# my first shooting competition



## NWCS (Aug 26, 2006)

i am getting ready for my first pistol shooting competition today. after one day of practice at the range yesterday im not going to be doing very well!
my EAA Witness .40 cal is "kind of" sighted in. borrowed Colt PeaceKeeper .357 is about the same status. the ruger blackhawk .357 is not sighted in a bit. 
ranges are from 25 yard to 100 yard silouette targets. 

the one gun i can shoot dead on is not allowed in this match. 
my dads Smith & Wesson 629 Classic SS .44 mag with 8 3/8" barrel. 


here is yesterdays target, the only hits in the black: the 44 mag.
when i have more than 1 days practice in months, i can do better.

http://www.nwchainsaw.com/target.jpg


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## cord arrow (Aug 26, 2006)

low left indicates a jerk. (not you, your trigger release)

squeeze man, squeeze. it should always surprize you when the hammer falls.


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## NWCS (Aug 26, 2006)

the results are in for the shoot, hit one silouette target at 25yd, two at 50 and none at 75 and 100 yards. the shoot turned out to be 22LR only so i was stuck with a worn out open sight ruger Mk 1. most shots were way low. the most impressive shooter was a member of the US Navy pistol team with a custom Ruger Mk II. i might have to go for a ruger Mk 2 in good condition. i was told by the Navy team shooter the Mk 3 is to be avoided at all cost for a target gun, its just a total POS. after looking at one i might have to agree. 

my score: 3 hits out of a possible..... 40! OUCH!


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## Mr. (Aug 28, 2006)

Buy a Browning Buckmark and be done with it. If you need more go with the Gold model.

Fred


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## NWCS (Aug 28, 2006)

hey Fred, i have been looking at the buckmark contour 7.25 URX or the bullseye target 7.25 URX. first upgrade will be a set of Nill adjustable match grips. not sure if i will go with a red dot or a pistol scope yet.


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## hobby climber (Aug 29, 2006)

See what the majority of top shooters are using AND WHY!!!!!!! 

I shot P.P.C. for a number of years till I got into I.P.S.C. Didn't do to much of bullseye. You will go through a few guns till you figure out what works for you. It a very personal thing...getting a gun that is an extension of your hand! You'll know the more you shoot. don't waist time practicing what your good at, practice at what your not good at and practice practice practice!

Once you get to a level and can go no farther...it then becomes a mental ritual game at that point. Very regimented ya might say. You'll be practicing your timing with an empty gun the night before a shoot and going over all your equipment an rounds.

At that point you will be shooting instinctive and you will know where each bullet hits before seeing the target! Its true! You will have to be carfull of wht you eat & drink the night before , how much sleep you get, getting to the range early in the morning to shoot to avoid the crowds and "a range full of gun-smoke and less oxygen"! No coffee or sugary foods....your gona want to keep your heart rate down to a normal beat. 

Breathing is also very important in a competition. I could go on & on but will stop now. For the first couple of years just have fun the way its intended. If you ever decide you want to become a high masters shooter, its a lot of time, money, energy & dedication. You'll be eating, sleeping, thinking about it all the time but until then just have fun! 

Tight groups. HC


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## aggiewoodbutchr (Aug 29, 2006)

Mr. said:


> Buy a Browning Buckmark and be done with it. If you need more go with the Gold model.
> 
> Fred




I second that.


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## NWCS (Aug 29, 2006)

i like the grip on the Ruger Mk 2 but.. i hate that mag release on the bottom. 
the browning has the side mag release like larger autoloaders and the mag itself is superior in my eye. i would LOVE a High Standard Victor or Supermatic Trophy but not at those prices. the browning is in my price range.

i tried firing my Ruger Mk 1 from a solid rest that cradled both the grip and barrel, could not get a repeatable shot out of the thing, some would go low, some high. would never put a bullet in the same place twice. not much rifling left in that poor old 70's barrel.


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## 046 (Aug 29, 2006)

surefire solution is to find a high end Air gun shooting .22 or .177 pellets. 

I couldn't hit a pie plate at 10 yards with my walter PPK. that is until I scored a benjamin Air pistol that pumps up to aprox. 500 pfs. 

well several thousand of pellets later.... guess what I'm deadly with a pistol. air guns may not be exact, but weight and trigger is simular. recoil is not as much of course. 

this goes the same for Air rifles. been really getting into Air rifles lately. shot 3,000+ pellets last 30 days. spent close to $3k on high end air rifles this last month. going off the deep end...

but guess what I'm deadly accurate with a rifle! come deer season, I'll be harvesting some more venison.... yummm..


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## NWCS (Aug 29, 2006)

the main reasons im after a buckmark is #1 i can afford it, #1 features and reputation and #3 upgrade options. it looks like it would be good do it all pistol.


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## 361kid (Aug 31, 2006)

Don't mean to hijack the thread but I need some advice from you pistol shooters. I've been shooting for about 5 years now. I have no problem with shotguns (up to 10 gauge) or rifles (up to .416) and I have no flinch whatsoever with long guns, but I think I've pushed myself too far with handguns. I started off on a p-38 autoloder moved to .357 and then to .44. Since then I've fired many autoloaders...sig 220, 226, 229 and I have no flinch with autoloaders...but for my 18th birthday my uncle gave me a .50 cal muzzleloading pistol and for the life of me I can't fire it without flinching. Now whenever I shoot it or the .44 I find myself flinching...suggestions?


