Range Report 13AUG2023: 1851 Colt Navy and Smith Carbine

A few weeks ago I posted a range report in which I said I don’t normally make blog posts for routine practice range sessions but that I’d had such a spectacular day I wanted to write about it.  Well, today I had another such experience, and frankly, if I wasn’t there I wouldn’t have believed it.

Today I shot my newly reworked 1851 Colt Navy and my Smith Carbine.  The Navy was upgraded by Gary Barnes (cartridgeconversion.com/), and I am thrilled with it.  This was my first BP firearm, and it was so bad I almost quit the sport before even getting started.  Since Mr. Barnes' work, however, it is a delight to shoot, and I’m getting much better with it.  Most of my String Tests were in the 2.5-3.5 in./rd. range, and that’s actually quite good, but after working on trying to find the right way to aim off with this revolver (and that’s tough given what utter garbage Colt sights are), I actually shot two Tables of Fire with String Tests of only 1.8-1.9 in./rd., which is (by my standards), a fantastic score.  I shot 36 rounds with it today, and didn’t have a single cap jam (part of which must be attributed to the Slix-Shot nipples) nor any other failure to fire, and it was as easy to load as a modern revolver.

The real star today, however, was my beloved Smith Carbine.  Those who follow this blog will know that it is my favorite Civil War firearm, bar none, and that I consider it vastly superior to any other carbine of the War, with the possible exception of the Burnside.  David Stavlo at Lodgewood Mfg. (www.lodgewood.com/) did a great job reworking this carbine; among other things, he installed a thicker front sight blade and reworked the trigger, both of which added a lot to its accuracy.   I have been working on the front sight for a couple of months (ever since losing my previous front sight blade) in order to bring my MPI to my IMPI, and today I believe I have it as perfect as it can possibly be.  I shot several very good Tables of Fire, gave the sight one more pass with a file, and it now shoots point on at 50 yards.  In fact, in the last Table of Fire (see Table 7 below), all ten rounds literally went through the same hole, and the hole was on the 3” disk at which I was aiming.  I can’t even really determine a String Test for this result, except by noting that the center of the hole was 0.5 inches from the exact center of the disk.  I can’t distinguish any one hit from any other.

The revolver cartridges were combustible paper cartridges with a .36-caliber Richmond Lab bullet cast using an Eras Gone mold over 15 grains of 3f Schuetzen powder.  To learn how I load combustible paper revolver cartridges, see HERE

The carbine cartridges used Smith bullets cast using an Eras Gone bullet mold in a nylon cartridge case that had been blocked with a disk of nitrated paper and filled with 35 grains of 3F Schuetzen powder. To learn how I load ammunition for the Smith Carbine, see HERE.

To learn how to upgrade from nearly meaningless group size measurements to the String Test as a gauge of accuracy, see HERE.

Shooting Conditions:  Lytle Creek.  Bright and sunny.  82 degrees.  Wind 5 mph from 11:00.  Humidity 31%.  Barometer 29.93 InHg.

All revolver shooting was done Standing Offhand at 15 yards.  All carbine shooting was done Sitting Unsupported at 50 yards.

Tables One and Two.

Table One: 1851 Navy
6 rounds, 22.75 in.
String Test: 3.79 in./rd.

Table Two: 1851 Navy
6 rounds, 20.0 in.
String Test: 3.33 in./rd.

Table Three.

Table Three:  Smith Carbine
8 rounds, 13,75 in.
String Test: 1.72 in./rd.
(I ran out of time, and could only get 8 rounds off before the RSO commanded a cease fire, which explains why the next Table of Fire is 12 rounds.)

Table Four.

Table Four: Smith Carbine
12 rounds, 10.5 in,
String Test: 0.88 in./rd.

Tables Five and Six.

Table Five:  1851 Navy
6 rounds, 14.25 in.
String Test: 2.37 in./rd.

Table Six: 1851 Navy
6 rounds, 19.25 in.
String Test: 3.21 in./rd.

Table Seven.

Table Seven detail.

Table Seven: Smith Carbine
10 rounds, 0.5 in.????
String Test: ??? 0.5 in./rd.???
There’s no way to measure to each hole since all ten rounds went through the same hole, but the center of the hole is about half an inch from the center, so that’s what I’m counting.

Tables Eight and Nine.

Table Eight: 1851 Navy
6 rounds, 15.0 in.
String Test: 2.5 in./rd.

Table Nine: 1851 Navy
6 rounds, 10.75 in.
String Test: 1.79 in./rd.

Notes:  If you look at the targets pictured above, you will see that some of them are peppered with small dots, and even a few ragged tears.  These are not bullet holes (I marked some of the larger rips with Sharpie), but were caused by my neighbor hitting the ground in front of my targets with high-power revolver bullets and kicking up gravel and stones.