Maillemaker
01-01-2015, 10:23 PM
Cabela's had a great sale over the holidays so Santa brought me one of the new Pedersoli P1853 Enfields. I took it to the range today and ran it through its paces with load work-ups for three different kinds of bullet:
.578 RCBS Hodgdon (skirmisher bullet)
RCBS 500M
.580 Moose Wilkinson
Like my P58 Pedersoli, the best fit was achieved with a bullet sized to .578, so all bullets were sized to that value.
All bullets were shot at 50 yards, using 3F Goex powder. Weather was in the low 40s, no wind. All shooting was done from a bench rest while seated at the bench. All bullets were weighed, with any falling outside of +/- .5% of average being discarded. Powder charge was calibrated with RCBS Chargemaster and then dropped using the Lee Perfect Powder Measure.
I shot this rifle with the factory sites "as is", with the rear leaf in its lowest position. I held as deep a hold in the rear sight V as I could and still see the top of the front sight post. I held a 6 o'clock hold on the target. Even so, at 50 yards the gun shoots at least 7 inches high. Here was my sight picture:
http://i.imgur.com/2eeApkJ.png
The RCBS Hodgdon Bullet
First I tried the bullet that I normally use in my Euroarms P53 with custom Whitacre barrel, the RCBS Hodgdon.
http://imgur.com/a/kyPcR
I fired strings of 10 shots, cleaning between each string. I had strings with 35, 40, 45, 50, and 55, of powder. Lube was 50/50 Crisco/Beeswax with a bit of vegetable oil.
There are only 9 shots in the 35 grain group, as I had one squib load (no powder) that I had to discharge via CO2.
The group achieved its best performance at 50 grains of powder. But the 45 grain group was also excellent with 6 out of 10 shots touching.
This is similar to my Euroarms P53 with Whitacre barrel, in that I get the best groups with 46 grains of powder. But with my Whitacre, all shots touch when shot from a bench.
The Moose Wilkinson Bullet
Next I tried the .580 Moose Wilkinson. I really want to make this bullet work. The mold is wonderful. It is a double-cavity mold, and so really cranks out the bullets. It always fills flawlessly, with no voids. Being the Wilkinson style, there is no hollow base since it uses compression rather than expansion to obdurate and take up the rifling. Unfortunately despite numerous work-up attempts with different guns I cannot make it perform as well as the RCBS Hodgdon does for me. The Pedersoli P53 was no exception. I shot strings of 35, 40, 45, 50, and 55 grains of powder.
http://imgur.com/a/UktxZ
As before, I fired strings of 10 shots, cleaning between each string. These bullets had been sized to .578, then dip-lubed in SPG lube.
The 45 grain group showed promise, with 2 very close clusters of touching holes, but 2 fliers killed the group average. The best average was 35 grains with an Average to center of 1.314 inches. But the 45 grain group would have the best ATC if you discount the fliers. Still, none of the groups best what I can do with the RCBS-Hodgdon, so I still look longingly at these bullets wishing I could find a way to use them in competition.
I will say, however, that the Wilkinson consistently shot the closest to the point of aim of any of the bullets I tried today.
The RCBS 500M Bullet
Lastly I tried the RCBS 500M. This is a traditional-style minie ball with a rather thick skirt. As such it usually takes an above-average charge to get good results with it. I can get very good results with this bullet with my Whitacre P53, but with the Pedersoli P53, I could get nothing out of it at any charge. I was running out of daylight and percussion caps, so I limited my test to only 5 shots per charge. I shot strings of 40, 45, 50, 55, and 60 grains of powder.
http://imgur.com/a/QK7xh
40 grains produced a terrible group with possible keyholing.
45 grains actually did OK, with 3 shots in the 4" black and one 10X, but not a very good group, and possible keyholing again with 2 fliers.
50 grains showed some promise, but a single flier wrecked the group.
55 grains was terrible - I could not even find 2 shots.
60 grains did the best, with 2 shots in nearly the same hole.
Conclusion
The new Pedersoli P53 Enfield is a beautiful gun. Fit and finish is excellent, and all the new attention to the details of making a correct Civil War-appropriate Type III Enfield reproduction are very nice. The gun's authentic weight is noticeably lighter than my Euroarms P53.
Unfortunately, as it stands right now I can't see displacing my current Euroarms P53 with custom Whitacre barrel for competition. Part of the problem may lie with the factory sights. As they are even with the deepest V I can hold the gun shoots several inches high. I find it hard to make my eyes focus on the target properly when the tip of the front sight blade is so deep in the rear V. It's possible that with a taller front sight I could get a clearer sight picture and get tighter groups. I kind of wanted to leave the sights alone for possibly shooting in the new "Traditional Musket" matches. Also, to be fair, my Euroarms/Whitacre gun is glass bedded.
I have to note that fouling seemed low for all bullets. I have heard it said that Pedersoli's button rifling, which uses a broach with buttons that displace metal in the bore rather than cut it away, results in very smooth grooves that resist fouling. I do not know if this is so, but I found that the barrel was easy to clean and did not produce much fouling, even with the Wilkinson bullet which carries little lube and has caused me fouling problems before. I believe I could have shot 20 or more shots without cleaning. There was never a hint of fouling resistence during loading.
