Cast bullets can be used successfully in just about any kind of gun. From .357 Magnum revolvers to M1 rifles to antique Ballard single shot target rifles to Thompson Center Contender single shot pistols to Hawken muzzle loaders-they all work well with cast bullets. Below are descriptions and comments on some of these guns, with some notes on their use with cast bullets.

An Aside On Rimfires

     There are many excellent single shot .22 rimfire rifles available today. These include the English Peabody/Martini and the BSA International rifles.

     American .22 rimfire single shot rifles on Winchester 1885, Ballard, and Stevens actions; and Walther KK model single shot rifles are offered for sale from time to time. There are many bolt action, slide action, lever action and auto loading .22 rimfire rifles available.

There are many single shot, auto loading and revolver pistols available in .22 rimfire.

What’s good about a 22 Rimfire? Rimfires don’t require reloading or bullet casting or vast quantities of equipment or hours of preparation. It’s really nice to just pick up a .22 rimfire rifle or pistol, some cartridges and a spotting scope, and go to the range. Rimfires compete with each other in bench and position shooting matches at ranges to 200 yards. Some .22 rimfire results, particularly bench rest match results at the Fairfax Rod and Gun Club a few years back, are amazing. I bring .a 22-rimfire pistol (K22) and/or rifle (12/15 BSA Martini) each time I go to the range. I bring it/them because they’re fun to shoot, and because I frequently forget part of my center fire kit at home and I can shoot the .22 instead, and because they shoot really well.

What’s bad about a .22 Rimfire? Rimfire single shot rifle accuracy is determined by the ammunition used, with the most expensive ammunition being the most accurate. Eley TENEX (Red Box) is almost always the most accurate ammunition in any rifle. This ammunition costs around $10.50 for a box of 50, or 21 cents a shot. You can get it for a little less money, but it is still expensive. Pistol accuracy is not so much a function of ammunition cost.

     Rimfires don’t do it for most of us. Whatever it is that we get from shooting, a lot of us don’t quite get it from a .22 rimfire. Whether it’s the smell or the kick or the ritual of loading or phallic symbolism or whatever, rimfires don’t do it quite as well as centerfires. You may start with a rimfire, but you’ll go on to get a centerfire. What’s wrong with that?

Black Powder rifles and pistols

Muzzle Loading Rifles And Pistols

The best book that I know of about muzzle loading black powder rifles is "The Muzzle-Loading Cap Lock Rifle" by Ned Roberts, published first in 1940.

I've never had a muzzle loading pistol, have seen others shoot them, and the procedures seem similar to those used with a muzzle loading rifle.     

     The Thompson-Center Hawken rifle is a good example of a popular and highly regarded muzzle-loading rifle, in either flint lock or cap lock.

     Traditional muzzle loading rifles and pistols are used with black powder or one of the substitutes.

These guns come in either flintlock or percussion lock persuasions. The cap lock or percussion gun uses a percussion cap on a nipple to light off the powder. The flint lock has a flint on the hammer that, upon firing, flies down, scrapes against a surface and simultaneously opens a door to the priming charge of powder. Sparks from the flint and steel thing (frizzen) ignite the priming charge which lights off the main charge. The word "frizzen" is mentioned. I've never had a flintlock gun, but have watched others shoot them with satisfactory results.

The early muzzle loaders were loaded with a round ball and a patch. The ball diameter and patch thickness and lubricant used on the patch and powder charge were and are adjusted to find a combination giving accuracy.

Jeff Brown :The ball is usual 0.005 under bore diameter and the patch thickness varied to take up the ‘slack’ to groove diameter. IE: .400 calibre bore with .425 groove load combination would be a .395 ball + 0.015 patch each side of ball = .395+.015+.015 = .425. Note that there are many other opinions of proper ball and patch dimensions.

Many shooters use round balls today. Round balls are available from several manufacturers in a number of sizes, so I suspect that few shooters cast their own round balls.

The Minie ball is a hollow based bullet that was invented to eliminate the need for a patch on the projectile. The black powder "bumps up" the hollow bullet base, making a seal with the rifling. Minie balls were used in rifles during the civil war and are used in reproduction rifles such as the Zouave.

     Lee and other manufacturers make molds for short bullets of various types that rely on the black powder to bump up the bullet. Lee makes molds for the R.E.A.L bullets; rifling engraving at loading.

Round ball guns are slow twist guns, with twists in many inches to one turn.

The Thompson Center Hawken in 50 caliber has a twist of one turn in 48". Using "The Greenhill Formula Workbook" in the appendix, we find that a 50 caliber ball (.5 inches long) requires a twist of one turn in 75" to stabilize it; and that a 50 caliber rifle with a twist of one turn in 48" will stabilize a bullet .781" long. Thus the 50 caliber Thompson Center Hawken will stabilize both round balls and elongated cylindrical bullets.

(A true .50 cal RB twist is 1 in 66-72. The 1 in 48 twist is an attempt by the manufacturers to create a compromise between ball and bullet.  In reality 1 in 48 just an OK job but not great for either ball or bullet across a range of charges. 1 in 48 is however the correct twist for small calibers like .32 or .40; the bigger the ball the slower the twist. I liken the 1 in 48 twist to a small SUV e.g.: Toyota RAV 4. It’s neither a sports car nor real 4X4 but does 90% of what people want it to do. Jeff Brown)

Some of these guns used conical bullets or "sugar loaf" bullets or "picket" bullets, short bullets that could be stabilized in the slow twists.

Lately there has been a move to shoot black powder guns with sabots. A sabot is a plastic item that seals the bore and carries an undersized cast or jacketed bullet.

Cap lock target rifles are sometimes made to fire paper-patched or cloth-patched elongated bullets or elongated grease-grooved bullets with no patch. These guns, an example of which is the British Whitworth, in the hands of skilled operators, can shoot very accurately. Very accurately.

     I find that shooting muzzle loading cap lock rifle is a relaxing experience. Shooting is slow, no cartridge reloading is required, there's no need to cast the round balls or cut or grease patches since these can be readily purchased. The cleaning is a bit of a chore, but it's not that bad after a cleaning regimen is developed and followed. Shooting these guns makes an interesting break from my obsessive cast bullet experimentation.

Cap Lock Target Rifles And Slug guns

Target rifles are commonly heavy rifles designed to shoot offhand or from the bench.

Slug guns are target rifles with great big barrels sometimes three inches in diameter, intended for bench rest shooting only. They can easily weigh more than fifty pounds. They are frequently under-hammer guns-where the hammer is on the bottom of the gun and snaps UP when the trigger is depressed. 

These guns are shot with either a patched elongated bullet or a patched round ball, or an un-patched grease groove or "naked" bullet. Frequently there is a false muzzle involved.

The false muzzle is made for use with either a one-piece paper cross patch or two pieces of paper making the patch. The paper patch material is placed in the grooves, the bullet is started into the enlarged and tapered false muzzle hole, then pushed into the bore with the starter and seated on the powder with the rod.

Some guns have an arrangement that has a primer enclosed in an apparatus, the apparatus thing is hit by the hammer, setting off the primer, setting off the charge. This has two advantages-it lights off the charge faster and better than a percussion cap and it encloses the primer so that no gas can escape from the breech, thus solving the problem with the conventional nipple and large charges.

I've watched the slug gun matches at Fort Ticonderoga, seen Marlin Bassett and Ken Bresein shooting these monsters. As expected, the elongated-bullet groups are wonderful, and the round ball groups are just amazing sometimes.

Long Range Muzzle Loaders

These cap lock guns shoot large charges of powder with either paper-patched smooth-sided bullets or unpatched bullets with grease grooves. In either case the bullet is about bore sized and soft so that it will bump up to groove size on firing to seal the bore.

Because of the large powder charge the nipples burn out quite quickly, and are replaced with platinum-lined nipples that can handle the pressure and gas coming back through the nipple.

The Pedersoli Gibbs rifle is popular today, and is a reproduction of the Gibbs long range rifle. The original and reproduction rifles used in Long Range muzzle loading are based on the British rifles used during the second half of the 19th century. These guns have precision sights capable of large elevations, and are accurate-in the hands of a capable shooter-to beyond 1000 yards. 

The bullets are carefully cast from precisely mixed soft lead alloys-sometimes pure lead-and are rigorously inspected and weighed. Paper patched bullets are carefully patched with the magic paper and lubricant; "naked" grease groove bullets have the secret lubricant precisely applied.

Bullets and vials of (sometimes weighed) powder charges are brought to the range in nicely made wooden boxes. The powder is poured into the bore through a long tube with a funnel on the end, thus keeping the powder from sticking to the inside of the barrel. The bullet, just bore size or slightly larger, is easily started in the muzzle and pushed down onto the powder charge with the ramrod. The cap is placed on the nipple and the rifle is ready to fire.

