Re: Trends in BPCR Long Range Shooting
Posted: Sun Feb 07, 2021 9:02 am
I have only done enough shooting with two different 2-Diammeter paper patch bullets to have anything to add to this conversation.
The one I have worked with the most and indeed have posted about the most is the one I use in my .40-65. That rifle has an 18-twist Badger barrel on it from a time when some people held the belief that a slower twist was better, I am not one of those people. The rifle was rebarreled and chambered with something akin to a Ron Long chamber, but with a freebore section that is nearly .375" long. The rifle was supposed to be specifically for the RCBS 400 grain flat nose bullet with it's very long shank and with silhouette in mind. I tried two different RCBS molds over the years and could never get that bullet to shoot at all well.
I had some spectacular results all the way out to the rams with a Fred Leeth version of a PJ Creedmoor design that weighed 420 grains, but I also had days when I couldn't get a group at 200 yards with that same bullet and load. Shooting it at distance was pointless on those days. The only bullet that shot well day in and day out in that rifle was the RCBS 350 grain version of that same bullet as their 400 grain and I often used the 350 for silhouette. Yes, it always knocked the rams down, surprisingly and not with any authority, but always. I finally put the rifle in the back corner and used a .45-70 in it's place.
Then about 5 years ago Arnie Seitz came to me with a 2-Diameter paper patch bullet he had designed for his .40-65 and for Bob Wood's Browning .40-65. Both rifles had similar chambers with a fairly long freebores. I'm sure Arnie came to me because I was 1) making paper patch bullet molds for my .45 caliber rifles, 2) having great success with them and 3) he knew I had a .40-65 with a chamber that had a bunch of freebore. I was more than happy to make a mold for Arnie in part because I saw a glimmer of hope that it idea might work in my .40-65 as well. It turned out that both Arnie's and Bob's rifles had 16-twist barrels and the bullet length Arnie used was for that twist. I knew right away that I would not have good results with a bullet that long in my rifle.
I began my research into what length of bullet might work in an 18-twist .40 and it turned out that a bullet about 1.240" long was figured to be optimal. Because my rifle had been used primarily for silhouette, and still would be, I wanted as much weight as I could get in a .40 caliber bullet only 1 1/4" long so it would have a good chance of knocking rams down. It would have to have a short nose and be rather blunt. I found the design I thought work fit that description best in the original Sharps designs you see in the old pictures. Dan Theodore had worked with such a bullet in .45 caliber and I copied his configuration and made a mold to produce that bullet style in .40 caliber.
My bullet turned out right at 1.250" long and with my mix of pure lead and linotype it came out at 11 BHN and weighed 382 grains. The mold was cut to fill that long freebore, seat very shallow in the case and engage the rifling. With such a short bullet and such a long freebore the bore diameter section of that bullet is only .150" long, the rest of the shank patches to a .409" diameter to fit perfectly into the freebore and leave enough to get only .075" of the bullet in the case. Very nearly a breech seated bullet. The fit of the .409" diameter into my R-P cases is also snug. That bullet is as much as possible precisely held in alignment with the fireformed brass in the chamber, the long freebore and the lands of the rifling. With those 3 points of contact it has proven to be the most accurate paper patch rifle I own. It will regularly print 10 shot groups at 220 yards that are under 2 inches.
It has proved to be accurate out to 600 yards in challenging conditions and is able to hold it's own against rifles chambered in .45-70 and .45-90. The 2-Diameter paper patch bullet can work exceedingly well when fitted to the chamber and loaded properly.
Wrapping these .40 caliber bullets is no different than a straight sided bore diameter bullet. With the long groove diameter base (actually .001" over groove) I just wrap it like it was a straight side bullet. The .150" of paper that extends out over the bore diameter section is just loose. When a round is chambered that section just sort of compresses into the rifling leade and holds snug. I've never had any problem with these bullets patched that way.
The other 2-Diameter paper patch bullet I've worked with some, but not a lot, is the one BACO makes in .44 caliber, JIM441505EPP. That bullet is an Arnie Seitz design and he and I worked back and forth with the dimensions to make a bullet that will fit the Shiloh standard grease groove chamber and work with a 17-twsit .44-77. Right out of the box that bullet has shot very well in my Shiloh with it's Krieger barrel. The only thing I would change if I had it to do over again is that I would have had BACO make the base length about .300" long. That would probably work out better by having more of the bullet in the case mouth and use a little less powder. The .44-77 is not as powder capacity challenged as the .40-65 especially with paper patch bullets. I will probably modify the mold before long.
Patching these .44 caliber bullets requires a bit of training. I've been wrapping bullets for more than 10 years and I do it all by eye using just my fingers and I do it dry, always. For these I quickly learned how to start the patch so that as the patch is wrapped around what is essentially a tapered bullet the top corner at the end comes out more or less close to the starting corner or at least not ahead of it. A little bit back from the leading edge doesn't worry me. Yes, I end up with a bit wider gap at the bottom of the bullet, but I don't worry about that either because it does not seem to matter in the end results. I know guys have fiddled around making special templates for cutting nonsymmetrical patches but I like to keep it simple. I don't want a patch that has a right way and a wrong way to wrap it. I just want to pick up a patch, decide which tip to start and wrap the bullet. I then push them through a sizing die (custom) and seat them in the case. It's not overly complicated and that's how I like to keep it.
There are plenty of things to worry about when loading black powder cartridges, I don't worry about the things that time has proven don't really matter. That is one of the main reasons I shoot paper patch bullets in the first place. The main reason being they just look soooo damn COOL looking!
