I am curious as to who hunts with their BPCR, and what they consider to be their effective range.

I have hunted twice with my Shiloh Sharps 45-110,Bison @100 yrds,Elk @ 160 yrds,both easy shots off sticks,I would shoot game upto 300 yrds with this rifle,my range is only set up for that max distance & I am used to shooting it @300 yrds.

Bal, what bullet are you using?

I shot my first Bison with a Shiloh LRE in 45-70 at about 130yds ten years ago. Offhand, not enough time to get down on the sticks.

Three years later I shot a second one with the 86/71 in 50-110 that Biebs got from me. Brained him at about 100yds.

My own cast bullets and the Holy Black...

Rich, where do you do your Bison hunts? Is it free range" How much? I have a big ole' one I took with a 7-8 years ago, but would like to take another with a BPCR.

Buffalo Rip wants to shoot one with a 50-70 Trapdoor as old as the original Buffalo Bill "needle gun,"
if it survives the rubber tire and trigger string pull.
Lucretia Borgia the Second:

BPC rifles are all I used for 15 years. The one that saw the most use is a Shiloh Sharps, Montana Rough Rider in 45-2.4. 80 grs. of blk under an NEI 480 gr. bullet cast 25-1. Second most use is my German double rifle in 43 Mauser. After those two I have taken deer with my Shiloh, #1 Sporter in 40-2.5, my Ballard 1 1/2 Hunter in 45-2.6. I have used my Reilley double in 500 BPE but sadly I have YET to find a black powder load that will regulate in that rifle. Consequently it has digested nitro for Black loads. I have a few more BPC rifles in the "on deck" circle.

quote:

Originally posted by Biebs:
Bal, what bullet are you using?

Jon,
I used cast bullets bought from Mt.Baldy,550 gr @1700 fps,gas checked,a little faster than Bp,all loaded with smokeless.

Yes, that's moving right along! You could take a Cape Buffalo with that much energy, if the bullet is cast hard enough.

9.3x75R--What powder, powder charge, and bullet weight were you using when you tried to regulate the Reilly with black powder? I might be able to help you with that.

sharpsguy, I'll take any and all suggestions, critique's and assistance I can get. I've been playing with BPC rifles since the mid-80's and my Reilley is the ONLY rifle I have never been able to work up a BP load for. I have two BP doubles and while the old 43 Mauser was a challenge I did finally get a good BP load for it....not the 500.

Powder charges, as best I can remember, have been 120 grs. or more. Powder, pick one, I've probably tried it: GOEX Ctg., GOEX 1Fg and 2Fg, Swiss 1 1/2, Scheutzen 1 and 2 Fg, Wano 1Fg, Pyrojunk.. I had some T-7 but was a little leary of the pressures it might generate so never tried it. Bullets were all cast and either 340 gr. or 380 gr. I have some Hawk jacketed but do not want to use jacketed with black. I've tried soft, medium and hard alloy from both bullet molds I have, I've tried SPG and 3 or 4 home made lubes and Paul Matthews "lube cookie"....and every load has shot apart. I got really frustrated about 6 years ago and threw away all my targets and BP records so beyond remembering for certain that all loads shot apart I can't say whether the first two were close...I do not ever remember them being close...or if the composite group opened up or what. I resigned myself to using Nitro for Black and hard cast in it. Now...here's what I think. The old gal has Henry rifling and everything I have learned about it says it was developed for soft, paper patch bullets. I have not tried them and absolutely do not want to.

The rifle shoots great. It will hover over and under 2 inches at 50 yards for 3 shot, composite groups until you get bored. That with either Hawk bullets or hard cast, hard lube bullets and smokeless. Try black and grooved bullets and it scatters shots in protest.

Oh....I tried a duplex load too, out of Wrights book, maybe two loads. Machs nix.

Soooo...if you can wave a magic wand and send me some info I am to date blissfully ignorant of I will be eternally in your debt.

Some time back, I remember seeing a Ross Seyfred article on loading the old doubles with black powder. KIK powder made in Slovenia had just become available, and Seyfred was praising this powder very highly for use in these rifles. He said that it was the only contemporary powder that he and his friends had come across that would reliably regulate in some of these doubles;that it was the closest to the old Curtis&Harvey No.6 that they had found.

I have been using KIK powder for several years, and have had excellent results with it. It occured to me that KIK might solve your problem if you gave it a try. As you say, the Henry rifling was developed with the use of paper patched bullets in mind. I think if you were to have a proper adjustable paper patch bullet mold made, a good load could be found that would regulate in the old girl.

A rifle like that is worth spending the time on to make it shoot. You can get KIK powder from Powder Inc. in Clarksville, Ark. They are at (479)705-0005. Depending on where you are in Missouri, you might be able to drop down and pick up some of that powder.

Alternatively, you might want to drop down here to my place for a couple of days with some bullets and we will see what we can do with some of my KIK, as I have all the granulations. I am in north east Texas about 50 miles south of Texarkana and 50 miles west of Shreveport, La. I have a 500 yard range on my place.

Haven't yet, but I am building a .50-70 rolling block sporting rifle specifically to hunt with.

I hunt with a Shiloh Sharps 1874 Saddle Rifle in .45-70

I have a 1866 and a 92 Winchester in 44-40. I use them for cowboy action shooting. I did take a deer at 65 yards with the load of a 200 grain lead bullet and 35 grains of Goex FF. Worked just fine.