Mods...this thread got carried off by the black helicopters or something today. I looked all over for it via conventional means & couldn't locate it so I'm reposting it
I have been fiddling with a no-button Winchester 94AE 30-30, playing with loads and trying to find something that would match the POI of WW/150 Power Points to 200 yards using the Sierra bullet of the same weight. I have a backstop 215 yards from the backyard walk, and an old folding table that I throw a tire up on to shoot over.
Given the ranges involved and 51 year old eyes, I had been using big, nondescript aiming points like a blue antifreeze jug hung in front of a cardboard backer. I was mainly interested in POI convergence, so I wasn't really hunkering down and trying to stick 'em together. A fellow shooting enthusiast named ‘Hobie” had suggested 34.0 of H4895, which turned out to exactly match the WW load's POI, while shading it about 15 fps in the velocity department. SD was low, fired cases looked right and the stars were lining up for something good. This was good news since H4895 is ‘the’ rifle powder here.
As the load development progressed I kept seeing groups of 4" or well under- not bad for a lever-cranker. Day before yesterday, the old eyes were working pretty good so I stapled a paper plate to a cardboard box, and made a genuine effort toward consistent sight alignment and careful trigger squeeze...
I had about a 6 mph crosswind from the right, so I ain't bothering the sights any. In fact I carried it straight into the house and set it up real careful in the corner
Like a lot of folks, I cussed the later 94's for hard triggers, square bottom receiver, etc. but the fact is that this little gun has out-shot any 30-30 I ever owned. It seems to have a tight chamber and fired casings resize easily. Anyhow I have come to like the darn thing and I just had to post a pic of this target, which I'd likely never duplicate- even with 50 pounds of powder & a whisky-barrel full of bullets.
I have been fiddling with a no-button Winchester 94AE 30-30, playing with loads and trying to find something that would match the POI of WW/150 Power Points to 200 yards using the Sierra bullet of the same weight. I have a backstop 215 yards from the backyard walk, and an old folding table that I throw a tire up on to shoot over.
Given the ranges involved and 51 year old eyes, I had been using big, nondescript aiming points like a blue antifreeze jug hung in front of a cardboard backer. I was mainly interested in POI convergence, so I wasn't really hunkering down and trying to stick 'em together. A fellow shooting enthusiast named ‘Hobie” had suggested 34.0 of H4895, which turned out to exactly match the WW load's POI, while shading it about 15 fps in the velocity department. SD was low, fired cases looked right and the stars were lining up for something good. This was good news since H4895 is ‘the’ rifle powder here.
As the load development progressed I kept seeing groups of 4" or well under- not bad for a lever-cranker. Day before yesterday, the old eyes were working pretty good so I stapled a paper plate to a cardboard box, and made a genuine effort toward consistent sight alignment and careful trigger squeeze...
I had about a 6 mph crosswind from the right, so I ain't bothering the sights any. In fact I carried it straight into the house and set it up real careful in the corner
Like a lot of folks, I cussed the later 94's for hard triggers, square bottom receiver, etc. but the fact is that this little gun has out-shot any 30-30 I ever owned. It seems to have a tight chamber and fired casings resize easily. Anyhow I have come to like the darn thing and I just had to post a pic of this target, which I'd likely never duplicate- even with 50 pounds of powder & a whisky-barrel full of bullets.