There's a lot of knowledge and skill and work required to get one of these rifles to shoot well at ranges up to 1200 yards; the scores seem to make it all worth while.

The Pedersoli Gibbs Muzzle Loading Target Rifle

Instructions And Advice For Long Range Shooting

Dick Trenk

The Pedersoli Gibbs long range percussion rifle is a replica of the original 1865 target rifle made by the English gunsmith, George Gibbs. His rifles competed against other custom built target rifles of the era and in the right hands it proved capable of beating the costly custom built target rifles of that time.

Today, the Pedersoli Gibbs rifle has proven to be the most successful rifle of it's type and has won most of the Gold medals in international and domestic shooting matches for this type of rifle.

The Pedersoli Gibbs rifle holds several NRA and international long range records out to 1000 yards as well as records for shorter ranges.

Because the Gibbs uses long heavy bullets of the type used in .45 cal. cartridge rifles it is capable of being used for big game hunting at ranges beyond that at which "round ball" rifles can be used.

The majority of Cast Bullet Association members are using centerfire rifles and smokeless powders but we find that an increasing number are impressed with the accuracy the Gibbs can deliver and these same shooters are buying and shooting their own Gibbs rifles at long range matches. In the 2006 International Long Range matches fired at Cape Town, there were several Gibbs being used effectively against the centerfire rifles present.

What follows is extracts from the Gibbs loading and shooting instructions which I have prepared. This document is packed with each new Gibbs rifle as a guide for both experienced and beginner shooters.

It may be this is the first time a muzzle loading or centerfire rifle came from the manufacturer with detailed instructions covering loading and shooting tips.

Bullet selection (45 caliber)

The .45 cal. Gibbs has rifling with an 18:1 twist rate. Long heavy bullets which have performed well in .45 cal. Cartridge rifles will usually work equally well in the Gibbs so if you already have such bullet moulds or commercial bullets (swaged or cast) which can make bullets .448" to .451" diameter give them a try and see if your Gibbs likes them.

Suggested lead/tin alloy is 35:1 up to 60:1. Harder alloys used in centerfire calibers do not work well.

Pedersoli offers their own Gibbs bullet mould #USA 308-451 which is 535 gr. and has a .451" cast diameter. Mould handles are available under part # USA316.

This grease groove type bullet (and all others of this type) should be sized down to .448" to .449" using the Pedersoli bullet sizer # USA 514-450 or by using any brand of bullet sizer which will produce this size bullet diameter.

Paper patched bullets need to be sized according to the paper thickness being used.

The English Higginbottom-Rigby style 540 gr. paper patched bullet is specially favored in the Gibbs and has set some long range records. It is available from Joe Hepsworth gun smith in Ohio (phone 740 345 6646).

Many .45 cal. "Postell" shape bullets used in Ctg. rifles can be tried as many have proven to be very accurate in the Gibbs. The NEI brand #349C as well as the Lyman #457132 have been reported to be very accurate when sized down properly. However, these commercial moulds normally cast bullets which are .457-.459" and sizing down to Gibbs size will ruin their accuracy because too much metal has to be moved and this spoils bullet concentricity.

If you can order a custom made mould which casts the proper size then these types can work very well when sized slightly down to .448-.449".

The bullet diameter for your gun will be correct when the lubricated bullet can slide slowly down the "cleaned" barrel when the loading ramrod weight is all that is pushing the bullet. This rule is correct for both paper patched and grease groove bullets.

Due to slight manufacturing variations in broach rifling tolerances your rifle may require a slightly different bullet diameter.

Bullet grease
     A good "black powder" bullet grease must be used on grooved bullets. Pedersoli offers a proven bullet grease called Lubriblack, part #USA 488 which can be applied using a conventional bullet sizer/lubricator or by the pan lubrication method.

Other recognized good black powder bullet greases are TC-Bore Butter , SPG, Rooster Labs BP-7 , Black Magic , DGL , Lyman Black Powder Gold , and White Lightning greases. There are dozens more which will work well and many shooters make their own grease. Experimentation is a big part of black powder shooting so it is good to try many products.

This article will not go into the making of paper patched bullets but those instructions can be obtained on the world-wide-web by searching that subject name. We will mention that paper patched bullets can be fired with dry paper or with oiled paper by dipping or wiping the patched bullet with sperm oil, olive oil or other suggested liquid lubricants.

Over powder wad

The Gibbs does not require a card wad over the powder and the bullet rests gently on the powder itself.

However, many master class shooters using paper patched bullets have found that using a .45 cal. Ox-Yoke Wonder Wad on top of the powder has given excellent long range accuracy. This felt wad is impregnated with a BP grease and serves to protect the bullet base as well as to help leave the powder fouling softer. It is commonly used with paper patched bullets which have no grease grooves but can be tried even with grease groove bullets.

Several expert Gibbs shooters use a conventional .030" card wad placed over the powder charge when using grooved bullets so these types of wads should also be experimented with.

Loading the rifle

Before each shot the barrel must be cleaned and the best method is to clean right down to the breech end of the barrel, thereby cleaning the chamber portion which holds the powder as well as the rifled portion in which the bullet will be located.

Your cleaning rod jag must be of the correct size so that your brand of patches make a snug fit in your barrel. If necessary change jags or patches until you get the snug fit.

A 2" cloth patch moistened with distilled water or with saliva is pressed down to the bottom of the chamber and pumped up and down several times. Remove the rod and reverse the patch. Run the same patch all the way down and pull it out without any pumping. Follow with a dry patch, run down and out.

Don't forget to fire a cap when you finish drying the barrel as this cleans out any dirt and moisture which may have been pushed in the flash hole of the barrel.

With a clean and dry barrel, the black powder charge must be poured "slowly" into the barrel using the correct length brass funnel.

With the powder charge down the barrel place the Wonder Wad or card wad (if used) on the muzzle and start it down the length of your bullet, using the prepared bullet of choice. Place your ram rod on the bullet nose and start the bullet down the barrel. The bullet and wad (if used) should slide down under the weight of the ram rod. A mark on the ram rod should be made to indicate when your type bullet and wad (if used) are seated gently on the powder charge. DO NOT apply additional seating pressure once the bullet and wad (if used) are gently on the powder charge.

This method of loading should produce muzzle velocity variations between 5 fps and 12 fps depending upon how consistently you do this job and also how good your powder quality is.

A variation of this loading process is to seat a card wad on top of the powder charge and then gently place a 4 pound weight on the rod. This will compress the powder and wad a certain amount and gives repeatable consistency. Then the bullet is pushed down to rest "gently" on the card wad with no further powder compression.

     Expect to obtain 2-4" groups at 200 yards, with round groups produced and no fliers. As you get better you will bring your group sizes down to 1.0 to 1.5 minute of angle at ranges out to 200 yards. Tighter groups are being obtained by master class shooters but what you just read is realistic for the average shooter.

Powder and charge

There are many brands of black powder available in North America. They all perform differently and some are better than others. Smokeless powder or duplex loads are not to be used in the Gibbs because they cannot equal the accuracy of high quality black powder.

Hodgdon brand Pyrodex and Triple Seven powders in pellet and granular form are popular with hunters and general users due to giving good power and acceptable accuracy. These powders are not capable of match grade accuracy at long ranges and are not used in the Gibbs except for practice shooting.

Also, there are several so called black powder substitute powders , none of which has the performance your Gibbs requires and these are not recommended for any type of shooting in your Gibbs for technical reasons.

We recommend Swiss Brand black powder as being the most consistent, powerful and accurate amongst the genuine black powders.

Close behind and in some conditions the equal of Swiss Brand powder, we recommend the use of Schuetzen Brand, Goex Brand, Elephant Brand, KIK Brand and finally Wano Brand (in the order shown).

The Swiss Brand is the most expensive and many shooters practice using a lower cost brand and save the Swiss for sighting in practice and for the actual shooting match.

The Swiss Brand is available in a grain size called 1 1/2 Fg which is between Fg and FFg grain sizes.

The 1 1/2 Fg is the most popular in the Gibbs but some shooters find excellent results from FFg grain size.

The FFFg powder is not suitable because it burns too fast, shortens nipple life and has lowered accuracy.

With the 540 gr. Higginbottom-Rigby bullet (and most bullets in that weight range) 100 gr. of Swiss 1 1/2 Fg is used.

This charge produces 1300 fps muzzle velocity and is excellent out to 1000 yards range.

With lighter bullets it is suggested to start with around 72 gr. powder charge and let your paper target tell you what charge the rifle likes with that bullet.

There is nothing gained by going over 100 gr. as excess powder is not burned efficiently and just adds to the recoil of the rifle and may spoil accuracy slightly.

