My mailman finished reading my new Journal and let me have it today.  Congrats and kudos to the authors and the editors.  I was just starting to work with my 40-90 Ballard Pacific that had been on the back burner for a looong time, and what should this issue contain but two big bore Ballard articles and one on a high wall in 40-90 SS!  Looks like there is such a thing as good karma. 

Froggie

Well Bent, I'm going to guess that you will find the Journal worth the wait... I've already e-mailed the editor with congratulations on what I regard as a super edition.  I've also been burning up the ether with marlinman asking questions about big 40s in the Pacific.  This is way out of my wheel house!

Regards,
Froggie

GF, that’s as may be, but I’d be satisfied with a consistent 4” at 100 with my Hepburn with black powder.  I have a .45-70 Highwall with the same kind of frosty but not pitted bore, which has a chip out of the rifling about 4” from the muzzle, that will do 2-1/2” to 3” pretty consistently.  Elmer Keith mentioned to somebody in his correspondence that less that perfect large bore BP rifles seemed to continue to deliver decent practical accuracy.

Mr. Cleave’s targets are pretty impressive.  I’ve never gotten anything like that with my 4759 charges.

Like Mr. Oppel, I found that I could dump 90 gr of about any black powder into a Bertram case and barely see the top of the charge.  100 gr is more of a “full” case, but around 93 gr seems to give the least bad accuracy.

By the accounts I hear from acquaintances that have .40-90 3-1/4”s, they either shoot great, or never could be gotten to shoot.  This with black powder.  It may be that 90 gr in that small a bore is a little too much of a good thing, unless all the forces are aligned just right.

It’s one of those rifles I take out every now and then, go a few rounds with, and put it back in the safe.  Some of them even get sorted out, eventually!