Testing Lehigh 250 grain .452 in Genesis
 

A while back I was sent some Lehigh 250 grain .452 bullets to try. I want to use them hunting this year if possible. So I wanted to see how the Genesis likes them.

Now the 50 caliber stainless steel barrel Genesis has a Nikon Omega 3-9x40mm scope on it. I had shot the rifle last time with BlackHorn 209 at 100 yards approximately. So I was sure it would be close at 70 yards. I set up the target and marched back to the bench to discover three readings on the range finder.. 70, 72, and 69. So I accepted 70 as the reading. It was a hot, sunny, bright sun actually, little wind kind of a day. The target in the shadows of the woods looked real good.

I was going to shoot more BlackHorn today, but really wanted to try Pyrodex RS pellets. My Genesis likes Pyrodex pellets for some reason. I know the Lehigh 250 should be pushed hard, but I am not a large powder charge shooter. So I started out with just two pellets. These were with a MMP hph 24 sabot.



While not in the bulls eye, I really could not argue the grouping. Then I loaded the next. I should point out I was swabbing with dishwater. And immediately after pushing it into the bore, I noticed how easy it went in. Looking at my sabots I could see there were a few Harvester Crushed Rib sabots in the bag. I am positive I grabbed one of them. As with the MMP the rifle loaded stiff, with this combination, it went down very easy.



So I will take a sabot blame on that one not being in the same hole. Then thinking... Lehigh can take a hard charge I figured... why not.

I swabbed the rifle clean, and loaded three pellets and took three shots.



Well the rifle did not like that combination at all. Being low on the Lehigh, I then got out a pack of 300 grain Hornady SST bullets with supplied sabots. The sabots if I had to guess would be MMP HPH 24.

I swabbed the bore of the barrel clean before I started.. I loaded 2 of the pellets and shot.



#1 on a clean bore was pretty good. 2-8 other then #4 and #7 were real good. Although I noted the barrel of the rifle was VERY HOT at this point. I mean, can't hold it hot. So I am not surprised it was acting up.

So I swabbed the barrel clean again, let the rifle cool down, and moved the target back to 100 yards...



At 100 yards my 2 pellet SST POA was the cross hair and heart of that little deer. I missed the center but made a Wisconsin heart shot with the first one. The next two were even further left.

Hard to understand, could be the heat, change of powder, a number of things.. but the rifle was dead center shooting last time. Now it shot to the left a little. Not a lot, but a little.

I think 2 pellets and that 250 grain Lehigh could be a real good load, once I get it centered up. Should be a good open field shooter. But I want to try some of them out of the rifle with the BlackHorn and then decided from there what powder to use, should I hunt hay fields this year.

Dave, I think the two pellet load and the Lehigh looks great... MD complains that the brass bullets wil not shoot well enough for him but those two shots look awful good to me.

There may be a harmonic problem going on with that barrel and higher more explosive powder loads. That could very well be the reason for the group opening up a bit...

I only had a few of the 250gr Lehighs and i forgot how they shot. I did have problems getting the 200gr 40cal to shoot as good as Barnes 195s or 200gr SSTs in the Elite. They would probably do better in my faster twist 45. The Lehigh 40-185gr though shot just fine and so does the 275gr 458 in the 52cal.

Dave not trying to hi-jak the thread but this post interests me... Lehigh Dave has said the length of the 40-200 makes it marginal in a 1-30 Knight.... Yet on the other hand it shoots light out for me from my DISC Elite... Scotty could this be a function of elevation. I know Dave say a velocity of 2300 should make them very accurate from the 1-30, but I am shooting them with 110 of T7 getting around 2150 fps.

I would say that you can't argue with either bullet. Both look like they will be good meat getters.

Dave my Genesis has not seen the light of day in a long time. Then you go and post this and makes me want to her out. Mine loved 2 pellets also and anything I pushed down her including the FPB's. Great shooting in an low cost gun. Think I paid $199 for mine.(camo-stainless)

I purchased this Genesis on sale too. I forget what I paid but it was like 50% of what they were originally asking. Mine also likes that 100 grain area. Any more then that an it seems to get bullet selective. Those SST's in 300 grain should do a number on a deer also. I know some have had bad experiences with the SSTs but others have had great luck. I want to try field hunting this year if my friend can get me in.

Mike what would you guess 2 pellets would push that Lehigh at? I want to figure some ballistics on it.

I think I have that number gotta go look on the other computer - I will get back at ya...

Found it... I would say 1750-1800 fps...

thanks.. I GUESSED 1600 fps so I was not too far off.

Dave do you want me to mail you a chrono to use for the fall/winter?

No thanks.. I really would hate setting one up and besides that, I have hinted to a friend that I would like one. We will see how well she takes a hint.

They really are fun to play with. I have the ProChrono Pal ($110 at Cabala's with free shipping if you have a Cabala's card.) and it does everything I need done. Just be sure to buy or make a shield if you shoot sabots over it. Also, a cheap second hand store camera tripod makes it easier to set up.

A shield is easy to make if you have some plexiglass. Drill four hole for the rods and bend it with heat from a torch. It looks like this.

http://www.amazon.com/Competition-El...ords=prochrono

Has anyone shot through a Chronograph at 100 yards? I would love to shoot through one to confirm what ballistics programs say. I just can't muster up the guts to do it. My Chronograph is one of the last Ohler 35's before they stopped making them. I understand that they are back up and running but i don't want to risk it. Ron

as accurate as your guns are ron, i wouldnt have ever though to see the day when you worried of hitting something you weren't aiming at :D

I know what you mean... but it is done. I would also suggest that you remove the sky screens, so it need to be a cloudy day, and set the chrono lower than you might normally set it. I would also suggested you shoot 3-4 shots to verify your sight picure POA and POI then set the chrono to clear.

With the accuracy of your rifles and you doing the shooting I would think you would not have problem at all.

Yup, just did it today.............4 times. No problem today, but in the past i have clipped one of the support rods.

100 yard clock shoot.

The advantage of the Ohler is there isn't much chance you would hit the actual instrument.

It wouldn't bother me except the Ohler 35 was about 600.00 back when I got it. I am sure they are not any cheaper now.
The Ohler has a generous window to shoot through but things happen.

When I was shooting 3D archery we had steel targets. The soft spot was anywhere from the size of a silver dollar to the size of the mouth of a 5 gallon bucket. no matter how good the shooters were anyone at any time can hit the steel.

Now that the Ohler is back in production I could get parts but still. It is a risk. It is kind of a William Tell thing shooting an apple off his son's head. Ron

Well one thing it will make you concentrate on being consistent in each step of the loading process!:confused2:

No the actual brains of the thing are safe but the eyes are at risk. Hitting a sky screen with a large conical is very possible with the length that the eyes are at. The tube that the eyes sit on is 4 foot long if I remember right. I thought about using black cardboard and making sky screens. I might get the guts some day. We'll see. Ron

That is for sure.:happy0001: Ron

Ron what is the viagra advertisement on your thread? Ron

So that chronograph works better on cloudy days? My worry would be a flier trying that stunt. It never seems to fail me.. I have a great group going, take a final shot, everything feels perfect, check the target and can not figure out... why did that one shot take a nose dive, or sail like it did?

Dave if there is direct sunlight on the sensor windows it will not read the bullet passing over... so the sky screens help that problem... If you shoot early in the morning or late at night when the sun angle is down the chrono will work just fine...

At the muzzle the flyer is not a problem and even at the target if the chrono is set correctly it would really have to be a bad miss...