Mav Dutchman vs 44SLIM, shooting test.

[Dick Dastardly]

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Just because the weather was far too nice to spend the day cabin bound, we shot today.  My Pards, Pukin Dog and his brother Rotten Redeye Randy, have a cool rifle range at Randy's ranch.  We took advantage of it and the weather and did some shooting.  Blew the cobwebs out of several of our guns.

The one that is the subject of this thread is the comparison of the 44-40 rifle, Win 73, with Mav Dutchman vs 44SLIM bullets.  The bullets were loaded over compressed charges of FFg Genuine Powder and shot at SASS main match distances.  The point of impact was the same with both bullets.  Five shot strings produced 1.5" groups with both.  The ammo could have been mixed in the magazine and the results would have been the same.  The 44SLIM ammo did hesitate to chamber when ran very slowly, but at match speed it functioned flawlessly.  The real difference in the ammo was the bullet weight.  The Mav Dutchman bullets weigh in at 200 grains while the 44SLIM bullets weigh 164 grains.  That's an 18% reduction in weight and the felt difference in recoil is worth considering for recoil sensitive shooters of the smoke.

I'll see if I can get PD to chime in here with his observations.

DD-MDA

[Dick Dastardly]

PD writes. . . .

"Dick and I tested the slim44 vs the Mav Dutchman at 50 feet.  There was no apparent difference in accuracy as both bullets had a 1.5" grouping.  The Slim44 has a small shelf at the base which is noticeable in a toggle link rifle when slowly chambering the round.  However when the rifle is cycled fast (as in CAS), all cartridges chambered with no noticeable difference from rounds loaded with the Slim44."

Thanks PD.

DD-MDA

[Cohagen]

DD,

The only real difference I have noticed in shooting big lube bullets is they outperform round balls by a factor of a least 50%.    I ran a test several years ago with .457 round balls vs. big lubes, with the big lubes the group size was 1.5" , with round balls 3"'.  enough to convice me the big lubes were a good choice at Cass pistol distances.  Made me a little more confident during a match.

Cohagen












rand a test with .457 round balls

[Dick Dastardly]

CAS main match accuracy is a given, but continued fouling free function is the real hallmark of Big Lube®LLC bullets.  The ability to run full annual matches with no concern about fouling makes these the bullets of choice for many black powder shooters.

Just in case there be doubters, I'll make a pledge to run the entire 2012 season without cleaning between stages or days of a match.  I've done it before, and I'll do it again, take notes and report back.

I do find it interesting that the two 44 Cal designs shoot to the same POA given their weight differences.

DD-MDA

[Springfield Slim]

I think 'cause the targets are so close that they both shoot straight for that distance, no room for "arcing". I had a brand new Henry at one time, it had a sharp edge on the rear or the chamber that kept it from feeding bullets reliably. Took a Dremel with a cratex wheel on it and just barely rounded the edge of the chamber, feeding problem went away. Now I do it to all my rifles just as a matter of course.

[Cohagen]

Cheeze Dick,  I thought everyone knew by now that Big Lubes solve the fouling problem.   Continued accuracy on the third-forth-fifth stages are ther main selling point with me..    In my limited experience fouling affects accuracy even at Cass ranges. With Big Lubes I tend to stay on target, with fouling not an issue.  Long range shooters have swabbed barrels between shots due to accuracy issues with fouling.  Smoother functioning guns,improved accuracy, easier clean up, whats not to like.

Your milage may vary,

Cohagen

[Dick Dastardly]

Thanks Cohagen,

Pukin' Dog and my own self were out shootin' last Thursday.  We limbered up our 45-70s and ripped the heck out of some shoot'n'see targets.  Turns out, after a fairly long shot string, out long range guns did better when we didn't wipe them.  The groups for both of our guns settled down and tightened up considerably after ten or more shots.

This leads me to believe that I will be a real contender for the long range matches at Fandango this year.  We'll have to wait and see.

DD-MDA