more single shot fun

[wolfman]

Worked out a good light load for the new steel carbine last week, and wanted to give it a go through the single shot as well. Did really well at 50, right at 1.5" for five shots. Pleased but not all that surprised, the single doesn't seem to be a picky eater at all. Some loads do better than others, but haven't found anything that it won't shoot acceptably well.

Where it really shines is offhand shooting. The weight distribution, excellent trigger, and stock shape all seem to contribute, & even the crescent brass buttplate fits my shoulder pocket like it was custom designed for it. Shot five at a fresh bull from ~30 yards, checked through binoculars, & had to go get a closer look to see if my eyes had fooled me. They hadn't, so I had to get a photo lest my recounting of the day's events be branded a tall tale:



The next 15 shots spread things out & were a bit more reflective of my skills, but would take it all day long & twice on Sundays for iron sights & middle aged eyes:

[BigAl52]

Yup me to that load is minute of steel. Good enough for me. Nice shooting

[Oldbrass]

I'd take that any day, very good shooting

[BrokenolMarine]

Nice job. I'd take that grouping at my age. Lol.

[Hatchdog]

That’s some great shooting offhand. Did you notice the reflection of your 15 shot group in the bottom of the receiver? Your photograph skills are as great as your shooting skills. Great pic!

[fortyshooter]

Great shooting off hand Wolfman! Steps to a great target shot.... Be able to SEE your sights and target. Maintain a comfortable steady hold on the rifle/revolver. TRY to aim for same spot. Easy trigger pull. And THEN find the load that shoots the best for your target distance.

I'm still working on all those.

[Headhog]

Nice shooting Wolfman. I'd say you got that rifle pretty well dialed in.

Paul

[Rifletom]

As others have said, great shooting wolf. Excellent groups. Maybe you've mentioned before, but, what is your load?

[Steve51]

Good shooting. Also curious of the load you were using.

[wolfman]

Thanks to all for the kind words, it was one of those days where I was just on my offhand game a little more than usual.

Good eyes Hatchdog, hadn't even noticed the reflection! Safe to say the "new' hasn't worn off the brass yet. Do plan to let it patina, reckon that will take some time.

The load I settled on (& what was shot in the offhand photos in the original post) is 6.0 grains HP38 under a 158 grain Zero jacketed soft point, lit by a CCI 500 in Starline brass. Shoots equally well from bench & bags in the single & the BBS carbine. Pressure wise, it's more medium that light- in the gray area between Hodgdon's 357 Magnum low end and 38 Special +p. Worked up from 4.5 grains, getting better & cleaner as charge weight increased. At 6.0, it leaves cases cleaner than any other load I've worked up, which is a nice bonus. Have great luck with HP38 at really low charges for wadcutter loads in revolvers, but rifles and/or jacketed bullets seem to prefer more.

Both guns shoot the same bullet over 16.5 grains H110 with a magnum primer as their heavy load.

My chronograph appears to be, mercifully, well & truly dead (never did like that one). So, no numbers from the BBS carbine for either load & didn't get the HP38 load from the single. Got the H110 load from the single a while back, averaged ~1850fps.

[zara_puppy]

Dang!! Just Dang!!

[fortyshooter]

That looks like a great load to try. I haven't used HP38 yet and might give it a shot IF I find it at the LGS

[wolfman]

I'm sure you already know this forty, but for anyone that doesn't- Hodgdon HP-38 & Winchester 231 are the same powder.

Has always been one of the more commonly available powders since I started reloading a decade ago, but the last couple years it's been a stretch to call any reloading component "commonly available"!

[BigAl52]

I have quite a bit of 231 at home and have used it as well for 38 357 9mm and 45acp. It works good in those calibers for plinking loads. 6 grains of 231 under a 200gr swc in a 45 acp is a very good load along with 5.6 under a 230 gr round nose.

[RanchRoper]

Very well done. Great shooting.