TAYLOR'S 56-50 - FIRST SHOOTING TEST!

[Tuolumne Lawman]

Howdy to the camp,

Well I managed to break free from about 20+ hours of work on the ranch this weekend and shoot the Taylor's Spencer 56-50.  I used Ken's TEN-X loads and my BP (Triple 7) loads.

I set up at 25 yards, as I have lost my specticles and can't see well at distances without them.  It would not be a fair test!

The first groups were uniformly to the left, so I adjusted the rear sight for windage  After I got it dialed in, i shot for group.

Ken's BP substitute loads loads were fairly tame (he says 1100 FPS).  The best group I got with them was a 1 1/4" group, dead on point of aim at 25 yards.  His smokeless loads (1300 fps, he says) were noticablly stiffer, but shot a decent 1 3/4" group, though they shot about 2-3" left of the BP?, but at the same level.

My Triple 7 loads were the best. (These were 37.5 grn volume Triple 7, CCI Mag rifle, and Kens 350 grain bullet). The Best group was 1" center to center, 2" above point of aim, dead in the middle of the bullseye.  They were as stout as the smokeless, but no signs of excessive pressure.

This is fairly decent as the trigger pull is abou 9-10 lbs, and the sun was just going into my eyes. All of these loads were good enough for close in.  When I get some more specticles, I will try 50 and 100 yard.  The only modification was to open the rear sight up a might for a faster aquisition of sight picture. I will work on the trigger pull at the Railroad Flat Annual Match this coming weekend.

The Spencer fed and functioned flawlessly.  The 56-50 is much slicker than the 44 and 45 S&W versons, probably largely due to the Lane extractor. I did not have a single bobble or mishap in 100 rounds, with no cleaning or oiling. I loaded to the excact same length as Kens (I used one of his to set up the dies).

[Fox Creek Kid]

Stick to the BP subs with Ken's bullet as it's next to worthless with real BP, i.e., no lube.