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## hobby climber (Aug 31, 2006)

*Black powder eh?*

361kid...

So ya got a .50cal pistol eh? No problem, its the most fun you'll ever hate! ha ha. To start with, don't load it to its max charge...cut back a bit on the powder till you get use to it. 

With flint locks, there is a snap-flash-boom before the bullet leaves the gun! All that means is that there is a bit of a delay before the bullet moves and this delay means you will have to work on you follow-through if you hope to have any kind of accuracy!!! 

The trick is simply to continue aiming at your target during AND after you pull the trigger! Getting your pistol to function quickly & properly is also a big factor as well. 

Try this experiment: With gun UNLOADED(!!!!), aim & shoot (dry-fireing), and a target and continue holding your aim well after the trigger is pulled, (follow-through is the name of the game)! The gun will move so you will have to work on controlling that movement. Next, practice the same drill with a powder charge in the pan (lock) and nothing in the guns barrel. This will get you use to the hammers movement & flash without the BOOM, all the while, your still aiming at the same spot after the trigger is pulled! (Practice this its important)! Once your comfortable with your follow through, add powder & patch-ball down barrel and just do what you've been practicing!!!

If this dosen't help, then its just a matter of getting the right size bullet, right size patch, right patch lube and right amount of powder in the right combination. And clean the barrel often at least after 6 or 7 rounds! Here, consistency is a key factor!!! 

With black powder , you are basically building the bullet in the barrel of the gun so what ever you do...do the same each time or you'll never hold a group down range!


There are a bunch of other tricks you can do with black powder guns that will allow you better performance but lets just stay with the basics for now.

If you can tell me what make, style, model, barrel length your gun is and if its smooth bore or rifled...I would be better able to suggest a proper load to start with. I also need to know what type of projectile your shooting out of it as well as the bullets diameter!!! 

I will also like to know the maximum load & powder charge is thats set by the manufacturer! It should be found some place on the barrel. 

You let me know that information & I'll do my best to tighten up your groups. 

If you can master black powder, you'll find that it will improve your shooting with other firearms! Its just a lot more stuff to think about is all ! HC


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## 361kid (Sep 1, 2006)

Thanks for the reply HC...The model is a traditions trapper...I think my uncle built it from a kit. It's a percussion model and uses #11 percussion caps. I'm not sure of the barrel length but it looks somewhere around 6in. It's rifled with a 1 in 20 twist and I'm using hornady lead balls (diam .490). Not too sure of the max powder charge because it's not listed on the barrel...I've been loading it with 50 grains of pyrodex RS powder...and that's about all I could tell ya.


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## hobby climber (Sep 2, 2006)

361kis,

I figured out your problem. 1)- Your using to much powder.
(try 20-25gr for best accuracy and the max charge for your gun is 45gr of powder... NOT 50gr)

2)-Your using the wrong size powder.
(Pyrodex "R/S" is for rifles & shotguns only! Use fffg Black Powder OR Pyroex "P"[pistol] only) 

3)-You didn't mention if your using a patch or not. The recommended patch thickness for you gun is .015 . It hold the ball tight in the barrel and acts like a gas seal for better pressure. In the old days, they used a spit patch(real spit), for lube. Now a days you can buy patches pre-lubed. Pillow ticking with bore butter or wonder-lube-1000 works just as well.
Also, look for the patches after the guns been fired. They will tell you if you have a good charge. I'll tell you more about the importance of a "fired patch" later...just find them & keep them each time you fire your gun and note the powder charge used for each one!

4)-The .490 round ball you have is just fine. 


I've included a picture of what I believe is your gun. The load I suggested is from the manufacturer so you will be safe with it! 
Remember, the finer the grain of powder the faster it will burn and giving you a greater gas pressure in the barrel. You were using "Pyrodex R/S" which is a slightly slower burning powder that "Pyrodex P" ! Must have been quite a flame out the end of the barre each time you fired that thing!!! You should not have to use more that 30gr to get you accuracy, IMHO. Start with 20gr and work your way up. Remember to CLEAN the barrel every 2 or 3 shots. Each time you fire your gun, there is a residue build up in the barrel and that will make the ball fit tighter thus increasing you gas pressure...you can forget about accuracy. Clean it often!!!!!!!!! 

A good home made boar cleaner that I've been using for years is this: [-2 parts Alcohol...2 parts Peroxide...and 1 part Murphy's oil soap]. Shake before each use because the ingredients will tend to separate! 

What do you have by way of possibles? tools, rod attachments, nipple wrench, jags, ball puller, patch puller, pick, pipe cleaners, etc...? 

BTW, your gun has a hook breach so if you drift out the barrel pin/wedge, the barrel will lift out for easy cleaning once the ram rod is removed! 

If you have any other questions, please ask...I love talking Black Powder! Let me know how you've made out later.  HC


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## hobby climber (Sep 2, 2006)

Is this your pistol?


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