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200 & 300 Yard Shooting
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Factor
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So I took my son to Peacemaker National Training Center, just outside of Martinsburg WV, to try shooting to 200 and 300 yards. He was using some modern stuff, so I won't elaborate other than he did fine at both distances.

I, on the other hand tried my .54 flinter at 200 and 300 yards. Mostly the wind was following but sometimes it was like 25 mph from left to right.

So I hit the 8"x8" steel targets twice out of five shots at 200 yards. At 300 I scared the 26"x26" steel, but didn't hit it. There is quite a lot of hold-over at the second distance. With my load the hold-over is 10 feet above the target.

It was still fun. One of the interesting things observed is that we could see the modern bullets leave a vapor trail to the 200 and 300 yard targets (when looking through a modern spotting scope), but my son could only see a vapor trail from my flintlock to the 200 yard target, and that trail was only for about half the distance. Well the computer says my ball goes transonic, drops under supersonic speed at about 90 yards...so that is probably the reason.

LD


It's not what you know, it's what you can prove
 
Posts: 3843 | Location: People's Republic of Maryland | Registered: 10 November 2004Reply With QuoteReport This Post
Free Trapper
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Sounds like fun. I have never tried to shoot that far. Mark
 
Posts: 164 | Location: Burlington, Wisconsin | Registered: 28 November 2004Reply With QuoteReport This Post
Pilgrim
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LD,

I did some testing about 8/10 years (or so) ago with the Long Range patched ball shooting and had pretty good results from 200 yards shooting at a 14 x16 inch gong with my .45,,, and later chased a 12 inch black poster board bulls'eye glued to a 22 x 28 inch white poster board at 200 yards. Had pretty good success with both these... At the 300 yard Range Gong (12 x 16 inches at that time), I didn't hit that at all - but could see my ball kicking up dirt on the backstop all around it...

I do like the idea of stretching out those patched ball loads with the ol' flintlock as it puts me in mind of our ARW and our American Riflemen wreaking fear and havoc into the ranks of the British Line, from a'far! Smiler


Ohio Joe / Chadron Fur Trade Days
 
Posts: 69 | Location: Nebraska | Registered: 05 August 2007Reply With QuoteReport This Post
Free Trapper
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Maybe some day I will get a chance to try. Mark
 
Posts: 164 | Location: Burlington, Wisconsin | Registered: 28 November 2004Reply With QuoteReport This Post
Factor
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quote:
puts me in mind of our ARW and our American Riflemen wreaking fear and havoc into the ranks of the British Line


Exactly. It was a rare opportunity for me...though I may change that situation by joining a club with more "long range" options, in the future.

I just wanted to see how tough it was. Surprisingly easy at 200, and much more luck at 300...if I had been shooting at a formation, I'd have hit somebody...just not the intended target..

HOW these guys managed 400 yard shots, some uphill, is pretty impressive. On the other hand, people rarely write down the number of misses before the hit was scored...if there were any misses...I remember one account where it took only two shots for the rifleman to hit the horse of a man adjacent to a British officer....and you never hear about the times (well maybe one account you do) where the riflemen fired a lot but hit none of the enemy.

LD


It's not what you know, it's what you can prove
 
Posts: 3843 | Location: People's Republic of Maryland | Registered: 10 November 2004Reply With QuoteReport This Post
Pilgrim
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quote:
Originally posted by Loyalist Dave:
quote:
puts me in mind of our ARW and our American Riflemen wreaking fear and havoc into the ranks of the British Line


Exactly. It was a rare opportunity for me...though I may change that situation by joining a club with more "long range" options, in the future.

I just wanted to see how tough it was. Surprisingly easy at 200, and much more luck at 300...if I had been shooting at a formation, I'd have hit somebody...just not the intended target..

HOW these guys managed 400 yard shots, some uphill, is pretty impressive. On the other hand, people rarely write down the number of misses before the hit was scored...if there were any misses...I remember one account where it took only two shots for the rifleman to hit the horse of a man adjacent to a British officer....and you never hear about the times (well maybe one account you do) where the riflemen fired a lot but hit none of the enemy.

LD


Very true about not hearing / reading of the missed shots very often.

