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PostPosted: Fri Jun 11, 2010 8:01 pm 
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Теперь предлагаем бесплатную ежедневную маммографию!
Теперь предлагаем бесплатную ежедневную маммографию!
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Joined: Sun Aug 05, 2007 9:04 pm
Posts: 11655
Location: On the couch a lot now that I'm retired
Success!!! :bigrin: I made it out to shoot my Gahendra just now and am very happy with the results!!! I slugged the bore 3 times and it came up .457 +/- every time. Long time loaders of this caliber said the 577/450 is typically not that tight & I very much believe that.

For some reason, this one is that tight. I used .458 hollow base bullets @ 400 - 405 grains made from straight wheel weights over 30.0/AA 5744. I still don't have any real black. Using the Lee dies, the bullets were loose in the neck after FL sizing, so I used a 45 Colt FL die to correct that just like I do for 43 Dutch Beaumont. Used a firm crimp.

Keep in mind that normal bore diameter for Brit Martini-Henrys is around .468, give or take. The Gahendras and Martini-Henry copies made in Nepal have tighter bores. As with any other cast bullet application, be sure to slug your bore and select a bullet .001/.002" over that diameter for a good gas seal. This will help accuracy more than I can describe.

I was out of targets & it was too late in the day to buy more @ wally, so I just grabbed a small box from the pharmacy dumpster & marked it with a sharpie. No measured yardage where I shot so I paced off a distance between 50 & 60 yards. ( it was rough ground)

Shooting with only my elbows as a rest from a picnic table, I got the group shown which was about 4" high @ the distance specified. I wasn't so concerned with group as I was with keyholing. That would have shown the bullet was too small for the bore, but happily, that was not the case.

Cases dropped from the chamber - hardly any soot on them - almost no granular powder residue which I believe shows the powder is buring efficiently in the barrel. Recoil was not a bit painful - the rifle is heavy enough to help. The Gahendra fits me really well, too. I'm 6-3 & had it in my mind soldiers from Nepal might be shorter... I dunno. A 577/450 cartridge is shown beside the group for size perspective.

Velocity for 3 shots went: 1297 - 1236 & 1300 on the money.

I don't mean that this report is the final word - far from it. It's a place to start. For other experimenters, the 1st order of biz is to slug the bore and select a bullet just slightly wider than that. - Just like any other cast bullet application. Make of the data what you will.

In addition to the target, I"ve shown how I reduced the neck diameter of the case with a 45 Colt FL die to hold the smaller bullet - a standard FL sized 577/450 is shown for comparison. I did this operation very carefully. Jamison cases cost $3.63 EACH, and I didn't want to ruin any.

If you are careful, cases can be made from the cheeper 24 gauge brass shotgun cases, but I was afraid I'd ruin so many there would be no savings.

I am happy with the results and feel I need look no farther for a standard load for this particular rifle. :grin: SW


*** all the standard caveats and disclaimers apply here.. don't run with scissors... etc & so forth! :wink: ***

Edit to add: given the odd design of the hammer, I do not recommend dry firing a Gahendra.


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PostPosted: Sat Jun 12, 2010 10:20 am 
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The Knife
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Joined: Sat Aug 04, 2007 3:15 pm
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Location: Bean town in the worthless nut state
To me that is good shooting with open sights.

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PostPosted: Sat Jun 12, 2010 10:43 pm 
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Brigadier General
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Joined: Mon Aug 06, 2007 9:26 am
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to me its probably unattainable , nice


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PostPosted: Sat Jun 12, 2010 11:10 pm 
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Теперь предлагаем бесплатную ежедневную маммографию!
Теперь предлагаем бесплатную ежедневную маммографию!
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Joined: Sun Aug 05, 2007 9:04 pm
Posts: 11655
Location: On the couch a lot now that I'm retired
Did you ever watch "Little Big Man"? You have to do like Dustin Hoffman's sister told him... "get all snake-eyed"!! :crzy:

Focus on front sight... pres-s-s-s-s-s- the trigger. Follow through with the trigger pull... and have the targer close! :rotflma:

Really though, this and the Snider are actually fun to shoot. They are heavy enough that recoil is almost nothing, and when the big bullet hits a rock, the rock breaks!

I am a real sucker for odd stuff like this. More coming! :bigrin: SW

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PostPosted: Sat Mar 07, 2020 11:02 am 
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Lance Cpl
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Joined: Mon May 13, 2013 1:20 pm
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thanks for sharing it with us. don't dry fire any MARTINI HENRY. for a snap cao I take a fired case and pop out out the primer and insert into the primer pocket a lead pencil eraser, that will absoreb the shock of it botomen out when dry fired.


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