Okay: With your vision limitations, first use a diamond shaped "sighter" on the target to give you a finer "point" at which to aim. I use old business cards, turned 45 degrees and stapled to the target.
The corner becomes the "diamond point" and is in the bottom of the Bullseye, for a center hold.
For a 6 o'clock hold, I use colored construction paper, or stick on labels that are rectangular in shape, and approx. 1 " square for the 50 yard targets. AGain, a corner becomes the "diamond point" at the bottom of the bullseye.
In shooting, that "wide" front sight is simply made smaller by focusing on the top edge and the very middle of that top edge. I only need glasses to allow me to see the front sight. The rear sight is something I look through and over. The target can be "fuzzy", because the Difference in the color of the sighter from the Bullseye will give me the aiming point I need to see.
"Aim Small, Miss Small".
If these are two small a "sighter" to be able to see well, use a larger piece of card stock or paper. I know people who take a full sheet of 8 x 11" paper, cross one corner to the other to form a triangle and use that Point for the sighter. And, some do better with the diamond point ABOVE the bullseye, bringing that wide front sight up to the point. The nice thing about a diamond point as a shooting/sighting aid is that it doesn't matter if you can see that very tip of the point: Your eyes are what they are. If you can see any part of that bevel on both sides, you will reduce the windage and elevation variables to the shot.
Now, if you can put a temporary Scope sight on that gun while developing loads that can aid you even further. But, that is for another day.
I would first, then,
1: Change loads. 60 grains in a 45 is a fairly hot load. Works at 100 yds and beyond. Not needed for target work at 50 yards. So, reduce that powder charge first by 5 grains and shoot 55, then 50 grains, doing several targets for an average, and see if there is an improvement. If you see improvement, concentrate your further development by changing the load up and down 2 grains. It doesn't sound like much, and most people will swear that it doesn't make a difference, but the target shooters know better. No, you won't see the difference shooting off-hand, usually, but you are working up the best load you can get for that rifle at 50 yds, now, off a rest. Achieve that, and you can spend the rest of your life learning how to be a better off-hand shooter, like the rest of us. :rotf:
( Oh, you, or someone else shooting that rifle with your loads, should eventually be able to shoot a one hole group off the bench at 50 yds. )Never hesitate to ask another good bench rest shooter to help you test your loads. If they are able to shoot a smaller group than you do with that load in your gun, ask them to watch you load and shoot, and then clean the gun, and tell you what you are doing "wrong" in their eyes. Try it their way, to see if that doesn't solve the problem, and get you shooting smaller groups.
2. Next, ball size: I would be shooting the .440 ball, with a .015 patch. Not a .445. They are usually harder to load, if the bore is truly .450", and you are more likely to distort the ball's shape getting it into the barrel than you will a .440 ball. The difference in ball distortion on accuracy doesn't show at 25 yards, but does begin to show at 50 yds, and really shows out at 100 yds. ( I learned this the hard way with my .45.)
3. I would try a Wax/oil mix lube, like wonderlube. 100% Ballistol has not worked well for most shooters. The oil squeezes out into the powder, and fouls some of it, no matter how small. That in turn can open group size. If I continued with Ballistol, I would try a 1:6 or 1:8 mix of ballistol to water, letting the patch or fabric dry in the sun, before taking them to the range.
This " Dry Lube", a favorite of Dutch Schoultz, works very well in a variety of calibers. Dutch used Water Soluable oil( available from NAPA auto supply stores) instead of Ballistol, but the principle is the same. His method gets the oil into the threads of the fabric, where it does a lot of good, and is consistent, without being excessive. You don't have to worry about fouling your powder using Ballistol his way.
4. Try putting a clean Dry patch down on the powder, before putting your Ballistol patch down the barrel. If the oil IS fouling the powder, the second patch should prevent that for a little while, more than enough on a range to get the load fired.
If you haven't ordered Dutch's system, Do so.
http://www.blackpowderrifleaccuracy.com/
Its the best $15.00 you can spend on helping you develop loads for any MLer.
I just reviewed Dutch's material. For a powder charge, he is recommending 1.5 times caliber size, so you would be shooting 68 grains of powder in your .45. But, he also recommends using FFg powder in the .45.
So, try both recommendations.
Your 42 inch barrel will efficiently burn 77 grains of powder(Davenport formula), and his recommendation takes you close to the 90% level Charles Davenport recommended to target shooters at Friendship. If I were you, I would shoot two five shot groups, one with 68 grains, and the other with 70 grains, and see which produces the smaller group size.
From a review of Dutch's material, I think he would suggest that you find a thicker material. He measures the material as it is Compressed. Then multiply that compressed figure by two(2), since the patch wraps around Both sides of the ball, to find out what the patch thickness adds to the Ball diameter.
You want to reach a combination that is tight, but not so tight you can't smoothly push the PRB down your barrel to the powder. You don't want it so tight that the ball is distorted. As bad as a ball is ballistically, it surely beats a Mushroom! as Dutch says.
Finally, he also says to use only balls that are within 1/2 grain in weight to the heaviest ball used. His targets are rather convincing of this important factor.
Here is his summary of Variables:
Internal: / External/ Personal
Type of powder / Wind / Ability to load
Amount of powder / light / Consistently
Patching thickness/ Humidity/ Ability to aim
Patching lubrication/ consistently
Size of ball/
Weight of ball/
Loading method/
I would add to this," Ability to Consistently Clean your gun between shots", based on other material in his text.
I hope this helps. :hatsoff:
P.S. Your latest target resembles Target #18 in Dutch's material the most.
