The Golden Gun, The magic bullet, the unbeatable Caliber

[Kenny Wasserburger]

The Golden Gun, The magic bullet, the unbeatable Caliber, and Shooting MOA.


We all have cussed discussed and beat to death these topics. You see this on every single board. And while it is not a bad thing, it may be hard for the newbee or Tryo shooter to sort out all of the BS of the other shooters. For the new shooter to BPCR the learning curve is a steep one, Loading BP is in no way similar to loading smokless loads and Highpower rifle. The fact that you use a press and dies is where the two part company and begin down different paths.

First of All for the New Shooter:

Pick a rifle style that you like and can afford. Save your money buy the best, you will only spend it once then. If the upper end rifles are just to far out of reach. Then by all means get a Pedersoli in what ever flavor you want. Sharps or Roller. In the Roller get the Bodine rifle. However a Shiloh is not that expensive and one can save up the money while its being built. I suggest this whole-heartedly why? Quality is the best and its not that much more, one can budget for it. This all depends on how bad you want one of course!

Sights: Don’t go cheap here, buy the very best you can afford, if you got the Pedersoli then at least get the MVA or Baldwin sights. Argue with me on this all you want, in the long run you will wish you got one of these two Mentioned. I might add that the New Hoke sight might be a 3rd option I hear very good things about them, and I have seen but one , Quality was excellent. The MVA and the Baldwin WIN. MVA has the best eyecup on the market, you of course will not know that until you get the chance to look down one and understand with I mean.

Bullets: LEARN TO CAST THE BEST BULLET YOU CAN

Commercial moulds? Saeco is one of the better Lyman are Ok.

Many folks think they can skimp on the bullet mould, and Start out that way. I did! Take it from me your better to buy best quality first and last. Money is saved trust me. However, I may add one caveat, a first mould that is cheap may save you from ruining a high dollar mould to practice with to learn how to cast good bullets. I like the Saeco moulds and Paul Jones and Steve Brooks use these mould blocks in their custom mould making.

Again you are better served and ahead in the long run to buy a top quality mould to begin with its cheaper then you think. Paul Jones or Steve Brooks, Fred Leeth might be a 3rd option. And be Very VERY Critical of your casting and your bullet Quality! AND YOUR LEAD! Got good Alloy or you will not have the tool to do the job at the target PERIOD! I can not stress this enough, Alloy is where its at, that equals a top quality bullet.

Caliber?? A good issue and it gets lots of chatter! We all got our favorites that’s well known. And NO I am not here to sell you a caliber! Pick what you like, after all this is your gun. If you’re a dinky bore fan then go for it be ready for a longer learning curve to make them work , they take some special efforts. Or if your into the bigger stuff then go that route. In Silhouette, 38’s will and can do well. I do not recommend going any smaller then that and even then fast twist guns and the heaviest bullet for the caliber are the key components to make them work. As for Long Range BPCR? If that’s your bent then, well to be real dang blunt, the 45’s are what’s winning PERIOD. Oh we got naysayers I know, but So far that’s about all it is, is NOISE, NO Wins, in theory they have the bullets where they need to win but so far its not showing up on the target or the matches.

I have a good friend that was going to tear it up at Raton last summer with his 40-82 Crossno, he was going to show me how it was done. This person made a point of telling me via inter-net MSG’s and several times over the course of the week before the Creedmoor Nationals, and in previous phone visits.

After the first day of the LR nationals, he was avoiding me like the plague. I found him and sort of gave him a bad time; he admitted when he got home that a new 45-90 barrel would be on the Rifle in Short order. He had gotten an education in Long-Range shooting thanks to Raton’s Creedmoor range; this was a real eye opener for him, even with his top secret Spotter who is a national ranked shooter. This past years Creedmoor Nats had WIND, major conditions. 45’s won and that’s it!

I am sure folks will get up on a soap box and explain how superior their small caliber high BC bullets are and have 26 microns less wind drift then the heavy 45 caliber bullet does and so much less recoil. Hey that’s Great, but for the inexperienced shooter that don’t mean a lot and for experienced shooters it still don’t mean much. 10 inches less wind drift at Raton will if you made a bad wind call might make the difference between a 6 and a miss that is true. If your wind call is off that much and you are out of the black you wont be winning anywise. So if small caliber is your choice please trot down to Raton or Say Wyoming and prove it with a Win. I got news for you the guy with a old 45-70 using FFFg Swiss and a Paul Jones Creedmoor will most likely beat you.

