Hey I got home today & I had a special package! My 41 Mag 10" full bull OTT encore barrel arrived.

It looks great. I already have the mount on it & installed the Tasco Optima sight on it. Sooooo It looks like this weekend I'll have a barrel to start breaking in & working up loads for. Man this came just at the right time!

I guess I have to get working On doing some handloads for it. I will give a report after I get a chance to shoot it some. Thanks Mike!!!!

Rich Jake

[ 07-27-2003, 17:19: Message edited by: Rich Jake ]

get to work rich, we want to know what this one will do

RJ, a lil late for a "break in". I think i already did that for ya, LOL! Lookin forward to hearin the details of accuracy and velocity!

Magnum
You think that what was done counts as a break in ??? LOL! Yeah it will be more of an accuracy & velocity test. I was just going through my inventory of bullets & powders to start with. I don't have much of anything left, but enough to get started. I hope to be able to run at least 4 or 5 different combos this weekend. I can hardly wait.
Rich Jake

RJ,

I was hoping to surprise you.

Good luck,

Yeah Mike you did! I have a couple of things loaded already & working on a few more. I should have some thing to report by Sunday hopefully.
Rich Jake

Well I got a chance to shoot & chronograph a couple of loads yesterday. The results were good over all.

I shot my first group with sierra 170 gr hollow points. They shot very well with 21gr of 2400 & Fed 150 primer. They chronogarphed with a 1586 fps ave. I only had four of these & shot the at very close range to make sure that I was on paper. They shot so well I've ordered another box to test further.

I also shot the 210 Xtp's with 20.0 grains of 2400 which I had loaded for hunting season for my 41 Mag revolver. They shot OK but need to vary the load a little to see if better groups are possible. They average about 1510 fps.

The next was the 230 Gr Keith style cast bullets with various powders & weights. These shot well in my S&W model 57 revolver. They didn't really do anything spectacular. The velocity was anywhere from 1400 to 1550 fps. The best groups came in with 296 at 25 yards. I feel these bullets are not worth persuing in this barrel. Which is per usual, I was hoping in going with these bullets.

Next was the 250 Gr Castperformance with a gas check. These bullets shot very well overall. I had 3 really good groups with them at 25 yards.

The first was 17.0 of 2400 Fed 155 primer. It gave a 1" group at a velocity of 1448 fps ave.

The second was 18.0 of 2400 Fed 155 primer. It gave a 3 shot group of 7/8 of an 1" & four shot at 1 1/4" with a velocity of 1505 fps.

The third was 18.5 of 2400 Fed 155 primer. It gave a 4 shot group of 1 1/4" at 1535 fps.

Please remember that these were shot with the optima sight with a three moa dot.

I have on order 170 gr & 210 Grain Sierras & will be getting another box of both 210 Xtp's & 250 WFNGC Castperformance bullets to test further. Will try them with other powders as well.

The OTT barrel was excellent overall it definitly has preferences as to what it likes & I have to find the better combos. Every thing that I shot with it was flawless. Not one problem. I never got any excessive pressure signs through out yesterdays shooting. This barrel is very accurate just needs the right loads. I probably could have hunted with anyone of these loads without a problem but I'm always looking for the best combo I can find. Thanks Mike you did good!

Rich Jake

[ 07-27-2003, 17:17: Message edited by: Rich Jake ]

Rich,

Maybe you could mount a scope on it for more precision to ring out the best loads during load development. Then switch back to the Optima.

You looking for any more jacketed slugs for your barrel? Think I have some Sierra 210's around here NIB's.

Regards

Rey
I thought about that with the scope as well. I think if I do that I'll end up buying another scope.

I wish I hadn't already ordered a box, but will likely want more. I'll email you about details if your interested in selling them. Thanks!

Rich Jake

Sounds like some purty good results there RJ! Look forward to hearing more accuracy results!

Headstamp
You have a PM.
Rich Jake

Right back atcha with an e-mail addy.


Regards

Rich I have a 1.5-4x Burris posi-lock that I bought as a refurb from Natchez.....because I thought i was having trouble with a weaver....but I never mounted and tried it. Its justing sitting in a cabinet. I could lend it to you...no obligations...youd be doing me a favour by seeing if it will hold a zero. If it does and you want to hold onto it for a season that would be fine...I dont have any short tubes at this time to put it on anyway....
email me your address if you're interested,
Dave

Rich,

Dave Jenkins has a pretty attractive offer for you that might suit your needs, but if you want to do it all with what you have you can get a better target/sight picture with design of your target. Since you have a sight with a 3 minute dot, you could make up a target with four dark colored circles placed in a square on your target paper, spaced so there is a 3 minute space in the middle between them (or 4 squares spaced the same). This is duck soup if you have a graphics package for your computer, if not, easy enough to do by hand too. With a target so designed, you can pretty easily accomplish a quarter to half minute hold.