Steve
.578 RCBS Hodgdon (skirmisher bullet)
RCBS 500M
.580 Moose Wilkinson
Like my P58 Pedersoli, the best fit was achieved with a bullet sized to .578, so all bullets were sized to that value.
All bullets were shot at 50 yards, using 3F Goex powder. Weather was in the low 40s, no wind. All shooting was done from a bench rest while seated at the bench. All bullets were weighed, with any falling outside of +/- .5% of average being discarded. Powder charge was calibrated with RCBS Chargemaster and then dropped using the Lee Perfect Powder Measure.
I shot this rifle with the factory sites "as is", with the rear leaf in its lowest position. I held as deep a hold in the rear sight V as I could and still see the top of the front sight post. I held a 6 o'clock hold on the target. Even so, at 50 yards the gun shoots at least 7 inches high. Here was my sight picture:
http://i.imgur.com/2eeApkJ.png
The RCBS Hodgdon Bullet
First I tried the bullet that I normally use in my Euroarms P53 with custom Whitacre barrel, the RCBS Hodgdon.
http://imgur.com/a/kyPcR
I fired strings of 10 shots, cleaning between each string. I had strings with 35, 40, 45, 50, and 55, of powder. Lube was 50/50 Crisco/Beeswax with a bit of vegetable oil.
There are only 9 shots in the 35 grain group, as I had one squib load (no powder) that I had to discharge via CO2.
The group achieved its best performance at 50 grains of powder. But the 45 grain group was also excellent with 6 out of 10 shots touching.
This is similar to my Euroarms P53 with Whitacre barrel, in that I get the best groups with 46 grains of powder. But with my Whitacre, all shots touch when shot from a bench.
The Moose Wilkinson Bullet
Next I tried the .580 Moose Wilkinson. I really want to make this bullet work. The mold is wonderful. It is a double-cavity mold, and so really cranks out the bullets. It always fills flawlessly, with no voids. Being the Wilkinson style, there is no hollow base since it uses compression rather than expansion to obdurate and take up the rifling. Unfortunately despite numerous work-up attempts with different guns I cannot make it perform as well as the RCBS Hodgdon does for me. The Pedersoli P53 was no exception. I shot strings of 35, 40, 45, 50, and 55 grains of powder.
http://imgur.com/a/UktxZ
As before, I fired strings of 10 shots, cleaning between each string. These bullets had been sized to .578, then dip-lubed in SPG lube.
The 45 grain group showed promise, with 2 very close clusters of touching holes, but 2 fliers killed the group average. The best average was 35 grains with an Average to center of 1.314 inches. But the 45 grain group would have the best ATC if you discount the fliers. Still, none of the groups best what I can do with the RCBS-Hodgdon, so I still look longingly at these bullets wishing I could find a way to use them in competition.
I will say, however, that the Wilkinson consistently shot the closest to the point of aim of any of the bullets I tried today.
The RCBS 500M Bullet
Lastly I tried the RCBS 500M. This is a traditional-style minie ball with a rather thick skirt. As such it usually takes an above-average charge to get good results with it. I can get very good results with this bullet with my Whitacre P53, but with the Pedersoli P53, I could get nothing out of it at any charge. I was running out of daylight and percussion caps, so I limited my test to only 5 shots per charge. I shot strings of 40, 45, 50, 55, and 60 grains of powder.
http://imgur.com/a/QK7xh
40 grains produced a terrible group with possible keyholing.
45 grains actually did OK, with 3 shots in the 4" black and one 10X, but not a very good group, and possible keyholing again with 2 fliers.
50 grains showed some promise, but a single flier wrecked the group.
55 grains was terrible - I could not even find 2 shots.
60 grains did the best, with 2 shots in nearly the same hole.
Conclusion
The new Pedersoli P53 Enfield is a beautiful gun. Fit and finish is excellent, and all the new attention to the details of making a correct Civil War-appropriate Type III Enfield reproduction are very nice. The gun's authentic weight is noticeably lighter than my Euroarms P53.
Unfortunately, as it stands right now I can't see displacing my current Euroarms P53 with custom Whitacre barrel for competition. Part of the problem may lie with the factory sights. As they are even with the deepest V I can hold the gun shoots several inches high. I find it hard to make my eyes focus on the target properly when the tip of the front sight blade is so deep in the rear V. It's possible that with a taller front sight I could get a clearer sight picture and get tighter groups. I kind of wanted to leave the sights alone for possibly shooting in the new "Traditional Musket" matches. Also, to be fair, my Euroarms/Whitacre gun is glass bedded.
I have to note that fouling seemed low for all bullets. I have heard it said that Pedersoli's button rifling, which uses a broach with buttons that displace metal in the bore rather than cut it away, results in very smooth grooves that resist fouling. I do not know if this is so, but I found that the barrel was easy to clean and did not produce much fouling, even with the Wilkinson bullet which carries little lube and has caused me fouling problems before. I believe I could have shot 20 or more shots without cleaning. There was never a hint of fouling resistence during loading.
Steve