Now finally, we all shoot some damm good groups at times. We hear about them all the time, some folks get upset about that. To do it on Demand is not that easy. As to the fact, not many MOA Challenge Plaques are out there, bears this out. I listen to this all the time and I know folks can and do shoot some excellent groups I have personally, some in my Shooting Diary that will blow folks minds, can I do this every single time I go to the range, nope! But we all pretty much can shoot 1.5 Moa on a regular basis and face it, that will win you every match you enter if you can keep that group in the center of the target or the steel animal. That’s the KEY here keep the bullet in the middle, and once that is understood then the rest falls into place.


The factor that will win you a match no mater what caliber you are shooting is simple. Range Time!!!!! with your rifle of choice and caliber of choice. That’s the biggest Secret out there. AND IF YOUR Bullet is the Best one YOU Can cast. Once you are confident of your bullet quality and are very well used to your rifle choice then its TIME TO GO TO SCHOOL. Yes that’s right, the lessons are just about to begin!

Conditions, LEARN EM! And learn what they do to your bullet and load. That means Range TIME! In Conditions! And not just at 100 yards, one needs to shoot out to at least the Ram line or say 500 yards to really get a feel for loads and what the resulting impact is on your bullet.

You have a ¼ moa load and your rifle is shooting that at ¼ MOA and yet you don’t have a clue as to what the conditions will do to that bullet and load then your just plan out of luck..

Don’t put this all on your spotter or that you lack one: forget that BS. WHY? Well to put it nicely, the best guns in the game do about 90% of their own spotting with a Lay down scope. That’s why they are beating most folks, they know the load, they know what its going to do in a condition, and they know their rifle inside and out. Their spotter plots the shot where it hit and might stop them from making a shot in a condition change, that’s about all. They do the other 90% of the spotting for themselves. Again this is a watch and learn type of thing. You will not know or learn this until you attend some big matches, such as Raton or a Silhouette Regional or A Long Range Regional. You will need a spotter of course but Learn to read conditions for your self also. Even experienced shooters can benefit from someone telling their impacts as that’s not easy to see at short ranges. This comes in handy when testing loads, setting up a new scope on your rifle ect. So the spotter is a key component to the mix, but learn what the conditions are doing to your load also for your self and let’s face it 2 sets of eyes ears and instincts are better then the one.

Some points to chew on and think over?

Kenny Wasserburger

[kevin harris]

Thank You Kenny,

I was woundering when someone was going to sort the bear fat from the buckwheat

[Omak Cowboy]

Thanks Kenny, Great post! I read it, re read it and then re read it again.
Omak

[Dave Shaw]

kenny

Great post I've only been in this game two years, but shooting for some 26 years. What you say makes good advice, certainly the range time to sort out and understand how it all goes together.

[VAshooter]

Kenny,
I must be the guy your talking to. I just got my first rifle, a CPA in 45-70 because I could get it semifinished in a month rather than wait a year for the Shiloh Sharps I have on order to get here. I figured I would be a year ahead on the learning curve. I'm learning how to cast bullets after 40 years of casting and I'm learning how to load all over again. I've only shot my rifle at 100 yards but I do have access to a 500 yard range if I get there early enough to secure the road to the 300 yard line.

Thank you for your post. I may be new to black powder cartridge rifles but I've been shooting for a long time and everything you say rings true. Hope to meet you at a match someday.

[BigBoresOrBust]

Hey this is a great post! It's also the first one I read here. I hope the rest of the forum is this good!

[Big Gun]

Kenny:

Thanks for taking the time to share the facts of life with us. I have shot competition for 30+ years and you speak the truth!! Sometimes we lose sight of reality for the various reasons...but sooner or later the hard facts come home to roost. The people who are new to BPCR shooting will save a lot of frustration if they think about what you said before they take too many steps.

[nohorse]

Well said. However, I like the statement you made in your previous missive: " Long Range shooting fell on hard Times in the USA in the 1880’s and interest was lost, let us hope that politics and other issues do not put an end to this Second Golden age of Creedmoor any time soon." Hmmm the "Second Golden age of Creedmoor". Now that is a true insight. Thanks KW.

[decook2k]

Now Kenny........ I wern't avoiding you. It just so happened every time you started commin' my way, I had to go to the bathroom. You did a good job of waitin' me out though, and gave me the hell I deserved. I remember a shoot two years ago, I hadn't had a 10 pin in quite a long spell. After nine pigs, I looked over at Maca and with authority said she's going down. I'm sure you guessed the outcome, kind of the same thing as the Creedmore champs.

