Finally shooting the no.2 Musket again!
Posted: Sun Jul 02, 2023 12:02 pm
Due to some vague 'works', about the only range where BP can be shot here was closed down for 6 weeks. Today was the 1st time I was able to drag the no.2 Musket match rifle out of the safe for some fun.
After setting up target at 300m, I did notice I only had a 200m ISSF target along, so it was a case of make do. I hadn't shot this rifle for at least 5 months, so I needed to get back into it. For short range, I currently use my 32-20, so this rifle is only used at longer ranges. It is a bit of a powder hog...
This is a large Westley-Richards Francotte Martini ZAR action barreled with an Eichelberger 1:16" barrel, Mike Neuman tang sight and PH7 front. The cartridge is the Brit 500/450 no.2 Musket, so a .500 base case necked down to .450. Quite a lot of work to make the brass, but once you have what's needed, no issue anymore.
Competitions here are shot prone, sling only from the elbows, so that was the way I did it.
Load for today was 83grs of Swiss Fg behind a groove-dia. PP 520gr Metford-style bullet, Which proved to be a sweet spot for this rifle.
2 shots to adjust the sights, and bullets started to land inside the 9-ring of the target, which would be about 2-3 MOA. I'm pretty happy with that, espacially as we had a pretty strong, gusty headwind.
The patch shredded nicely, giving good confetti with only the patch foldover at the base remaining intact. PP's were unlubed, with a thick overpowder card wad. Primers CCI BR2 being used.
Cleaning between shots was with a bore pig, felts front and rear, pushed through with a dry patch, followed by another dry patch in both directions.
Afterwards I also tested a load with 88grs of Swiss 1 1/2 Fg, but that wasn't nearly as good - far from, actually. In all, a nice day shooting in challenging conditions, but worthwhile.
After setting up target at 300m, I did notice I only had a 200m ISSF target along, so it was a case of make do. I hadn't shot this rifle for at least 5 months, so I needed to get back into it. For short range, I currently use my 32-20, so this rifle is only used at longer ranges. It is a bit of a powder hog...
This is a large Westley-Richards Francotte Martini ZAR action barreled with an Eichelberger 1:16" barrel, Mike Neuman tang sight and PH7 front. The cartridge is the Brit 500/450 no.2 Musket, so a .500 base case necked down to .450. Quite a lot of work to make the brass, but once you have what's needed, no issue anymore.
Competitions here are shot prone, sling only from the elbows, so that was the way I did it.
Load for today was 83grs of Swiss Fg behind a groove-dia. PP 520gr Metford-style bullet, Which proved to be a sweet spot for this rifle.
2 shots to adjust the sights, and bullets started to land inside the 9-ring of the target, which would be about 2-3 MOA. I'm pretty happy with that, espacially as we had a pretty strong, gusty headwind.
The patch shredded nicely, giving good confetti with only the patch foldover at the base remaining intact. PP's were unlubed, with a thick overpowder card wad. Primers CCI BR2 being used.
Cleaning between shots was with a bore pig, felts front and rear, pushed through with a dry patch, followed by another dry patch in both directions.
Afterwards I also tested a load with 88grs of Swiss 1 1/2 Fg, but that wasn't nearly as good - far from, actually. In all, a nice day shooting in challenging conditions, but worthwhile.