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The 3 shot 100 yard groups I shot today with my CVA Accura V2, Browning X-Bolt in 270 WSM and my Model 1885 in 300 Win Mag.
After my first two trips out to testing bullets and a Vortex Viper HS LR scope on my muzzleloader I found that I greatly lacked MOA adjustment in the scope and that the 300 Gr AeroLite bullets were giving me the best accuracy.
I went back to the drawing board with mounting the scope. I kept the EGW rail but turned it around. I turned it around so that the overhang of the rail would cover the blast that escapes and was coating the bottom of my scope with nasty crap. My idea worked great other than I needed to but safety goggles on because to defected crap back into my face. I am going to solve the deflecting debris by sticking a small piece of felt across the top of the receiver or the bottom of the rail and see how that works.
To get the turret back near below center I purchased some Medium height Burris Signature Zee Rings. I then used the inserts to cant the scope forward as much as I possibly could. According to the inserted chart I should pickup 15.2 MOA with the 4.75 inches between the two rings that I have.
I also picked up a Blackhorn loose powder breech plug. This breech plug is designed to provide a more consistent ignition for those that shoot the loose powder instead of the pellets.
Last trip out 130 Gr of powder shot a group just a smidgen larger than an inch. After a bore sighting shot aimed at the center of all the targets I first shot the 130 Gr load again. With the new breech plug 130 Gr didn't shoot as well so I tried 140 and then 120 Gr and bingo 120 Gr group is near 3/4 inch. Better that my X-Bolt with the SSTs today. Wow! It amazes me that a smoke pole can shoot this well.
After shooting today and zeroing the scope for the 120 Gr load that shot so well I now have 46 MOA of adjustment left to dial up long shots which would max me out at around 550 yards according to Strelok Pro. I will need to verify my drops by finding a place to shoot out to 500 yards in the next month or so.
Today I also brought along my 270 WSM X-Bolt and my 300 Win Mag Model 1885. I have been doing a little load development with the 150 Gr Hornady SST and the 212 Hornady ELD-X bullets. I had four different H1000 powder charges for the 150 SST's and two different H1000 charges for the ELD-X bullets. I have shot a few groups with these bullets earlier this summer and I'm seeing good results with the 150 SST but so far just plain bad results with the ELD-X. I'm starting to lean toward the ELD-X may need a powder other than my favorite H1000 or it likes to be seated way off the lands.
I would like to have the 150 SST setup for Dallen to hunt with for muleys and elk by the first of October. The one group is under an inch. I'm getting close with the SST.
The EGW rail works great at keeping my scope clean but deflects debris back to my face. I am going to try sticking a piece of felt to the receiver or rail in the narrow slot you can see here.
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Had a blast once again shooting at Spirit Ridge Rifle Golf Course. This year I decided to shoot the Master's course with my 243 WSSM Model 1885 with 95 Gr Berger VLD bullets. The little 95ers were a little difficult with the wind at the really long ranges but all in all I shot ok with them.
I had a lot of fun testing bullets and rifles on the driving range in the heat of the afternoon after shooting the course. Here are some of my video highlights from the day.
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The 3 shot 100 yard groups I shot today with my CVA Accura V2, Browning X-Bolt in 270 WSM and my Model 1885 in 243 WSSM. I did shoot a 4th shot on the 150 SST group.
The 95 Gr Berger VLD has just been amazing in my 243 WSSM Model 1885 rifle over the years. Today I wanted to try H1000 powder charges instead of the MagPro I had been using. Today I tried two powder charges with this bullet 46.0 and 46.4 grain loads. In the targets above the group on the left has two bullets in one hole.
Since I am wanting to really extend my range out to 300 yards and beyond with my muzzleloader I'm going to need to up the powder charge from the 100 grains of FFG that I have hunted with in the past.
Today I was trying 130 Gr of Triple7 FFG powder behind the 300 Gr Hornady SST, 300 Gr Hornady FPB, and the 300 Gr PowerBelt AeroLite. On my last trip out I learned that having the ramrod attached to the muzzleloader was affecting my group sizes so this time out I kept the ramrod off the muzzleloader for all of my shooting.
I also brought a couple of my rifles to shoot different loads with so I would shoot three shots with one bullet in my muzzleloader then switch to a rifle for three shots. Doing this helped to keep my barrels cool and give me better results.
The 300 Gr PowerBelt AeroLite was clearly the most accurate again on this trip out. With 130 Gr of Triple7 FFG powder this bullet shot a 1 1/8 inch group at 100 yards and was going just a hair shy of 2,000 fps on my chrony. This bullet is designed to open up in game with non-magnum charges. Since I am wanting something that will be able to take deer out past 300 yards, I thinking the AeroLite with magnum loads might be the ticket. But what about those Parker bullets???
Someone might ask why I haven't tried the Barnes muzzy bullets. Given my experience with Barnes' awesomely accurate rifle bullets I have not been pleased with their performance on game in long-range applications see this article for some of my thoughts on Barnes Bullets. Maybe their muzzy bullets would perform better than their rifle bullets at longer ranges however I think the AeroLite is probably the best pill for the job right now.
I still need to figure out the scope mount to give me a little more MOA adjustment. Right now I have exactly 28 MOA of available adjustment for long shots left on my Vortex Viper HS LR 4-16x50 scope. With the 300 Gr AeroLite and a velocity of 2,000 fps that would get me to around 500 yards which should be plenty but I would prefer to have a larger window of adjustment and be using more of the middle of the adjustment range.
I am looking at having EGW make a custom rail or go with some Burris Signature Z-Rings that have the MOA adjustment inserts. Hmm...