Euroarms new model army

[Scimmy]

Cheers Tim, I might up the load as tac suggests a little bit as out of the line mine was certainly the tamest bang (well almost a crack with the 777). That said though most of the balls were hitting the target.

The trouble I find is with the relatively small grip size these pistols are blessed with. Trying to find that repeatability in hold each time. Ahh well early days and as you say much more practice required, but huge fun in the process.

On all targets there are strikes at the 1-2 o'clock postion. Can anyone offer any corrective info as regards hold???
Cheers

[tim56]

Have tried increasing the load with my ruger upto 30 grns in 1 grn increments and accuracy has suffered. I am using 16grns of swiss with a couple of scoops of semolina and a home cast .457" ball. I know this is below rugers recommended load and probably way lower than others will use and recommend but its the load that puts em in the black for me. As the charge goes up the groups get bigger and as iv entered the Hendon postal leage with it this year ill stick with it till after the comp.
As a foot note i did try some conical bullets while testing loads and found them to shoot about 6" higher and 3" to the right with the same powder charge as the round ball. Another thing i want to try is casting a slightly harder ball to see what difference that makes.
Im sure most of my problems are hold and my eyes. I know my hold varies and often i find my eyes rapidly swopping between sights and target which i know i have to control but hey ho its all good fun. Have Fun. Tim

[davederrick]

Anyone got preferences on bullet types ? My Pietta NMA .44 was shooting wide groups (if you can call them groups) using 20gr BP & a .454 homecast ball. I changed to a .450 Minie bullet (also homecast), and didnt find any improvement they just went higher on the target. The .454 RB always shaved off some lead when seated, the .450 Minie didnt. I've upped the charge to 30gr BP with the .454 RB & groups have tightened. Which should I continue using, the .454 RB or the .450 Minie ? Thanks.

p.s. my groups are now probably about as tight as the pic posted, is this as best as I can expect ?

[tim56]

I tried conical bullets in the ROA and also found them to shoot higher than round ball, also found em to be a bugger to load. You have to get them started as they dont self centre like a ball does and you also shave a ring of lead off on loading that cloggs the action if you dont clear it away before use. Personly i cant see any advantage but another gun/shooter combination might prefer them. Think i will stick to ball for now. Tim

[harricook]

Anyone got preferences on bullet types ? My Pietta NMA .44 was shooting wide groups (if you can call them groups) using 20gr BP & a .454 homecast ball. I changed to a .450 Minie bullet (also homecast), and didnt find any improvement they just went higher on the target. The .454 RB always shaved off some lead when seated, the .450 Minie didnt. I've upped the charge to 30gr BP with the .454 RB & groups have tightened. Which should I continue using, the .454 RB or the .450 Minie ? Thanks.

p.s. my groups are now probably about as tight as the pic posted, is this as best as I can expect ?

Hi Dave

I have tried 454, 457 & a 460 bullet in my NMA. Like Tim says - the bullets (Lee mould 90382) are a bugger to seat - they could do with a little 'chamfer' as a feeder. Once you get the knack of them they are not bad.

All of the ball/bullet I have tried - they all leave a lead ring behind which is what I want.

I found the bullet to be the most accurate - but fussier loading - so I have dropped them at the moment & am experimenting between the 454 & 457 ball.

Your 30g BP - seems quite a high load - and I assume you are getting a fair flame with that

I can get some bullet to you if you want to try them.

Cheers

Roy

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[tacfoley]

Another thing i want to try is casting a slightly harder ball to see what difference that makes.

I'm very glad to see that you are having fun whilst experimenting with loads - that, my friend, is what it is all about in the end.

Just a word of advice about the 'harder ball' you mention. By all means try it, but the general plan is to shoot ball from your revolver made of the softest [read - purest] lead that you can find. What starts off as a ball in the chamber ends up slightly elongated by the forcing cone as it enters the rifling of the barrel - hence the need to take the usually shallow rifling as easily as possible. Think of a lemon pip being squoze and you'll have the right idea.

Remember that if you are breaking 1000fps with any .44 BP load you are shooting you are doing remarkably well - the reason why hardening substances such as antimony are used in bullets shot with nitro propellant loads is that they are invariably doing 1200-1450fps, and need to be hard to avoid stripping in the rifling.

Still, it will be interesting to see your results.

tac

[Scimmy]

I've noticed the same thing between ball and conical i.e the conicals group higher. Is this down to the heavier weight of the conical, increasing recoil or being in the barrel a fraction of a second longer as the gun recoils in an upwards direction??

[tacfoley]

Cheers Tim, I might up the load as tac suggests a little bit as out of the line mine was certainly the tamest bang (well almost a crack with the 777). That said though most of the balls were hitting the target.

The trouble I find is with the relatively small grip size these pistols are blessed with. Trying to find that repeatability in hold each time. Ahh well early days and as you say much more practice required, but huge fun in the process.

On all targets there are strikes at the 1-2 o'clock postion. Can anyone offer any corrective info as regards hold???
Cheers

Just to reiterate my advice as a life-time pistol shooter [age 6 to now - that's 57 years, BTW].

Take the pistol by the left hand and push it into the right hand - getting it as high in the grip as you can. Make certain that your trigger finger does not touch the frame, and that it moves back in a straight line.

Cock the hammer of the pistol using the free hand NOT the thumb of the hand holding the pistol - this will help you maintain your grip correctly.

Taking aim, concentrate on the foresight, NOT the target, and gently squeeze the trigger until the shot goes off - DO NOT drop the hand on firing, but maintain the sight picture through the recoil. With the relatively slow ignition time of the average BP load, the follow-through is even more important than with a regular nitro-loaded firearm.

Then do it all again...

This is where the ROA has the advantage over every other BP pistol ever made - it can be dry-fired until the cows come home without occasioning any harm.

tac

[tacfoley]

...the heavier weight of the conical...increasing recoil...being in the barrel a fraction of a second longer as the gun recoils in an upwards direction??

You have it exactly right.

tac

[Scimmy]

Cheers tac, I'll take it to the range as they say and will report back

[harricook]

Absolutely agree with TAC - everyone (me included) plays up n down with loads/ball/powder etc. which is all part of the fun & frolics !! - but forgets that consistency in hold, stance, follow through is all critical in pistol shooting & even more so with a slower BP weapon.

The classic I see almost every time I shoot - is shooters cocking the gun with their 'gun hand' which changes both their grip & hand muscles in between every shot.

I was lucky enough to shoot pistols of all calibres & types prior to '97 (and TAC still does lucky beggar !) - and the grounding/training I had all those years ago has stayed with me .... just wish I was a better shot !

Its all fun though !!

All the best

Roy

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[davederrick]

As to lead hardness, someone told me a "rule of thumb". Get your ball/bullet, and if you can scratch it with a fingernail & it only just leaves a fine mark, then its a good hardness. No mark = too hard, deep mark = too soft. Anyone else try this ?

[harricook]

As to lead hardness, someone told me a "rule of thumb". Get your ball/bullet, and if you can scratch it with a fingernail & it only just leaves a fine mark, then its a good hardness. No mark = too hard, deep mark = too soft. Anyone else try this ?

Hi Dave

for me there is no such thing as 'too soft' when it comes to lead for black powder...

I'm sure others will agree

I was given some Haendler & Naterman H&N Minies (.583" cal) that I was hoping to put thru my Enfield Rifle. I spoke with TAC who sadly told me that was not going to be the case - as they were for something else. They had to be the softest of soft lead - your fingers almost left a print in them !!!!

If anyone has any 'too soft' lead - I'd be more than happy to dispose of it for them

All the best

Roy

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