No I didn't light any fires there, it was the first long range match I was ever in. They did send me a 10th place medal for Expert class, but I think it was only for the 900 Yd relay on day two. But folks, Kenny's right about learning the conditions with your rifle/load. And that Creedmore shoot last year was the thesis for Piling it Higher and Deeper (PHD) in the long range target competitions.

Dave Cook
-dc

[Kenny Wasserburger]

Guys thanks,

Just thought it was time we got some clear air on what really maters is all>!

Dave You were a good sport, your a fine shot too! I know it was your first LR match and of course it was a real education. Now that you have been led into the light lets hope you stay there!

Folks Dave is a good guy, and I have known him a couple years now, he is just a small part of what makes this sport great.

Some times we lose sight of the game for all the trees. I have had the good, no great fortune to have had some mentors in this sport, And being a total Rifle crank does not hurt eather! In all my years of shooting Highpower I never once had the fun that I have had in BPCR. But Highpower and some good books and Vists to Camp Perry Ohio, Cut my learning curve in BP alot. I learned about precision handloading and what it takes to make such ammo. Much carries to this game and some does not.

I shot alot of Small bore while going to Tech School in AZ alot can be learned about wind drift shooting at 100-200 yards with a 22. While I could not afford the Anschutz I did get around to some nice 22's. I am glad that I drifted towards BPCR and all that it offers. My 4th Shiloh will here in the near future, All ready have a name for it too. It will be my carry with me everywere rifle.

And Yes I do call this the second Golden Age of Creedmoor. I shot the very first one held in over 125 years and have not missed one since. Its a big part of my reasons for staying in this mad house they call life. American Shooters as in the past are the ones to beat, it appears that it is in the breeding. We are after all a nation of riflemen and may it long be so.

We are lucky that we have this forum to share this time and our knowledge with fellow shooters.

Kenny Wasserburger

PS David thanks for being a GOOD SPORT!

[decook2k]

Who me Kenny? I will say you are as gracious as you are a fine rifleman, but no thanks goes to me. The truth is the truth. I learned from that shoot, and the pig pin I mentioned above. It was two of those life's lessons that remind us to be humble in thought prior to engaging mouth.

Still have not ordered the 45 cal barrel for it yet. We are in the process of moving, and what a process it is. I don't have any time for anything fun related anymore. Also it's looking like I will miss this year's Natl's. Oh well, priorities take over. Kenny, I have been lucky enough to personally talk with you on more than one occasion, you get the thanks. And I really did have to go to the bathroom every time I saw your sly grin pointed in my dorection.

Dave Cook
-dc

Only the truth was slightly hurt in the making of the last sentance in this post.

[horsefly]

Good Morning, Kenny, et.al.,

With only a quibble or two, I agree with what you say. I won't go into the quibbles because the point of what you say is what should be taken to heart.

Especially for new guys reading the board, remember that most of the "regulars" here are NUTS. Gun nuts, that is, and are doing, chasing and talking about things that a new shooter does not need to worry about. If the truth be known, THE NUTS probably don't need to do them either, but that's why they're (we're) nuts.

But for newbies, choose a good middle of the road cartridge in the best gun and sights you can afford and shoot the hell out of it..... and pay attention to the results.

Cast the best bullet you can and then learn to do better. No matter what else you do in loading the best cartridge in the world, if your bullet is not good, your results won't be either. The bullet is what carries the mail and if it's not right.....

One more thing: did we say go shoot? Yes. Well, go shoot at some matches. I've seen lots of people on these boards say they're trying to get good enough to go to a match. Folks, if you shoot by yourself trying to get good enough to go to a match, you're relieving yourself into the wind! Go to a match and start learning how to shoot.

Y'all be good.

horsefly

[Kenny Wasserburger]

Sir Horsefly,

Your, gracious as always. Sad but true is your comment about folks trying to get good enough as they say to go to a match.

They are missing out, on the best part of their BPCR education Pre match time. Ranges such as the one I built are the best place to learn this game more so if Long Range is your bent.

I take alot of time helping folks before the match, sighting in ect and giving them a few pointers. It is what I think sets my match above and beyond any GONG Shoot.

Besides its Traditional Creedmoor much like the Original Match was.

One learns the most in a good test vehicle and my range is one of the best for learning to read the Wind.

Kenny Wasserburger