Range Day for a Bison
 

Today I was checking a rifle I will hunt with. It was my WHITE BISON in .504 caliber. The rifle has a 4x32mm Simmons Pro Diamond scope. According to notes it said..

65 grains of Pyrodex RS or Triple Seven 2f and a 460 gr conical bullet. Sighted in at 35 yards. (the gun card information)



The rifle was never swabbed. I was shooting a .5045 conical made by Bull Shop Conicals. I also tried some conicals a person sent me that they wanted to see how the White handled them..

I lost count of the number of shots I took. I would guess over ten. As the box of conicals was new and now there is a top row missing. This is a good shooting close range rifle. But when I got the rifle it was abused. The barrel is in ROUGH SHAPE. But with the short 22 inch barrel, this is a good stalking rifle, other then because of the Myrtle wood stock it is kind of heavy.

I then got out the test conicals. They are 433 grain and were sized according to the maker at .501 diameter. The rifle has a .504 barrel but a .504 is tight. So I was a little concerned. I noted when loading the test conicals.. they all but fell down the barrel. That did not worry me at first. And I decided to use Pyrodex P 65 grains to test them. Now remember, I was aiming at the center bulls eye!!



Kind of a perfect keyhole there. I was shocked. I just could not believe the White threw shots like this. I checked the rings.. they were fine. I checked the rifle, they were fine. Now granted.. the Pyrodex P was down to the last few shots in the jug, and the powder is very old. But I mean.. WOW!!

So to check the rifle, I loaded some of the bull shop conicals and the Pyrodex powder..



I was aiming between the keyhole shots and fired off a number of the Bull Shop conicals.. I don't think it was the rifle. So it has to be the conical bullets they wanted tested. So the answer is... THEY ARE NOT THAT GOOD FOR ME.

I ran out of Pyrodex P finally so I moved the target back to 70 yards... I picked out a new part of the target in the lower right hand corner is a small bulls eye



I could tell the rifle was finally starting to get dirty, but even at 70 yards it shot good. I'd definitely attempt a 70 yard shot from a good rest.

The White had a MISFIRE today. I aimed, pulled the trigger and all I heard was the cap fire. I thought.. what the White failed? Checked the nipple after removing the spent cap and there was a perfect copper seal in the inside of that nipple. I picked that out, and all was back to normal.

This rifle is ready!!

That is crazy the way those conicals keyholed. Do you think it is because they were so loose? Even then I wouldn't think they would do that. Could you post a pic of the bullet?
Part of what makes that Bison so heavy is that bull barrel. I have two bisons, a .540 and a .504 and both of them shoot great. Nothing fancy about them, just a good meat and potatoes rifle.
Art

I shot them off. They sent me five of them to try.

That .540 Bison must be a bear to shoot. That would be so cool a conical that large. Does it also shoot with around 70 grains of powder?

Dave, can you believe how well a 22" barreled White can shoot??? I picked up a 504 Whitelightning a month back and I am amazed at that little rifles abiliy to shoot.

Question or thought... my 504 bore on the Umag is a smidge bigger than the 504 on the Whitelightning... a 504 Bull Shop will go right to the bottom in the umag with just the weight of the ram rod, yet the same bullet in the Lightning does require some push down the bore. So I am wondering does your Bison have a slightly tighter bore than the UMag?

Guess it really doesn't matter - I am going to send you some bullets to shoot but you do need a + sized 50 cal bore. When you get them if you would pop off a few, would like to know your results and/or thoughts...

Awesome shooting by the way...

I believe the Bison has a slightly smaller bore then my U mag. The .451 only has the short barrel and that thing is just deadly accurate. Does the Lightening have a bull barrel also?

I have found that it shoots well with 70 to 75 grains. The only thing I have shot out of it is the 535 grain No Excuse conical. You know it really doesn't push back all that hard with that load. My .504 has a laminated stock and for one reason or another that one punishes me more than the .540.

That is throwing a lot of lead. Anything it hits is in for a very bad day. One reason I often shoot the 500 grain conicals in the Ultra Mag. It just makes me feel better...

Doc talks about shooting a 750 grainer out of the Bison but I think that is a little over the top. :happy0157::happy0157::happy0157:
My .540 has the composite stock, I bedded the action in it and it seems to be a nice combination. I sanded a little off one side of the barrel channel on the muzzle end as it seemed to be pushing the barrel a little to the right. I think I need to get that rifle out again real soon. :party0005:

That is some fine shooting.

yep 22" of all bull... and the any on the recieving end knows it right away...

Pete, aint that a tapered barrel on the lightning?

That is some outstanding shooting with a peep sight. And all I ever heard about that model rifle Sabotloader is how well they shot.

Yes, it is slightly tapered but it is a very thick barrel... I forgot who made these barrels... Doc told me when I called him but I have lost it... but I think I might be able to find it...

Found it... It is a Wilson...

Doc's words...The rarest WHITE rifle, so rare I didn't have one in my collection for a while. Only 2000 were made in 1994 and all were sold by 1995. Wilson made the barreled actions and did such a great job that no Lightning rifle has ever been returned because of accuracy problems. I have never had one traded in, ever!
The barrel and action were one piece in one inch diameter, the only caliber was .504 with a slightly tapered 22 inch barrel , the lightweight SG-series action (SG means Small G) was a mirror image of the Whitetail and Bison actions only with the cocking handle on the right and the trigger safety on the left. Internal parts were otherwise the same as all other G-Series rifles except the hammer, which the idiot machinists made slightly larger. Stocks were lightweight Birch, painted black with a rubber recoil pad. Weight was right at 6 lbs. I never saw an inaccurate one.

As you can see, the Bison has a bull barrel.

I think they have a Wilson Barrel as well. They were the bottom of the line G series rifle. If White actually had a bottom of the line.

Bottom of the line Whites are better than some Top of the line guns on the market today, as far as function and accuracy, as well as durability and dependabity goes. My opinion of course ,

While they are older technology, and therefore not as appealing to many, White rifles were made with very high quality parts. Also the innovation of their twist and rifling cuts, made them the accurate shooters we see today. If one can over look the limitations of the rifle reference powder and ignition choices, when they shoot one, all that seems to no longer matter.

From Doc's site on the Bison:


An original production WHITE Bison rifle. Bison rifles may be found with any of the stocks found on the Whitetail. All were the best bargain in muzzleloading, being accurate and hard-hitting with reduced recoil. Stock design was functionally elegant.
THIS WHITE BISON WAS BASED ON THE G-SERIES ACTION, SAME AS IN THE WHITETAIL, AND WAS PROBABLY THE MOST STABLE RIFLE THAT WHITE EVER PRODUCED. FEW OF THEM EVER COME BACK, PROBABLY BECAUSE OF THE STRAIGHT BULL BARREL. THEY ARE ALMOST ALWAYS SUPER ACCURATE. ODDLY, THEY WERE THE NEXT TO CHEAPEST RIFLE PRODUCED (the White-Lightning was the least expensive), AND WERE A REAL VALUE FOR THE MONEY. FEATURES ARE SIMILAR TO THE WHITE WHITETAIL EXCEPT FOR THE HEAVIER BARREL AND DOVETAILED SIGHTS. THE REAR SIGHT IS A WILLIAMS ADJUSTABLE, THE FRONT IS A BRASS BEAD. THERE AREN'T MANY AROUND AND WHITE MUZZLELOADING SEES ONLY A FEW.

I think you are right - the crown on your barrel looks like the one on mine, so I am thinking Wilson also.

I agree. They went with the clerke barrels with the model 97's and model 98's.