desert deuce wrote: ↑Sun Jun 13, 2021 7:11 am
by VectorMan » Wed May 05, 2021 11:12 am
I have deferred commenting on KA's post referenced above long enough.
Thank you Kevin, that is exactly the level of pertinent information that is useful to those that cannot sit and chat with you in person.
Thank you ZT. Coming from you, is a huge compliment.
I have had a lot more to say on my Lodi experience but life in the past few weeks has been full of drastic high and lows.
Not so much my Lodi experience as what my thoughts now are on long range compared to before I had ever fired a shot. Now I have a completely different view. I had several misconceptions about BPTR’s and what it takes to shoot well at 1000 yards, mostly based on what I have read here on the internet. I am in no way an expert on shooting BPTR’s, I am now what is called a beginner.
One of my 1st misconceptions was that you have to have a 45-90, 45-100 or the infamous 45-110 that Quigley drilled the bucket with in the movie. That misconception was from the constant reading on numerous forums of what you needed. I have nothing against anyone who has any and shoots those longer cartridges, but when trying to advise a person as to what caliber they need for shooting accurately at 1000 yards, a regular old 45-70 is the answer. If they can’t get it to shoot well at 1000, chances are if they pick one of those long cased 45’s, they wont get it to shoot well either.
A few years ago I new at some point I was going to shoot in a 1000 yard match sooner or later, so I set out to have at least 2 long range BPTR’s. The 1st one I got was a old used Farmingdale Shiloh in 45-70 with the lighter barrrel and the standard long freebore that most all of them had. The barrel didn’t matter to me, all that mattered was I needed a rifle that I was going to put a heavy 1.3” diameter Krieger barrel on with the 1-16 twist and have it chambered in 45-70. This gun was built to take out west and shoot the Tollifson class and I felt I needed the 16 twist and set trigger to shoot at the 1000 yard to be accurate and the heavy barrel to lay in the sticks and help with the recoil, again to help with my concentration for accuracy in a match. I have 3K in that rifle, I’m sure it can be super accurate, I do not know, its crying in the safe to be let out to play. It will be someday.
My 2nd BPTR for long range is a Meacham High Wall in 45-100 with a 32” Ron Smith gain twist barrel. This is a dream rifle to shoot. The action is the best I have ever had the pleasure to fire. Pure silk. That rifle is well over 3K, again, I’m sure it can be one of the most accurate rifles I will ever shoot if only I had the time. Don’t get me wrong, Iove both of those rifles, but they were not needed for being accurate at 1000 yards.
You see, the highest score shot at 1000 yards at Lodi was done with a factory standard Browning BPCR 1885 in 45-70. No set trigger, no 1-16 fast twist barrel, and no 100 grains of powder, yes It was just me and my rifle. The top 2 day aggregate at 1000 yards at Lodi was shot with a Browning BPCR 1885 in 45-70 also, by Todd I believe. And the overall winner of 1000, 900, and 800 yard aggregate was yes, a 45-70.
The point I’m trying to make is to the individual who has never shot at 1000 yards and wants to but doesn’t quite know what caliber to do it with or how much and what kind of rifle to attempt it with. Let me put it this way, at the end of the 2 day Lodi weekend, of the overall top 8 aggregate shooters, 4 of them were using probably the cheapest rifle to acquire to get into this sport and one of the easiest to load for. The Browning BPCR. 6 of the top 8 were shooting a 45-70, the other 2, one was a 40-65 and then there is Steve F. I do not know what he shoots but it shoots well from coast to coast. What I also do not know is the equipment list for the entire field, hell they might all have been shooting 45-70’s. IMHO a guy who wants to try a 1000 yard match, get a quality 45-70 and shoot it, a bunch. If in the end it don’t work out or its just not your cup of tea, the 45-70 will sell fast or it can be used for a lot of other matches and its easy to load for.
Now don’t all of you long cased 45 shooters get sand in your vagina and think I’m bashing anything other than a 45-70. I am not. They are cool and accurate also. And yes my 45-70 is loaded to say a 45-77 and a lot of the other 45-70 are loaded well over 70 grains, closer to a 45-90 I’d expect. Just like a lot of those 45-110 shooters are loading them down well below 110 grains.
There are a couple things I learned at Lodi. The 45-70 at 1000 is more that adequate and the old Browning BPCR’s are still holding there own since haven’t been made since 1998. Another thing I learned was you CAN use a Browning BPCR with the factory drilled holes,Steve Earle rail, and DZ scope with rings and reach 1000 yards, but theres a trick to it. Yes Wayne, it should be an additional article in your book.
Now back to regular life stuff till next time.
KA