Range Report Win 73 SRC pic added

[Ben_Rumson]

OK… Got out to the range yesterday (cool, intermittent clouds with light wind) to try yet another lead bullet load in the old Win. 73 SRC 44WCF, I figured this would prolly be my last shot at getting lead bullets to work in it.. & I’m happy to report that finally, I’ve found a lead bullet design that agrees with the old girl…A gas check SWC design.. Lyman 429215 !
When I got the rifle my intention was to not to have to cast bullets for it. I cast bullets for several other old guns & was hoping to make a shortcut with the 73 and use 44 cal. store bought PB lead bullets. That didn’t work out very well at all…mainly because of the erosion of the rifling just in front of the chamber, which I had discovered when I did a chamber cast...Hardly any rifling left there..( I think the hot old time smokeless powder gases did it) My efforts included bumping up bullets…But there’s not enough room in the chamber to accept a bullet big enough to fit what’s left of the rifling in that part of the bbl…I tried shot buffers.. I tried TP buffer/filler with a couple of other powders.. I tried soft custom cast store bought bullets…Nothing came close to the fine accuracy I get with jacketed bullets, but dang it..I want to shoot the gun more often than jacketed bullets would be good for it… So, knowing it handles jacketed fine, I thought mebbe using a gas checked bullet would do the trick, and went and sprung for gas checks and a mould, then used MY soft alloy @ BHN 11-12 with it... The first thing I noticed upon checking out the mould was the crimp groove was in the wrong place to make my cartridges come in short enough to feed through the action, but if I crimped (Lee FCD) on the front edge of the driving band then it would feed…I cast up about 100 bullets … I went for the largest dia. bullet & used a .430 size die..The gas checks weren’t on as tight as I would have liked, but I figured the bullet was gonna bump up some, and it would be good…but I was still a tad nervous about it.. I lubed with 50/50 Lee Alox…Cut to length 40 Starline once fired cases.. Weighed bullets to within a tenth of a grain.. Weighed the cases to within a grain…(I was pleasantly surprised to find that the cases were remarkably uniform in weight out of the batch I had to work with, and so it was a quick sort)…Weighed every charge...I used a book load from Alliant for a 240gr lead bullet with 23.5gr RL-7 @ 12,500 c.u.p. I used a WLP primer.. My Lubed GC’d bullets weigh in @ 224gr. After conditioning the clean barrel with 12 rounds, I ran 10 over the clock & got:

Lo 1189
Hi 1257
Av 1239
Es 67.77
Sd 19.87

When I was conditiong the barrel seven of the 12 rounds rounds were rejects that didn’t come out perfect because I was playing with the seating depth.. But the last 5 were my premium cartridges and went into 2â€

[KirkD]

Very encouraging results. Glad to hear the gas checked bullets did the job.

[Ysabel Kid]

Looks great! Where's pictures of the gun?!?

[KirkD]

There's a real lesson in here for others who have old guns with poor bores that don't seem to shoot well. If I recall, Ben, no plain base cast bullet shot well with your '73. The gas check bullet seems to do very well. A lot of newer fellows don't realize what gas check can do. Your results are a good demonstration of that.

[JerryW]

I have a 73 repo from Cimarron and this bullet works the best in it also. I use it minus the gas check. 50/50 alox lube. 5.5 gr bullseye or 7.0 grs.unique. JerryW

[Sixgun]

Yes, I have noticed that gas checked bullets almost always outshoot pb ones in the old guns. But I think a worn crown is more detrimental to accuracy than an eroded throat is. Lots of the old timers were religious about cleaning their guns due to blackpowder and mercuric priming and they were fond of their metal cleaning rods that rubbed the heck out of the crown.-------------Sixgun

[Ben_Rumson]

Here she is.. Dame Chocolot I call her.. for obvious reasons..Note the two notches filed in the butt near the toe also



Right Kirk.. never had any lead PB bullets do this well.. Sixgun.. besides the chamber erosion she suffers from the kind of cleanings you mentioned..One land is nearly worn off near the muzzle.. but it doesn't seem to make much of a difference.. Could be the odd flyer I get, but more than likley it's the nut behind the butt..

[Ysabel Kid]

Beau-ti-ful!!!

[Grizzly Adams]

A grand old lady, indeed! Winchester 1873 SRCs are special.

[Griff]

Very nice! Good shootin'! I'd be happy with groups like that for a 10shot group! And, yep, gas checks can be wonderful things for less than perfect bores. Guns, that is, not shooters!