Plus one!
Lever Gun Lust Fest
- Thread starter c-fbmi
- Start date
Plus one!
- Location
- Southern Vancouver Island
I'm so all over gettin' one of these "bucket list" rifles for hunting with & plinkin'. Got a few dealer checks to go though, but I'm gettin' one. Fookin' nice.
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After seeing the picture of your collection on the reloading bench thread, I'm not surprised you should have a few beauties that languish for lack of attention!
You're going to have such fun, though I don't envy you the cleaning job afterward, heehee!!Say, do you keep a log book for each gun, or just one log where you record the specifics and use for all of them?
Grawfr............re log books............I don't do none of that stuff, I buy 'em, I check 'em out, I make cases where necessary, I find bullets, I load the cases (Lyman or CotW data) and I shoot 'em.........no log books, no load development unless they shoot absolutely terrible (10"+ @ 100). Most will shoot minute of cigarette package/pop can at 100 mtrs if I'm having a good day. The ONLY logbook I keep is in my aircraft.
I won the last lever gun shoot in Whitehorse with a vintage 32 spl in a 94 1/2 oct, 1/2 round button mag. The shoot included IHMSA turkeys at 150 mtrs........sights only. I was having a good day that day...........If they are shooting more or less to POA then I will try them on paper and tweek them in as close as possible. Then they get a tag as being sighted in and the boxs of ammo gets marked as sighted in. I do not load individually for each rifle where I have multiples, I use a generic load (much like factory ammo users) and I check each rifle with this load and sight accordingly. When I load for them I try to get close to factory BP ballistics but never try to exceed them. Some I'm shooting factory ammo cause I bought a bunch on a deal somewhere..........not long ago I found a deal on 800 X 25-20 factory ammo in Rem and Win, so I doubt I'll be loading for those rifles any time soon. I was also able to acquire 100 factory Win 25-35, 100 factory 348, a couple hundred 32-20, 150 X 218 Bee, and so on. Some of it is still out there in small town LGS and gun shows, so I buy it when I come across it. But pretty much every thing from the 32 spl and up is custom make your brass and load your own for..........even the 348 is special order now unless you bump some old stock up in a small shop or gun show. The resurgence of the Comm Wins in 38-55 has made it a lot more available than it used to be, and of course 45-70 is every where...........which is good because it is the basis for almost every cartridge in the 86 Win, makes it easy to make long obsolete cartridges like the 33 WCF and 38-56 and 40-82 and a myriad of other cartridges for the 86. The only anomalies are the 50-110 which is a slightly larger cartridge in dia and rim and the 45-90 which is a basic 45-70 but is 2.4" long.
Any way I digress..........will try to get some comparative cartridge shots up today if Photbucket co-operates.
I won the last lever gun shoot in Whitehorse with a vintage 32 spl in a 94 1/2 oct, 1/2 round button mag. The shoot included IHMSA turkeys at 150 mtrs........sights only. I was having a good day that day...........If they are shooting more or less to POA then I will try them on paper and tweek them in as close as possible. Then they get a tag as being sighted in and the boxs of ammo gets marked as sighted in. I do not load individually for each rifle where I have multiples, I use a generic load (much like factory ammo users) and I check each rifle with this load and sight accordingly. When I load for them I try to get close to factory BP ballistics but never try to exceed them. Some I'm shooting factory ammo cause I bought a bunch on a deal somewhere..........not long ago I found a deal on 800 X 25-20 factory ammo in Rem and Win, so I doubt I'll be loading for those rifles any time soon. I was also able to acquire 100 factory Win 25-35, 100 factory 348, a couple hundred 32-20, 150 X 218 Bee, and so on. Some of it is still out there in small town LGS and gun shows, so I buy it when I come across it. But pretty much every thing from the 32 spl and up is custom make your brass and load your own for..........even the 348 is special order now unless you bump some old stock up in a small shop or gun show. The resurgence of the Comm Wins in 38-55 has made it a lot more available than it used to be, and of course 45-70 is every where...........which is good because it is the basis for almost every cartridge in the 86 Win, makes it easy to make long obsolete cartridges like the 33 WCF and 38-56 and 40-82 and a myriad of other cartridges for the 86. The only anomalies are the 50-110 which is a slightly larger cartridge in dia and rim and the 45-90 which is a basic 45-70 but is 2.4" long.
Any way I digress..........will try to get some comparative cartridge shots up today if Photbucket co-operates.