I have done the same with a 2X scope that had 2 minute cross hairs. I used 4 squares placed in a square pattern with 2 inches between them, then held the cross hairs on top of that pattern so I couldn't see any white at the cross. It worked well, and I thought I was accomplishing a quarter inch hold at 100 yds. The groups were that good too.

Hope that helps,

Don Shearer

RJ (if I may), Project 41 broke the 1800 fps barrier Saturday morning in an 83 degree ambient. Of course this is also when the cases started seperating on the head. Looks like H110 is now off the table, a ramp of Unique will be next.

Forgot, this barrel is mated with a Burris 2-7x via T/C's duo-mount;so far so good.

[ 07-28-2003, 22:06: Message edited by: T/C nimrod ]

Dave
That is a very Generous offer ! THANKS I couldn't deal with it if something were to happen. So I will have to pass it up.

I think I will attempt a try on the targets as Don suggested. If I'm to use the Optima for hunting it is probably best if I do all work ups with it as well. I think in the end it will give me a good base of practice with the sight. So if I do get that chance at a deer later this year, I should be ready.

Rich Jake

T/C Nimrod what weight bullet were you using & getting those kind of velocities???

[ 07-29-2003, 03:44: Message edited by: Rich Jake ]

210 Grain Hornady HP/XTP #41000 (I think that's Hornady's #). I worked up to that load of 22.7 grns. of H110, and as Mike said on another thread, it is "stout".

I wanted to share a combination my 14" tube likes for a 50 yard round: 20.1 grns/H110 under a 210 grn. Sierra JHC, fired by a Federal 155 primer. These combo gets me an average of 5 shots into 3/4". Personnal best with this load is .52"/5 shots @50 yards. Sorry I don't have any velocities on record for this load, if I were to take an educated guess I'd say somewhere in the neighborhood of 1150 to 1230 fps (?).

20.5 grains of H110 under a Sierra 210JHC lit by a CCI-350 gives me 1350 out of my 6" M57.

That load was always VERY accurate outta the ole Smith.

I'm using 22.5 gr. L'ilGun with the 210 gr. XTP in the .41 Mag. More apparent "oomph" than the same bullet with a max charge of H110/W296 and supposedly lower pressures as well. More accurate, too. I don't have the figures in front of me but I think (damn CRS) got 1900 fps for this bullet! That's in a 16" barrel. 210/1900 is better than factory .35 Rem at 200/1836! Can't complain about that even if the BC and SD are shaded by the .35.

Hobie
Almost bought a pound of Lil Gun last time out to the gun store & at the last minute I went with the 2400 which I was familuar with. I may still have to get some to try out. The only guys using it around here are loading shot shells with it.
Rich Jake

Hobie
Thanks for the tip with Lil Gun I shot an excellent target to day with it. I will see if I can get some help posting it. The powder really amazed me. I think I have found my load for hunting purposes! I may try them at 100 yards just to see what it does.

Don Shearer I recieved the targets today thanks! I'll make up a bunch of copies & try them out. It should help quite a bit.

I'm all smiles today!!!!!

Rich Jake

Here's the target...... Hmmmmm.



[ 08-03-2003, 05:39: Message edited by: cas ]

Thanks cas for posting that for me.
Rich Jake

Arghhhhhhhhhh. You guys are killin' me. Got everything ready for the time being, except bushings. Now seems like no time to shoot. I had planned on a short session this AM, then had to go to work earlier than expected. I got a 5X Burris I would treat ya right on Rich .
Jeff

what size bushing do you need? Might have an extra in 22 size or 7mm

In as much as i have TRIED to ignore "lil gun" i gonna have to try it. Those groups look good RJ, i am very interested in what that would do at 100 yards. Keep us posted on your progress.

The beast in question.


I dunno.... I still think it looks like a flare gun. Hehehehe..

Awesome RJ! You sure as hell dont need no stinkin scope with results like that! Did Mike fashion that from a Les B. blank??? I can surely tell its an OTT finish Got that irradescent Starling/blackbird look!!
Hey Mike if you read this

Yeah Dave it is a Les B. Blank. I have no complaints with it's performance.
Rich Jake

Hey Rich Jake how do you like that little Optima sight?

mike72
I like it. It is good for close & qick target sighting. I had it mounted on my 45 Colt barrel before the 41 Mag barrel & found that, sighted in with the 250 Grain 45 Loads at 50 yards was off quite a bit at 100 Yards. That 3 moa dot covers a big space at 100 yards as well. So I took it off the 45 barrel & replaced it with a scope.

I think that for the 41 shooting a lighter bullet a little flatter & not really expecting it to be used for more than 75 yards it should work out.

Also that dot's brightness adjusts for the amount of light that is out. I found out that all you got was a big blur before sunrise, on the one hunting season that it was taken out in the field.

Rich Jake

One nice thing about that dot size is that you can use it to estimate hold over. That dot being about 3" in diameter, one dot high is about 3" high! I used this on my sons 22lr marlin to kill a chuck at about 125 yards! LOL!