The one I have worked with the most and indeed have posted about the most is the one I use in my .40-65. That rifle has an 18-twist Badger barrel on it from a time when some people held the belief that a slower twist was better, I am not one of those people. The rifle was rebarreled and chambered with something akin to a Ron Long chamber, but with a freebore section that is nearly .375" long. The rifle was supposed to be specifically for the RCBS 400 grain flat nose bullet with it's very long shank and with silhouette in mind. I tried two different RCBS molds over the years and could never get that bullet to shoot at all well.
I had some spectacular results all the way out to the rams with a Fred Leeth version of a PJ Creedmoor design that weighed 420 grains, but I also had days when I couldn't get a group at 200 yards with that same bullet and load. Shooting it at distance was pointless on those days. The only bullet that shot well day in and day out in that rifle was the RCBS 350 grain version of that same bullet as their 400 grain and I often used the 350 for silhouette. Yes, it always knocked the rams down, surprisingly and not with any authority, but always. I finally put the rifle in the back corner and used a .45-70 in it's place.
Then about 5 years ago Arnie Seitz came to me with a 2-Diameter paper patch bullet he had designed for his .40-65 and for Bob Wood's Browning .40-65. Both rifles had similar chambers with a fairly long freebores. I'm sure Arnie came to me because I was 1) making paper patch bullet molds for my .45 caliber rifles, 2) having great success with them and 3) he knew I had a .40-65 with a chamber that had a bunch of freebore. I was more than happy to make a mold for Arnie in part because I saw a glimmer of hope that it idea might work in my .40-65 as well. It turned out that both Arnie's and Bob's rifles had 16-twist barrels and the bullet length Arnie used was for that twist. I knew right away that I would not have good results with a bullet that long in my rifle.
I began my research into what length of bullet might work in an 18-twist .40 and it turned out that a bullet about 1.240" long was figured to be optimal. Because my rifle had been used primarily for silhouette, and still would be, I wanted as much weight as I could get in a .40 caliber bullet only 1 1/4" long so it would have a good chance of knocking rams down. It would have to have a short nose and be rather blunt. I found the design I thought work fit that description best in the original Sharps designs you see in the old pictures. Dan Theodore had worked with such a bullet in .45 caliber and I copied his configuration and made a mold to produce that bullet style in .40 caliber.
My bullet turned out right at 1.250" long and with my mix of pure lead and linotype it came out at 11 BHN and weighed 382 grains. The mold was cut to fill that long freebore, seat very shallow in the case and engage the rifling. With such a short bullet and such a long freebore the bore diameter section of that bullet is only .150" long, the rest of the shank patches to a .409" diameter to fit perfectly into the freebore and leave enough to get only .075" of the bullet in the case. Very nearly a breech seated bullet. The fit of the .409" diameter into my R-P cases is also snug. That bullet is as much as possible precisely held in alignment with the fireformed brass in the chamber, the long freebore and the lands of the rifling. With those 3 points of contact it has proven to be the most accurate paper patch rifle I own. It will regularly print 10 shot groups at 220 yards that are under 2 inches.
It has proved to be accurate out to 600 yards in challenging conditions and is able to hold it's own against rifles chambered in .45-70 and .45-90. The 2-Diameter paper patch bullet can work exceedingly well when fitted to the chamber and loaded properly.
Wrapping these .40 caliber bullets is no different than a straight sided bore diameter bullet. With the long groove diameter base (actually .001" over groove) I just wrap it like it was a straight side bullet. The .150" of paper that extends out over the bore diameter section is just loose. When a round is chambered that section just sort of compresses into the rifling leade and holds snug. I've never had any problem with these bullets patched that way.
The other 2-Diameter paper patch bullet I've worked with some, but not a lot, is the one BACO makes in .44 caliber, JIM441505EPP. That bullet is an Arnie Seitz design and he and I worked back and forth with the dimensions to make a bullet that will fit the Shiloh standard grease groove chamber and work with a 17-twsit .44-77. Right out of the box that bullet has shot very well in my Shiloh with it's Krieger barrel. The only thing I would change if I had it to do over again is that I would have had BACO make the base length about .300" long. That would probably work out better by having more of the bullet in the case mouth and use a little less powder. The .44-77 is not as powder capacity challenged as the .40-65 especially with paper patch bullets. I will probably modify the mold before long.
Patching these .44 caliber bullets requires a bit of training. I've been wrapping bullets for more than 10 years and I do it all by eye using just my fingers and I do it dry, always. For these I quickly learned how to start the patch so that as the patch is wrapped around what is essentially a tapered bullet the top corner at the end comes out more or less close to the starting corner or at least not ahead of it. A little bit back from the leading edge doesn't worry me. Yes, I end up with a bit wider gap at the bottom of the bullet, but I don't worry about that either because it does not seem to matter in the end results. I know guys have fiddled around making special templates for cutting nonsymmetrical patches but I like to keep it simple. I don't want a patch that has a right way and a wrong way to wrap it. I just want to pick up a patch, decide which tip to start and wrap the bullet. I then push them through a sizing die (custom) and seat them in the case. It's not overly complicated and that's how I like to keep it.
There are plenty of things to worry about when loading black powder cartridges, I don't worry about the things that time has proven don't really matter. That is one of the main reasons I shoot paper patch bullets in the first place. The main reason being they just look soooo damn COOL looking!