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Last fall I stumbled upon a CVA Kodiak .45 caliber in a local sporting goods store [Scheels] for a song and dance so I bought it just to have a .45. The gun was in very good condition....everything tight and the barrel very clean. I scoped it with a 4 X 12, standard plex crosshair. I've had it bore sighted for months but just haven't had time to get to the range much recently until today. Ma and a son went to a funeral 3 hours away, I went to the gun club twenty minutes away.
I took four weighed loads along to try: 10 of 57 grains [80 by volume], 5 @ 63 grains [90], 5 @ 70 grains [100] and 5 @ 77 grains [110]. I shot 200 grain XTPs exclusively in blue harvester sabots. Winchester 209 [blue box] primers.
I got started later than I wanted and the wind was up at the first shot of 57 grains at 25 to see where things were going to print. It took all of 4 of the lightest loads to get inside the bull so I packed the remaining charges aside and took the target to 100 yards to see where the other 3 charge weights were going to end up. After shooting the 5 loads at 63 grains I was about ready to pack it in. The five shots were grouped around the center about 3"-4" by any measurement. I stuck the red target dot over large target bull to cover that mess and set up the next heavier load at 70 grains. After those five shots I started feeling better about things. The five shots are inside the black chalk circling them. The first shot was the bull hit from a wiped barrel. The other four are a string, one of which is partially torn off near the large hole in the target. I was going to stop there what with the wind but figured what the heck and stuck the other dot on higher up, wiped the barrel with a clean dry patch and set up to shoot the heavy 77 grain load. You guessed it....first shot low, the other four shots are in that clump hole. One could say I'm happy with what I have here.
There won't be a lot of dickering about a hunting load given what the 77 grains delivers. I'll shot this load again out to about 150 yards just to see where it prints for hunting purposes but where I hunt 150 yards is a pipe dream and I will have to shoot this gun/load at 20-30 yards because that's where most of my shots come. I'm not changing anything at this point. Like I said...I'm one happy boy.
And for those inquiring minds....yes, I hung the target up-side down and didn't realize it until I took it down so what you see here is how it was.
I took four weighed loads along to try: 10 of 57 grains [80 by volume], 5 @ 63 grains [90], 5 @ 70 grains [100] and 5 @ 77 grains [110]. I shot 200 grain XTPs exclusively in blue harvester sabots. Winchester 209 [blue box] primers.
I got started later than I wanted and the wind was up at the first shot of 57 grains at 25 to see where things were going to print. It took all of 4 of the lightest loads to get inside the bull so I packed the remaining charges aside and took the target to 100 yards to see where the other 3 charge weights were going to end up. After shooting the 5 loads at 63 grains I was about ready to pack it in. The five shots were grouped around the center about 3"-4" by any measurement. I stuck the red target dot over large target bull to cover that mess and set up the next heavier load at 70 grains. After those five shots I started feeling better about things. The five shots are inside the black chalk circling them. The first shot was the bull hit from a wiped barrel. The other four are a string, one of which is partially torn off near the large hole in the target. I was going to stop there what with the wind but figured what the heck and stuck the other dot on higher up, wiped the barrel with a clean dry patch and set up to shoot the heavy 77 grain load. You guessed it....first shot low, the other four shots are in that clump hole. One could say I'm happy with what I have here.
There won't be a lot of dickering about a hunting load given what the 77 grains delivers. I'll shot this load again out to about 150 yards just to see where it prints for hunting purposes but where I hunt 150 yards is a pipe dream and I will have to shoot this gun/load at 20-30 yards because that's where most of my shots come. I'm not changing anything at this point. Like I said...I'm one happy boy.
And for those inquiring minds....yes, I hung the target up-side down and didn't realize it until I took it down so what you see here is how it was.