Anyone been shooting?

[dusty texian]

dt,

No, I have not procured my '76 yet but PP is all I shoot in my Shiloh's, so I definitely wont to try them.

BTW, I talked to your barrel maker for the EHB, he said he could make me a EHB like yours for a Uberti, or anything else I wanted.
Correct me if I'm wrong yours is 1-22 twist and I believe the Uberti's are 1-36?

                                                                                       Yes Sarge , Bob made my 45/75 WCF  EHB with a ROT of 1 in 22" .      The 50/95 WCF barrel that he made me has a ROT of 1 in 36" , you are right he can make anything you want and is dang good at it . Both of the barrels he has made me are absolutely great . ,,,DT

[greyhawk]

greyhawk,

Now that makes since on the twist, I was thinking about 50-95 and typing about 45-75, don't know if it's the age or the miles that causes that.

I will definitely wring it out, just love the way heavy and bull barreled rifles look.

Do the Uberti chambers have freebore?

Sarge  I have a problem with terminology (nobody taught me) so try to answer with some measurements
I cut some target cases full chamber length (trial and error method with an overlength case trim and fit till it was neat as I could get) so case overall length is .1960 -- my target round is loaded so the leading edge of the forward driving band is .2060 from case base and at that it just touches the rifling proper - maybe 2-5 thou? it puts a little mark into the band but you can seat it with your thumb - the front band is full diameter .459 -.460 --- Brass is formed from 348 and loaded cases measure .4842 - 484 OD - if I crinkle one a tiny bit - out to .4855 it will not chamber so to my thinking there aint any spare room at all there - fired brass measures almost exactly same as loaded rounds - neck diameter is hardly moving and I am not sizing only run a swage die over them at the end. I am shooting boolits as cast now and .459 - .460 (I am measurng this stuff with digital calipers NOT a micrometer so there is a bit of wiggle room in it). Getting a decent solid overpowder wad in the load was probably the biggest single advance I think.   

[greyhawk]

greyhawk,

Now that makes since on the twist, I was thinking about 50-95 and typing about 45-75, don't know if it's the age or the miles that causes that.

I will definitely wring it out, just love the way heavy and bull barreled rifles look.

Do the Uberti chambers have freebore?

Other thing that proly needs doin with a new one (I have not done mine yet) is pull the forearm and magazine , hangers and all off and accurise it - ya need Dusty's help with that I reckon - my rifle always throws a couple of cold shots low - its got a bit better as its loosened up some and if I leave it lay in the sun for a while to warm up it dont happen at all .

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[Sarge]

greyhawk,
Thanks for the responses. I will definitely keep that in mind on the forearm and magazine.   

[dusty texian]

Finally the weather has cooled a bit and the rain has somewhat stopped long enough for some shooting , the 50 Express rifle load is shooting about as good as it will get I think . The Express sights handle and show good for me , I think any animal that gets within 150 yd. of me and that combo is in serious trouble . The little parts carbine is so handy its getting a bit of shooting /hunting this season also . Have settled on a load that really shoots good in the old gun ,a Winchester mold cast bullet 45-60  @ 300 gr. 61 gr. of Swiss 2ff , Winchester primer , Jamison case all put together with the 45-60 tong tool. That little gun feeds so slick and holds its own at 100 yd. that it is going to be my Jeep gun throughout the hunting season , that means it will get lots of use starting in about two weeks . Guess I have rambled enough , hope all are well and in good health . Adios Amigos . ,,,DT

[greyhawk]

Finally the weather has cooled a bit and the rain has somewhat stopped long enough for some shooting , the 50 Express rifle load is shooting about as good as it will get I think . The Express sights handle and show good for me , I think any animal that gets within 150 yd. of me and that combo is in serious trouble . The little parts carbine is so handy its getting a bit of shooting /hunting this season also . Have settled on a load that really shoots good in the old gun ,a Winchester mold cast bullet 45-60  @ 300 gr. 61 gr. of Swiss 2ff , Winchester primer , Jamison case all put together with the 45-60 tong tool. That little gun feeds so slick and holds its own at 100 yd. that it is going to be my Jeep gun throughout the hunting season , that means it will get lots of use starting in about two weeks . Guess I have rambled enough , hope all are well and in good health . Adios Amigos . ,,,DT

