Big Blue, or for good men to address the wrong problem....
Anyway, I like the weight forward of the forearm as it makes the gun more muzzle heavy and thereby more stable offhand. I will probably do all my practice shooting offhand with this gun, other than what may be nessicary for sighting in different loads, as this will be the gun I use to hunt next year.
I love my 44 Mag Handi, but it has a very serious limitation with cast bullets. As velocities get above 1300 fps the groups begin to open and by 1500 fps have shots have become unpredictable. At 1700 fps the gun will group into 5" or so, but there is no eveness or repeatability in the group. One shot at 6, one at 12 one at 9, 2" from point of aim the nest at 1 3" from point of aim. I suspect that the throat lead angle needs to be changed for accuracy with velocity.
From what I have heard others report, the same is true of the 45-70, the faster with cast, the more erratic the groups. So if the practical limitation of accurate velocity with cast bullets is 1300-1400 fps, then the only solution to ensuring more reliable kills is to increase bullet weight. Ergo, 44 Mag to 45-70.
Using a 256 grain cast bullet moving 1250 fps this year, I shot 2 does. The first was a clean shot just behind the diaphram, cleaving the liver in two and taking the deer out, she ran probably 50 yards from where she was shot. She made racket the whole way and was easy to find. The second was shot low in the chest, she too ran about 50 yards, I found the bullet in the offside "elbow" just under the hide caught between muscle and tendon. Both were shot inside 30 yards. Needless to say I am not heartily impressed with the second shot. Did it kill her cleanly? Yes, but it strikes me as iffy performance, as does my off hand shooting. I did all of my practice off the bench this year, very little ofhand. Of 6 shots I made on 5 deer, 1 was exactly where I wanted. Other wise I am shooting about a 7" circle.
Not bad for offhand, stalk hunting, going from "no deer" to "there it is" and getting a shot off inside 3 seconds or so....all at 25 yards or less...but not as good as I want. And don't believe that old lie that deer can't see.
And I want more juice to deliver a heavier blow. That simple. I want a heavier gun, not only to absorb and control recoil, but to steady the rifle and aim as well. In a perfect world, practice would be with my hunting rifle against a tall bank at moderate speed clays with shots not greater than 30 yards crossing at 90 degrees and quartering away...in a perfect world. Oh well.
I will look into the synthetic forearm, thanks for the suggestion. I am also considering making a two leaf express sight, one leaf sighted "0" at 75 yards one leaf "0" at 150, that covers all my possibilities. Have thought of a ramped, two position ghost ring type sight as well. A simple detent ball would keep the sight in one or the other position. The sight would of course be regulated for one load, but in hunting just how many different loads does a fellow use, most especially with a 45-70.
A bit long, sorry, JP
