First Range Session with a White

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nocomike

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I finally found time to shoot the M97 that I picked up and can honestly say that now I "get it". What a simple pleasure to shoot. I finished the day with the last three shots printing 3/4 inch at 50 yards with a Lyman peep. The load was 80g (volume) T7, veg fiber wad and Remington No.11 cap pushing a 460g Bullshop sized to .540. I believe I will be packing this rifle, come September, to fill a bull tag (elk) and wonder if you DWB's think this load is adequate. Or should I increase the charge?
 
540 or 504? Either way yes it will smoke any elk in tje woods if you put it where it belongs
 
I didnt get it at first either. I read for years on here about how good Whites were. Finally bought one a few years ago and I get it now too. Hard to describe till you shoot one.
 
Just something about those White's where you can shoot shot after shot without swabbing the bore and not having to pound the bullets down the bore to seat them. Plus the accuracy is great and those big conicals hit like the hammer of Thor!. If I had to find any fault with a White. Which to me is not a big deal is the breech area gets dirty, you need to wear a scope protector, and you need to know where your bullet will hit at the various ranges due to the football trajectory. The football trajectory has never been an issue for me as my shots are under 100yds. I only had two shots at about 140 yds and all I did was to aim a couple of inches higher. If I sight my rifle in at 75yds, my shots at 50 will be about 2" high and 2" low at 100 yds. Not much to worry about.
 
I killed a nice, large bodied bull last year with a Mountaineer shooting 80g (volume) BH209 and 460g No Excuses. The range was less than 60 yards and shot was almost a perfect broadside opportunity. The bullet hit nothing but ribs and hide on the way to the engine room and at that distance I would have expected an exit. Bullet did not exit. That incident makes me question taking a shot at a bull past about 100 yards. I am fine with the limitations inherent with muzzleloaders but I would like the confidence in my load to get the job done out to 150 or so.
 
I broke both shoulders of a bull at about 60 yards with a 495 no excuses and 65 grains of pyrodex a few seasons back. The bullet didnt exit but i wouldnt expect it to with that load either. Your load will be fine. I didnt intend to hit him that far forward with such a light load it just happened and it worked out if i had been able to shoot a group with a heavier load i would have shot a heavier load like your shooting also.
 
I am very impressed with my "little" M97. I backpack hunt for elk in September and a smaller, lighter rifle is very appealing. As equally appealing is how well it shoots.. I know I am not the only DWB that is dumbfounded as to how such a fine rifle manufacturer couldn't keep the doors open. I have a S91 that I need sights for and am looking forward to shooting as well. It will likely be my blind-gun for a deer hunt in October if it shoots as well as the 97.
 
Following up as my September elk hunt nears... I am still relatively new to the muzzle loader world and with two White's in the safe I am very paranoid about damaging them due to carelessness. Last range session was a "no swabbing" session. But hunting for a week on a fouled barrel has me more than a little concerned with regard to corrosion. Today was a 100 yard sight in and with swabbing between shots as I intend to enter the season with a semi fouled bore as the first shot on a clean barrel is different than following shots. Using Windex dampened patches between shots to pull the gunk out of the barrel afforded me a final 3 shot group at 100 yards of 1.1 inch. Load was 80 grain T7 by volume, veggie fiber wad and 460 grain Bull Shop sized to .504. Remington #11 cap started the party. The more I shoot this M97, the more I like it. At some point I will put a scope on this little jewel and see how much that helps. As of now I am using a Lyman peep and the original fiber optic bead with a 6 o'clock hold. I am no longer concerned with "will this White shoot"; now I am most concerned with taking care of my White because she absolutely shoots fabulously!
 
Try popping 3 or do caps with no powder on your next range trip and see if you are still dead on. Caps are not corrosive and may fowl your bbl enough, plus by shooting the caps will insure there is no oil in your breech plug that could cause a missfire.
 
Another suggestion that I have used for many years with my Whites: I wrap the first conical with one wrap of white plumbers tape. Of course if a second shot is needed the bore is fouled. The tape "simulates" if you will, a fouled bore. I hunt on a clean bore only dirty after I fire one or maybe two caps to clear the channel after I wipe out any oils with an alcohol patch, then load powder/wad/tape wrapped conical and hunt. I have killed many a deer with that set up, no ill effects on my rifles and a freezer full of venison. It works!!
 
I follow pretty much the same process as Steve.

1) Clean BBl with alcohol patch
2) Follow by Dry patch
3) Push Dry patch down and fire cap to burn out any oil in the breech plug area and make sure channel is clear ( Patch should be burnt) I didn't do this
one time and it cost me a fat doe. Thank god it wasn't a buck of a lifetime.
4) If going hunting fire another cap or two to foul bore. (Use to fire squib load 30gr of just powder, but the misses got her dandruff up when I did it in
the garage. GRIN Didn't do it at the state game lands as I didn't want to see flashing lights so early in the morning.
5) Load Powder/Wad/ and lubed conical.
6) Never tried the teflon plumbers tape, but I'll try it next time to the range.
 
edmehlig said:
I follow pretty much the same process as Steve.

1) Clean BBl with alcohol patch
2) Follow by Dry patch
3) Push Dry patch down and fire cap to burn out any oil in the breech plug area and make sure channel is clear ( Patch should be burnt) I didn't do this
one time and it cost me a fat doe. Thank god it wasn't a buck of a lifetime.
4) If going hunting fire another cap or two to foul bore. (Use to fire squib load 30gr of just powder, but the misses got her dandruff up when I did it in
the garage. GRIN Didn't do it at the state game lands as I didn't want to see flashing lights so early in the morning.
5) Load Powder/Wad/ and lubed conical.
6) Never tried the teflon plumbers tape, but I'll try it next time to the range.
8) Jules started me on using the teflon tape back in the day...
 
This right here. Works every time. Second shot hits where the first shot does.

toytruck said:
Another suggestion that I have used for many years with my Whites: I wrap the first conical with one wrap of white plumbers tape. Of course if a second shot is needed the bore is fouled. The tape "simulates" if you will, a fouled bore. I hunt on a clean bore only dirty after I fire one or maybe two caps to clear the channel after I wipe out any oils with an alcohol patch, then load powder/wad/tape wrapped conical and hunt. I have killed many a deer with that set up, no ill effects on my rifles and a freezer full of venison. It works!!
 
zara_puppy said:
This right here. Works every time. Second shot hits where the first shot does.

toytruck said:
Another suggestion that I have used for many years with my Whites: I wrap the first conical with one wrap of white plumbers tape. Of course if a second shot is needed the bore is fouled. The tape "simulates" if you will, a fouled bore. I hunt on a clean bore only dirty after I fire one or maybe two caps to clear the channel after I wipe out any oils with an alcohol patch, then load powder/wad/tape wrapped conical and hunt. I have killed many a deer with that set up, no ill effects on my rifles and a freezer full of venison. It works!!
:yeah:
 

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