Percussion caps
     There are several brands of percussion caps available and they too differ in performance.

The Gibbs delivers good accuracy with RWS brand #11 caps. Remington, Dynamit Nobel and CCI also make #11 percussion caps which can be tried out.

Types of nipples

The standard nipple on the Gibbs #USA 484-3 (3 pack) is made from Beryllium and is available from Pedersoli dealers. A lower priced steel nipple is available as part # USA 470-3 (3 pack). The Beryllium nipple lasts much longer and resists fouling and corrosion better. Standard steel nipples should be replaced after every 40 shots have been fired in order to maintain accuracy.

A special platinum lined nipple is available from Joe Hepsworth who manufactures them for Gibbs shooters.

This nipple is recommended for serious match shooting because it resists fouling better and has a very long life.

Due to the heat and corrosive gasses, nipple threads can become stuck and resist removal. It is always recommended to use Teflon plumbers tape or some anti-seize liquid on the nipple threads when installing any type of nipple.

Shooting the Gibbs

Each shooter will develop their own holding and sighting technique according to type of rules and course of fire involved. Most (but not all) of the top shooters suggest holding the stock very firmly in the wrist and forearm. We suggest you try this type of firm holding before settling on some other type of hold.

To get you started on sight elevation settings we offer the following settings which work for the 540 gr. Higginbottom-Rigby bullet as well as for the 535 gr. Pedersoli bullets. Muzzle velocity is 1300-1325 fps using 100 gr. of Swiss 1 1/2 Fg powder. If your load chronographs at similar speeds these elevation figures should be very close to right for you.

• 100 yards minus 13 minutes on elevation scale.

• 200 yards zero"
• 300 yards up 12"

• 500 yards up 44"

• 600 yards up 59"

• 800 yards up 95"

• 900 yards up 112"

• 1000 yards up 130"

Your sight may be marked differently so just use the minutes variations from your 200 yard setting and make your own sight setting chart after you see what your rifle and load does at each distance.

Thanks to the experts

Many shooters gave generously of their hard learned tips and recommendations so as to make your Gibbs shoot better and sooner. Do your part by helping others and sharing your own knowledge.

Special thanks to Gibbs shooter Joe Hepsworth , holder of NRA records for 800,900,1000 yards and the Creedmoor record plus Steve Garbe, Dan Theodore, Blake Eckard, Heinz Staak , Alfred Schings and many others.

     Written and prepared by Dick Trenk, Competition Events Coordinator, Davide Pedersoli & Co.

• SUMMARY OF PEDERSOLI GIBBS ACCESSORIES PART NUMBERS
  USA 308-451 535 gr. special Gibbs bullet mould. Single cavity .451" diameter bullet (with grease grooves).
  USA 316 mould handles.
  USA 349-09 Cleaning/loading rod 39.25" long, with muzzle protector.
  USA 346 Long brass 37.7" funnel for pouring powder right down into the chamber without any powder contacting the rifling.
  USA 484-3 Beryllium nipples for the Gibbs (longer lasting and less fouling than steel nipples) 3 in a pack.
  USA 470-3 Steel nipples, 3 in a pack.
  USA 488 Bullet grease, Pedersoli Lubriblack.
  USA 514-450 Bullet sizer for .451" bullet.
  USA 492-450 Bullet greaser for .451" bullet.
  To see the full catalog of Pedersoli special products for Gibbs and other guns go to www.davidepedersoli.com All catalog items can be ordered by all Pedersoli dealers through their main Pedersoli distributor.

Davide Pedersoli & C.
Via Artigiani 57
I-25063 Gardone Valtrompia (Brescia) Italy
ph.030 8915000 fax 030 8911019
www.davide-pedersoli.com

Black Powder Semi-cartridge guns

With help from Jeff Brown

In the period from just before to just after the civil war there were a number of sort-of-cartridge or sort-of-breech-loading guns invented and used, sometimes by the army.

The original Sharps rifles were breech loaders, loaded with a paper or linen enclosed cartridge containing powder and bullet, and then set off with a percussion cap or other outside priming device. The cartridge consisted of a projectile fastened in the front a tube made of nitrated linen/paper that was charged with black powder and closed at the end. After being chambered and upon closing of the breech the ‘tail’ of the cartridge was sheared off by upwards movement of the sharp top edge of the breech block to expose the powder to the flash of the percussion cap. Gas leakage, due to ‘working’ tolerances in the breech area, proved a great problem with these otherwise effective weapons which were soon rendered obsolete by the self contained metallic rimfire and centerfire cartridges.

The original Maynard rifles were loaded with a brass cartridge containing the powder and bullet. Where the primer would be in a modern cartridge, the Maynard had a hole that was covered with paper to keep the powder in. A percussion cap fired the gun, the fire going through the nipple, through the paper and setting off the charge.

These guns are interesting, some reproductions of the various kinds are available, but I don't see them very often. Civil War Re-enactors sometimes use these.

Black Powder Cartridge Rifles

A few people at a few ranges shoot long range (up to 1000 yards) black powder cartridge rifle matches. The rifles can be antique originals, modern reproductions or newly designed action types. Guns are generally .40 caliber or over (.40/65 and .45/70 are popular) with iron sights.

The Canadians shoot at Ottawa and in British Colombia while the centers of U.S. activity seem to be in Seattle, WA and Raton, NM. The scarcity of 1000-yard ranges makes this a hard game to get into. 

More people shoot Black Powder Silhouette matches. Since the ranges are shorter, there are more of them and there is greater opportunity to compete. The targets are steel silhouettes of chickens, turkeys, pigs and rams at various ranges. 

Original and reproduction Ballard, Sharps, Remington Rolling Block and Winchester High Wall rifles are the most popular for these black powder sports.

Until around 1890 most cartridges were loaded with black powder. Thus the military and civilian rifles of the time, the revolvers and the Schuetzen rifles were loaded with black powder cartridges; and many are shot with black powder cartridges today. Black powder residue will damage cartridge brass. The way we save our cartridges is to clean them thoroughly. I carry a big plastic bottle of water with some vinegar in it to the range, and put each decapped fired case into the bottle as I take it out of the gun. I like to decap at the range to ensure that the primer pocket too is thoroughly soaked. The result is pretty stinky and messy looking. At home I pour the bottle into the sink, deprime the wet cases, and put them back in the bottle with hot soapy water. I shake them around well and let them soak for an hour or a day or until I get feeling guilty. Then back in the sink, I scrub the inside of the cases with a nylon brush, rinse and dry. From here on I treat the cases like any others.

Introduction To In Line Muzzleloaders

Todd A. Wolf

At the mere mention of inline muzzleloaders, some will cringe. Traditionalists often feel that the inline is too far removed the Hawkens they so dearly love. However for the uninitiated, the old Hawken style, especially the flintlocks, could be intimidating. Inlines are often patterned after metallic cartridge styles (think bolt action or break open). Many shooters felt more comfortable jumping into the muzzle loading arena with a more familiar design. Inlines most commonly come in .45, .50, and .54 caliber and have fast twists (1:24 – 1:32) designed to shoot conicals either in sabots or full-bore. Round balls don’t do well with the faster twists. The patch tends to tear on the rifling when pushed to hunting velocities. Round balls should be used in rifles with much slower twists.

Inlines most notably differ from the Hawken style in that instead of the ignition system being at a 90 degree angle to the breech, it is directly in line with the rear of the breech (as the name implies). This aids in more reliable ignition and enables the use of black powder substitute “pellets.” Pellets originally produced by Hodgden (and now others), come in measurements of 30 and 50 grains. The use of pellets greatly aid in speed and convenience of loading.

Early inlines used a #11 cap on a nipple just as like the cap lock Hawkens (some still do). In some designs, emplacing a #11 cap on the nipple was an exercise in contortionism. Using a capper was often the only way to go. With the advent of the somewhat more difficult to ignite pellets, inline manufactures began switching to 209 shotgun primer ignition.

Weather resistance was an inherent attribute to the inline. The Knight Disk Rifle uses a plastic disk around a 209 primer. This locks out moisture for trouble free ignition. The Remington 700ML is one of many bolt action type muzzleloaders that proved to be very popular. The design was intended to look and handle like the familiar model 700 series rifle that shooters were quite accustomed to. A “weather shroud” could be installed in the front of the bolt to aid in keeping the cap dry during inclement weather. Although not completely water tight, it did help quite a bit. Closed breech inlines are about as weather impervious as you can get. Break open (CVA Optima, T/C 209X.50, Traditions Pursuit, NEF Side Kick, Knight Vision, Lyman Mustang Breakaway, etc.) and pivoting breech designs (T/C Omega, CVA Kodiak) are especially effective at keeping moisture away from the ignition system. Misfires and delay-fires are considerably less common.

