Range Report 11-7-21 Smith Carbine

I shot three tables of fire with my Pietta reproduction of a Smith Carbine today with some pretty good results.  I adjusted the position of the front sight, and this seems to have helped enormously, which explains why the numbers here are better than I have had in the past (well, that and more practice, of course).

An interesting improvement for today’s shooting session was that instead of taping over the backs of the cartridges, I now insert a small disk of nitrated filter paper inside the bottom of the cartridge to prevent powder loss, and it worked marvelously, without a single misfire.  I am very pleased with this improvement as the tape was unsightly and historically inaccurate.

Weather:  Dry and clear, 61 degrees, wind variable from 4:00 to 2:00 at ~11-15 mph.
Range:  50 yards.
Position:  Seated unsupported.
Sight picture:  Full sight, 6:00 hold six inches below the bull. 

I used .50-caliber bullets I cast myself using an Eras Gone bullet mold, which I sized to .515 inches.  These were loaded over 35 grains of 3F Schuetzen powder in a plastic case from Northeast Trade Co.  I used CCI 4-prong musket caps.  For information about how I load and package these cartridges see here.

Unfortunately, the picture I took of the target for Table One didn’t come out, so my readers will have to take my word for it.  Note that Tables Two and Three were fired with a revolver, which explains why these go from One to Four.  For reference, the circle on the targets is 3 inches in diameter.

Table One (No Picture)
10 rounds
String test:  33.5 in. = 3.35 in./rd.

 

Table Four

Table Four
10 rounds
String test:  22.25 in. = 2.22 in./rd.

 

Table Five

Table Five
10 rounds
String test:  32.5 in. = 3.25 in./rd.

The String Test is a 19^th-century method for determining accuracy.  It is vastly superior to simply determining group size because it takes into account both the group size and the distance of the Mean Point of Impact from the Intended Mean Point of Impact (the bullseye) in a single number which is easy to compare from shooting session to shooting session.  For more information about the String Test, see here.

Interestingly, I deliberately did not clean the carbine at all during the shooting process just to see what would happen.  I normally clean the bore with a wet followed by two dry patches after every table of fire.  The only result I found was that the lever used to open the action got harder to actuate toward the end of the third table of fire, but accuracy seems to have been unaffected.

Of additional interest, I was able to get my chronograph working and so was able to check the speed of my rounds for the first time.  I still can’t make it work with my phone, but I was able to read the numbers off of the screen and write them by hand.  The speed of the bullets in this test varied from 852 to 881 fps, with an average of 872.86 fps.  Using the average bullet weight of 360 grains (the nominal weight is 354 grains, but mine come out slightly heavier), this gives a muzzle energy of 608.89 ft.-lbs.

As always, I am very appreciative of the historically accurate bullet mold made available by Mark Hubbs at Eras Gone Bullet Molds, they make the entire shooting process significantly more authentic.  These molds, and many others for historical shooting, can be found here.