Whats your most accurate long range cast bullet outfit?

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Valiant

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Curious about 5 or 10 shot groups without cleaning between shots.
Long range would be say 100 to 200 yards with pistol cartridges (45 colt or 44/40) in rifles
300 yards and more with rifle cartridges (38/55. 45/70 etc)
What are you running?
I dont mean your best group I mean what you can count on your gun to do. 3 shot groups dont count Flyers do count
Some guys shoot six shots and only count the best five. I think every shot should count. No cleaning between shots either.
What can your rig do?
 
I'd say that for my schuetzen rifles ( 32-40 & 38-55 ) it's disappointing if they shoot worse than one MOA ten shot groups at 200m. I do get disappointed more often than I like though. It's not rare for me to have a flyer that opens a really nice 10 shot group up to over that. That's smokeless powder and no cleaning. The powders I use a pretty dirty so accuracy falls off after 20-30 shots and the barel needs cleaning.

I've never shot cast bullets with smokeless powder past 200, but have shot a lot of black powder from 200 to 1000. On a good day I'll shoot a moa or a hair above for ten shots @ 300 but it needs to be quite calm and a good day. That is always wiping between shots though so it doesn't match your no cleaning criteria. 300 is the furthest I've shot 10 shot moa at, but I'm pretty confident I've been very close to that when shooting turkeys at 385m in practice and competition.

Chris.
 
Here are a couple of typical groups that a shooter at my level will often get at 200m ( the really talented people would have them a little tighter and no flyer :) ).

They are both shot with the same rifle, a CPA 52 Schuetzen Jr., one shot with a Douglas barrel in 32-40 and the other with a 38-55 gain twist Ron Smith barrel.
 

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I bought a Schuetzen on a Stevens 44 1/2 action last winter. It is chambered in .357 Dell and is a Ron Smith barrel so I assume gain twist. I have yet to shoot it but it came with a target the owner had shot in the States, 200 yards. He said he was quite proud of it until he turned it in. The scorer looked at it and said “don’t need to score that one” and set it aside. The guy said “what do you mean?”, scorer showed him some of the other targets, 😳 and his was nowhere near in the running. BTW, this is breach seated as well IMG_3389.jpeg
 
I'm hitting a 6" target at 100m , with a very conservative load with my .41 Swiss Veterlli. I only break it out for special occasions, mainly because the cases require finding brass and casting. It's very nice., so I treat it like grandma's china.
 
Another 32 Dell! Very cool. What sort of stock is on yours?

I have one on a Meacham 1885, but haven't shot it yet. It got dropped by the post office in America. Someone opened up the packaging and dropped it on the floor breaking the lower tang. I have a new tang fitted and just have to finish re-inletting the wood. It has a couple of other issies but will be good soon I think.

How are you forming cases? I have some brass for mine but no way to make new cases yet.

Chris.
 
gunlaker said:
Another 32 Dell! Very cool. What sort of stock is on yours?

I have one on a Meacham 1885, but haven't shot it yet. It got dropped by the post office in America. Someone opened up the packaging and dropped it on the floor breaking the lower tang. I have a new tang fitted and just have to finish re-inletting the wood. It has a couple of other issies but will be good soon I think.

How are you forming cases? I have some brass for mine but no way to make new cases yet.

Chris.
Click to expand...
It came with two stocks, a paddle stock and wide forend for bench rest and an offhand stock. Neither is special in a way, kinda cheezy actually. It came with several hundred cases many loaded. Interestingly, it was sold to me as a .32-40 but turns out to be a .357 Dell I have a sizing die, if you want, I can send it to you and you can size a bunch of brass then just send it back with breach loading a guy only needs one piece of brass and just reload it at the bench IMG_2535.jpegIMG_2534.jpegIMG_2536.jpeg
 
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The .357 Dell is a little older than the .32 Miller and Miler short, but quite similar to a .32 Miller short. It's usually base on a .357 mag, or .357 maximum case sized with a straight taper die to make the case mouth a 32. It was invented by a guy named Charlie Dell who never used the name .32 Dell, he called it a 32/357. But I guess a lot of others thought it should be named after him. It's breech seating only round because it has no parallel neck section to hold a conventionally loaded bullet. It was invented to increase load density over the 32-40 round. You could triple charge a 32-40 case with any popular schuetzen powder, but the 32 Dell solved that. As a result it has much better velocity consistency but the cost is higher pressure. Probably not a chambering you'd want in a weak rifle action.
Chris
 
Valiant said:
Curious about 5 or 10 shot groups without cleaning between shots.
Long range would be say 100 to 200 yards with pistol cartridges (45 colt or 44/40) in rifles
300 yards and more with rifle cartridges (38/55. 45/70 etc)
What are you running?
I dont mean your best group I mean what you can count on your gun to do. 3 shot groups dont count Flyers do count
Some guys shoot six shots and only count the best five. I think every shot should count. No cleaning between shots either.
What can your rig do?
Click to expand...

For pistol sized rifle cartridges like the 38-40 and 44-40...I can post the following 44-40 shots with smokeless powder;

44-40 (total 40 shots, two targets)
8-17-2019 - Target 1, first ten shots @ 100 yards
8_17_19_2_group1.jpg

2nd target, first ten shots after scope adjustment from first target
8_17_19_3_group1.jpg

2nd target, second ten shots
8_17_19_3_group2.jpg


2nd target, third ten shots (30 consecutive shots)
8_17_19_3_group3.jpg

Total for second target
Ballistic-X_8-17-19-3_30shots.jpg


9-25-2026
Left target for elevation and windage
Right target for groups
800.jpg

87149d6e-906c-4456-8eca-950b580be77c.jpg
 
For pistol sized rifle cartridges like the 38-40 and 44-40...I can post the following 44-40 shots with smokeless powder;

10-17-2020
200 and 225 yards
10-17-2020-1a.jpg


8-25-2021
241643805_1045666089587122_7614127524597370649_n.jpg

9-24-2022
309547297_803713784105612_6336514936618262208_n.jpg

9-28-2025
A.jpg

After getting the scope custom marked...
200 Yard Setting.jpg
2026-8-29-3 100 yards.jpg


next 300 yards...
 
So no spaghetti reproductions or japan winchesters. Im guessing barrel and chamber quality?
Im surprised at no montana built guns?
Enjoyed the pics and hearing about your beautiful non Barbie guns.
 
gunlaker said:
That is a really nice setup! Did you buy it off of an Alberta shooter after the Alberta Schuetzen Guild matches stopped? I might take you up on that offer to borrow your sizing die, but first I will try to find one out of the States.
Click to expand...
I bought it from a German fellow that is a life long black powder shooter in Penticton (a freind of my parents). He has 4 or 5 vintage schuetzen rifles from “the old country” that are spectacular 19th century examples. The way those things are stocked, it’s no wonder they shoot as they go off hand. Once you get “ locked in” you can hold point of aim for what seems like forever with little to no effort. A truely amazing experience.
 
Sorry for multipol outdated replies. For some reason my screan is getting refreshed only after i post. Anyway thanks for your posts Bryan.
I guess my question is with your reproduction. When new did it shoot that good? Did you have to break in the barrel or do anything to it? Did your gun ever lead just a head of its chamber? What does your barrel groove diameter and what size of bullet are you shooting?
 
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