One of the major advantages of many inline designs is a removable breech. With the use of a socket type wrench, the breech can be quickly and easily removed for barrel cleaning. Something you can’t do with a Hawken. After cleaning, you may want to add a dab of anti-seize lube to the threads of the breech plug. This will ensure easy removal the next time. 

Another unique advantage is quick removable barrels. The CVA Optima Elite, T/C 209X.50, and T/C Encore can easily have their barrels swapped out with a variety of others (muzzleloader, metallic cartridge, and shotgun). For this reason, the T/Cs in particular are very popular.

Although some of the Hawken crowd might disagree, accuracy is a perceived advantage of the inline. Some of the better inline muzzleloaders can rival metallic cartridges out to 200 yards. The Knight Long Range Hunter is a bolt action type that comes in .50 and .52 caliber and is guaranteed to shoot three shot 4” groups at 200 yards.

The Savage model 10ML-II gets a special note here. The 10ML-II is designed to shoot saboted bullets with smokeless powders (extruded) or full-bore conicals with black powder substitutes. I have seen independent reports claiming outstanding accuracy with smokeless out of the 10ML-II. As good as ¾ MOA at 100 yards with 5 shots. Smokeless powder? Ok, you can begin to see the traditionalist point here.

The use of sabots allows the shooter to use smaller than bore (pistol) bullets in a muzzleloader (.357 in a .45 cal, .429 in a .50 cal, and .45 in a 58 cal). This is especially attractive to bullet casters who often already have a mold(s) for one or more handguns that will suffice. This definitely makes for good economy (and pretty entertaining) when you can use the same bullets in two entirely different firearms. For those unaware, a sabot is basically a plastic cup with slits running from the mouth, part way down towards the base. The bullet is placed in the sabot and then rammed down the bore on top of the powder charge. Although sabots generally are not too difficult to start down the muzzle, Harvester makes a ribbed “crush fit” sabot for even easier loading. Upon firing, the sabot separates from the bullet after leaving the muzzle. Never try to compact pellets when loading. This will only damage them. The bullet/sabot should just rest lightly on top of the pellets.

Full bore conicals have to be cast in the softer pure lead to facilitate loading. The bullet needs to engrave the rifling at the muzzle and can take a pretty good shove with a ball starter. You may even need a rawhide hammer to get some started. Saboted rounds on the other hand can be cast of any alloy you want. Keep in mind that pure lead will cause more tissue damage (the softer projectile facilitates greater expansion) while harder alloys (lead mixed with harder metals like tin and antimony) will give better penetration. Shooting the lighter and narrower pistol bullets will also have a velocity / trajectory advantage over the full bores. However, if you’ve ever seen a deer hit by a 400 grain pure lead slug, you’d swear it was smacked by Thor’s hammer! The full bore conicals do have their place.

Full bore conicals should be lubed (to facilitate easier cleaning) and this can be applied with your fingers (or a nifty gizmo that fits on the top of the tube) using a very soft lube or can be pan lubed with a harder concoction. T/C makes a product called “Bore Butter” that comes in both varieties. The softer in a toothpaste style tube and the hard stuff in a jar. (**Note: American Pioneer says not to use lube with their brand of black powder substitute.)

In my .50 cal inline I shoot mostly saboted .429” bullets for hunting. Shot distances on deer, hogs, and coyotes have ranged from 10 to 70 yards and only once have I recovered a bullet. In a tree stand I shot a rather close boar hog that was facing my tree. The bullet, propelled by two 50 grain 777 pellets, entered behind the head, missing the spine and traveled through the neck, chest cavity, and came to rest under the hide on its chest. If you’ve seen a boar hog up close, you know how much meat are in those big thick necks. Hardy critters indeed. The bullet, a Lyman 429244 cast with wheel weights (air cooled), drops from my mold right about at 260 grains. The recovered slug had expanded to .672” and weighed 251 grains. Not bad. And yes, the hog dropped in its tracks. In all other shots, including solid shoulder hits, the bullet sailed completely through the animal.

Whether or not inlines should be allowed during “primitive weapons” hunting seasons will continue to be hotly contested. I like to use my inline during the regular gun season to add a bit more challenge to the hunt. For me, it all boils down to personal satisfaction. Inlines can be as entertaining to shoot as any firearm.

Black Powder Revolvers

Reproduction black powder revolvers are readily available today, along with all the paraphernalia required to shoot them. 

These guns are loaded with a flask that has been set for the correct charge of powder. The powder is dropped in one chamber, sometimes a felt wad is put in next over the powder, the ball or bullet is seated with the rammer on the gun and grease is put over the ball filling the chamber.

     When all the chambers have been loaded the nipples are capped and the revolver is ready to fire.

     Round balls to fit the original and reproduction revolvers are readily available so that again, I suspect that very few shooters cast round balls for these guns. Properly dimensioned lead bullets are generally not available for purchase, so these must be cast by the shooter; from a soft alloy or pure lead.

Elmer Keith, in his wonderful book "Sixguns", recommends the round ball over a pointed bullet in these guns. I've only ever used round balls.             

We are warned about "cross firing" or “chain firing”, where the explosion in one chamber somehow lights off another chamber that isn't behind the barrel. Grease over the ball is said to guard against this. I never understood that notion, because as instructed, I used balls that were an interference fit in the chamber-balls that were swaged down when being pushed down by the rammer. Others report that this cross firing happens at the nipple end of the cylinder, and I've had several guys report that this happened to them.

     I'm certainly no expert on black powder revolvers, but I've fired thousands of shots from reproduction revolvers with never a cross fire. This may just be luck.

Black Powder Cartridge Military Rifles

From the Civil War to the turn of the 20th century many nations used black powder cartridge rifles for their military weapons. Many of these rifles were converted from muzzle loaders into breech loaders. The original trap door Springfield rifle was such a conversion, as were the Snider, (British), and Werndl, (Austrian), rifles. Other black powder cartridge military rifles included the Remington Rolling Block and the Martini Henry.

Cartridges included 50-70 and 47-70 in the United States, the 577/450 Martini-Henry in Great Britain, 11.15 X 58R Austrian Werndl, and 11 X 59 French Gras.

There are dozens if not hundreds of flavors of rifles and cartridges in this category, and finding or forming the cartridge cases and casting the bullets for them can be an interesting diversion. Cartridge cases can be difficult to find and molds in the appropriate size may not be available; increasing the challenge and frustration.

Since these rifles are old by definition, and were designed for black powder; we are cautioned to use only black powder in reloading them. I fail to heed that caution in reloading for my Werndl, and use small charges of Unique.

Rifle-Like Single Shot Pistols

These pistols come in two varieties.

First is the single shot pistol with interchangeable barrels. These include the Thompson-Center Contender and Encore, the Brown Classic and BF Ultimate from E.A. Brown, the Maximum Single Shot, the Competitor cannon-breech, and the RPM XL.

Second are the pistols made on rifle actions, including the Remington XP100 (no longer made), Savage Striker, Weatherby Vanguard and others.

The Contender and Encore are the most popular. These are break open pistols with interchangeable barrels. Barrels are available in a wide variety of calibers from 22 rimfire to 45/70, manufactured by Thompson-Center and by several aftermarket suppliers.

Some of these calibers are especially suited to cast bullet shooting, such as 30/30 and 35 Remington and the revolver calibers such as 357 Magnum, 44 Magnum and 45 Colt. The accuracy of these pistols with cast bullets can be very satisfying.

Single Shot Rifles

The best book explaining the history and magic of single shot rifles is "the Breech Loading Single Shot Match Rifle" by Major Ned Roberts and Ken Waters. This book made many of us into helpless single shot rifle addicts.

The best books describing single shot rifles and their variations are by James Grant, and include “Single Shot Rifles”, “Boys Single Shot Rifles”, “More Single Shot Rifles” and at least two more.

The best book describing how single shot rifles work is “Single Shot Rifles and Actions” by Frank De Haas, who wrote several other books about rifles.

There are two organizations of people interested in single shot rifles. Check the Internet for up-to-date addresses.

The American Single Shot Rifle Association publishes the ASSRA Journal bi-monthly, and has lately (2002/2003) turned slightly away from shooting and more toward collecting. There are matches throughout the year at various clubs, and matches three times a year at the association’s range in Etna Green, IN, near Warsaw. 

The International Single Shot Association seems to be carrying on the original Coors Schuetzen matches, first held in Golden CO in 1982. (The ASSRA didn’t seem to want to be involved. The way I read it, there was some kind of political or turf dispute.)  Currently there are regional qualifying matches held across the country, and the national match is held at the NRA range in Raton NM in late August. The officers of the ISSA are some of the most familiar and respected names in the single shot game.

