Finally got a chance to burn some powder.....

Darkhorse

Handloader
Mar 14, 2014
800
149
SJB358
Post subject: Re: My Squirrel & Turkey rifle...PostPosted: Thu Mar 10, 2016 8:39 am

Joined: Sun Dec 24, 2006 3:20 pm
Posts: 25796
Location: Northern Virginia
Beautiful rifle. How accurate is a rifle like that?

_________________
SEMPER FIDELIS

This is with the .40 cal Turkey and squirrel rifle. I have a nerve problem in my right shoulder, the same shoulder a LH shooter supports the rifle with and one or two good offhand shots are all I can manage. So I'm learning to shoot sitting in a chair with a shooting stick, not a bipod, just a single stick with a yoke.
The .40 is very sensitive to the powder charge. I once had it regulated out to 100 yards just by changing the powder charge. I committed it to memory. Boy was that stupid.
On the bullseye the top 2 shots are with 40 grains of 3F, and the bottom 5 are with 30 grains 3F. All are a little high so I shot the squirrel estimating the elevation. Somehow I managed to get them all in the head.
Later I remembered that 25 grains is the charge for 25 yards. Anyway this is an example of how well these rifles will shoot with the right shooter.
When I completed this rifle I still had good vision. The rifle, off a bench rest, has shot one hole groups out to 50 yards. A better shooter with good eyes could probably extend that distance.
I once shot a lot of blackpowder matches and I intended to start again. Like in centerfire it often depends on the quality of the parts and how they are put together. So this rifle was built to shoot. All parts were top of the line, Rice Barrel, Siler Lock and RE Davis set triggers. After assembly the lock was tuned, then the set triggers were tuned to the lock resulting in a smooth extremely fast mechanism.
The underlugs were slotted lengthwise and oversize. When a barrel gets hot, or in the sunshine, the metal tends to expand. Slotted underlugs prevent binding of the barrel when it moves.
Due to stock warpage the barrel now sits on 2 points, a bedded breech and the last 2 inches of stock is also bedded. Most builders do not even consider glass bedding as it is not authentic. But due to the stock problems it became neccessary.
I haven't shot her much in a few years due to a hip replacement and a knee replacement, but now I intend to make up for lost time.
 

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Wow, that is incredible shooting.

Thank you for posting that. Very nice rifle. I'm sure squirrels won't stop many 40 caliber round balls either!
 
Thank you very much sir. The purpose of this little session was to check out my own shooting after not shooting for so long. I was long out of practice and shooting flintlocks for me was a learned skill. I could have developed a flinch over this much time.
Even though the grouping is not the greatest I still feel a little good about the session.
I do want to shoot some groups off the benchrest out to 50 or so yards just to see if I can still shoot those tiny groups.
 
Nice!

Slotted underlugs make a lot of sense. My 62 cal rifle was built with slotted underlugs as well. When the reason (same as you posted here) was given to me, it just made a whole lot of sense.

These targets make me itchy to get my hands on my inbound 36 cal!
 
That is a very nice shooting rifle.
I also glass bedded my SMR but for other reasons as the blank had a hair line crack in it and the wood had such beautiful grain that I wanted to save it so it is glass bedded from the tang to the nose cap.
It is funny how you can change the point of impact by varying your powder charge I used 75grs FFG for target shooting and 100grs FFG for deer hunting in my little .45. the two charges allowed me to shoot at 50yds & 100yds with the same hold.
All this talk about the charcoal burners makes me want to get mine out and play with it.
 
I shot charges of 2f in my 62 ranging from 80gr up to 120.

It shoots to the point of aim I want at 120, so I roll with that. It sounds fearsome but the recoil isn't bad at all.

Believe it or not, the guy who built it will actually flex a barrel to regulate its point of impact. Pretty interesting stuff.
 
tddeangelo":2nzhvgsp said:
Nice!

Slotted underlugs make a lot of sense. My 62 cal rifle was built with slotted underlugs as well. When the reason (same as you posted here) was given to me, it just made a whole lot of sense.

These targets make me itchy to get my hands on my inbound 36 cal!

Who is building your .36 and when is it due?
 
It's already built.

Same guy that built my 62 made the 36....gentleman by the name of Allen Martin. Google will turn him up if you want to see more of his work.

He had the 36 for sale for a customer. Neither were in a hurry, it was exactly what I would have ordered for myself, and fit me like it was made for me. Since they aren't in a hurry, they're letting me have some time to get the funds together for it.

It's a Berks-style schimmel, Getz swamped A-weight barrel, small Siler lock that Allen tuned.....neat little rifle.
 
The name "Allen Martin" speaks for itself in the longrifle world. I used to visit his site often but have'nt in awhile.
Should be an excellent rifle. Fun to shoot, accurate, and fits.
And sitting by the fire it will do to just run your hands over it and look at it.
 
The only reason if it doesn't shoot is the A profile would be a little flimsy. The B profile .40 actually weighs in more than the C .54, it's a pretty heavy barrel. But I think you got nothing to worry about. All Rice barrels are first class.
I bet that A weight is a dream to carry around and shoot.
Have you seen "The Southern Classic" barrel by Rice? It's an A weight 42", available up to .50 cal. The .50 cal weighs 3.13 pounds. I'm thinking about building a lighter hunting rifle and this really interests me.
 
I'm assuming it's an A weight I guess. It's pretty skinny, lol.

It'll be a bit till I pick it up, but I'll give a range report when I can. :)
 
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