100yrd accuracy

[Don]

I spent about an hour and a half this morning trying to get my CVA Bobcat to group at 100 yards. Long story short I ended up frustrated. Out of about 20 shots I only managed to put 2 of them on paper. Specifics are as follows: .50 cal 320 grain TC maxi on top of 65 to 75 grains of Pyrodex RS. Could have gone to 80 or more grains but my shoulder was already taking a beating. One good thing out of this is I was able to adjust my open sights better which was helpful when I gave up on 100 yard shots and went to 50 yard shots. Always got decent groups with both conicals and balls at 50 yards. Probably would do OK out to 75 but my club doesn't have a 75 yard back stop and they are queezy about guys setting up their own target stands.

I have a Bobcat in .54 that I'd like to try shooting 100 yards with, any pointers you guys have for getting it on paper at that range? What have you found works for you at that range? Don't really want to get into sabots but if thats the only thing that will get me a decent group at 100 yards then I'll do it.

Don

 

[David W.]

I spent about an hour and a half this morning trying to get my CVA Bobcat to group at 100 yards. Long story short I ended up frustrated. Out of about 20 shots I only managed to put 2 of them on paper. Specifics are as follows: .50 cal 320 grain TC maxi on top of 65 to 75 grains of Pyrodex RS. Could have gone to 80 or more grains but my shoulder was already taking a beating. One good thing out of this is I was able to adjust my open sights better which was helpful when I gave up on 100 yard shots and went to 50 yard shots. Always got decent groups with both conicals and balls at 50 yards. Probably would do OK out to 75 but my club doesn't have a 75 yard back stop and they are queezy about guys setting up their own target stands.

I have a Bobcat in .54 that I'd like to try shooting 100 yards with, any pointers you guys have for getting it on paper at that range? What have you found works for you at that range? Don't really want to get into sabots but if thats the only thing that will get me a decent group at 100 yards then I'll do it.

Don

Not being familiar with the Bobcat, what is the twist rate? How deep are the grooves? Where on the target where you hitting? What were you using for lube? Why don't you use balls so your shoulder take that beating?

 

[Don]

The barrel is 26 inches long, rate of twist is 1 in 48 and grooves are relatively deep but I couldn't give you an exact depth. I did try shooting a few balls at 100 yards and did better putting two balls out of 4 or 5 on paper, .490 ball, .015 patch on top of 60 grains of RS. That load might be OK for varmints but too light for deer thats why I was shooting conicals.

Don

 

[David W.]

First of all a 1:48 twist is too slow for sabots. Secondly, increase your load by ten grains and a round ball will do much more at 100 yards than you give it credit for. It will have more stopping power than a Maxi. This is too hard for many people to believe, but it is true.

 

[Rat Trapper]

Here's a few things I would recomend you try:

1. Try either Goex black powder 2F, or 2F Triple Seven. If your pryrodex powder has been open for couple months that could be part of your problem.
2. Put a felt wad under the bullet.
3. Try Hornady Great Plains 385 grain bullets.
4. I think your powder charge is too light for conical bullets.
5. Try to be as uniform as possible in measuring your powder.
6. Report back here how this works for you.

 

[Don]

Next time out with that particular rifle I'll try the round balls with a heavier charge and see how it does at 100yrds. I have wads for my .54 Bobcat which I will use. As for using holy black its just not available to me locally. I've had good luck with RS though I might open a fresh can to see if that makes a difference. In the .54 I will try a 375 buckslayer and a 390 grain buffalo bullet. That rifle has a 1 in 38 twist (yeah wierd)so I think conicals will probably work best in it.

Don

 

[Kentuckywindage]

Most likely it does not like the tc maxi balls. If you want to use a round ball, I'd suggest .490 round ball with a .015 to .018 pillow tick patch, 70-90gr Pyrodex RS or black Powder 2f.

Conicals, 295-348gr Powerbelts with 80-90gr RS always did excellent in my bobcat. If thats a .54 cal, ammo will be a bit more limited. If it is in fact a .54 use round ball! Its perfect out to 150 yards.

 

[playfarmers]

I use nothing but round balls after many years of trying almost everything I could get my hands on. My rifles are 1 in 48" twist in .50 and .54. It may take some time at the range, but if you keep trying different patching, lube, and powder charges you will find a load that works well. In my old .50 Deerstalker 80g of Pyrodex RS, .495 ball and 15th pillow ticking with liquid wonderlube worked best. In my .54 Trade rifle a .530 ball, 80g of 2f Goex and stumpys moose snot on a 18th pillow ticking patch works best. I also use a felt wad over the powder to help protect the patch. I have taken many whitetails with round balls and a few of them just past the 100 yard mark.

 

[Trench]

I wonder if the grooves are too deep for that conical? Oh, and not that I recommend it, but I did kill my first deer with 60gr of FFg and a .490 ball at 40yds. It passed right through. If you can go up to 70 or 80gr with a ball, it should be enough medicine out to 80yds or a little more....just in case you can't get your conicals to work the way you want in the Bobcat.

