Chaparral NWMP carbine wins Long Range match!

[RattlesnakeJack]

My time has been taken up over the past two days with a "shootin' fest" our local club puts on, called "Smoke'N'Hope" - over 50 different events in virtually every shooting discipline.  I was in charge of organizing the four Cowboy Action stages, and spent the entire day Saturday in that area, though I didn't get time to actually shoot the stages myself.  Sunday was my day to go do some shooting, and I was busy with that down on the main area of our range all day, and thus never got up to the Cowboy Action range to shoot those stages!

I placed in a few events, but the certificate which has me grinnin' the most is First Place in Long Range Black Powder Cartridge!  What's more, I shot it using my Chaparral NWMP carbine ,,,, against some stiff competition, including three chaps in particular I wouldn't have expected to beat, all of whom were shooting long barreled single-shot rifles.

                             

The greatest range available at our facility is 300 yards, so the targets consisted of square steel plates (about 16" x16" I believe) hung at 100, 200 and 300 yards. Maximum of 5 shots at each gong, though once a competitor hit either the 100 or 200 yard plate he moved on to the next, but with all 5 shots taken at the 300 yard gong.

My performance, shooting from cross-sticks: a hit on my first shot at 100 yards, a hit on my first shot at 200 yards, and three hits out of five at 300 yards.  

                             

What really pleases me is that I did this with the standard "Spanish Meter" sight!  Despite the wide, shallow notch on that sight, I have noted that I seem to be able to achieve good, consistent sighting - and that certainly proved true yesterday.  In fact, I had flipped up the ladder for the 300 yard shots, hoping that the somewhat finer notch would help, but the lowest one can set the sight in that configuration seems to be just a wee bit below the 400 meter mark - I tried to compensate for that, but missed badly.  So I flipped the ladder back down and just set the sight on the 300 meter step .... managing 3 hits out of the four shots taken thereafter.

The load consisted of Chaparral Arms .45-75 brass "filled" with Goex "Cowboy" BP (worked out to about 72 grains volume measure, IIRC) and bullets from the Lyman 457192 mould (nominally 350 gr.) with my own lube of about 50/50 olive oil and beeswax melted together.

I am a happy camper!  

[Grizzly Adams]

Well done, RattlesnakeJack!  That's some fine shooting.  That load of 72 grains of BP seems to be the ticket in the 45-75.  I believe that's what larryo is shooting - when he's not loading 76 grains!

GA

[Forty Rod]

ATTABOY, JACK!

Single shots aren't the only way to go.

[RattlesnakeJack]

Thanks, guys!

Actually, I must say I had a good "long range" day, as I placed in every such event I shot .....

Besides my "pride and joy", I managed the following:

-  Tied with another chap for First in Long Range Rimfire Rifle (five hits on the 200 yard plate).   He used a .22 Anschutz and i used my .22 Brno.

-  Tied for Second in Long Range Pistol Caliber Rifle using my .45 Colt Uberti Model 1866.

-  Second in Long Range Magnum Rimfire Rifle - I borrowed a .17 Sako Quad (from the fellow I tied with in Long Range Rimfire) and beat him with it!  He missed one of the five shots at 200 yards.  The "tie breaker" was five shots at a 6" round gong at 300 yards, and when I shot there were already two fellows who had hit it on their second shot.  I managed to do the same, so the "shootoff tie breaker" was to try to break one of several clay pigeons propped on the 300 yard butt, in five shots.  The other two chaps were off in another part of the range, so I tried it while I was sitting there and managed to break mine on my fifth shot.  The other two (both using the same .22 Magnum rifle, then went at it.  The owner of the rifle, failed to hit a clay pigeon in five shots, but the other chap (with whom I have traveled and shot for years) managed it on his second shot ....

-  Tied for Third in Long Range Handgun.   I shot one of my Uberti Model 1875 Remington clones in .45 Colt, and tied (with the same chap who took First in the L.R. Magnum rimfire) who used a New Model Blackhawk, also in .45 Colt.  (We each managed one hit out of five shots at 150 yards .....)

The "Prize" cetificate -

[Sir Charles deMouton-Black]

Nice performance Jack;  I finally got the measure of my NWMP carbine just recently. That shallow "V" is a real challenge for old eyes!  The Spanish Metre sight seems to be right on if I hold a fine bead, just a bit higher than apparent width. The steps seem right on.

[larryo_1]

Yep!  Good for you.  I do use the 72 grain load under a Hoch 350 grain bullet cast at 16:1.  Have good results and the recoil is not like what it is with the 76 grain load.  The BP I use is Swiss #1½.

[Forty Rod]

What's a "Spanish Metre sight"?

[Grizzly Adams]

What's a "Spanish Metre sight"?

The sight that was used on the NWMP Carbines.  One is pictured on the first page of this thread.  http://www.cascity.com/forumhall/index.php/topic,18745.0.html  Scroll down to Icebox Bob's pics.

[Sir Charles deMouton-Black]

Before the NWMP bought the '76 carbine, the Spanish bought both '73 muskets and carbines.  They were fitted with military style sights and calibrated in metres.  The first NWMP carbine had sporting rear sights that were found wanting in service.  Newer issues came with the Spanish sight.  The force purchased extra sights and retro-fitted the first issue carbines.

[RattlesnakeJack]

This military-style rear sight is a distinctive feature of these rifles, as can be seen in this overall view of a Chaparral repro -




Side view of the Chaparral "Spanish Meter Sight" -




A top view of the rear sight on an original NWMP rifle -




The sighting notch on my Chaparral rear sight.  Despite this configuration, I seem to be able to get a good, consistent sight alignment!