Yes 1 n 20 is the twist you want. The original Sharps 45 cal. rifles had 1 n 20. To really get the best accuracy with this type of rifle you need to shoot black powder. It has been proven that black powder is more accurate at long range with this type of bullet and rifle than smokeless. Black powder shoots a very consistent velocity and the SDs are VERY LOW. You also do not want a Hard Cast bullet. Straight wheel weight is about as hard as you want and a bit softer usually shoots best. With black powder you also need a proper bullet lube. I make my own, 40% olive oil 10% STP oil treatment and 50% bees wax by volume. This lube is not necessarily to keep the bullet from leading the bore but it is meant to keep the fouling in the bore soft so the next bullet will push it out of the way and grip the rifling. Learning to load black powder cartridges properly involves a bit more than loading smokeless and you have to be careful handling black powder even down to not using anything plastic like funnels because of static electricity which will set it off. Then there is the proper cleaning up of the rifle and cartridge cases afterward. It is a real blast to shoot especially when you have good friends involved.
300 Blackout Trajectory VS Subsonic 45-70 Trajectory
- Thread starter 375rifleman
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375rifleman
Well-Known Member
Thanks RT2506 for all of your help . I was honestly thinking of starting out with a 45-70 H&R Handi Rifle to get started, or would the H&R be a bad idea? Thanks in advance for any and all thoughts, opinions, or answers.
Regards,
375rifleman
Regards,
375rifleman
86alaskan
Well-Known Member
I like to shoot big heavy slow bullets from my 45 colt carbine and 454 encore. It sure is a lot of fun, especially with optics, because you can watch the bullet fly and hit steel. As far as the H&R, I'm pretty sure they were one of the major players back in the buffalo market hunter days.
The only problem with the H&R Handy for long range would be with your sighting system. If you are going to be using a scope then you will have to find a scope that will have enough travel to allow you to dial in. A 500 gr bullet going just under 1200 fps will need to be dialed to raise it right at 1850 inches at 1000 yards. With a scope that has 1/4 inch per click at 100 yards then at 1000 yards one click will move 2 1/2 inch each click so you will need 740 clicks if I did my math correct. I use a Vernier scale open rear sight on my Sharps and the length of the staff gives you plenty of elevation. There is no really good way to mount a Vernier on an H&R. Plus the triggers on the handy rifles are REALLY HEAVY. I have shot a few of them and even one of the buffalo classic hunter 45-70s that a friend did some hunting with that was scoped but he was only going out to 150 yards max and was using smokeless with 300 gr Sierra HP that were SMOKING fast. It is not cheep to go long range with anything so if you want to play you have to PAY. A good Vernier sight will cost more than a H&R Hand rifle. Check out Shiloh Sharps Company for rifles and have deep pockets.