Single shot cartridge rifles were made starting around the Civil War and are still manufactured today. For some of us, single shot rifles strike a chord; they define for us the essence of the rifle.

Many of the older rifles were made to shoot cast bullets, and it is probably a mistake to use jacketed bullets in any single shot rifle made before 1910, because those jacketed bullets will cause excessive wear on the bore.

In addition to the commercial rifles, there were many hundreds of thousands of military single shot rifles made between about 1865 and 1890. These include the Springfield Trap Doors, Remington Rolling Blocks, various Peabody and Peabody Martini models, Sniders and Werndls.

These will sometimes shoot cast bullets with amazing accuracy. 

Original Single Shot Rifles

The original actions briefly discussed below have been separated into “Stronger” and “Weaker” actions.

In the period roughly bounded by the end of the First World War and the election of Richard Nixon to the Presidency, the breech loading single shot rifle fell from favor in the United States. Prices were low, both in dollars corrected for inflation and relative to prices for other guns. American Rifleman magazines from before the second war, when an individual could afford to put an advertisement in that magazine to sell a gun, contain ads for highest quality breech loading single shot target rifles for less money than issue 1903 Springfield’s Because they were strong and inexpensive, in the earlier part of this period some single shot actions were used as the basis for building rifles shooting high pressure jacketed bullet wildcat cartridges. Hervey Lovell, Ned Roberts and Harvey Donaldson were three of the better-known cartridge developers. The cartridges included the .22 Hornet, .25 Krag, .219 Donaldson Wasp and .22 R2 Lovell.

The actions most frequently used for these wildcat rifles were the 1885 Winchester “High Wall”, Stevens 44 1/2 and (less frequently) the Sharps Borchardt and the Remington Hepburn. These actions could take the pressures these wildcats generated. I owned several which remained together after shooting some ungodly loads back when I was immortal.

These actions, along with the Remington Rolling Block and Peabody/Martini are the “stronger” actions.

Smokeless powders used in single shot rifle shooting are on the “faster” end of the scale, and charges of these powders don’t fill up much of the case.  Putting two charges of powder in a cartridge case by mistake is an easy error to make, since one charge takes up so little of the case volume. The stronger actions are less likely to come apart with a double charge than are the weaker actions.

At a match a few years back I saw a Stevens 44 (a weaker action) that had come apart, probably as a result of a double charge. (After the trigger is pulled there is no way to know if there was a double charge in the case.)  At the same match, Don Spalding (founder of the Massachusetts Schutzen Society and a fine offhand competitor) touched off a shot in a Falling Block Works actioned rifle that got a lot of attention because of the noise. When he opened the action the primer fell out; the primer pocket had expanded substantially due to high pressure. This strong Falling Block Works action was undamaged by the (probable) double charge. When I came home from that match I sold all my weaker-actioned rifles.

Stronger Actions

Winchester 1885 “High Wall” Or “High Side”

     Perhaps the strongest original single shot action. These rifles are fairly common in many calibers including .32-40 and .38-55. The action is suitable for all calibers from .22 rimfire to the largest centerfire cartridge.

Remington Hepburn

     This is an excellent action in any caliber, including some proprietary Remington calibers. These are not nearly as common as Winchester­s.

Remington Rolling Block

     The Remington Rolling Block Midrange in "F" Grade

     This rifle is in 40-70 (Bottle Neck). A bit unusual in that it is a target arm from the 1880's and not that many target rifles were made. Most of Remington's production of rolling blocks was in military configuration. "F" grade is described in the Remington Catalog of the mid 1870's as being stocked in the Creedmoor Pistol Grip Style with a hard rubber butt plate and nose cap plus having improved vernier tang sight and windgauge front sight.

(Photo of Remington Rolling Block Midrange, Grade "F", courtesy Hal Prucha)      

Many military Rolling Block rifles were made. This action is most suitable for the larger calibers, and in good condition is very strong. Dale Reynolds competed with a Rolling Block for a number of years with good results. (He made double set triggers for the gun, but mentioned to me once that he’d never do it again because of the amount of work required.)

The Rolling Block firing pin must be free to move back and forward in the block. In theory the firing pin can become rusted and frozen in the extended position, and when the block is closed on a cartridge the extended firing pin could fire the cartridge with the block unlocked. Keep the firing pin free so that the spring retracts it into the block.

Stevens 44 1/2

     A Pair of Stevens Model 51 Rifles.

There were a number of options available to the purchasers of these very expensive target rifles.

The two rifles illustrate these options. Nickel plating on the trigger guard and butt plate as well as special checkering borders was a few examples. Both rifles are in 32-40 Winchester but the scoped rifle has a 1-20 twist rather than the more typical 1-16 twist of the other rifle.

Stevens actions have a rocking motion to the breechblock as it closes, that makes breech seating with a plugged case simple. (See HOW TO MAKE A PLUGGED CASE)

Another feature of Stevens actions is that the barrel is easily removed from the rifle. It is then possible to have several barrels in different calibers or in different weights that fit the same action. For example, it would be possible to fit a .32-40 offhand barrel, a .32-40 heavy bench rest barrel and a .22-rimfire barrel to the same action. The appropriate extractors and both rimfire and center fire breechblocks would be required also.

There is some discussion about whether Stevens 44 1/2 actions are prone to break firing pins. I will add to that discussion by saying that in my three Stevens 44 1/2‘s I broke about a quart of firing pins. I had them made by good gunsmiths, I bought them from reputable suppliers, and I made them myself. There is clearly a trick to making and fitting these firing pins and I clearly don’t know that trick.

Sharps Borchardt

     Sharps Borchardt Creedmoor rifle. Photo courtesy Hal Prucha

Sharps Borchardt 45-70 Military Rifle

Again, these rifles are scarce and expensive. They were originally made in larger calibers and we don’t see them in ASSRA competition very often.

Peabody/Martini

Peabody rifles made by the Providence Tool Works or centerfire Peabody/ Martini rifles made in England are most often seen as military rifles. 

There are many German Schuetzen rifles made on the Peabody Martini action, and there are Hammerli Martini rifles that are especially impressive.

Many used Martini-actioned .22 rimfie rifles have been imported from England in the past few years. Marlin Bassett (the rifle expert and inventor of "pillar bedding") and Dale Reynolds (Western New York Schuetzen Society official and long-time shooter) have been shooting rifles made on military Peabody/Martini actions for the past few seasons with some success.

I am particularly fond of rifles made on these actions even though they must sometimes be cleaned from the muzzle and are difficult to breech seat. It seems to me that the Peabody action is an “elegant” engineering solution.

Weaker Actions

     This rifle, in 40-70 Sharps Bottle Neck (SBN) was built from an 1874 Sharps by rebarreling, German style set triggers added. Slotterbeck, of Lakeport, CA. was a famous western gunsmith of that period. Photo courtesy Hal Prucha.

These rifles were made in large calibers, and are scarce and expensive. We don’t see them in ASSRA competition very often; they are more suited to Black Powder Silhouette and Long Range Black Powder work.

  Ballard

The Ballard is the best loved single shot rifle action. Ballards range from plain-Jane models to elaborately engraved works of art, in calibers from .22 rimfire to .45/70 and larger. They frequently have double set triggers, and always seem to exhibit superior workmanship. The breechblock on a Ballard action moves both forward and upward as it closes. This makes breech seating easy with a plugged case. The Ballard action is also ideal for building a .22 rimfire rifle because of this feature, since a “match chambered” barrel can be used and the breechblock will force the cartridge into the chamber. (Rimfire “match” chambers are of minimum diameter and length, and cartridges can be difficult to chamber in some actions. I enjoyed the use of a Pope High Wall in .22 rimfire a few years ago, and chambering cartridges of some brands in that rifle was difficult. I thought it might be chambered for .22 Short, but the chamber was “Long” length.)

Winchester 1885 “Low Wall”

This action is just like the “High Wall” except that the action sides are cut away to make loading and removing cartridge cases easier. Low wall rifles are fairly common.

Stevens 44

The Stevens 44 is a completely different and much weaker action than the 44 ½. It is frequently found in .32-40 caliber.  I know several shooters who have had great luck with rifles built on this action. Don Spalding and I were among the shooters at the Western New York Schutzen Society match that watched Jerry Ventura shoot the first 200 yard 250 score with a Stevens 44. Stevens 44 actioned rifles vary from the plain vanilla to the most elaborate highly engraved and beautifully made rifles. It is a weak action. (Picture of an engraved Stevens Model 44 courtesy Val Miller)

Maynard

The Maynard is my personal favorite single shot rifle, but not many shooters share this opinion. Maynards are as scarce as hen’s teeth. It took me many years to find a “right” Model 16, and I don’t believe that I’ve seen more than five or six Maynards for sale in the past thirty-five years.

