Kind of a bit of an oddball caliber even back in its heyday (if it ever really had one) of the late 19th century, it's even more so today. A few months back I showed you guys my newly acquired Winchester Highwall in this caliber, given to me by my long time hunting partner. Well, she finally made it to the range with me yesterday.
While I have "known" this rifle for over 30 years, I never really had the opportunity to play with it and get it properly sorted. My buddy tried, with a lot of advice from me, but could never get it shooting satisfactorily. He is just not a vintage firearm or black powder kind of guy, so he struggled, and finally gave up about 20 years ago. And there it sat. Until now.
My first efforts show a lot of promise. I acquired brass from my friends at Buffalo Arms, which they reformed from .30-40 Krag, which is the closest readily available. They still had to swage the rims to reduce diameter and thicken them, then turn the rims for final diameter and thickness. Quite an involved process, and one I don't have the equipment to do myself.
Anyway, brass, dies, and bullet mold in hand, I went to work. My first load consisted of a 300 grain bullet from an RCBS mold, seated to 3.0" O.A.L. (.010" off the rifling). Underneath it is a .060" thick vegetable fiber wad, 70 grains of Swiss 1.5 Fg black powder, sparked by a Winchester large rifle magnum primer. My second load is what we call a "duplex" load, with everything the same as the first, but with the addition of 7.0 grains of Reloder 7 in the bottom of the case, over the primer, under the black powder.
Both loads shot well, with the duplex load edging the straight black in accuracy. Five shot groups from the bench at 100 yards with the straight black went 3"-4", with the duplex load 2"-3". This was with no cleaning between rounds, just between groups, with no blow tube or anything else to control fouling. Not bad for a 133 year old rifle with a somewhat pitted bore.
This rifle is a delight to carry. It just might need to go hunting with me next year. I need a bullet with a bit larger meplat and maybe a bit more weight for that duty, but Buffalo Arms has plenty to choose from. I think I'm on my way, anyway.
The rifle and a loaded round, with a .30-'06 for comparison:
