ASSRA Forum - 200 & 300 Yards = great. 600 yards = not so great

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200 & 300 Yards = great. 600 yards = not so great (Read 3685 times)

jbrower Newbie Offline Posts: 5 Joined: Sep 19^th, 2012	200 & 300 Yards = great. 600 yards = not so great Jul 8^th, 2014 at 11:16pm	Print Post
	A couple of weekends ago I had my CPA-Stevens 44 1/2 chambered in 40-65 at the Eastern Regional mid-range match in Millville, NJ. I had some great scores at 200 and 300 yards (apparently set range records at each) but at 600 they really dropped. We're talking from high/very-high 90's and a 100-6X to low 70's, with a miss. I don't recall conditions at 600 being much different from those at 200 and 300. I don't recall calling my shots @600 as anything other than 10's but almost none of them were. My load is a 440gn bullet that I cast from a Hoch mold using 20:1 alloy in front of 58g of Swiss 1.5, Starline brass and Wolf primers. Bullets are a slip-fit. Barrel is a Badger 1:16". Not being a big ballistics guy (yet), I'm wondering if my 600 yard accuracy is failing due to using such a heavy/long bullet whose accuracy is dropping-off out past the 300 yard line. I've received advice from others to go with a lighter (400 grain) bullet, as 440 is really on the heavy-side for 40-65. Would that be likely to help me or might I be better off trying to squeeze a few more grains of powder behind a bullet for 600 meter shooting that really seems to do its job for me at the shorter distances? Any advice would be appreciated.


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art_ruggiero Frequent Elocutionist Offline Posts: 1221 Location: CT Joined: Dec 14^th, 2008	Re: 200 & 300 Yards = great. 600 yards = not so great Reply #1 - Jul 9^th, 2014 at 11:59am	Print Post
	that bullet sounds to long-heavy for that twist. try the lyman-snover bullet it shoots great in all my 40 cal rifles art


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MartiniBelgian Frequent Elocutionist Offline Posts: 1733 Location: Aarschot Joined: Jun 7^th, 2004	Re: 200 & 300 Yards = great. 600 yards = not so great Reply #2 - Jul 9^th, 2014 at 1:57pm	Print Post
	Your hunch is probably right - too long a bullet for too slow a twist, resulting in accuracy falling off at longer ranges. 440 grqins and a 16 twist doesn't really sound compatible...


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rgchristensen Frequent Elocutionist Offline Posts: 1185 Joined: Jan 2^nd, 2014	Re: 200 & 300 Yards = great. 600 yards = not so great Reply #3 - Jul 9^th, 2014 at 3:41pm	Print Post
	The first place to start when developing loads for longer ranges is a chronograph. You want velocity SD under ca 10 fps for 500-600 yd, and low single digits for 1000 yd. A look at ballistics tables will make it clear what you need. Unless a bullet gets unstable enough to tip, it is not really a problem. The fellow that won your match shoots a 450 gr bullet from his Brownchester 40-65 at the longer ranges. The next thing is learning to deal with the wind. A 1 mph side wind will move the bullet 0.6 - 0.7 MOA at 600 yd. A 5 mph head wind will drop the bullet about 1 MOA. The winds at that match were light and switchy, so it is easy not to be aware when the wind changes. That is probably the reason that there were no really high scores at 600 from anyone. Useful wind indicators are: Range flags, mirage, a ribbon at the firing point, and watching the smoke from others' shooting. It's a great game, ain't it? !! CHRIS RGChristensen


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oneatatime Frequent Elocutionist Offline Posts: 4417 Location: Rocky Mountains Joined: Oct 30^th, 2011	Re: 200 & 300 Yards = great. 600 yards = not so great Reply #4 - Jul 9^th, 2014 at 5:59pm	Print Post
	And if it is a Hoch mould, does it have a flat nose? Might not be the best at long range ballistically.


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SSShooter Frequent Elocutionist Offline Posts: 2942 Location: Southern NJ Joined: Aug 1^st, 2010	Re: 200 & 300 Yards = great. 600 yards = not so great Reply #5 - Jul 12^th, 2014 at 6:30pm	Print Post
	You should borrow my 400gr & 420gr BACo 'Money' bullet molds while I'm at Raton and cast up a hundred of each to see how they shoot in your rifle. Any number of folks shoot these and similar bullets to 1000yd, though most only use them with 58-62gr of powder at silhouette & mid-range distances.

	Glenn - Stevens 044 1/2, Bartlein SS 5R barrel in 22LR
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John Boy Ex Member	Re: 200 & 300 Yards = great. 600 yards = not so great Reply #6 - Jul 12^th, 2014 at 11:18pm	Print Post
	JB, I shot the Millville match also and took a DNF @ the 600 yd line after 11 rounds due to over heat exposure. I was shooting the 457125 at the match Anyway, a factor that may have caused your low 600 yd score was mirage. At the pits, it was a strong boil with a few running from the left in the light wind A bullet you might want to consider in your CPA is the Saeco 740, 410 gr in 1:20 with 56gr of KIK FFg. I shot this load at Ridgway for the 1st time this May in my CPA with the Badger 1:16 at 200-500m and 1000yds. No complaints with accuracy. The Saeco 640, 370gr is also a good silhouette bullet with 57gr of KIK FFg which I also shot at Ridgway for the 1st time Bill Bagwell in TX put me on to the Saeco. I've seen his 400 yd range groups and they are excellent. His wife several years back took the Ladies LR match at Raton using the Saeco 740
	« Last Edit: Jul 12^th, 2014 at 11:30pm by »

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.22Hepburn Oldtimer Offline Posts: 844 Location: Pennsylvania Joined: Feb 18^th, 2008	Re: 200 & 300 Yards = great. 600 yards = not so great Reply #7 - Jul 16^th, 2014 at 6:40am	Print Post
	I shot that Saeco 740 bullet very successfully in my Hepburn with a 1-16 twist Douglas barrel. If you're going to shoot those long/heavy bullets, I think you should think about a faster twist barrel, to ensure the bullets are stable out to 600 yds and beyond. You might consider buying some of those Saeco bullets from BACO, if they shoot well then you could buy the mold.


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