Why We Dearly Need to Work Up Loads
I'm
uniquely qualified to write this little article, as I've managed
to shoot far more horrifically really, really bad groups out of
muzzleloaders than anyone I know!
Cumulative
tolerances are in play in muzzleloaders; to change more than one
component at a time necessarily changes everything. We all claim
to want accuracy and I suppose we do want it-- but we do not always
spend the requisite time necessary to find it. As a friend puts
it, "all guns are a mystery unto themselves to be solved."
That seems to be true more often than not.
Everything
made by man that is used in the firing of any muzzleloading firearm,
including the Savage 10ML-II, has a tolerance. Not just the accepted
"every gun is an individual" dogma, but all of the components
we use. Primers vary not just from brand to brand, but from lot
to lot. Sabots have a tolerance, just like any other molded substrate.
Powder varies from lot to lot. Everywhere you look, there are tolerances--
many imperceptible, but many are not-- like sorting bullets by weight.
That is just our muzzleloader; we have not yet considered inherent
tolerances in rings, bases, scopes, or the atmosphere.
We also
have our own human tolerances that comes part and parcel with the
human condition. On some days we can shoot better than others; I
know I do. Some days our reflexes are better, our eyes work better,
on some days we just feel better and can perform better than when
we are a bit weary or under the weather. All of our human tolerances
are necessarily added to the mechanical and geometrical tolerances
of any muzzleloader. Then there is recoil, as well-- some folks
acknowledge that they are recoil sensitive, some say recoil does
not bother them. I know of no shooter that actually performs better
when recoil is increased, however.
So it
is with "starting loads," as expressed in most of the
better reloading manuals for decades. Too often, for the sake of
convenience, we ignore the working up a load effort-- though it
is a one-time task. When things do not instantly work perfectly,
"our gun won't shoot." All too often, we just did not
take the small amount of effort to find what our specific, individual
gun, in our unique set of ambient conditions in out unique hands
and loading style likes best. We all handload a bit differently,
and handloading is exactly what we are doing when we muzzleload.
There
are a dozen or so case histories reported in just the last week
that illuminates this. A couple of examples are one Savage 10ML-II
shooter that was using 45 gr. of Accurate Arms 5744 pushing a Barnes
300 gr. MZ-Expander-and had poor accuracy. Dropping to 40 gr. of
5744, with no other changes his gun now groups MOA @ 100 yards.
Another Savage shooter reported shooting several 60 grain loads
of N120, but never more than 60 grains initially with .458 Spitzer
Soft Point Barnes Originals and orange MMP 50 x .458 sabots: "I
learned they shoot flat, but the groups were not all that impressive.
Shortly after somebody said they were going to use 57.1 grains.
I thought maybe I'd back it down to 58 grains. Today I started out
with 58 grains - more insanity. Once I switched to 56 grains the
group was tight and I was cured!"
Starting
loads, as listed in the article Pet
Loads for the Savage 10ML-II are hardly marginal or unsubstantial.
In fact, the very slowest starting load is in the 1900 fps arena
developing some 2400 fpe of energy, and retaining over 1000 fpe
at 225 yards. Deer don't care how fast you miss them, and there
sure isn't much that can live on the difference inside 200 yards.
Please
don't be obsessed with a muzzle velocity number; though it is an
easy trap to fall into. We sure don't shoot our game at the muzzle,
and 100 fps at the muzzle either way is meaningless at 150 yards
from a lethality standpoint with the relatively heavy, large caliber
projectiles that we use. I'm not allergic to muzzle velocity, either,
nor am I suggesting that anyone should be. It is just that velocity
at the expense of repeatable accuracy is an abysmally poor trade-off.
Remember,
I'll bet I've shot worse groups than you have!
©
November, 2005 by Randy Wakeman