Hey Dusty
(Probably my last hurrah for a while)  Been messing with burnt out pump and empty troughs - daylight till dark sunday and again this morning - finally got it right and - I AM OVER THIS!!! .
Havent shot for a while so pulled out the 76 for a final shoot before I go off to work again .
Ten at 100yards with the new CBE boolit
Had the rifle warmed up good but still dropped the first one a little low then I got three nice clusters - three shots on the left, four in the center, two joining on the right ( I think - not sure which one of those holes got four in but its in there someplace) - the whole thing is 1inch and 5/8th wide x 7/8 inch vertical -- I think those clusters probably what the barrel and load can do and the spread is what I did to it   All shot with no cleaning - blow tube about every third - but I think would do just as well without .
Have settled on this boolit for my target round - its .460dia x 466 grains CBE mold from here in Aus - If you took one base band and lube groove off a Lyman Postell would be almost identical - 72 grains of my FFg powder - 45 thou HDPE plastic wad.
Front band of that boolit just touching the rifling . That round in the picture loads quite comfortably - but much longer it would be tricky to get it in at all - I been pondering on that 90 grain PP load you showed - (man you started something with that one picture!!) - you could proly squash it in the case (Swiss powder) but dunno if the round would still load - might just be too long. Somewhere down the track I will get a chrono on this load of mine - it sounds and feels ok
I made the tang sight on this rifle, and the powder, so am pretty happy with the whole thing.
Was gonna pull the magazine off this girl and proly do it after christmas - relieve that forend wood - may even make a button mag for it (dont really like em but if it would get rid of that walk up the target deal !) its time for some long range work with this setup too.  

Well hope you get some fun hunting in the next couple months.
cheers
Greyhawk
 

[King Medallion]

What do you do that you're gone for months at a time? If I may ask?

[greyhawk]

What do you do that you're gone for months at a time? If I may ask?

Always have trouble explaining it - I am a kind of a consultant in the alternative side of agriculture - energy medicine for farms, soils and livestock - have a few pieces of gear I make and sell as part of it - clients are mainly people wanting to get away from the full on chemical side of agriculture - some are organic certified - some just want to do a better job at less cost. We work with energy - lots of people cant understand it/or wont accept it - the chi energy or life force that the martial arts guys talk about. Its real just cant see it.
Most rural people are ok with water divining - you know - the forked stick or L rods to find a well site? Well that works with energy lines around buildings and such too. You can do all this stuff remotely - I did a job for some people in Germany just working off of Google earth maps and her description of the place - didnt charge - she was sister to a client out here and it didnt take long - got a travel voucher in the mail to cover my ticket to the USA in 2008 so something must have worked! I dont make a lot of money but I have a lot of fun and I enjoy the travel part of it - so I hit the road for a month to six weeks at the time maybe a third of the year - its been really slow this year because we have had a major drought all up the eastern side of Aus - I go as far north as Townsville in north Queensland and around as far as Adelaide in south australia - Adelaide is about 1000km south west of me and townsvill about 2500km north - we have a small farm 40 km out of town - between trips I hunker down and build gear for the trips, do a bit of farm stuff and get to shoot some, pretty lucky really.       