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Okay, so here's the line up of most of the cartridges digested by my Winchester collection.........I did not include the more modern cases from the 95s like the 30-40 or the 303 or 30-03, 30-06...........
And then there was this little oops..................They sure look like 30-30 when they are head up in the ammo box...........
So who would like to guess at this line up left to right..........the end one is not a Winchester creation, it's a 45-110 Sharps just for size relationship.
I'll give you a little hint, they are in caliber order, smallest left to biggest right. Okay that's not exactly true, the pistol cases are in caliber order then the longer rifle cases are in caliber order.......
And then there was this little oops..................They sure look like 30-30 when they are head up in the ammo box...........
So who would like to guess at this line up left to right..........the end one is not a Winchester creation, it's a 45-110 Sharps just for size relationship.
I'll give you a little hint, they are in caliber order, smallest left to biggest right. Okay that's not exactly true, the pistol cases are in caliber order then the longer rifle cases are in caliber order.......
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DG..........you got the first 3 right............I'll give you a hint, Winchester never chambered their rifles for the 45LC, that I am aware of, so drop the 45 LC and wedge the right one between the 32-20 and the 44-40 and you'll have the first 5......
I can see really agree with that sentiment.
Too many hours of frustration have been spent by myself worrying about which load to use in a hunting rifle, especially hose with open irons, only to shoot an animal in what basically amounts to bow range.
That trigger them is far more valuable to my skills etc that worrying about a half grain of powder or finding a node.
Let's take a swing.
218 Bee, 25-20, 32-20, 38-40, 44-40, 25-35, 3030, 3240, 32ws, 33 WCF, 348, 38-55, 38-56,
And thenjoy things get fuzzy
Looks like a 50-110 on the end
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Okay so there doesn't seem to be many guessers so I identify them left to right..........
218 Bee, 25-20, 32-20, 38-40, 44-40, 25-35, 30-30, 32-40, 32 WS, 33 WCF, 348, 35 WCF, 38-55, 38-56, 38-72, 40-72, 40-82, 405, 45-70, 45-90 and 45-110 Sharps
218 Bee, 25-20, 32-20, 38-40, 44-40, 25-35, 30-30, 32-40, 32 WS, 33 WCF, 348, 35 WCF, 38-55, 38-56, 38-72, 40-72, 40-82, 405, 45-70, 45-90 and 45-110 Sharps
- Location
- Southern Vancouver Island
I'm after one in 25-35 (6.5x52R fer the metric minded). Always wanted to get one & missed out on the ones
made in this chambering back around 2005, the Trails End Hunter. Glad to see this Miroku made '94 in production.
Now all they gotta do is make up a batch of these in 32-40 to make my day.
Most of these cases I have made from existing cartridges like the 33 WCF and 38-56 from 45-70. Most of the 86 and some of the 95 cartridges no longer exist in any form and must be made from something modern that matches somewhat. A lot of the obsolete 95 cases can be made from 405 brass but the rim dia and thickness must be reduced. I have just discovered that they can all be made from 375 flanged magnum 2.5" cases with out all the lathe work however the 375 cases are 4 bucks each, so I'll not be collecting several hundred of them any time soon. Virtually every cartridge for the 86 can be made from 45-70 or 45-90 with the 50-110 being the exception. The 73s use the same cartridges as the 92s and they are all somewhat available and it appears from what little I can find out about the cartridges used in the 76, that they too seem to stem from the 45-70 case.
So you have to make the ammunition for many of those beauties? I admire your dedication and expertise, but I don't exactly envy it, lol... the amount of time involved has to be considerable!
You, Sir, are a true enthusiast (aka a real nutz) and I doff my hat in respect at you.
You, Sir, are a true enthusiast (aka a real nutz) and I doff my hat in respect at you.
The adjective "obsessive" has been used to describe my enthusiastic approach to my gun hobby, by some who know me well.
Making cases in a lot of instances is nothing more than running a parent case through the appropriate full length sizer die and then maybe some trimming. Others are as easy as chambering a factory cartridge and pulling the trigger to fireform the new case. However the 38-72 and 40-72 involved reducing the rim diameter and thickness on 100 X 405 Win cases in the lathe. That was definitely a time consuming PITA.
Making cases in a lot of instances is nothing more than running a parent case through the appropriate full length sizer die and then maybe some trimming. Others are as easy as chambering a factory cartridge and pulling the trigger to fireform the new case. However the 38-72 and 40-72 involved reducing the rim diameter and thickness on 100 X 405 Win cases in the lathe. That was definitely a time consuming PITA.
