It seems that one can have a very good load at 800 yards produces a good score. The same load doesn’t do so shiny at 900 yards, for various reasons. Most often it’s believed conditions are the reason. Yet as the day progresses to 1000 yards conditions are often similar to 900 or more pronounced. This is often the case at Byers, Raton and Phoenix. Yet the same load used at 900 shoots a better score at 1000.
So do we need a 900 yard load, me thinks yes, possibly, maybe. This is a good question for us Creedmoor shooters both traditional on steel and especially so on paper.
At my match on Labor Day weekend I shot a decent 800 yard score but well below my capabilities. Mostly I attribute this to match jitters and all the work putting on this historic event. Possibly also still getting used to a brand new rifle with about only 45-55 rounds through it before the match started.
By 900 I was more comfortable and posted the top score at that range, my best ever in fact.
At 1000 myself and Don Johnson tied with the 2nd highest score but 8 points behind Dave Gullo who bested John and I by 10 points. In fact Dave set a new Range record of 48/50.
My reasons for posting this question today stems from my own less than stellar performance at Byers a good part of this I can attribute to all the work we put in at the range the days before the match, Michael, myself and Rick. Trying to sleep at night and worrying about what did we forget. Targets, shot markers, repair tape, scoring disks, spares of both shot markers and score disks. Water, coolers and paste for new centers, new centers located station for pasting. Lots going on. The fact this was my 3rd match of the month from the ranch to Big Whisky, back to Gillette then Byers, making dang sure I didn’t forget anything. Like the white board, squading sheet, score cards, envelopes for shooters packet.
But in my haste to get to Byers 3 days early to get stuff done, I had to reload ammo from my match after getting home from Big Whisky. In my haste I dropped powder and used the wrong setting on my charge master. 92.5 grs of 1.5 Swiss vrs what my correct load should of been 93.5 grs.
I only discovered this when I got home, my notes confirmed that I had noted the compression was avg .080 less than my original fire form loads. I at the time contributed this to the expanded case from fire forming. I was categorically wrong on that. This starline 45-100 is a snug perfect fit brand new to the Shiloh chamber. I had annealed the brass before loading the original fire form loads. A quick inspection upon my return from Byers found the capacity of the fire case was unchanged from the new case. I slip fit my original Paul Jones Money bullet with a slightest of belling. That I remove while seating the bullet with a Vickerman seating die.
The results were telling on this reduced load, at 800 it shot ok scores in the conditions a 90 day 1, day two a 61 in some ripping conditions. Not great but not horrible. At 900 the wheels fell off and scores were in the tank, while my shooting partner Lu, was racking up damn fine scores with her new Shiloh 45-90. At 1000 the poor scores continued, I knew something was wrong. I had one of the better spotters, with Jimbo spotting for both Lucinda and myself.
My load wasn’t up to snuff from 900 on out, that was apparent.
So do we need a 900 yard load? Or will a 900 yard load suffice at 800, and 1000 yards.
Kenny Wasserburger
