Shooting in the rain - on December 22 in the unfrozen wasteland...

[Ian M]

A friend and I shot a .50 cal. Encore for several hours today - most of it in a light rain. Temp must have been just above 0 C. Snow everywhere and - raining! Then a huge rainbow that lasted for several minutes. Not exactly what we expect in frozen Saskatchewan a couple of days before Christmas! Gear got soaked right through, but a few hours of cleanup and drying will fix that.

No one in his right mind shoot muzzleloaders in the rain in late December, but I had to. The rifle shot very well, could have done nasty things to deer out at 250 yards and a lot further. We ran out of light. Fired over 75 shots so it was a good day. Got good data for a little project, more after the SHOT show.

[Ballistic64]

Gotta love these warm winters [img]/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/cool.gif[/img]
Enjoyed your 325 WSM article in Shooting Illustrated by the way. [img]/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/smile.gif[/img]

[Ian M]

Thanks for the kind words, I kind of enjoyed reading that one too. Am up over 1500 rounds through those two rifles. Bottom line for me, the .325 WSM is a nice cartridge, doesn't break any new ground but it is very accurate and has enough energy for anything I am likely to hunt. Except Alaska browns and grizzlies - I will stay with a .416 for those boogers.
You are right about mild winters, can't believe the crazy weather we have been having. We have had a lot of snow but this weather is settlling it right down, even melting a bunch. Hope to take my steel plates out and do some bashing with the long range rifles, really need a steel-clanging hit [img]/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/smirk.gif[/img]

+5c yesterday and raining. Most of the snow is gone in southern Manitoba. Forcast is for +3c today. So much for a white Christmas.

[Ian M]

I'll take it over forty below!!!! Bring on global warming, winter screws-up about 40% of my shooting time [img]/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/tongue.gif[/img]

[Jimm]

Ian ,

Shooting a 50 Knight disc extreme stainless bbl. with 150 grs of Triple 7 under a 245 gr Barnes hpbt has produced velocities that hover a few feet per sec. either way in 35 degree weather of 2060 fps and groups at 100 are literally touching holes for 3 shot groups.

At 3 hundred 2.5 3 shot groups are common until the fouling builds up . About two groups is all it can do till they open up . I think this is the exception rather than the rule but I'm glad to get a " shooter " ! Good payback for all the cruddy ones in the past [img]/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/laugh.gif[/img]

Please correct me if I'm wrong here but i think I am good to 350 with this rig / combo. My exbal says only 2 moa more for 350 from the 310 zero . Thats funny isn't it " only " 2 more moa for 40 yds at 350 ?

May your celebration of the birth of the Messiah be filled with joy and light ( can you imagine [img]/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/smile.gif[/img] )

Jim Brown

[Ian M]

Jim,
You got a good barrel there. Here are my drops, base info is a 26" T/C Encore ML, 150 gr. 777 pellets, 250 T/C Shockwave, Win. 209 primer. 9x scope in MK4 rings, T/C-Warne one piece steel base.

Accuracy stayed slightly under two moa. We were shooting in very light wind from 3 o'clock, light drizzle, temp just barely above 0 C.
100 0
150 3.25”
200 11.0”
225 17.0”
250 22.0”

I would have taken this farther but we only needed to go to 250 for this test and also we pretty much ran out of light. I have shot past 300 a lot, made several kills at that distance, longest was 343 yards.

With the accuracy you describe I see no reason not to go to 350. Surprising how much energy those big slugs have out at longer distances. Your Knight is shooting about as well as we can hope given the variables imposed by muzzleloading.

Best wishes for Christmas.