Ordering a Woodman Patriot, need suggestions on what to get

[Windfall]

I am getting ready to order a gun from Mark, and not sure what I should order. I’m thinking a 45cal, but what twist rate, and which plug? Or should I get a 50cal. I am looking for a deer gun. I live in West Virginia, but hunt North Carolina, Virginia, and occasionally Kansas. Most of my shots on the east coast are 250 yards or less, but in Kansas a gun that can reach a bit further is handy. Weight here in the mountains is a big consideration. The option of Bp,or smokeless is nice as well. What are your thoughts? Tell me the set up you would buy if you were me.

PS- if you are considering a new gun Mark at Woodman is one hell of a nice guy. Way better than some others I talked with.

 

[MrTom]

I have one with a 1:16 McGowan barrel in .45. Love the gun. Its super accurate. Other here have the same twist rate but more expensive barrels. I think most people order between 1:16 and 1:18 twist barrels in the .45 caliber guns. Others will kick in here so give the thread some time.

 

[Windfall]

I have one with a 1:16 McGowan barrel in .45. Love the gun. Its super accurate. Other here have the same twist rate but more expensive barrels. I think most people order between 1:16 and 1:18 twist barrels in the .45 caliber guns. Others will kick in here so give the thread some time.

Thanks. I’ve heard nothing but good about the gun. I just don’t know much about twist rate, the different breach plugs, or the difference in the barrels.

 

[Ninering62]

I am getting ready to order a gun from Mark, and not sure what I should order. I’m thinking a 45cal, but what twist rate, and which plug? Or should I get a 50cal. I am looking for a deer gun. I live in West Virginia, but hunt North Carolina, Virginia, and occasionally Kansas. Most of my shots on the east coast are 250 yards or less, but in Kansas a gun that can reach a bit further is handy. Weight here in the mountains is a big consideration. The option of Bp,or smokeless is nice as well. What are your thoughts? Tell me the set up you would buy if you were me.

PS- if you are considering a new gun Mark at Woodman is one hell of a nice guy. Way better than some others I talked with.

The .45 will give you everything you'll need in that gun. With the amount of outstanding .40 bullets there are for sabot loads to incredible .451/.452 bullets there are to choose from for sized BTB options. That covers a very broad spectrum of options & uses with fairly user friendly recoil levels. You can't beat that IMHO

 

[ElDiablo]

I’d definitely go with a .45 1:18 twist with one of his adjustable 209 plug. My 18 twist .45 McGowen from Mark shoots everything from 195 gr .40s to 400 gr .45s.

 

[Windfall]

I’d definitely go with a .45 1:18 twist with one of his adjustable 209 plug. My 18 twist .45 McGowen from Mark shoots everything from 195 gr .40s to 400 gr .45s.

What is the advantage of the adjustable plug?

 

[Ninering62]

What is the advantage of the adjustable plug?

Different primers are different lengths, with the adj BP you can easily adj your head space right to stop leaking with any primer you happen to use

 

[Windfall]

Different primers are different lengths, with the adj BP you can easily adj your head space right to stop leaking with any primer you happen to use

So which one would you suggest, and why? What are the advantages of a low, medium, or high pressure plug?

 

[Shorty]

Go to Marks web site and read. He answers all your questions in a no nonsense way.

 

[rangerod]

You'll wanna be a little careful with your choice. In some states such as Iowa no muzzy bullet smaller than .44 cal is allowed. Meaning a .40 in a .45 sabot would be illegal. You would therefore only be legal going full bore. Regulations of course vary from state to state. Check your states regulations to make sure of caliber. Also consider if you see yourself hunting out of state.

 

[LHR]

For your use and applications I'd do just what I did, get the .45 cal in either the 1-18 or 1-20. I went with the 1-20 Brux and have been very happy with it. If you want the best possible BC bullets for shooting longer distance, get the 1-18 for the faster twist needed with some of those bullets.
Get the High Pressure breech plug kit for heavy smokeless loads, medium pressure for light smokeless and stout BH209 loads. I never even used the standard plug, since I wanted the ability to adjust the headspace on the primers.

These rifles are just beautifully made and designed, excellent craftsmanship ! You won't be sorry.

 

[LHR]

I will add something about the breech plugs. When you get up pretty high in pressure you will notice that primers can be difficult to remove after the shot. The medium plug was doing this for me when I started to get upwards of I think around 54 gr. N120 with a 270 BtB load. I switched to the High pressure kit and went up to 58 gr. N120 with no more sticky primer problems.

I found that I had the same thing with my LHR Redemption 50 when shooting BH209. The original universal plug seems to handle the pressure better than the one made for loose powder. At my max load of BH209 I had sticky primers with the loose powder plug but not with the universal plug.

The great thing about the adjustable plug from Mark is that you have options to tailor your load and pressures. You can change out the bushings for different size flame channels for instance. Not to mention being able to adjust for the differing primer lengths that you get from different mfr's

 

[ElDiablo]

Get the High Pressure breech plug kit for heavy smokeless loads, medium pressure for light smokeless and stout BH209 loads.

I’ve been shooting all my Bh209 and light to heavy smokeless loads through the high pressure adjustable. Works great for everything.

 

[rangerod]

For your use and applications I'd do just what I did, get the .45 cal in either the 1-18 or 1-20. I went with the 1-20 Brux and have been very happy with it. If you want the best possible BC bullets for shooting longer distance, get the 1-18 for the faster twist needed with some of those bullets.
Get the High Pressure breech plug kit for heavy smokeless loads, medium pressure for light smokeless and stout BH209 loads. I never even used the standard plug, since I wanted the ability to adjust the headspace on the primers.

These rifles are just beautifully made and designed, excellent craftsmanship ! You won't be sorry.

View attachment 40493

Great choice on the wood. Man, that's absolutely beautiful.

 

[Ninering62]

I will add something about the breech plugs. When you get up pretty high in pressure you will notice that primers can be difficult to remove after the shot. The medium plug was doing this for me when I started to get upwards of I think around 54 gr. N120 with a 270 BtB load. I switched to the High pressure kit and went up to 58 gr. N120 with no more sticky primer problems.

I found that I had the same thing with my LHR Redemption 50 when shooting BH209. The original universal plug seems to handle the pressure better than the one made for loose powder. At my max load of BH209 I had sticky primers with the loose powder plug but not with the universal plug.

The great thing about the adjustable plug from Mark is that you have options to tailor your load and pressures. You can change out the bushings for different size flame channels for instance. Not to mention being able to adjust for the differing primer lengths that you get from different mfr's

Fantastic post!