Not much black powder cartridge posted here so I thought I'd report on my first outing with my latest acquisition (sorry, no pictures yet).
I stumbled across a like new (didn't appear to have been fired) in the box Winchester (Meroku) 1873 short rifle (20") chambered for the correct 44 WCF cartridge. What is interesting about this gun is it came with a round barrel, which was standard on the original 1873. To get the more popular octagon barrel it had to be ordered and at extra cost. This was the first new production '73 rifle I had seen with the round barrel from Winchester/Meroku.
Back in the late 1980s and early 1990s, when I was active in CAS I had an original 1873 that had a round barrel in the none standard length of 28". Being younger, stronger, and with better eyesight back then I could shoot that thing like a sniper rifle. On more than one occasion I made multiple standing hits on a 20" square plate at 200 yards with my black powder loads.
Back to this round barrel rifle, it is a bit heavier than my Saddle Ring Carbine but even in my dotage I can still hold it off-hand for a few rounds (about five) before giving out. Monday of this week I got out to the range and was lucky to get one of the 50 yard shooting bays where I set up a 12" plate at 25 yards to get a rough idea where the sights were pointed. Initially it was shooting low but a couple adjustments in elevation started putting my 200g 1-20 alloy bullets ahead of 36g FFg in the middle. At 50 yards, where I had a 10" steel round target I was getting consistent hits as long as I did my part with sighting and trigger control. Admittedly I had a bit more trouble hitting off hand at 50 yards (dang I hate getting old) but if I leaned against something for a bit more stability the hits became more frequent.
During the shooting session of 25-30 rounds I would pause after every five shots and blow down the barrel to soften the fouling. With the last round I left the fired case in the chamber and ran a couple soapy patches, then a dry patch down the bore. I had a full schedule for that afternoon and knew I would not get back to the rifle until sometime on Tuesday so I followed the dry patch with one soaked with Balistol. The next day the bore was clean and bright but to make sure I got the chamber clean I went through the process again, this time pulling the patches out of the opened action.
I had thought the Winchester/Maroku SRC was going to be my favorite 1873 but this round barreled Short Rifle might just take it's place, or at least it will be a toss up which one goes to the range the next time.
Dave
I stumbled across a like new (didn't appear to have been fired) in the box Winchester (Meroku) 1873 short rifle (20") chambered for the correct 44 WCF cartridge. What is interesting about this gun is it came with a round barrel, which was standard on the original 1873. To get the more popular octagon barrel it had to be ordered and at extra cost. This was the first new production '73 rifle I had seen with the round barrel from Winchester/Meroku.
Back in the late 1980s and early 1990s, when I was active in CAS I had an original 1873 that had a round barrel in the none standard length of 28". Being younger, stronger, and with better eyesight back then I could shoot that thing like a sniper rifle. On more than one occasion I made multiple standing hits on a 20" square plate at 200 yards with my black powder loads.
Back to this round barrel rifle, it is a bit heavier than my Saddle Ring Carbine but even in my dotage I can still hold it off-hand for a few rounds (about five) before giving out. Monday of this week I got out to the range and was lucky to get one of the 50 yard shooting bays where I set up a 12" plate at 25 yards to get a rough idea where the sights were pointed. Initially it was shooting low but a couple adjustments in elevation started putting my 200g 1-20 alloy bullets ahead of 36g FFg in the middle. At 50 yards, where I had a 10" steel round target I was getting consistent hits as long as I did my part with sighting and trigger control. Admittedly I had a bit more trouble hitting off hand at 50 yards (dang I hate getting old) but if I leaned against something for a bit more stability the hits became more frequent.
During the shooting session of 25-30 rounds I would pause after every five shots and blow down the barrel to soften the fouling. With the last round I left the fired case in the chamber and ran a couple soapy patches, then a dry patch down the bore. I had a full schedule for that afternoon and knew I would not get back to the rifle until sometime on Tuesday so I followed the dry patch with one soaked with Balistol. The next day the bore was clean and bright but to make sure I got the chamber clean I went through the process again, this time pulling the patches out of the opened action.
I had thought the Winchester/Maroku SRC was going to be my favorite 1873 but this round barreled Short Rifle might just take it's place, or at least it will be a toss up which one goes to the range the next time.
Dave
