Since it's so quiet here I thought I'd share my latest PP endevor. I have a JES rebored Marlin 336 that is now a 38-55. I use it in cowboy levergun silhouette matches, the full size targets to 200M. I only use black powder in it, mainly to keep things interesting. So far, using naked bullets, it will shoot into about 12 inches at 200M using the factory barrel sights. Bore leads up occasionally and accuracy goes to pot. Sooo...I tried sizing the Lee 250gr. bullet down to .365" so it is a light slip fit in the bore. Then patched back up to .378" with 20# laser printer paper. I stopped the patch in the crimp groove, so the nose is bore riding. This allows me to seat the bullet to the correct length to feed and keeps the patch in the case so it doesn't get damaged. A compressed load of powder, a lube cookie of a .030" card, 1/8" lubed felt, and another card go between the powder and bullet. I shot 10 of these at 200M off the bench and got a 4 inch group with no fliers. Bore was still clean, all I did was blowtube between shots. Plenty fast for the sil. match. Much better than the naked bullets as far as accuracy, no foul out, and works slick. Gotta love the paper patch! Now to load up another box and get ready for January's match.
