We now turn from bitching about news, politicians and socialists

to one of the things I started this blog for: shootyness.

Once I figured out how to pour in the Lee 405-grain hollowbase mold and got good bullets*, I've been impressed with how they shoot.  Both with black and smokeless powder.   The basic 26.0 of Accurate 5744 shoots quite nicely at 100, I do my part I get groups around an inch.  Today tried it with 70.0 grains of 2f black:

I started with five rounds, and the first one was way high, at which time I realized the elevation on the sight was way off.  Dammit.  So adjusted and shot this, which is four rounds.  Which is impressive as hell to me.

And one other gun: remember that Cadet?  While back while messing with loads for it, I tried dropping a .32 semi-wadcutter intended for pistols in the muzzle, and thought "Hmmm, that seems like it might fit decently", so loaded five. 

The results were terrible; he showed me the target, at thirty yards two had keyholed and the other three were spread out badly.  Then, a short time later, I had an idea: those bullets had been cast of the mongrel alloy I use for general shooting, so might it work better if cast of a softer alloy?  Say, the 15-1 I use for .45-70?  So borrowed the mold and next time I was casting I made some of these.  And they did this at 50 yards:

MUCH better.  I'm going to have to make some more of these for future testing.

And now I need to move some stuff so I don't trip on it later, and get some sleep.


*For me it was running the lead hotter than usual, and (using a Lee bottom-pour melter) letting the stream fall further from the spout to the mold.