[dusty texian]

Greyhawk my friend , like they say life is what you make of it . And you are making the most of it . Doing what you like and what is important to you helping others make a better world .  The shooting with the pointy bullet has come along very well for you , excellent shooting and loading . The case in the pic. loaded with the pointy bullet is very well formed , are you counting how many shots that case has made ? Another question , after a few shots are you having any trouble chambering a loaded round  , because of the closeness of the front bullet  band to the lands ? Making the powder you use to shoot  with and the rear sight ,  do make your accomplishments greater . You stating that I started something with the showing of the long range bullet is great , but I must say your efforts in getting the most accuracy  from a 76 is just as much a motivator for me . Thanks for sharing your efforts with me and I am sure I am not alone . Safe travels my friend .,,,,DT

[greyhawk]

Greyhawk my friend , like they say life is what you make of it . And you are making the most of it . Doing what you like and what is important to you helping others make a better world .  The shooting with the pointy bullet has come along very well for you , excellent shooting and loading . The case in the pic. loaded with the pointy bullet is very well formed , are you counting how many shots that case has made ? Another question , after a few shots are you having any trouble chambering a loaded round  , because of the closeness of the front bullet  band to the lands ? Making the powder you use to shoot  with and the rear sight ,  do make your accomplishments greater . You stating that I started something with the showing of the long range bullet is great , but I must say your efforts in getting the most accuracy  from a 76 is just as much a motivator for me . Thanks for sharing your efforts with me and I am sure I am not alone . Safe travels my friend .,,,,DT

Dusty - thanks!

Q Cases - no not counting - not that well organised  I takes (at least) four full BP loads to blow these 348 cases out.
I dont size em at all, dont neck size either, have some here I reckon done 8 loads just nicely formed out
 
 I got LEE dies to start with and did the initial forming of the shoulder with their FL die but its (like most commercial dies) too hard on brass so I made a body die that just touches the swelling at the rear end above the solid head - have only needed to use it on a few (think I got a bit caried away annealing some cases and softened em too far down) - just brings it in a couple thou

I made a taper crimp die ages ago for a 45/70 that just turns the neck in a little - just enough to not have a sharp edge.
 
- any chambering problems I had with this rifle have mostly been at the front end - the old shoulder area of the 348 case makes a little ridge just ahead of the 45/75 shoulder where the brass is a few thou thicker inside - these pointy boolits dont load that deep nor do my 335 grainers but the 405 grain does - so sometimes get a little swelling there and I get a bit heavy handed crimping sometimes too.

The rifle seems to like a fat boolit and that together with the thick case necks - there is no spare room up front at all - I made another small swage die that I use on the outside of the case neck after its loaded - straightens out the crimp and any other little bumps down the neck -.484 OD after I run em through that - and they chamber slick as can be - at .4855 the bolt will not close !!

Neck diameter of fired rounds is barely moving and they come out clean as they went in - no crud at all only inside the case 

Q Not having trouble chambering rounds - did fifteen today all up and no sign of it, last one was as easy as the first - I thnk what I shot today was about five thou off the lands - real close but not quite touching. I boast my powder up - think that might be a factor in this !

Well thanks for the feedback
Greyhawk

[dusty texian]

Greyhawk I noticed you are using the HDPE wad , have you noticed an advantage over say a cork or wax paper wad ? ,,,DT

[greyhawk]

Greyhawk I noticed you are using the HDPE wad , have you noticed an advantage over say a cork or wax paper wad ? ,,,DT

Cant really say Dusty - fellers on the other forum are using the LDPE with their paper patch boolits - I was a bit hesitant to try this HDPE but thought a bit thicker wad might help and couldnt find the low density stuff so I went ahead - those plastic wads are a bit inclined to stick if you dont clean the boolit bases off - I found a couple 50 yards up the range from when I started with em - now I use a cloth pad soaked with WD40 and another dry one beside it to wipe any lube off the boolit base before I seat them  (just a couple pieces of folded flannellette sheet from the rag bag)

The juice box wads (waxed paper) I was using were oversize - they didnt fit nice - I made a better wad punch so everything fits neater but havent tried those again since - I will go back and do it - if they shoot as well they are a lot easier to use. 

I think I am shooting a bit better each time (patchy though )

am proly bein' a bit more perticular with loading process too maybe?

have not tried a heavier card wad, nor the cork or other gasket material either.

