Range Report 10-30-21 Martini Henry Mk. IV.

 

A cartridge with an arsenal pack of ten rounds made by the author.

I didn't have as much time to shoot as I had hoped today, but I was able to shoot two tables of fire of ten rounds each, the second of which showed the best results I have ever had with this lovely old lady.  More work is called for, obviously, but I think that mostly has to do with me, and I believe this is, finally, the best load for this piece.  Sadly, I am out of the paper patched bullets I used here, so I have to do this all over again for the grease groove bullets I have been casting myself.  Also sadly, I spent almost an hour of precious range time trying to get my new chronograph working with my phone but was unable to do so, so I still don't have the speed for these bullets.

Range:  100 yards
Ten rounds per table of fire.
Weather: Dry and clear, wind right full to 3/4 value, ~10-15 mph. 61 deg.
Load: 70 grains of Swiss 1.5F powder.
Bullet:  Paper patched 540 grain .480 bullets from Blue Falcon Bullets.
Sight picture: full sight with a 6:00 hold about six inches low.

For visual reference, the paper sheet used for the targets is 18"x23.75" and the black dot used for the bullseye is 3".  And for the observant, Table Two was shot with a pistol, which explains why these go from one directly to three.

Table One

Table One
String Test:  43"/10 rounds = 4.3 in./rd.
(I didn't calculate the Figure of Merit for this ToF.)

Table Three

Table Three
String Test: 36.25 inches/10 rounds = 3.6 in./rd.
Figure of Merit: 2.38
Group Size: 6.31 in.

For information about how these cartridges were loaded, see here.

For information about the String test, see here.

For information about the Figure of Merit, see here.

Grouping Diagram from Rob Enfield's Figure of Merit Chart for Table Three