Springfield Trap Door

The Springfield Trap Door was the U.S. Army rifle from 1873 to 1892, and longer in the hands of the National Guard and Reserves. It is a marvelous rifle, exhibiting exceptional workmanship, fit, and finish. While these rifles are getting pretty old now, they still shoot well.

A Trap Door with a Buffington rear sight and an aperture front sight, in the hands of a competent shooter with young eyes, will often shoot like a house afire. The Buffington rear sight is a foot or so from the shooters eye, and sights in that position are best used by shooters with eyes under 40 years of age.

The Trap Door can be used in Silhouette, Long Range Black Powder, and some ASSRA matches.

Reproduction Single Shot Rifles

We are fortunate in having several manufacturers of reproduction single shot rifles who are in business now, or were in the recent past. Excellent reproduction rifles are available. Prices are sometimes a little stiff and back orders may delay delivery.

     Reproductions of the following rifles are currently available:

• Winchester 1885 High Wall and Low Wall

• 1874 Sharps

• 1875 Sharps

• Sharps Borchardt

• Stevens 44 1/2

• Ballard

• Peabody/Martini

• Remington Rolling Block

• Remington Hepburn

The companies making these reproduction rifles arrive on the scene and then disappear with amazing speed, so I am reluctant to mention companies or names that may leave the business before you read this. 

I feel safe in mentioning Paul Shuttleworth at CPA Arms in Pennsylvania, who has been making reproduction Stevens 44 1/2 rifles for quite a few years now.

Newly Desined Single Shot Rifles

There are several to many folks who have designed and built single shot rifles and disappeared quickly. I’ve never understood why that is. Some of these actions and rifles are around for the long run, but not many.

deHaas-Miller

                The deHaas-Miller action is now the standard by which other actions are judged. Most of the best shooting in ASSRA matches is being done with rifles on this action.

The action was originally designed by Frank deHaas, and was been manufactured by Dean Miller for fifteen years or so. Then the business was sold to Dakota Arms, which filed for bankruptcy protection in 2006. The deHaas-Miller action design is a distillation of the good features of all the single shot rifles that Frank deHaas studied over many years, with improvements made by Mr. Miller. 

Ruger #1

Ruger single shot rifles used to be made in #1 and #3 models. The #3 had a different lever and was a plainer and less expensive rifle than the #1, although the actions were essentially the same. The #3’s haven’t been made for a number of years, but they are readily available second hand.

A run of Ruger #1’s was made up in 38/55 caliber a few years ago and examples are seen for sale now and then.

While no original schutzen calibers other than .45/70 now are available in the Ruger, I have had some success shooting .30/06 and .300 Winchester Magnum Ruger #1’s with cast bullets. Neither is a schutzen cartridge, but the guns are available and each cartridge has advantages. 

I’ve owned five or six Ruger #1’s originals in .45/70, .30/06, .300 W.M., and re-barreled rifles in .30/30 and .32/20. I had three rifles re-barreled.

I have owned and know of Ruger single shots that shot jacketed bullets as accurately as could be expected. My .300 W.M. would frequently make 5 shot 200 yard groups around 1”, and Bob Barry had a .220 Swift which shot many 5 shot 100 yard groups under a half inch.

I have never had a Ruger #1 that shot lead bullets from the bench as well as I thought it should. Sometimes the rifle just wouldn’t shoot accurately, and sometimes it was inconsistent; but I never had one that I kept. Two of those rebarreled rifles are owned by Old Colony members and are used for offhand work with no complaints; but keep in mind that bench rest and offhand accuracy requirements are different.

Marlin Basset gunsmithed some Rugers a few years ago and he found that he had to cut off the mainspring hanger and attach the forward end of the mainspring to the barrel, among other things, to get Rugers to shoot.

We don’t see many Rugers in the ASSRA match results.

    In my opinion the Ruger action is a kluge. I can’t for the life of me understand how or why the designer could have left out every good feature of every single shot action that was ever made, and come up with an action with more parts than a swing set and not a single redeeming feature other than strength. 

H & R Handi-Rifle

This rifle is available in many calibers including .30/30 and .45/70; both of which are good single shot rifle cartridges. I tested Handi-Rifles in both calibers, and was impressed with their accuracy. This rifle cost around $250 in 2003. It is the lowest cost single shot rifle available, and it is perfect for the financially challenged beginning shooter. 

A version of this rifle in .45/70 with a long barrel and case colored receiver is made as a “Wesson and Harrington Buffalo Classic”. I tested one of these models, and it shot very accurately, looked good and had a superb trigger.

The single shot rifles made by H & R 1871 Inc. (now owned by Marlin) are strong and accurate and inexpensive and available. They’re never going to replace the traditional rifles in our hearts, but the beginning single shot shooter can get started with one of these rifles and have a whale of a lot of fun.

Falling Block Works

This action is similar to the 1885 Winchester, it is an excellent action; the worst thing about it is that it isn’t being produced today. Or it may be-there are rumors that it is coming back. 

Hoch

Richard Hoch, who used to make wonderful barrels and molds, designed this action. (His mold business was sold to Richard Farmer, who renamed it “Colorado Shooter’s Supply”.) I’ve seen several of the actions and talked to their owners. There are better actions to be had.

Thompson-Center Single Shot Rifle, The TCR-83

This rifle was made in .32/40 as well as in several other calibers that could be used for single shot competition. Sam Anderson had one in 30/06 that shot pretty well. The rifle isn’t seen much in match results and to my mind has absolutely no magic.

German Schutzen Rifles

Many of the original German Schutzen rifles are beautiful works of art. The workmanship is superb, there frequently is engraving, the woodwork is well done, and the rifles feel good when you hold them up.

The caliber is most frequently 8.15 X 46R. Cases can be made from any of the .30-30 and .32-40 family, or RWS cases are available from The Old Western Scrounger. 

The iron sights on these rifles don’t have any markings such as verniers, so recording and returning to sight settings must be done using a caliper.

     Most of us don’t put scope blocks on these rifles because we feel that the rifles shouldn’t be modified in any way.

(Alan Young devised a mount to attach to the long dovetail that many of these rifles have on top of the barrel. This dovetail was intended to hold an open rear sight that was used in some German matches instead of the tang-mounted aperture rear sight. See: “How to make Alan Young’s Telescopic sight adapter for German Schuetzen rifles”)

   German schutzen rifles are accurate, the sights can be adjusted precisely, telescopic sights can be fitted, the stock/rifle fit is generally good for offhand shooting, and bench rest shooting is possible after fiddling around with bench rest and bag.

I have owned two German schutzen rifles in 8.15 X 46R.  One had an Aydt action, the other a Martini action. Both shot well. For some reason I sent both of mine down the road, and for some (maybe the same) reason we don’t often see single shot shooters campaigning these rifles over long periods of time. I did not enjoy shooting these rifles as much as I enjoy shooting American made single shot rifles. I can’t tell you why that is, but I don’t seem to be alone in that opinion.

On Building A Single Shot Target Rifle

I don’t recommend that the beginning cast bullet shooter build his first rifle. He doesn’t know what he wants, he doesn’t know what components or gunsmiths to use and he doesn’t want to wait for that first gun.

     Here are some suggestions if you decide to have a single shot rifle built:

First choice, if money and time are not a consideration, is to have a rifle built with a deHaas Miller action in 32 Miller Short. Have a good custom barrel installed, and good wood fitted by a competent stock maker. This action and caliber is the hot deal in single shot rifle competition. (2007-The deHaas Miller action business has been sold to Dakota Arms, and is not available today. 

Paul Shuttleworth at CPA Corporation in Dingman’s Ferry, PA builds a modern 44 1/2 Stevens action and rifles on the action. Ken Bresein in Warsaw, NY started to make these actions, I remember visiting Ken in the early 80’s and seeing the actions and the broaching machine he made for broaching the actions. Paul Shuttleworth, who was well known for supplying machined stocks and stock wood ended up with the action making business, and now makes the whole rifle.

These rifles can be made in bench and offhand models, with a wide selection of barrels and palm rests and other features. One advantage of the 44 1/2 Stevens is that the barrels and breech block/lever assemblies interchange, so it is easy to have a rifle with 30/30, 32/40, 38/55, 28/30, 25/20 and 22 rimfire barrels and breech block/lever assemblies as needed. The opportunities to empty out your bank account are unlimited. I had an original 44 1/2 action fitted with interchangeable 32/40 and 22 rimfire equipment, and it was wonderful. Both barrels shot beautifully, so there was no challenge and I sent the gun down the road.

Ballard Rifle LLC in Cody WY is making replica Ballard and Winchester 1885 rifles. They have an excellent reputation at this time. Note that the Ballard is in the “weaker action” category.

