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Bison Range Session
Having a Bison to test and good
weather too ... wow!
After modifying this set trigger
assembly ... it was time for another range session.
I decided to make up a couple of
real quick steel plate targets. Easily moved. Something from which
I could also recover the spent slugs.
Approx. 3/16" steel plate with
welded rebar legs. I stuck the legs into the ground about 10 inches.
Worked well. This was the back.
Started with round ball at about
35 yards. Just some function firing and trigger testing. Loved
the trigger. Felt very natural now.
Also, I moved the sights alittle
according to my plinking. Here's the first .570" round ball
and you see the splat laying there! Man - what a Whollop it makes!
The "strike" side. This
is only the "epi-center" of the mass. Most of the thing
has sheared away in lead "petals". I have pics ...
Packs a heck of a punch too. Note
the steel deflection!
Note the depth of penetration on
the steel plate. The left side is the nose. The shape describes
the indent. The right side is (was) flush with the plate back
when the excess lead sheared off. (Pics down the page)
3 round ball at 35 yards. Open sights
ya know. Top is a double.
Pic from the top - on edge. Note
the distention of the steel plate with that double strike!
Moved this target to 50 yards. Stayed
with the round ball .... (slugs later in the session)
Easy to find the splats. That was
fun. Note the rifling marks on this 50 yard round ball splat.
This shows that the ball flew as a bullet. Nose first - didn't
tumble.
I'd taken the chronograph along.
(This set up was shooting teh 58 round ball at 850-something fps.
Firing thru the chrono, the rounds were striking on the far side
of a stream about 45 yards away. They were kicking up dirt clods
and sounded like they were REALLY hitting hard. Here's an entrance
hole. Looked like a gopher hole!
I had a steel rod in the truck.
I decided to probe the hole.
And then dig out the lead round
ball...
I was shooting from a slightly higher
ground, so the slug penetrated instead of skimming off. The open
dirt trench describes the enterance (left) and ball at rest (right)
I opened the trench top to find the slug and see the wound channel.
That's a 36" rod. The round
went into the bank 20-22 inches!
Man, is THIS WORM gonna have a story
to tell tonight! "That's right Barney ... I was just chumpin
dirt when .... ...WHAM!!!!!!The whole earth opens up!! It's blinding daylight in
here ... mud is flying everywhere ... and this metorite just misses
my head .... or butt ... or whatever it is!!!!"
;?)
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Two!