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Antonio
Posts: 2,986 Senior Member
Short range trip
Antonio
Posts: 2,986 Senior Member
Went to test some guns; sun popped early so I knew that strong wind was going to ruin things fast.
Began with the .22LR Zastava MP-22; since I'm currently drying my ammo stock, went to try the usually poorest performer first: Winchester Wildcat; wind was already blowing right-to-left and after 5 shots in the upper target, confirmed it wasn't the best ammo for this rifle but at least unlike the 333, it showed no failures to extract.
Then switched to its usual hunting fodder: Federal American Eagle 36gr. CCHP in those odd 40-round boxes.
As before, distance was 55 yards, sitting and using a sand bag; 5 shots in the lower target showed better results with a single "flyer" probably thanks to sudden wind rush. Scope is a cheap 3-9x32mm.:
Then I assembled my 10/22TD; only "upgrade" is a plain red dot sight without magnification; loaded it with Wildcats (20 rounds) and went to the prairie dog pic and despite it was HARD to see due to its size and that the red dot covered ⅔ of the body, I managed to score most hits inside the "kill zone". Distance and shooting stance was the same:
Not bad and I know both the rifle and I can do better so OK with this one too.
Then came the handgun. This time took a WWI-era french 1892 revolver in 8mm. Lebel; got it years ago but due to the extreme difficulty to reload over here and not finding ammo for it, was kept stored in the safe. But finally managed to scrounge a few original rounds dated......1898!
Loaded it twice and only half of the rounds fired; not great shots but at least made it "roar". Mechanically it's very good but finish is very worn and it's missing the lanyard ring but still fun to shoot with a very good SA trigger:
Sadly all cases cracked and being Berdan-primed it'll be HARD to reload them. Still, fun to play with it despite not-so-great accuracy. Distance was 20 yards, 2-hand grip standing.
By then the wind had become a nuisance for accuracy tests, so finished plinking with a 10" steel disc @ 250 yards with my 7.62 FN 1935 Mauser.
Good day, decent results. Will see what can I do next week with other guns.
Began with the .22LR Zastava MP-22; since I'm currently drying my ammo stock, went to try the usually poorest performer first: Winchester Wildcat; wind was already blowing right-to-left and after 5 shots in the upper target, confirmed it wasn't the best ammo for this rifle but at least unlike the 333, it showed no failures to extract.
Then switched to its usual hunting fodder: Federal American Eagle 36gr. CCHP in those odd 40-round boxes.
As before, distance was 55 yards, sitting and using a sand bag; 5 shots in the lower target showed better results with a single "flyer" probably thanks to sudden wind rush. Scope is a cheap 3-9x32mm.:
Then I assembled my 10/22TD; only "upgrade" is a plain red dot sight without magnification; loaded it with Wildcats (20 rounds) and went to the prairie dog pic and despite it was HARD to see due to its size and that the red dot covered ⅔ of the body, I managed to score most hits inside the "kill zone". Distance and shooting stance was the same:
Not bad and I know both the rifle and I can do better so OK with this one too.
Then came the handgun. This time took a WWI-era french 1892 revolver in 8mm. Lebel; got it years ago but due to the extreme difficulty to reload over here and not finding ammo for it, was kept stored in the safe. But finally managed to scrounge a few original rounds dated......1898!
Loaded it twice and only half of the rounds fired; not great shots but at least made it "roar". Mechanically it's very good but finish is very worn and it's missing the lanyard ring but still fun to shoot with a very good SA trigger:
Sadly all cases cracked and being Berdan-primed it'll be HARD to reload them. Still, fun to play with it despite not-so-great accuracy. Distance was 20 yards, 2-hand grip standing.
By then the wind had become a nuisance for accuracy tests, so finished plinking with a 10" steel disc @ 250 yards with my 7.62 FN 1935 Mauser.
Good day, decent results. Will see what can I do next week with other guns.
Replies
Mike
N454casull
Win Wildcats used to be my go to small game round some years ago.
I guess scoring some usable ammo or components for the old Label could become its own hobby. It hits good for it's age.
-Mikhail Kalashnikov
There are no prairie dogs here Mike, nor varmint hunting since desert coastline and mountains are relatively poor in game species; still the target works fine for hunting practice of our local larger rodents:
Last hunting trip took that Zastava and it performed above expectations. Really like a lot those full stock .22LR rifles and although this one needed some work to the stock finish, extractors, trigger and magazine to perform and look as expected, its compact size and good weight is perfect for unstable shooting in rough terrain.
Sadly due to legal restrictions against reloading makes VERY difficult to get components. So far only way would be making 8mm. Lebel Revolver out of .32-20 cases but those are quite scarce too. Maybe will find a way to somehow be able to use .32 Long.....will have to research about it.
After using it I can understand why the French ended up issuing those dreadful Spanish Ruby .32ACP pistols to their frontline troops, specially the LMG teams; dropping the cylinder requires opening first a loading port like in a Colt SAA while holding it in the left hand since it opens to the right! DA trigger pull is also absurdly hard although as I mentioned the SA one is very pleasant. Sights are V-notch and bead type, quite odd for a handgun and specially for a service revolver.
As usual due to their stubbornness and needs the French were (bravely anyway) fighting the current war with small arms adequate for the previous one thanks to their never ending in-the-brink-of-obsolescence equipment upgrading and evaluation. Not as bad as a Russian Mosin Nagan revolver but almost there.