Then there are the rest of the actions and makers, barrel makers and stock makers. If you choose a gunsmith to build your rifle, here are some recommendations. 

The 32 Miller short, 32 Dell or any of the short cases based on the 357 Magnum or 375 Maximum cartridge case are perhaps the best choice for a bench rest gun. Breech seating is required and many believe that there is an accuracy advantage to the small primers used and the small case capacity. Brass is easy to find and inexpensive. (I suspect that the accuracy advantage ascribed to the small primers and small capacity case is not great.)

The 30/30 Winchester cartridge using a barrel with a 1 turn in 10 inch or 1 in 12 inch twist is a good choice. Cartridge cases are readily available and cheap. The case has a long neck allowing correct loading of bullets of different lengths, and is ideal for loading fixed ammunition. Breech seating is easily done, also. There are more 30 caliber bullet molds available than any other size, and the 10 or 12 inch twist allows use of long bullets with high ballistic coefficients that are minimally affected by the wind. (The ballistic coefficient of a bullet is a measure of how efficiently the bullet moves through the air; a measure of how much velocity is retained during flight. Ballistic coefficients of single shot rifle bullets are around .2- .4.)

The 32/40 is the traditional favorite Schuetzen cartridge. Brass is sometimes hard to find, breech seating generally works better than using fixed ammunition, and there are plenty of bullet molds and designs available.

     Larger cartridges, such as the 38/55, produce greater recoil than the 30 and 32 caliber cartridges and do not fare as well in the bench rest matches.

Smaller cartridges such as the 28/30 and 25/20 SS are sometimes used, but brass is hard to find and expensive. I think that these cartridges are best left to the expert or to those who happen to own a rifle in one of these cartridges.

The choice of barrels is between one of the custom barrel makers and Douglas. The custom barrel makers are expensive and they sometimes take a long time to deliver the barrel but their barrels are capable of exceptionally fine accuracy. Douglas barrels are relatively inexpensive, delivery is quick and they are capable of exceptionally fine accuracy. I think that it used to be true that custom barrels were somewhat more accurate than Douglas barrels, but today the difference in accuracy is small. Then there are the arguments that if you are going to spend the time and money to have a rifle built, why not opt for one of the custom barrels? You “pays your money and you takes your chances.”

(This applies only to barrels used on single shot lead bullet guns-I don’t know much about bolt gun barrels.)

Use a “stronger” action for any centerfire rifle, and don’t let your choice of an action be dictated by price.

Pick a gunsmith with proven ability to fit and chamber a barrel properly. There are many amateur and professional gunsmiths around who can put a rifle together; there are few who understand the importance of fitting the front of the action to the barrel and chambering the rifle square and clean. There are even fewer with the ability to do the work. The competent gunsmiths charge a lot for their work, and have a lot of work on hand. Not all gunsmiths who charge a lot and have long waiting times are competent.

I am suspicious of a gunsmith who takes an exceptionally long time to do metal work. I have waited well over a year for a piece of work that took four hours. I think that excessive waiting time is often a sign that the gunsmith is disorganized and unable to manage his time reasonably. I don’t want him working on my gun.

Bolt-Action Rifles

Bolt-action rifles are probably the most common type of rifle, the strongest, and the most accurate.

     Many thousands of military surplus bolt-action rifles have been sold in this country. These are, for the most part, good and strong rifles; however there are some with problems and some with design flaws and they are all getting old.

Most modern bolt-action rifles are developments of the 98 Mauser design.

Currently made bolt-action rifles from Winchester, Remington, Ruger, Savage and others are very accurate out of the box, safe with any reasonable load, strong enough for high-pressure loads, and designed to handle an overload with minimum damage to the shooter. These rifles are inexpensive for what they are and will do.

For the utmost in cast bullet accuracy, advanced shooters will have purpose-built target rifles made, generally on bolt-actions that are made specifically for these rifles. These actions and rifles are very expensive.

Military Surplus Rifles

Military surplus rifles are a lot of fun to shoot and to work up loads. Prices have risen over the years. Given the prices, the problems are with sights, trigger, wood and barrel bands; accuracy with cast bullets is more easily achieved with a moderately expensive new bolt action rifle, or one of the H&R/NEF single shot rifles. Those being said, have fun with your military surplus rifle.

In the early sixties we bought Jap Model 99 7.7 mm rifles in good condition for $12, and 1917 Enfield 30/06 rifles brand new in the Cosmoline for $35. We sporterized the dickens out of these rifles, sawing off barrels and stocks and adding peep sights or scopes.

Today, military surplus rifles are a lot more expensive even considering inflation. We see prices charged for military surplus rifles that are higher than the price of new commercial bolt-action rifles. So the collector value is catching up with the utility value of these rifles.

     Bolt-action military surplus rifles are getting old. The last was made in the 1950’s. Many are substantially older. Old ain’t bad, but old is cause for thorough inspection and probably headspace checking.

Many military surplus rifles have sights that are difficult to use for target shooting. The elevation steps are not finely adjustable, there is no windage adjustment and the front sights are too short to allow zeroing with cast bullets at 100 yards. Sights on American made military rifles do not have these problems.

Most military surplus rifles have two stage triggers and heavy trigger pulls. This is not conducive to accurate target shooting, but with practice a lot of the difficulty goes away.

Military surplus rifles have a lot of wood and barrel bands that are not found on commercial rifles. There’s a handguard on top, the stock goes almost to the muzzle and there are most often two barrel bands. Folks attempting to get military rifles to shoot accurately fiddle with these and trim and grind and adjust.

American military surplus cartridge rifles start with the Trap Door Springfield in 45/70. These are grand old rifles, and with the Buffington rear sight that is adjustable for windage and elevation these rifles can be quite accurate. (Early models were chambered for 50/70, but not many of these are seen.) The Springfield trap door is not a particularly strong action, so be careful with loads.

Next is the 30/40 Krag, a rifle known for its slick bolt action. The Krag can be made to shoot accurately with cast bullets, and many have been used for target shooting and hunting over the years. There have been reports that some Krags have cracks in the locking lugs. Have yours checked by a competent gunsmith before shooting it.

The 1903 Springfield in 30/06 is a modified 98 Mauser design. It is amply strong enough for modern high-pressure loads and it is used for target shooting even today. The sights, like the Buffington sights on the trap door, are adjustable for both elevation and windage. The 1903 Springfield can be loaded to shoot cast bullets accurately and is a very satisfying rifle. 

Be aware that “Low Number” 1903 Springfield rifles are reputed to be less strong than “High Number” rifles and that there have been reports of failures. This story has been around for a hundred years and I’ve always been a little skeptical because of the many reports of faultless operation of low number Springfields-BUT safety is first for me and I won’t buy or shoot one.

During the First World War many 1917 Enfield rifles were made in the United States for American use. This is another modified 98 Mauser design. These were chambered in 30/06, are big and heavy rifles, and have a rear sight adjustable only for elevation, no windage. The bore and groove dimensions are slightly large for the 30 caliber, so a slightly large cast bullet will probably work best. The current 314299 from Lyman would be a good choice. 

During the Second World War the 1903A3 Springfield in 30/06 was made and issued to some troops. This is a simplified 1903 Springfield, with some stamped parts and a (kind of) click-adjustable rear sight with both windage and elevation adjustments. This sight is closer to the eye (good) but has coarse adjustments (bad). The 1903A3 can be loaded to shoot cast bullets accurately, and can be a good target rifle.

The 1898 Mauser was used by Germany through the Second World War, and by many other countries. This is the rifle design that has not been markedly improved on. The 98 Mauser was chambered for the 8MM cartridge for German use, and other cartridges for other countries. Be aware that the 8MM cartridge came in two diameters; early cartridges had a .318” diameter bullet while later cartridges (from 1905 on) used a .323” bullet. Some of these rifles will shoot cast bullets accurately, but the sights leave a lot to be desired.

The earlier Mausers are legion. There are 1889, 1891, 1893, 1894, 1896 and other models of the rifle that Mauser was developing into the 1898. These came in 6.5 x 55 Swedish, 6.5 x 57, 7mm and 7.65 x 53. Some Mausers were converted to .308, others to 30/06. The sights are not very good on these rifles and they can be a challenge to load for, but a lot of people have a lot of fun loading for and shooting these rifles. I particularly enjoy the frustration of getting 6.5 x 55 Swedish Mauser Model 96 rifles to shoot cast bullets accurately-It ain’t easy.

Many Japanese 7.7 mm rifles were brought back to the United States after the Second World War. These are about .31 caliber, and many will shoot cast bullets accurately. These rifles have chrome plated bores, and are extremely strong modified 1898 Mauser designs. The sights are the typical problem, but I have always thought these rifles were underrated.

