I thought that with the first 4 shots surrounding the bull the 5th one would be in the center. Nope, high left.
I Might.Do it, long cruise!
How far was targetHello everyone this is my first time doing a postal match and only the third time I shot this gun and the first time with this particular load and I thought this would be good as any to see what it and I can do. I used a .50 cal Lyman Trade Rifle with 65 ffg goex, .490 ball with a .018 patch greased with 5:1 olive oil/beeswax the patches were cut at the muzzle. I’m scoring it 15 points because the fifth shot I pulled on and it’s a 50/50, shot three is just off the page 9 o’clock I wasn’t paying attention to how I was loading and didn’t get enough patch and burned through kicking it 6 inches left.
View attachment 226766
I debated about posting this or not but there’s a bit of a story with this. The gun was made by my Father back in the late 80s early 90s for his Father, my grandpa and he had it until he passed away in 2003 when I was 6 years old. Not to long after that the gun had changed hands and my uncle bought it. Well my uncle gave it to me last month in exchange of labor and knowing the gun would be in good hands. When I got it, it needed to be cleaned desperately I remember my uncle said he let my cousin use it and shot it then left it loaded and that’s been many years ago and by the looks it hadn’t been cleaned in over a decade. Needless to say I was wondering if it would shoot and if it would, would it be safe, I was also thinking if it was too bad I’d find a gun smith to ream it to a 28 gauge. I spent an hour and a half cleaning it and much to my surprise it looked fairly ok and shot it a little at 30 yards just to test it with different powder charges and then realized it needed more cleaning and decided to Brillo pad the bore, it looked like it wanted to shine after that. The gun was shooting way low around 4 inches but good windage wise so the next time I shot it I brought a file and took 25 strokes off the front blade and it brought it up but I didn’t dial it in. It wasn’t until after I got done shooting I noticed it was shredding patches so I got thicker material and changed lubes and this target was the result of those changes and in fact the first shot on the paper was the tenth shot I fired from it since I got it.
If that wasn’t enough I also had a deer sneak up on me within 40 yards as I was shooting, I heard noise in the woods but didn’t think much of it because the woods are thick with squirrels this time of year. I was swabbing the bore when I thought “that sounds like footsteps, is there something watching me” and just as a started to look a deer blew and ran off.
Garypl thank you for putting this shoot on and I’m glad this was just for fun and I can say much fun was had.
Only 25ydGary, I already submitted a 25 yd target for score that I shot with my pistol but I couldn’t resist taking a crack at the corncob with my smoothbore. Here’s a couple targets from this morning. Not for score, just for fun. Had a pretty good run going until I dropped shot #10 low and left. Thanks for putting this on each month.View attachment 230361
25 yds off hand
.62 cal Fusil De Chasse Smoothbore
.600 RB
.020 patch cut at muzzle with Ballistol/water lube
70 gr Goex 2F, 2F in the pan
PK, That's fine shooting with a SB, especially for the second time out.Gary, I already submitted a 25 yd target for score that I shot with my pistol but I couldn’t resist taking a crack at the corncob with my smoothbore. Here’s a couple targets from this morning. Not for score, just for fun. Had a pretty good run going until I dropped shot #10 low and left. Thanks for putting this on each month.View attachment 230361
25 yds off hand
.62 cal Fusil De Chasse Smoothbore
.600 RB
.020 patch cut at muzzle with Ballistol/water lube
70 gr Goex 2F, 2F in the pan
Thanks Maven. Had a good day shooting today.PK, That's fine shooting with a SB, especially for the second time out.
Guess we all aren’t as expert as you must be…Only 25yd
Should been all in center.
Ok That’s fine. I put a NMLRA scoring gauge on it and it couldn’t be any more perfect to be 50-50. The center line of the gauge ran right down the edge of the black outlineFinally made it out to the range to burn some powder. Shot both my rifle and new pistol. The weather wasn’t to bad. Upper 80’s with a slight wind. Still breaking in my pistol and getting the sights and powder load dialed in.
Richard - not a problem - if you checked with a gauge we will score it as you stated. It’s hard to tell sometimes when looking at a photo and I always will give the benefit of the doubt to the shooterOk That’s fine. I put a NMLRA scoring gauge on it and it couldn’t be any more perfect to be 50-50. The center line of the gauge ran right down the edge of the black outline
To make it easier to see the hits I would ask everyone to push edges of bullet holes back in place from the back side so it shows a rounder hole. Not a big deal either way since the stakes are so high in this game
Just go to the top of the thread and download the target. Rules are also posted there. Once you shoot the target score it, put your info on it and take a picture of it with your gear and post it here. At the beginning of next month I will post all the scores - shooting for fun and bragging rights!I would enjoy this. Just how do I go about getting signed up to take part? Thanks in advance of your help.
Good suggestion!Good point. I'm always frustrated trying to second guess my target when printed on standard printing paper. I make lots of different targets. Mostly for no good reason. I kind of enjoy doing it. I keep a supply of 67# bond on hand just for targets. I'm not suggesting my addiction to everyone but an easy way to get clean holes is to glue them to a cardboard backer with inexpensive spray glue that is readily available in the school supply department.
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