How accurate is your pistol ???

[Strawstalker/NM]

How accurate is your pistol?

I shoot a P. Bondini, William Moore, .45 cal, 10- 3/8” barrel, single set trigger, .445 ball, .015 patch, Moose milk lube, 28G FF Goex and I can shoot it within 1-7/8” benched and within 2-3/4" one handed.

Please list - manufacture, cal, barrel length, trigger, load and your consistent group size from both a bench and one handed NMLRA shooting done at 25 YDS.

 

[zimmerstutzen]

I have a number of muzzleloader pistols. maybe a dozen. Some I have yet to fire. I have a Palmetto target pistol with Morini style target grips in 43 caliber that is pretty fair. But the smallest groups have been with a cobbled Bubba special that I picked up for $20 at a gun show in Remington VA. It has TC patriot lock, DST's and breech plug with a 10 inch chunk of 45 caliber rifle barrel and CVA sights. It has an ugly 2 piece pistol stock that is embarrassing. Allthat being said against it, One September, during a new moon when all heavens and cosmic forces were in syzygy, I shot A 2 inch group in a match. I used cotton flannel cleaning patches for the patch, speer 440 balls and a 38 S&W case for a powder measure and CVA brass percussion caps. I can't do that well with a real TC made Patriot. I also have another cobbled pistol in 36 caliber. I soldered a brass blade front sight onto it and mounted a TC hawken sight on the rear. I could regularly shoot 4 inch groups with it.

As for my ROA, I load up all the powder I can fit and still seat the ball with grease on top. With CCI caps. I can't hold much of a paper group at 25 yds, but with a two hand hold, I have consistently rolled woodchucks out to 45 yards. I pay the kids to set 2 liter soda bottles full of water out at various distances to 75 yards and shoot at the bottles.

 

[bwhoffman]

I have a very well used older Traditions Wm Parker caplock in.50 that groups very well out to 35 yds on paper and always holds its own on trail walks that present challenging targets typically 4" steel discs of all configurations at yardages out to 50-60 yds.

I shoot moderate loads od 15 to 17 gr 3F under home rolled soft lead balls out of a lee mold swaddled in .015 measured cotton soaked in the cheapest olive oil I can find.

I write it all off to repeating my process's time and again and lots of trigger time.

 

[biliff]

I've got two Pedersoli LePage's, one in flint and one in percussion.

Use a .433 ball, .010" patching and 20gr FFFg in the flint and 15gr in the percussion. Both will shoot 1" groups at 25 yards from the bench.

Shooting 10 shots, one handed at the 25 yard NMLRA target during our club's monthly shoots I generally score in the low to mid 80's. Have yet to break a 90 but I'm trying. Not sure what that works out to as a group size.

I just concede the pistol trail walks to Brett. He's a shooting machine. I can take him with a tradegun, though. :blah:

 

[rafterob]

I have a Traditions Kentucky .50 cal. It is extremely accurate when I hold it in the right place. :grin: :cursing: :idunno: :shocked2: :shake:

 

[bwhoffman]

I've got two Pedersoli LePage's, one in flint and one in percussion.

Use a .433 ball, .010" patching and 20gr FFFg in the flint and 15gr in the percussion. Both will shoot 1" groups at 25 yards from the bench.

Shooting 10 shots, one handed at the 25 yard NMLRA target during our club's monthly shoots I generally score in the low to mid 80's. Have yet to break a 90 but I'm trying. Not sure what that works out to as a group size.

I just concede the pistol trail walks to Brett. He's a shooting machine. I can take him with a tradegun, though. :blah:

Funny though Bill, every time purt near, I shoot that TG, my score sometimes increases by 1 or 2!
...but then when the 1st trail walk scored a 3 (one being bounced in from the dirt, but hey, a hit is a hit right?) I left a lot of room for improvement!

But really, on the hand gun, find a grip that works for you, learn how to hold the gun, trust the gun and go with the recoil, as small as it may be!
use the same load and combo of components EVERY time. Go thru the same proceedures EVERY time, time and again.
Consistance will win out every time!

I was passed on a tip on my sights that helped out. it wasnt voodoo or anything, just common sense that worked!

The bench rest will be your load/gun proving grounds, then YOU get to learn how to shoot the gun!

Trigger time, trigger time and more trigger time!
...that and follow thru!

 

[Bubba45]

Never have benched my Italian Colt 1860 5.5" , 28grs fffg KIK , oxyoke lubed wad , .454 cast pure lead , RWS caps shot from 25 yds two hand hold , 6 oclock sighting.5 shots .

 

[bwhoffman]

Most Excellent group Frank!

it shows a lot of disipline in your process as well as trigger time!

 

[rawhide]

I got a tradtions kentucky .50 shoot 10 grians of goex FFFg a .010 patch and a .490 ball havn't tried to bench it yet. but I can hit 15 out of 20 tragets at the club I'm with. range from 10-40 yards. steel disk and gongs. the gun shoots straiter the I can. :rotf:

 

[bwhoffman]

What I have done with the lighter loads like these mentioned at 10 to 20 grains of powder,
is to place paper targets at 15, 20, 25, 30, 35 and 40 yards or to how ever far you need and shoot 5 rounds into each, using the same point of aim. This establishes your ball drop (the rainbow)
and IF you retain this gained knowledge, your hit/miss ratio will go way down!

*** I do this with my long guns as well, although my yardages are 15, 25, 35, 50, 75 and 100!***

 

[SAJones]

Years ago I bought a Dixie "kit" that turned out to be an assembled "dueling pistol" caplock. Well, it had a lousy trigger & lock (what ya expect fer $20?) but when it went off, all the holes were in the black. So I installed a new trigger & Siler lock, Remington front sight & small longrifle rear sight. Back when I could still see the sights I shot in the mid 90's in NMLRA competition at 25 yds. Don't know what the barrel is, suspect Douglas, but it's nominal .40. I load w/ a .410 ball, .015 pillow ticking patch w/ one of the synthetic lubes, & 15 grains 3F.

I also have a flintlock I made w/ an Ed Rayl barrel, Chambers-Siler lock, & single set triggers. First time I shot it for score was at a rendezvous, & we could both hands. Since the pistol is a bit heavy, I used two hands. First shot was low, so held higher & next 4 were in 10 ring. Still lost due to the first shot being a 7, but the 4 shot group looked good. .50 Cal barrel, .490 ball, .015 pillow ticking, synthetic lube, 20 gr of 3F.

 

[Mike M.]

Let's see...

Most of my shooting is under MLAIC rules. But the best I've shot on an American-spec target was a 99-4X at 25 yds. About a 3-inch group. Offhand, of course. The gun was a Hege Army Match Maximum (Remington repro), 9 grains of Swiss 3F, .454 RB.

But if I HAD to make the shot, I'd go with my Baumkircher Billinghurst pistol. .350RB/.010 patch/12gr Swiss 3F. It'll shoot under 1/2 inch at 25 meters.

 

[colmoultrie]

I have a Highland pistol from MVTC. It's smoothbore, .52 cal. I can hit the broad side of a barn, as long as I'm shooting from inside the barn, but it's still a lot of fun.