Author Topic: bullet drop (Read 515 times)

rickyp · « **on:** November 01, 2003, 04:55:58 PM »

how much should one expect a 50 cal 360 gr bullet (lee improved mini 500-360m) to drop at 100 yards using 95 grs of pyrodex P?

My normal load is 95 grs of pyrodex P and 240 gr hornady xtp bullets in a sabots

My gun is sighted in to be dead on at 53 yards and i am getting a 2 foot or so drop at 100 yards. Is this normal? and my point of impact is about 3 inches to the left and kicks a lot harder to boot

johnt · « **Reply #1 on:** November 01, 2003, 06:52:14 PM »

If your gun is a fast twist shallow grooved rifle designed to shoot sabot style projectiles it will not shoot the hollow based full lead "minne" with any accuracy what so ever.
The design of the projectiles are completely different!
The minne is slightly undersized for quick loading,and its "skirt" was/is for expantion to grasp the rifling of the gun using powders with a slower burning rate or more fouling than the pyrodex P(pistol) grade than your using. When using the minne for maximum accuracy, finding a proper lubrication is/was always the key variable.
Sure,,you might see a high or proper velocity across the chrony,,but if that long full lead projectile "skip's" the rifling,,,it won't spin proper for accuracy.
360gr in a .50? That's a long heavy bullet. yes. they make'm.But it's up to you to learn how to make it spin,,,the minne was made for fast loading,easy cleaning, breaking bones and slappin big holes in meat up close,Civil War stuff,the guy was French, his name was "Minnie"

RandyWakeman · « **Reply #2 on:** November 01, 2003, 10:27:53 PM »

Quote from: johnt

If your gun is a fast twist shallow grooved rifle designed to shoot sabot style projectiles it will not shoot the hollow based full lead "minne" with any accuracy what so ever.

Of course it will-- it is a conical that prefers fast twist / shallow grooves like any other conical. No, Captain Claude-Etienne Minie was not the first to "invent" it, and the under-sized Civil War era projectiles do not represent current .004" to .006" oversized production bullets. The prbullet.com 360 grain QT conical is a good example of this, and 1:24 is the optimum rate of twist.

WD45 · « **Reply #3 on:** November 02, 2003, 04:05:21 PM »

was your gun sighted in at 53 yards with the lighter bullet or heavy one ?
If it was hitting center at 53 yds with the heavy bullet 2 feet sounds like a lot. Did you fill the bottom of the minni with grease ?
Have you tried a different style conical to see where they print ?
watch that you dont dent or deform the skirt which can cause them to print erratic and do not pound on them with the rod just seat them good on top of the powder. if it still prints that low at 100 try sighting dead on at 75 and then see where it prints at 100 and 50
and yup ... the heavier the bullet the harder it kicks..