Range Report 04302023: Mk. IV Martini Henry and Mk. III Snider

My Martini Henry had some severe rot in the wood of the forestock, to the point where the screws would rip out every time I fired it.  I sent the rifle out to David Stavlo at Lodgewood Mfg. <https://www.lodgewood.com/> and he glass bedded it for me.  This is the second piece David has worked on for me, and I cannot recommend him highly enough.  There is no evidence of the screws ripping out, even though 20 of the cartridges I shot today were loaded with the full 85-grain government charge (see below).

I fired 30 rounds with it today, 10 for "plinking" and to get a sense of how it would hold together, and two scored tables of fire of 10 rounds each.  The first table of fire had a load consisting of 1:20 alloy paper patched bullets weighing 540 grains over cotton wadding, two card wads, a grease cookie, a third card wad, and 85 grains of Swiss 2F powder.  For a detailed explanation of how I load the cartridges, see the link HERE.

The second table of fire used cartridges with a bullet I cast in 1:20 alloy from an X-Ring Services mold.  They are .470 in. and weigh 475 grains, and are not paper patched.  I pan lube them in my normal tallow and beeswax grease.  They have the same cards and grease cookie, but only 70 grains of Schuetzen 2F powder.

I then fired two tables of fire with my Snider.  The first ToF went well, but midway through the second the extractor on my rifle became stuck such that I could no longer close the block nor extract the cartridge in the chamber, so I had to pack up and go home.  For a detailed explanation of how I load cartridges for my Snider, see the link HERE.

The targets I used for today's shooting are 2/3-scale reproductions of the Third-Class qualification targets used by the British for the Snider and in the early years of the MH.

About the String Test:
If you are not yet using the String Test as a way to track your shooting results, you should be since it is both historically correct and far more meaningful and useful than just looking at group size.  To learn more about the String test and how to use it, go to:  https://historicalshooting.blogspot.com/2020/12/the-string-test-measure-for-historical.html

Shooting Conditions:
65 deg., sunny, 42% humidity.  Wind extremely variable, blowing from 11:00 around to 3:00 and ranging from 4-5 mph to ~25 mph.
Range:  100 yards.  Firing position: Seated unsupported.

Table One: Martini Henry, 85 grains 2F, paper patched bullet.

Table One.

String Test:  75 in./10 rds. = 7.5 in./rd.

My point of aim was at the center of the bottom edge of the Outer using a full sight.

Table Two:  Martini Henry, 70 grains 2F, grease groove bullet.

Table Two.

String Test:  66 in./10 rds. = 6.6 in./rd.

Since the previous load shot high, and since this was a lighter load, I aimed at the center of the bottom edge of the bullseye with a full sight.  They still shot a bit high, so if I had used the same point of aim that I use on Table One I would have most of the rounds in the bull.  I have had very few chances to work with this rifle because of its problems, so I have a lot to work to do with regards to how to shoot it best.

Table Three:  Snider 65 grains of 1.5F Swiss with a 530-grain X-Ring Services .600 in. bullet.

Table Three.

String Test:  57 in./10 rds. = 5.7 in./rd.
(NB:  I wrote 9 rounds on the target, but the clump of hits just below the top of the bull on the left actually had three hits, and I missed that the first time.)
My point of aim was the center of the bottom edge of the outer with a fine sight.

Table Four:  Snider 65 grains of 1.5F Swiss with a 530-grain X-Ring Services .600 in. bullet.

Table Four.

String Test:  26 in./5 rds. = 5.2 in./rd.
(NB:  Another miscount--I thought I had fired 7 rounds, but actually only got off 5 before the extractor malfunction.)
My point of aim was the same as before, the center of the bottom edge of the outer with a fine sight.