I have a hunch the tight fitting necks of my cases are doing a lot to help - thats something the bench rest guys always do

The whole thing is interesting - its like that rifle is just teasing me on - I looked hard at that target I posted the other day - those joined up clusters - 3 and 4 shots in yr thumbnail and its like "if I could see clear and hold a tad better lookit what this girl could do   

[dusty texian]

Cant really say Dusty - fellers on the other forum are using the LDPE with their paper patch boolits - I was a bit hesitant to try this HDPE but thought a bit thicker wad might help and couldnt find the low density stuff so I went ahead - those plastic wads are a bit inclined to stick if you dont clean the boolit bases off - I found a couple 50 yards up the range from when I started with em - now I use a cloth pad soaked with WD40 and another dry one beside it to wipe any lube off the boolit base before I seat them  (just a couple pieces of folded flannellette sheet from the rag bag)

The juice box wads (waxed paper) I was using were oversize - they didnt fit nice - I made a better wad punch so everything fits neater but havent tried those again since - I will go back and do it - if they shoot as well they are a lot easier to use. 

I think I am shooting a bit better each time (patchy though )

am proly bein' a bit more perticular with loading process too maybe?

have not tried a heavier card wad, nor the cork or other gasket material either.

I have a hunch the tight fitting necks of my cases are doing a lot to help - thats something the bench rest guys always do

The whole thing is interesting - its like that rifle is just teasing me on - I looked hard at that target I posted the other day - those joined up clusters - 3 and 4 shots in yr thumbnail and its like "if I could see clear and hold a tad better lookit what this girl could do   

                                                               The wads you found down range , how did they look ?  When I lube the bullets I get lube all over the bullet base not on purpose  , I spread a shop towel on the bench and the last thing I do with the bullet before seating it is to rub the base a couple of strokes on that shop towel , I think the bullet base has to be clean . Your description of the case neck thickness and the .460 bullet dia. and tight chamber fit is great , no room for misalignment  . No doubt you are feeding the rifle what it wants and holding true . I have tried the cork wad and the felt wad under bullet , could not tell much difference , not sure if I can shoot good enough to tell a difference . I leave in 4 days for about two weeks of hunting / guiding , bringing my EHB 45/75 and my loading gear fixings for some shooting . Out there I can shoot as far as I want so if the winds allow I will try and see how far the EHB  45/75 and myself can reach and be affective . ,,,,,DT

[greyhawk]

                                                               The wads you found down range , how did they look ? 
Clean as a whistle on the powder side, could feel a little smudge of the lube still stuck on the boolit side otherwise they unmarked, could have shot em again no worries, was a couple weeks at least after I shot them so could have had a few spots of train on them 
When I lube the bullets I get lube all over the bullet base not on purpose, Yeah me too I pan lube so no way out of that I think
I spread a shop towel on the bench and the last thing I do with the bullet before seating it is to rub the base a couple of strokes on that shop towel , I think the bullet base has to be clean. Try a piece of that shop towell with a spray of WD40 soaked on it, that stuff just dissolves lube, (best stuff I have seen for cleaning paint of yr hands too,)  then a dry piece of towell as well
Your description of the case neck thickness and the .460 bullet dia. and tight chamber fit is great , no room for misalignment  . No doubt you are feeding the rifle what it wants and holding true . I have tried the cork wad and the felt wad under bullet , could not tell much difference , not sure if I can shoot good enough to tell a difference. Yeah thats where I am at too - sights start goin hazy and dancin around then I'm squinting at a tree to try and clear it but still I have been surprised how things have gone and I reckon I am getting past the mental block about eyes not working like they used to 
 
I leave in 4 days for about two weeks of hunting / guiding , bringing my EHB 45/75 and my loading gear fixings for some shooting . Out there I can shoot as far as I want so if the winds allow I will try and see how far the EHB  45/75 and myself can reach and be affective . ,,,,,DT

2 weeks of rejuvenation eh! Enjoy it to the full - dont hold back on the stories when you get back on line either

[greyhawk]