From my point of view, the rifles above are the most desirable and can be loaded with cast bullets and shot accurately most easily.

English Lee Enfields have been imported and sold in large quantities for over 40 years. The design is unlike any other. Some folks can get these rifles to shoot cast bullets well, but I’m not one of them.

The Mannlichers, Italian Carcanos, Swiss Schmidt-Rubins, French MAS, Russian Mosin-Nagants and French Lebels can be made to shoot cast bullets-sometimes with very good results. The degree of effort can be great and beyond the ability of the beginner. The sights are also enough of a problem to make testing difficult.

Production Bolt-Action Rifles

There are many brand new bolt-action rifles available today that will shoot five jacketed bullets into an inch at 100 yards out of the box. These rifles will also shoot cast bullets very accurately.

These rifles come in long and short actions, in wood and plastic stocks, in stainless steel and in chrome/moly steel, with fluted or round or tapered barrels from heavy to very light weight. 

The Savage rifles have a well-deserved reputation for accuracy and reasonable price. Mine all shot extremely well. These may be the most accurate production bolt action rifles available today (2007) and the Accu-Trigger is a very nice trigger.

Remington rifles are accurate rifles at somewhat more money than the Savage rifles. The original 700 BDL Varmint in 308 Winchester (no longer made) was used by several shooters at the Old Colony with lead bullets, and shot very well. 

Ruger rifles are not seen in the CBA match results as often as the Savage and Remington rifles. I have had several that shot very accurately.

Winchester rifles of current manufacture are seldom seen in the CBA match results. I have no experience with modern Winchester rifles.

Purpose Built Bolt Action Rifles by Pat Iffland

While not overly popular, people who decide to shoot heavy or unrestricted class CBA Registered Benchrest Matches, or seek the ultimate in accuracy and precision in cast bullet shooting for its own reward will be drawn to the purpose built bolt rifle.

Besides caliber (with the 30 BR being overwhelmingly chosen) and possibly the chamber throat, what you’re dealing with here is exactly the equipment you’d see being used at a jacketed benchrest match.

Of the production actions, Remington leads the pack while in the custom class Stolle and Nesika seem to be the most favored at the present time, although others do show up and hold their own against the favorites. Action choice seems to be a regional thing as much as anything else with the Stolle more popular in the east and the Nesika in the west.

Hart and Lilja barrels are used by a majority of the benchrest shooters but other barrel maker’s wares are represented and do as well in competition. Your chances of getting a good barrel or a not so good barrel (your chance of getting a really bad barrel from one of the major makers is pretty slim) are going to be about equal no matter who makes it so just stick with what the winners are using and hope for the best.

36 power scopes, fiberglass benchrest stocks, and 2 ounce triggers are also standard fare on the true purpose built B.R. rifle. These are custom rifles through and through and as in everything else the words “custom” and “expensive” are interchangeable. The bench and reloading equipment needed to give the rifle a chance at reaching its full potential are also costs that must be considered when starting down this path.

Expense aside, pride of ownership and having the equipment to see just how accurate your home brewed bullets truly are can be a rewarding experience.

Semi Automatic Rifles

The M1 Garand surplus military rifle in 30/06 has sights adjustable for windage and elevation, and can be loaded successfully with cast bullets. Many of these rifles have been sold since 1945. These rifles can be used for position target shooting with cast bullets; reports of success to 600 yards may be found. The Garand takes some training and fiddling to operate. A 5 round clip, modified from the standard 8 round clip, is available and may be required at some ranges. (The 8 round clip cannot conventionally be loaded with any less than 8 rounds.) Loading single shot, as is required in some matches or at some ranges, is a little tricky and may result in damage to the shooters thumb.

The M1 carbine is another surplus rifle that has been sold by the thousands since 1945. The cartridge is the 30 carbine, with a 110-grain bullet at 1975 fps. This cartridge and rifle are not powerful enough for hunting anything much bigger than a rat, and are not accurate enough to reliably hit that rat at much over 50 yards. The rifle is too light and too inaccurate for serious offhand target shooting. So the 30 M1 carbine is a plinker, a shooter of beer cans and such. It can be loaded and shot successfully with cast bullets, but in my opinion it won’t do anything that a 22 rimfire won’t do more accurately and cheaper.

The M1A is a semi automatic civilian version of the M14 in 308 caliber. The M14 has the capability of being fired in the automatic or machine gun mode, and, as far as I know, has never been sold as surplus for that reason. The M1A was/is manufactured by Springfield Armory Inc., now Springfield Inc. It is probably the most popular rifle for position military match shooting, and is amazingly accurate. The M1A can be loaded with cast bullets and shot accurately, but reports of this are thin on the ground. I believe that owners of M1A rifles who are serious target shooters do not want to handicap themselves with cast bullets, which are slower and more affected by the wind than jacketed bullets. 

The M16 rifle in 223 caliber also has the capability of full automatic fire, and has not been sold as surplus for that reason. There are many copies of the M16 rifle in semi automatic configuration, available from Colt, Bushmaster and others. Some of these are made as target rifles, and are extremely accurate. Loading accurate cast bullets of 22 caliber for a semi automatic rifle is possible, but just barely. This is best left to the advanced caster/handloader with a lot of time on his hands. 

There are a number of American and foreign-made semi automatic .308 war rifles from DSA and H&K and CETME and others that are just too ugly to talk about.

Lever Action Rifles

The Winchester Model 94 is or has been available in 30/30, 32 Special, 44 Magnum/44-40, 444 Marlin, 357 Magnum, 45 Colt, 38/55, 32/40, 25/35 and other calibers. 

Probably there are more of these rifles in 30/30 and 32 Special than in all the other calibers combined. These rifles can be reloaded with cast bullets to almost equal their performance with jacketed bullets. 

The pistol calibers with cast bullets can equal jacketed bullet performance.

The Marlin 336 is or has been available in 30/30, 32 Special, 35 Remington and other calibers. The current Marlin model 1894 is a shorter action rifle chambered in the pistol calibers. The model 444 looks like a model 336, and is in 444 Marlin caliber. The Marlin model 95 also looks like a 336, and is in 45/70 caliber. All of these can be reloaded successfully with cast bullets to almost equal or equal the performance with jacketed bullets.

Marlin developed the “Micro-Groove” or shallow rifling about 40 years ago. Today their rifles are available with either the Micro-Groove or “Ballard” = deep groove rifling, depending on the model. There are reports of poor accuracy with the Micro-Groove rifling and cast bullets, and there are reports of excellent accuracy with the same rifling. My experience is in shooting large diameter (.312” in 30/30) bullets at velocities of 1400 fps or so in two Marlin 336’s with Micro-Groove rifling. Accuracy was as good as with jacketed bullets, between 2” and 3” for five shot group averages at 100 yards. I think that if higher velocity is wanted, then hard bullets are needed.

I had an old-time Marlin rifle in 32/40 that shot fixed cartridges very well. Five shot groups averaged under 2” at 100 yards. But that was long ago when I could see the open sights. That rifle had a blade front sight with a gold rear surface, and was much easier to shoot than a bead front sight.

Any of the rifles mentioned above can be equipped with micrometer peep sights, tang sights or telescopic sights to increase aiming precision.

All of the rifles mentioned above require some special reloading considerations.

The maximum overall cartridge length is determined by what will function through the rifle. A cartridge that is too long won’t work through the action.

These rifles have tubular magazines, the cartridges line up in the magazine behind each other. For this reason, only flat point bullets may be used in these rifles. Sharply pointed bullets may indent the primer of the cartridge in front, setting off that cartridge. Use flat point bullets only!

Because of the pressure of the magazine spring and the recoil of firing, it may be necessary to crimp the mouth of the cartridge case into the bullet to keep the bullet from being pushed down into the case.

It is said that these rifle actions may “spring” upon firing a heavy load; and that that springing allows the base of the cartridge case to swell beyond design limits. If the base swells, then full length sizing will be required to get the cartridge case back in the rifle. In extreme cases, “small base” dies, intended to swage the base down, may be required.

My experience with Winchester 94’s and Marlin 336’s in 30/30 is that cases fired in one gun may not be interchangeable in other guns and that neck sizing is all that is required to reload cast bullets for a particular rifle.

Try the fired cases in the rifle. If the action closes without binding, probably neck sizing will suffice.

The Savage Model 1899 or 99 lever action rifle was made in many calibers, including 300 and 303 Savage, as well as 250/3000. The original rifles had spool magazines, so they could be loaded with pointed bullets. Some later rifles had removable box magazines that would also accommodate pointed bullets. These Savage rifles can be made to shoot accurately with cast bullets, and are generally easier to get shooting accurately than the Winchesters or Marlins. They are not made any longer, so obviously others don’t share my enthusiasm for the model 99.