What a difference 5 grains made

[bebloomster]

Urethra... I have found it!!! I've always loved that immortal Kelly Bundy line. I realize that a single 3 shot group is hardly a definitive result but it sure makes for a good start. Managed to get away from the house for a while yesterday afternoon and took my Pedersoli-made Brown Bess out to the range. I normally roll paper cartridges with 2 wraps of recycled newsprint containing a .715 round ball and 85gr GOEX FFFg, the ball end of the cartridge dipped in melted Crisco for a lube. This load has been more than adequate as far as accuracy goes... minute of paper plate at 50 yards offhand. Wanted to try some different charges though so loaded made up 3 each of 65, 70, 75, 80 and 85 grains of GOEX FFFg with the ball and wrapper remaining the same. All were fired from a good solid bench at approximately 40 yards. There was no cleaning of the bore between shots or between groups. With the Crisco lube the last shot loaded just about as easily as the 3rd shot.

It may have been just luck, but the 3 shot group with 80gr GOEX FFFg produced a very nice cloverleaf pattern.

The 75gr and 85gr groups weren't all that bad but really nothing to brag about.

Like I said, a single 3 shot group is no basis for changing my standard load but it sure begs to have another couple dozen loaded up to experiment with.

 

[renovato]

I'm with ya there. A lot of folks recommend going up 10 grains at a time, but I don't buy it. I've found the sweet spot in the middle like that too. I go in 5 grain increments with long guns and 1 grain at a time in handguns. That's a downright fine group. I hope it holds up for ya. Let us know.

 

[nw_hunter]

Urethra... I have found it!!!

:rotf: Thats funny right there!

 

[J.D.]

Whooooeee, that's good shootn' right there.

I found that 95 gr of FFg shoots best in my bess, but the recoil ain't that much fun. I found that 80gr FFG shoots almost as good with mild recoil.

That old bess will ring 18inch dia gongs at 100 yd off hand with that 80gr load. Gotta be careful of elevation though. I sometimes bounce 'em in. :shocked2:

Kelly Bundy? Any relation to Ted?
She must have been before my time. :bull: :wink:

 

[bingo1952]

Sorta like playing golf; Fly'em or Roll'em just as long as you get'em there. :thumbsup:

 

[bebloomster]

Kelly Bundy? Any relation to Ted?

From the TV series "Married With Children"... played by Christina Applegate. She really played dumb well.

 

[Roy]

:thumbsup: nice

 

[shmrck1]

Dog,
Great shooting! With a tweak here or there
you could be making that X
invisable. At 50yds my first thought would be
a POA adjustment.You have an excellent group
with 80 grns 3fff Goex and the patch and lube you are using.I don't see a need to change that at all.IMHO
snake-eyes :hmm:

 

[29caliber]

Urethra! You're right! Five grains made a vas deferens in group size. Tom

 

[paulvallandigham]

Sometimes people only hear half the advice.

10 grain increments work only to establish a range of loads. Then when you find some loads that are beginning to group into a pattern, you go back and fire groups with 5 grain increments.

For target shooters, and riflemen, as well as small bore guns, you need to split that 5 grain load and try increments of 2 and 3 grains to see if you won't find the " sweet spot " even better with an " odd " load. Only then do you begin to mess around with OP Wads, different lubes, different ball diameters and patch combinations, etc. Different barrels like different lubes, it seems, and there are a variety of them to try.

One New Year's Day, I was shooting off-hand, at 50 yards, using a favorite Powder charge, and patch and ball combination, but was using Rubbing alcohol to " lube " the patch because of the below-freezing temperatures. I shot a 47-2X target that day- the best shooting I ever did with that particular gun. I had not used alcohol for a lube before, using spit mostly, but Hoppe's Black Powder solvent and lube for that gun. I got very good groups, but nothing like that day with the alcohol!

 

[Capt. Jas.]

Urethra! You're right! Five grains made a vas deferens in group size. Tom

:rotf:

 

[roundball]

Urethra... I have found it!!!

:rotf: Thats funny right there!

:grin:

 

[Mountainman56]

:rotf: :rotf:

Nice group too. :thumbsup:

 

[bwhoffman]

Kelly Bundy? Any relation to Ted?

From the TV series "Married With Children"... played by Christina Applegate. She really played dumb well.

daughter of Al!

 

[flaming canvas]

Urethra! You're right! Five grains made a vas deferens in group size. Tom

I can think of a couple of good responses for that, but this is a family forum.

 

[bingo1952]

Any kid old enough to know what is being spoken of is probably of age anyway since this is actually proper medical/biological terminology.
If'n ya ain't got a sense of humor life can be very boring.
:haha:

 

[J.D.]

Kelly Bundy? Any relation to Ted?

From the TV series "Married With Children"... played by Christina Applegate. She really played dumb well.

daughter of Al!

Yeah, I remember dumb blond, hot, under age Kelly Bundy.

I also remember Ted Bundy, the Green River Killer...no relation to Al. :hmm:

I have a warped sense of humor that isn't always apparent over the net. :surrender:

 

[ronrryan]

Pal of mine who taught Anatomy used to tell the class "There is a vas deferens between the male and the female" Good smoke, Ron in FL

 

[Blizzard of '93]

man that's good shooting.
crack a grizzly skull with that shooting. :thumbsup:

 

[Isiah1103]

I've always been curious about folks measuring in less than 5 grain increments. What type or brand of measure are you using?