Results of first shots with new Shiloh

[BFD]

They would work for me.

[Distant Thunder]

D.,

"card or poly at .460"

Ok, then you just misstated the size as .450" in one post, no problem. At .460" you are where you want to be. Those will work great, the poly wads. Even if you do use card or veggie or fiber wads they should be .459-.460" and .060+/- thick for best results. I have in the past successfully used .045" O.J. carton wads in my .50-70 and .44-100 with PPB but I just don't use anything other than the poly wads now. It is just a matter of having one wad material to keep up with and I can cut wads for whatever caliber I'm working with. The poly wads always seem to work for me and most often better than any other kind. It's a simple choice.

DT

[D. Taylor Sapergia]

Perfect...I'll load a batch for testing. Many thanks.

Taylor

[D. Taylor Sapergia]

Well I'm back with my next report.
I loaded 20 rounds with 84.5 gr. weighed Swiss 1 1/2 Fg leaving just enough room to thumb press a .053" card wad into the case. I compressed the card and powder leaving .110" for the bullet. And this is the result: two groups at 100 meters from rest at 1.6" and 1.9".

I have yet to try this load using a poly disc/wad, but that's next.

100_8205.JPG

[bruce m]

your groups might be better than you think.
even at that range buyllets move with air movement.
your groups are wider than they are high, and the height looks good.
keep safe,
bruce.

[D. Taylor Sapergia]

Thanks Bruce. More testing is in order for sure. Such is the joy of a new rifle.

I read an article in BP Cartridge news which said that some shooters patch their bullets too high. When I thought about that, it occurred to me that that could be I. The patch is shrunk onto the bullet and if it is just slightly above the trunk or cylindrical section, going up onto the ogive, the rifling cannot cut it there and the patch may have difficulty leaving the slug at the muzzle. So I will load a batch with a shorter patch and see if there is a difference, all else remaining the same.

[bruce m]

your systematic approach is to be applauded, and will save you much work.
with regard patch height, your confetti will tell you if it is being cut to the full length.
better to patch too long and slowly shorten patches, than start too short and get leading.
leading will really muddy the waters of a good testing system.
some guys get 1 good result and think they have arrived.
you are now at the stage of only (hopefully) finding small improvements.
due to variables with light, air movement, and how well you can see or shoot on a given day, sometimes it helps to shoot your best so far against the new test, in the one seaaion, or you might get a false reading.
you are pretty close to benefiting from testing further out to establish vert capability.
keep safe,
bruce.

[Kenny Wasserburger]

With a proper wad stack, 16-1 alloy, the bullet will upset only to the top of the patch, and I use a fairly short patch. Too long a patch can cause problems in my experience.

Oh I use FG or 1-1/2 Olde Eynsford, it seems to work rather well, even to 1 mile.

A 10-1 alloy bullet was also recently tested in a long range match, it shot exceptionally well.

Kenny Wasserburger

[D. Taylor Sapergia]

This is all most encouraging lads. I will surely post results as I go along, good and bad. This will likely just confirm all the advice and observations you have made, but that's a good thing too. I am fortunate to have had Shiloh make such a magnificent rifle.

[bruce m]

kenny,
that is interesting about the 10:1 bullet.
the 16:1 thing has become de rigeur, and people are scared to go harder, but they do bump up ok.
for those 16:1 guys wanting to try harder, a gentle way to go is 14:1,and when that works, 12:1.
i have yet to be made aware of any odg using harder than 11:1.
more tin than 1 part to 10 will not go harder.
congrats on having a go.
keep safe,
bruce.

[D. Taylor Sapergia]

Is there an advantage to shooting harder bullets than 25:1...risk of slump, etc?

[bpcr shooter]

Is there an advantage to shooting harder bullets than 25:1...risk of slump, etc?

yes!! You anwsweed your own question. with the long nose bullets we are trying to shoot going soft is not good!!! we are not hunting with these just poking holes in paper or slamming them into steel. I am shooting 16-1 now but doing experiments with harder.

[D. Taylor Sapergia]

I was surprised to read Bruce's note that 16:1 will bump ok...my concern was that the bore sized patched bullet in a hard alloy would not work, but the more I read here, the more I see that I have nought to worry about. Another bunch of loads to try, then!!

[bruce m]

i use 12:1 quite happily and by choice.
they have a little less drop at long range than 16:1, suggesting lower drag on the noses.
the somewhere between 1 and 2 moa drop reduction at 1000 yds is neither here nor there, as you just wind the sight accordingly, but there will be a commensurate reduction in wind deflection which might translate to an extra point.
the reduction in bullet setback was proven by having to shorten the patch just a little to get cutting to the front.
keep safe,
bruce.

[Kurt]

Looking at these bullet noses can you see any reason why you would get more drag with the 1/18 over the 1/10 ? they all had the same powder and load, same wad stack same rifle.

What you are looking at on 10 and 12 is gas cuts.

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