Big Boy 45 Colt at the Range

[RanchRoper]

I'll cowboy up and shoot my best!

yeehaw....off to the range tomorrow night!

[RanchRoper]

At the range tonight. 25 yds off hand. Windy! A little tough to know how much to compensate. Didn't do 50 yds or more, figured in the wind I'd waste a bunch of lead.
Ps. Shot the Hornady cowboy action loads. 255 gr LFN. Shot the Winchester ammo last time and it definitely goes kaboom compared to this stuff. Huge difference in power feels like.

[daytime dave]

That is nice shooting. I'd take that all day long.

You should have "wasted some lead" at 50 yds to see what would happen. I like to shoot in real world conditions. I'll bet you would have done better than you expected.

Thanks for posting today's results. The only thing I've "pulled a trigger" on lately was on Ebay.

[RanchRoper]

That is nice shooting. I'd take that all day long.

You should have "wasted some lead" at 50 yds to see what would happen. I like to shoot in real world conditions. I'll bet you would have done better than you expected.

Thanks for posting today's results. The only thing I've "pulled a trigger" on lately was on Ebay.

Ya I probably should have. The good news is the wind blows here all the time! So I'll give it a go next time. Likely Sunday. Thanks.

[JEBar]

25 yds off hand, even without the wind, that's not bad at all .... the Big Boys are certainly fun to shoot

[RanchRoper]

I am really enjoying it. A rancher friend of mine says bring my horses over sometime, put them in his big pen and we can shoot rifles off into the hill opposite them. That way they'll get used to the sound. First round fired will certainly get their attention. Don't want to be too close though, they have very good hearing. Not for long maybe.

[daytime dave]

If you learn to shoot effectively from horse back, that would be AWESOME!

[RanchRoper]

If you learn to shoot effectively from horse back, that would be AWESOME!

Haha...that would be a "hold my beer and watch this" moment for sure. the sort of trick I could do 1 time only. The next time my Henry comes out to play is after the Will gets read....

[PT7]

DD has a really excellent point there, Ranchroper....shooting in real world conditions. If your Big Boy is going to ride along with you on your horse, that's your shooting bench then. It makes sense. And it sounds like you have some good opportunity for trying that out.

I'll be really interested in hearing how you do.
Later in the thread DD said it would be awesome to learn to shoot from a horse. John Wayne would probably agree on that one!

Work the Big Boy hard, and Enjoy!

That is nice shooting. I'd take that all day long.

You should have "wasted some lead" at 50 yds to see what would happen. I like to shoot in real world conditions. I'll bet you would have done better than you expected.

[RanchRoper]

DD has a really excellent point there, Ranchroper....shooting in real world conditions. If your Big Boy is going to ride along with you on your horse, that's your shooting bench then. It makes sense. And it sounds like you have some good opportunity for trying that out.

I'll be really interested in hearing how you do.
Later in the thread DD said it would be awesome to learn to shoot from a horse. John Wayne would probably agree on that one!

Work the Big Boy hard, and Enjoy!

That is nice shooting. I'd take that all day long.

You should have "wasted some lead" at 50 yds to see what would happen. I like to shoot in real world conditions. I'll bet you would have done better than you expected.

You bet, next time out I'm throwing caution to the wind along with a bunch of lead. The daunting 100 yard backboard beckons....

[adirondack]

If you live in open country forget the range! you already have one. I would rather shoot tin cans and homemade targets at camp then the formality of organized shootin. You shoot like you love it and you seem to be a country boy. Alberta is just a dream for the rest of us hunters!

[RanchRoper]

I hear ya, however even though we live in the foothills, we have a highway nearby and neighbors within sight so banging off rounds at home probably not gonna happen. Too bad, but the range is only 15 min from home so no big deal. I know some guys who live in remote areas around here and I'll be able to shoot there too.

[adirondack]

Alberta is famed as whitetail country, Big and heavy record quality. Is it there for the average hunter or only paid, guided businesses? Here in the Adirondacks we still hunt free. Thousands of acres to scout and have a chance to fill the freezer. I have harvested over 50 whitetail bucks since I started hunting in the early 70"s. I have never paid a dime ,secrets passed on to me from father to son, now on to my son. As I said we only dream of hunting Alberta! Have you ever hunted there?

[Deadwood Dutch]

I must say congratulations on your record. Over 50 Whitetail bucks is terrific!

[RanchRoper]

Alberta is famed as whitetail country, Big and heavy record quality. Is it there for the average hunter or only paid, guided businesses? Here in the Adirondacks we still hunt free. Thousands of acres to scout and have a chance to fill the freezer. I have harvested over 50 whitetail bucks since I started hunting in the early 70"s. I have never paid a dime ,secrets passed on to me from father to son, now on to my son. As I said we only dream of hunting Alberta! Have you ever hunted there?

I'm not much of a hunter but I know lots of guys that are. We have a good population of deer, moose, black bear and grizzly. Griz are protected. Also lots of elk. Some very big game. Hunters have to have permits and there's a draw of some sort to see who gets what. Some guys want moose but don't necessarily get a tag for it. I have visited some pretty elaborate hunt camps during my travels looking for stray cattle after fall gathers. "Stragglin" we call it. Camps with big square high wall tents with woodstoves, etc. Some areas you have to pack in or pull a wagon as no motorized vehicles allowed. Hunting season is a very big deal here.

[adirondack]

[RanchRoper]

Just a dream for me...lol..Your next rifle should be the 45-70... now that's a business rlfle!

My doctor would be the only one getting business, setting my shoulder.
I'm pretty happy with my 45 Colt, and working on a nice SA revolver to go with it. Thks.

[JEBar]

Just a dream for me...lol..Your next rifle should be the 45-70... now that's a business rlfle!

My doctor would be the only one getting business, setting my shoulder.
I'm pretty happy with my 45 Colt, and working on a nice SA revolver to go with it. Thks.

I find it difficult to relay to people how hard a firearm kicks .... the best I can come up with on a 45-70 is to relate it to other calibers .... with our Henry rifles a light (Cowboy Action) load in our 45-70 kicks a little harder than a full power 44 mag .... a full power 45-70 kicks on par with a 12 ga shooting buckshot .... reloading tables call for 50 grain +/- 5 grain powder charges .... a 44 Mag calls for 15 - 20 grain charges .... powder charge recommendations for our 300 WBY Mag can run in the 80+ grain category .... these numbers are for a rough, ballpark illustrations

[RanchRoper]

Thanks for the explanation. As much as I'd like to have a bunch of Henry's, the only other one I'd be interested in for what I do is the 1860 Original model. Maybe next year, depends on finances. But I have a few places in Canada to get one from. Other than that I'll keep on shooting the 45 Colt until I can hit what I'm aiming at consistently. It shoots very well, and packs enough punch for me. Besides it's a looker!

[RanchRoper]

May 1st. It ain't pretty but there it is. 100 yds tonight. Slight cross breeze, and resting my elbow on a table. I'm just happy I hit paper. Only took a box of 20 rounds. Hornady 255 gr LFN. 8 hit the backboard but missed paper. I know they were mine because the board is new.
I seem to shoot low and left a lot. Even at 50 yds. Is that an adjustment needed to the sights or just new shooter stuff? I'm not sure. Maybe just need to shoot lots more. And that's a good thing anyway!!! But I sure do like my Henry.