Today, I took my original Springfield 1888 .45-70 rifle made in 1891 and my Winchester Model 1876 .45-60 made in 1884 to the range to see what these old pards could do. Here's a photo of the two vintage rifles, with the Springfield up top and the '76 down below …
First up was the 125 year-old '76. My order of .45-60 brass from Rocky Mountain Cartridge has not arrived yet, so all I had was 5 cartridges using original .45-60 brass, loaded with 26.2 grains of 5744 under a 327 grain cast GC bullet. I decided to use all 5 cartridges for a 100 yard, 5-shot group. I rested the forearm stock across my shooting bag and took 5 slow shots, sighting through the notch of the original iron ladder sight. When I saw the results, I was pleased ….. a 100 yard, 5-shot group of only 1 & ¾"! Here's a photo of the target, with an original .45-60 black powder cartridge that must be about 100 years old ….
Next up was the 119 year-old Springfield 1888 .45-70 rifle. My friend and I took turns shooting it and then I figured it was time to try a 5-shot group at 100 yards. You may recall that I posted a range report last week where I tried a 3-shot group at 100 yards and got an 11/16" group. The big question in my mind was whether this was a fluke, or could the old girl do it again. I was using a 500 grain SAECO plain base bullet over 30 grains of IMR 3031 topped off with ¼ rounded teaspoon of cream of wheat for filler. I took 5 careful shots through that beautiful Buffington sight and then strolled down to the 100 yard butts to take a look. By gum! The five shots formed a 1 & 1/16" group! Now I'm ready to fine-tune my sights adjustment. Here's a photo of the target with one of my 500 grain rounds for comparison ….
Boys, these old pards demonstrated loud and clear that they ain't done ridin' yet. They can still hold their own against all those young tenderfoot modern leverguns. One of these old-timers is going to put some Whitetail venison in the freezer this coming fall.
First up was the 125 year-old '76. My order of .45-60 brass from Rocky Mountain Cartridge has not arrived yet, so all I had was 5 cartridges using original .45-60 brass, loaded with 26.2 grains of 5744 under a 327 grain cast GC bullet. I decided to use all 5 cartridges for a 100 yard, 5-shot group. I rested the forearm stock across my shooting bag and took 5 slow shots, sighting through the notch of the original iron ladder sight. When I saw the results, I was pleased ….. a 100 yard, 5-shot group of only 1 & ¾"! Here's a photo of the target, with an original .45-60 black powder cartridge that must be about 100 years old ….
Next up was the 119 year-old Springfield 1888 .45-70 rifle. My friend and I took turns shooting it and then I figured it was time to try a 5-shot group at 100 yards. You may recall that I posted a range report last week where I tried a 3-shot group at 100 yards and got an 11/16" group. The big question in my mind was whether this was a fluke, or could the old girl do it again. I was using a 500 grain SAECO plain base bullet over 30 grains of IMR 3031 topped off with ¼ rounded teaspoon of cream of wheat for filler. I took 5 careful shots through that beautiful Buffington sight and then strolled down to the 100 yard butts to take a look. By gum! The five shots formed a 1 & 1/16" group! Now I'm ready to fine-tune my sights adjustment. Here's a photo of the target with one of my 500 grain rounds for comparison ….
Boys, these old pards demonstrated loud and clear that they ain't done ridin' yet. They can still hold their own against all those young tenderfoot modern leverguns. One of these old-timers is going to put some Whitetail venison in the freezer this coming fall.