One thing that I've always evaluated in my mind set of those long'range shots back in early America is the thought that they normally measured distance in "paces" ( 1 pace = 28 inches for the average man) - which if you do the math, it shows the following;

200 Paces = 155.5 yards
250 Paces = 194.4 yards
300 Paces = 233.3 yards
350 Paces = 272.2 yards
400 Paces = 311.1 yards

And hitting at any of the above distances is not "shabby" shooting at all... Should this have been the case on either side of the scale; Yards -vs- Paces...

I recall reading somewhere that foot Soldiers measured in "Paces" - while Cannon distances were measured in "Yards"


Ohio Joe / Chadron Fur Trade Days
 
Posts: 69 | Location: Nebraska | Registered: 05 August 2007Reply With QuoteReport This Post
Booshway
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Many years ago (40 to be exact)when my eyes were much better at focusing on the sights on my rifle, I worked up some loads for distance shooting. Just for the record, the rifle is a Jonathan Browning Mountain Rifle in 54cal.

So, any info I spout forth may not work for you or your rifles, it is just to show what I did for TARGET shooting at 100, 200, 300 yards, without making adjustments or allowances to the sights.

I first sighted the rifle in at 100 yards with 90grs of ff hitting point of aim. Next I increased the amount of powder by 10 grains per load so that eventually my 200 yard point of aim impact was dead on. This occurred at the 130grs ff loading. Again, the sight picture held at 200 yards was the same for 100yds.

I continued to do this out to 300yds, which required 170grs of ff to hit point of aim impact. This is where the point of diminishing returns reared its ugly head.

In trying to push out to 400yds, a 200gr loading was tried. Lots of smoke, plenty kick, loud boom, but no better performance than the 170gr load. The 4X8ft plywood target remained unscathed.

Now, had I held high at the top of the plywood sheet, a hit probably would have occurred.

However, that was not the point of the exercise.
The point was to be able to use my "normal sight picture" through all the ranges, altering only the powder load to provide power for the ball to hit point of aim.

The fun part is that for years I would demonstrate the accuracy of a muzzle loader by shooting offhand at standing bowling pins at 200 yards....and hit them!

Much to the astonishment of the optic assisted suppository gun shooters.

Keep an eye to tha ridgeline......'n' yor aim steady!

Regards, xfox


The forest is a wilderness only to those that fear it, silent only to those that hear nothing. The forest is a friend to those that dwell within its' nature and it is filled with the sounds of life to those that listen.
 
Posts: 532 | Location: Bitterroot Valley | Registered: 23 October 2004Reply With QuoteReport This Post
Pilgrim
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When I did my 200 yard shooting 8/10 years ago with my .45,,, (at that 22 x 28 inch poster board with a 12" black square center) I was using a 48" (from center) hold over - which I actually got my starting point their from my old Lyman Black Powder Handbook which stated [48.53 inch drop at 200 yards with a .445 ball pushed with 65 grains of powder] However - to take that same load out to 300 yards the ball would drop 155.88 inches...

I also recall that cross wind feeling (and it was just a feeling) that it was about a 4 foot hold off to the left of the target - so knowing my target size it was easy enough to guess the wind'age and elevation - and by golly I got lucky and hit the target 5 out'a 5 shots... Now they were nowhere grouped, but all five where on the target board with 3 of them in the black 12" square (spread out of course), and the target was 22 inches deep x 28 inches wide - the way I had it posted...

I do believe without the aid of the "Lyman Black Powder Handbook" - I would have had a much tougher time of it. Now I could have gone with a heavier charge, but I elected to stay with my normal load as with my fixed sights I know my hold over's for 50 & 100 yards from a 25 yard zero...

I just might have to do some more of this - this coming summer just for the fun of it. I don't think I'd even bother with anything further (such as 300 yards) as nearly 156 inches of drop is a lot of drop,,, more then I would be willing (or even able to) guess the hold over and the wind'age on that...

I did see where Mike Bellevue did simplify the 200 yard shot technique in one of his videos, and it was very informative. If I can find it again, I will post a link here. Here it is; https://youtu.be/ZASiJ5U7k9c


Ohio Joe / Chadron Fur Trade Days
 
Posts: 69 | Location: Nebraska | Registered: 05 August 2007Reply With QuoteReport This Post
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