 

[Little Wattsy]

I would try differant connicals..I like the Hornady great plains bullet myself and there is something to haveing a big enough charge to flare out the skirt...I would start at 70 grains of Pyro RS and work up in 5 grain increments to maybe 100 grains looking for your best "ragged hole" group at 25 yards. A 1" group at 25 yards will be two" at 50 and 4" at 100 yards. OP wads can help as well as packing the base of the connical with bore butter or the like. Either way that gun should be able to post a 4-ish" group or better at 100 yards.
For the record, although RBs are a good game getters, they do NOT have MORE umph then maxi's or anything else.

 

[Zonie]

If your Bobcat is one of the ones with a plastic stock on it you may want to remove the butt plate and add some weight to it.

Several of our members added lead shot to give their Bobcats more mass and they felt it helped the gun a lot.

If you do change the guns weight it will effect the point of impact so you may have to start sighting it in again.

 

[Don]

My Bobcat has a wood stock. The rifle shoots very tight groups with the TC conicals at 50 yards but falls apart at 100, same with round ball. Thats what is puzzleing me. I plan on trying the .54 Bobcat at 100 yards within the next couple of weeks to see how it performs. Might be that the .50 just isn't a 100 yard gun but I havn't given up on it yet.

Don

 

[Dave Rosenthal]

I've shot more T/C Maxi's than about anybody else here on this forum. They don't work in the cold worth a manure! My Lyman Trade Rifle has the same twist, and I use the 370 grain Maxi's from T/C. I've won competitions with them. I can cut a playing card in half at 25 yards with them. In the cold weather, I switch to my PRB load: 72 grains of 3Fg Goex, a pre-lubed wonder-wad, a .018 pre-lubed pillow-ticking patch and a .490 Hornady ball. Try my load on a windless day and see how you do!

Good luck and don't be frustrated, cause it's not you and you're not alone...everyone at my club with this twist does the same thing! :haha:

And a 72 grain charge of 3Fg will move a PRB fast enough to kill a deer, and you'll still have a shoulder left! :wink:

Dave

 

[renovato]

Don, if you can get it shooting round balls accurately, I wouldn't worry about hunting deer with it. A .50 roundball is more than enough to 100 yards. In fact, you might find as a lot of us have, that the roundball actually performs better as far as taking down game, than a conical.

It took a lot of convincing for me to realize that, but I will never hunt with conicals again. I've never had to track an animal hit with a roundball.

Either way though, accuracy is the most important factor. Whichever shoots best is the one to use.

 

[jaw69]

I agree with many members here the PRB with 72 grain of 3f is the best deer stopper. I have used maxi, minni ,Buff bullets, sabots 357 bullets and the round ball never and I repeat never fails to stop a deer in its tracks if I do my part . I have even see a PRB take a deer off her feet at 40 yards Literaly laided Her on her side never to rise again. So if you get a chance try the round ball it has stopped deer for 200 + years and does not damage your shoulder :thumbsup:

 

[Leatherbark]

Your bore may be "Leaded up".........Use some scotchbrite pad (on a smaller jag) and Kroil. If that doesnt work try a different conical. The 370 gr. Maxi (which was the original weight develeped by TC) always worked good in the 1/48.

If it shoots good at 50 and not at 100 your problem could be it is not stabilized enough because it is starting too slow from the muzzle. It is slowing down and wobbling off? Are they pure lead? If not they probably are not bumping up. Find one in the dirt and it should be rifling engraved the whole length of the bullet.

 

[Don]

Leatherbark,

I have some 275 grain TC maxies would they stablize any better? My bore looks very shiny and patches came out spotless when I cleaned after yesturdays session so I'm not convinced its leaded up but I could be wrong.

Don

 

[cowpoke1955]

320 grain Maxi Balls are the same weight I cast for my son-in-law's .50 caliber. The Maxi Balls I cast for my .54 is 400 grains. As mentioned, try the .54 Great Plains Bullet or a 380 grain Lee REAL bullet, use a felt wad under the conical and up your powder by 10 to 15 grains of fresh powder. Good luck :thumbsup:

 

[David W.]

My Bobcat has a wood stock. The rifle shoots very tight groups with the TC conicals at 50 yards but falls apart at 100, same with round ball. Thats what is puzzleing me. I plan on trying the .54 Bobcat at 100 yards within the next couple of weeks to see how it performs. Might be that the .50 just isn't a 100 yard gun but I havn't given up on it yet.

Don

Most likely what is happening is that the conical is not spinning fast enough to remain stablized at the 100 range. Unless you just LOVE the heavy recoil when shooting the heavier bullets, I would use the RB. Do not under estimate the effectiveness of a round ball at 100 yards on deer. The only thing you need to do is increase your charge between 75 to 85 gr.

If you are insistant on using conicals for your 100 yard shots, you need to use at least 90 gr of your Pyrodex in order to keep it stable in flight. You also have to take into account that the longer the bullet is, the more spin is needed to retain stability.

If your rifling is deep, you also need to use an over powder card or wad. You need to try ranges in between 50 and 100 to see how much bullet drop you are getting. It may be a lot more than you think.

 

[Don]

I'll keep at with the roundballs in both the 50 and 54 cause I ain't no fan of recoil. If I was I'd use 12 gauge slugs.... Yeowie! :shocked2:

Don