                                                               The wads you found down range , how did they look ?  When I lube the bullets I get lube all over the bullet base not on purpose  , I spread a shop towel on the bench and the last thing I do with the bullet before seating it is to rub the base a couple of strokes on that shop towel , I think the bullet base has to be clean . Your description of the case neck thickness and the .460 bullet dia. and tight chamber fit is great , no room for misalignment  . No doubt you are feeding the rifle what it wants and holding true . I have tried the cork wad and the felt wad under bullet , could not tell much difference , not sure if I can shoot good enough to tell a difference . I leave in 4 days for about two weeks of hunting / guiding , bringing my EHB 45/75 and my loading gear fixings for some shooting . Out there I can shoot as far as I want so if the winds allow I will try and see how far the EHB  45/75 and myself can reach and be affective . ,,,,,DT

Dusty
Couple of experiments this morning
Shooting for the chronograph - been wanting to get a read on this load (and the latest batch of powder ) for ages

With the 466grain CBE pointy boolit over 72 grains FFg -
1238, 1242, 1245, 1247, 1248 FPS -- extreme spread = 10FPS ---pretty darn excited about those numbers - good velocity for that boolit and the spread you need for long range .

Ok you asked about wads the other day
These were loaded with two juice box wads instead of the plastic - would just as rather NOT shoot those hard plastic wads at my chronograph anyway!
shooting from 125 yards to get shade for the chrony  - very windy today blew my target skewy before I got started
two barrel warmers about 3 inches low - didnt mean to do that but had a senior moment and put the chrony body up back to front

four shots went in a group a whisker under inch and a half - about same low for the extra distance and about same left of centre from the wind - a big gust of wind took one about three inches further left 

dont think the juice box is any different / worse than the plastic BUT I did have two juice box wads - 38 thou total - more testing will tell the story - but dont think much in it if any difference

[King Medallion]

  I got my rifle out and looked at it today! Aimed it at my Whitetail mounts on the wall. Racked it a few times, told myself I need to shoot it when corn picking gets done. Put it away. 

[greyhawk]

I got my rifle out and looked at it today! Aimed it at my Whitetail mounts on the wall. Racked it a few times, told myself I need to shoot it when corn picking gets done. Put it away. 

You not the only feller does stuff like that !  I am 500 miles away from it all tonight - hope Dusty gets a hog or two and shows us some pics

[Baltimore Ed]

I pull my cf rifles out of the safe and dry fire at the steel in my back yard through the picture window in my reloading room. Haven’t blown my window out yet. But unfortunately it’s not as satisfying as hearing the ‘ding’ of fast lead against hard steel.

[pinto beans]

Greetings All,

Thanks to everyone who contributes here, when you can't make it out to shoot it is a relaxing way to at least enjoy our hobby by others sharing their adventures!

Deer season opens this weekend here and if the Good Lord is willing I plan on being at least outside on the farm with the 76 in hand.  Won't matter much if I see one, much less get a shot just getting out with the 76 is something I been really looking forward to.

Here is to hoping the rest of you all get a chance to be out among em and enjoy the rifles!!

P.B.

[greyhawk]

Greetings All,

Thanks to everyone who contributes here, when you can't make it out to shoot it is a relaxing way to at least enjoy our hobby by others sharing their adventures!

Deer season opens this weekend here and if the Good Lord is willing I plan on being at least outside on the farm with the 76 in hand.  Won't matter much if I see one, much less get a shot just getting out with the 76 is something I been really looking forward to.

Here is to hoping the rest of you all get a chance to be out among em and enjoy the rifles!!

P.B.

Hey PB
Gonna shoot mine tomorrow - sposed to be a thousand miles away working, but a preliminary trip ended with me nursing my car home with a stuffed gearbox (478,000km on the clock I guess its allowed to get a little tired) and waiting now on a wrecker exchange and mechanics etc - take some of the frustration out on a paper target - I have the magazine changed and want to test that - if it makes any difference I will post results.