cayugad

A lot of White shooters talked about loading only 60 grains of powder when shooting the .451 White rifles. I felt with the 460 grain conical that would be an excellent deer load. BUT I like to test things. I know the rifle is sighted in with 80 grains of Triple Seven 2f powder and the No Excuse 460 grain conical bullet. But I loaded 60 grains of the powder to see if it made a difference where it hit.

I set the target out at what I thought was 50 yards and it turned out to be.. 52 yards. Being to lazy to walk out and move it two yards, I decided that was fine.



I was a little surprised to see shots 1&2 hit that low. I mean sure its 20 grains less then normal, but 50 yards is not all that far. So I kicked the powder charge up to 70 grains.

First off it might surprise you, but that green duct tape on the brown pizza backing was really hard to see back in the shadows of the woods. I was kind of surprised as I thought it would stick out like a sore thumb. Not the case at all. I mean I could see it, but it did not stand out like an orange or blaze orange dot would. Also I never swabbed the bore the entire time of shooting.

The White Model 97 seldom acts up. Maybe if I have shot 25 rounds and it is filthy but today, the caps would not go off on the first strike. Perhaps the fact it was very cold outside, being 24 degrees and windy with six inches of snow on the ground. Still the second strike, the cap went off perfect. That is not common in the summer at all. So when I was loading, I would set the cap, on an empty rifle, pull the trigger, set the cap, then load the rifle. Worked like a charm. But I thought it was worth mentioning.

Anyway the 70 grains of Triple Seven shot a nice group but in reality it is a little low. I was shooting and loading as fast as I could. And for the most part it laid them in there.

Then I went to the load the rifle likes. 80 grains of Triple Seven 2f. While the caps gave me fits, the rifle's accuracy with that load was perfect and normal.

Although I had my cell phone ring while out there. And briefly talked and got rid of the caller.. Well guess what? Even an experienced shooter can mess up. Nope.. still have my ramrod. But I dry holed one. Loaded the bullet without powder. Goes to show.. concentrate on the task at hand. So I had to go in the house and pull that bullet. Which is why shot 15 is not on that target...

It made me laugh when I did that. I have not dry holed one in a long time.

mountaineer magic

deleted : no longer want to be on the forum

flounder33

Dave, nice shooting as always. Your gun likes that stouter load for sure.
So were you loading your rifle with a cap on the nipple??? I don't know if I would want to do that even though White's safety system seems pretty foolproof. I wonder if you sanded a little off that nipple then maybe it wouldn't take one hammer strike to set it.
Another possibility is if maybe the spring could be a bit weak. Have you thought of trying the spring from your Bison or your Ultra Mag to see if that made a difference.
Anyway, nice shooting.
Art

Semisane

DAMMIT Cayugad! You keep posting those White targets and I keep saying "I don't need a White - I don't need a White". I guess I'll have to get some of those 460's and see if I can get one of my guns to shoot them. What's the twist rate on that gun?

cayugad

In the summer when I was shooting the .451 it never had that cap problem. That is what kind of threw me for a loop. I thought about changing out the breech plugs, but like I said.. I never expected it to happen in the first place.

Semisane.. if you ever get a White it will spoil you. Now swabbing, easy to load, fast second shots.. they really are a remarkable rifle.

Underclocked

It's a 1:20 there half-nutz and you do NEED a White.

falcon

That White rifle is a fine shooter.

flounder33

The reason I mentioned the spring is I have 3 Whites with that type of action and they have 3 very different springs. Light, Medium, and Strong. I will use the strong spring on whichever one I am hunting with.

gregrn43

Good shooting Dave, looks like the 80gr is the load to use. How much drop does that bullet have at 100 yards from where you have it sighted in?

cayugad

I was aiming at the top of a gallon paint can just under the rim at 100 yards and it was about cutting the can in half, so I would say about three inches it drops.