Gamerancher wrote:Okay, let's settle down here and stop over thinking it.
So long as you haven't modified the Williams to make it fit it will be fine. You only run into problems when you make up "adapters" to make a sight fit a rifle it wasn't made for. Simply drilling and tapping to mount a sight that is made for a lever gun is okay. There are various Williams sights out there that list "any flat sided receiver" on the mounting instructions.
We had one shooter last year who got himself into the Australian team using a straight out of the box Marlin with
standard barrel sights.
Micro-groove Marlins will shoot cast bullets very well, it's just a matter of finding a load that works. A bullet that is .001" to .002" over bore diameter and keep the velocity down below 1700 is a good place to start. Jacketed bullets are allowed if that is what works in your gun.
I have a Model 94 Winchester in .44 mag with a 12 groove barrel that shoots cast bullets well enough for this game. 240gr cast bullet on top of 7 grains of Trailboss works well for pistol calibre and I used it in Tassie a few years ago for rifle class as well. Try 19 - 21 gr of 2205 also.
It 'aint benchrest, "minute of ram" is all that is required.
Message to anyone who is thinking about attending this shoot, please don't be put off attending because you don't think you'll be competitive. At the end of the day you'll be graded and only competing against shooters of similar abilities, much like golfing handicaps. If you have a lever gun that suits, just come along, have a crack and enjoy yourself. You can shoot in any or all events, so don't be put off if you don't have
enough guns
If this is the case, then perhaps the rulebook should reflect that? The statement "...only if that sight is specifically manufactured for that model rifle." is pretty clear to me. It would also help if it explained that manufacturing a custom sight for your specific rifle is unacceptable, I have never been a fan of any rulebook forcing a competitor to purchase somebody else's idea of what is most suitable for the task. I have done what I needed to do to get my rifle shooting acceptably for my needs, it is a shame that it does not comply with the rules for this class of competition, but it works for me.
I have no doubt that some people can shoot extraordinarily well with open sights. Generally, I don't these days. I tend to prefer an aperture sight. Although the BSA Sportsman 5 sights seem to work very well for me, if I could swap them across to the Uberti and get similar accuracy that would be ideal
The OEM Uberti sights were giving me 300mm groups at 50m shooting prone, primarily due to the huge bead completely obscuring the target. Compared with the 1894 OEM sights with which I can shoot 75mm groups at 50m prone.
I agree, Microgroove Marlins _can_ shoot cast quite well, once you've done the hard yards to find a suitable bullet and load. So far, cast accuracy has eluded my efforts, but I'm still trying
1-2-thou over works for everything else, but does not work for me at all in the Marlin, it groups like a smoothbore. Minimum 3-thou over works for me, as long as the alloy is hard, certainly too hard for hunting. I've been working within the 1000-1300fps window with cast in the .44 Mag so far, with and without checks, and tried them lubed and powdercoated. I've tried them from .429" up to .434" in three mould designs. I'm using Trailboss, AP70N and AR2205. So far, my most accurate load is a 240gn JHP at 1750fps at 3MoA at 100m. This is the load I would be using for competition, but I really would prefer a bullet I can cast myself. I think my best group to date with cast bullets is 10MoA (150mm at 50m), off the bench.
I am fully aware of the minimal accuracy required for this, but 10MoA (150mm groups at 50m) is well short of "minute of ram". I've got the Uberti down to 5MoA (75mm at 50m) consistently, off a bench, which I think is about the minimum needed from the rifle, but that's with a plated bullet - meaning I can't cast them myself. Jacketed XTP's look like improving that slightly, but again, I can't make those either. But 5MoA only works if you are skilled at offhand shooting, as the group only just covers the targets, with little leeway for error. If your offhand skills need more work then you need a more accurate load to allow for shooter error.
I have no problem in coming to shoot even if I miss every single target, there's little enjoyment when there is no learning curve. But I have to weigh spending a day on the road to get there and back, and a day lost on the farm, against simply walking out of my office and spending a few hours shooting here, like I do most days. If something needs doing I can put the rifles away, sort the chore, and go straight back to shooting. I have zero interest in posting a higher score than somebody else, or coming home with a trophy. My only goal is to come home a wiser shooter than when I went out.