot with them. They loaded very smooth, as best I can describe it. Not hard to push down, but with some resistance. I used my range rod.

I settled in behind the bench rest and all felt good, other then the wind that was blowing across my face from right to left. Also it was snowing pretty good. But I like snow. This rifle has a better scope then the one I was shooting the other day. This one cost $39.99 instead of $25.99. Always nice to step up. It also has a 50 yard parallax. So the glass was clear and bright.



The first shot, while it was disappointing after I saw the other four, did not surprise me. Using my spotting scope, I have been able to save my legs from trudging through the snow with my bad knee. Like I said, the first shot I will take. It was on a clean barrel. The next four really made me smile. I was swabbing between shots with pure 70% isopropyl alcohol. Being outside, I wanted something that would help dry the bore besides the patches I was using.

I then went and swabbed the barrel clean. And actually took my time swabbing it. I even popped two caps through it, and then dry patched it again, just to make sure all was clear and clean.

I wanted to compare the 200 grain Hornady XTPs to the Speer. So I loaded the Hornady 200 grain XTPs with the 85 grains of Goex 3f and shot that three shot group. It surprised me that it hit low and left. Could the cross wind have played a factor? It did not seem to bother the Gold Dots before.

While the group is not all that bad, like I said... the position of it surprised me. So much in fact I decided to shoot the Speer again and see if it was the rifle, the bullet, or the fact I was getting cold. Especially my fingers.



I shot three of the Speer and was very pleased to see that they were hitting in the same place. Again, I swabbed between each and every shot.

My swabbing was made simple this time. I had a damp patch that I used for three swabs before I discarded. Then I had two dry patches that followed. After the three swabs, I moved one of the dry patches to the damp patch and added another dry. It seemed to work just fine, using them over and over like that.

Has anyone shot a deer with the 180 grain Speer Gold Dots 10mm? This is IMO getting pretty light in the projectile department. A round ball for instance is 177 grains. And bigger to boot. And we know how people feel about them. Although I am guessing that because of the construction of the bullet, it should hold together and expand well. That's why I am asking about any hunting experience one might have.

85 grains is not a lot of powder to some I know, but it sure is a pleasant load to shoot.

That's some nice shooting in bad weather. I have used the 200 XTP on deer but not the 180 Gold Dot. Based on the 200 XTP's performance, I would think the 180 Gold Dot would do just fine on deer, especially if you don't push it too hard. Should be like a heavy .357 mag load shot out of a rifle.

Well that is good to know. That sure is a sweet load to shoot out of that heavy rifle barrel.

A timely and interesting post Cayugad.

I too am curious about the .40/180 grain Gold Dot on deer. It fact, I'd already planned to switch to my .45 GM/LRH Renegade after (if) I take a deer with the .50 Renne and 250 grain GD's that I'm hunting with right now.

After my experience last year taking two does with the .40/200 grain XTP/s, I'm confident the 180 GD's will do the job just fine.

My blued barrel also carries a 4X ProDiamond and is no slouch with those bullets.

Check out these 100 and 125 yard targets.





As you can see on target #70, the eighty-five grain load of GOEX FFFg gave me a three-shot average velocity of 1747 f.p.s. That bullet is still hauling along at close to 1400 f.p.s. at 100 yards and is still over 1200 f.p.s. at 150 yards.

Now a .357 Magnum Revolver with a 7.5" barrel and top loaded 180 grain bullet will get something around 1400 f.p.s. at the muzzle and around 1200 fps at 50 yards. I think you would agree that any deer shot at point blank range (or 50 yards) with a well constructed 180 grain bullet from a .357 Mag Ruger Blackhawk would be in serious trouble.

Semisane... that is some excellent information. That is what I wanted to know. I was surprised how well the rifle handled that small bullet. I personally think that if it were placed say in the heart or even lungs at a moderate range, it would be more then lethal.

Also that is some good shooting there.

After posting those targets at 100 and 125 yards, I got to thinking that I had probably shot a 150 yard target also. I just checked and, sure enough, I did. Here it is.



Now for me, a three inch group at 150 yards with a sidelock and 4X scope is doing pretty well. The center of the group is four inches below point of aim, which jives pretty well with that trajectory chart. As you know Cayugad, the heavy crosshairs on that shotgun scope cover about an inch and a half width on the target at that range. So sighting on a paper target at long range is less precise than with higher magnification and finer cross hairs.

I suspect the shift of the group two inches to the right has to do with the fact that on the Renegade the scope is offset about a quarter-inch to the left of the center line of the barrel (although it could well have been my sighting error). Does anyone have any experience or an opinion on that?

Another question Cayugad, regarding that very first shot out of the clean barrel with the Gold Dot (actually two). Did you swab the bore with alcohol before loading? Had that bore been treated with Montana Xtreme?

I did swab the bore before loading and then ran three dry patches and popped three #11 RWS caps through it. This rifle has not been treated with a bore conditioner. I protect it with Break Free.

I am guessing that your rifle is sighted in at 100 yards?

Something you might be interested in.. the Simmons Pro Diamond has that box surrounding the center of the cross hairs. The Simmons Pro Sport does not. It just has fine cross hairs. Actually the two scopes are crystal clear. I am more then pleased with the quality of the glass.

Yes, it's sighted in for 100. But it's really a flat shooting load. It' about 1/2" high at 50 and 1/4" high at 75. Unless you shoot a really tight group at each distance you can hardly tell the difference at any range out to 100.

I knew the ProSport had fine cross hairs. They would sure be better for target work. But for practical hunting situations and low light I really like that diamond and the heavy cross hairs.