Are the .44-77 BN and the .44-90 BN viable contenders in modern Creedmoor

[Kurt]

Jim,

I have two .44-77 and two .44-90bn. One of each has a 1/19 ROT and 1/17 ROT.
Plus the other straight walled .44's the 2.6 has a 1/17 ROT and the .44-75- .2-5/8 Ballard has a 1/16 ROT. they all shoot well.

No I have not won a Creedmoor match or the MT 1000 as well as the gong shoots. I have placed near the top but the other shooters are better than I am. It's not the BN calibers that are holding me off the top, it's me controlling the rifles.

The last Lodi match as you know I used the .44-77 with a load not tested. I was going to use my .45-2.4 but I wanted to see what the .44-77 would do at the long range and I was not disappointed with what I ended up with.

The 19 ROT Shiloh I shot at Lodi twice before pulling the barrel and had Kirk mount my 35" 1.30" round barrel on the Shiloh .44-90 BN but I will pull that barrel and put the 19 ROT .44-90 BN back on it not that the .44-2.6 does not shoot, it has put some very fine long range Gond shoot marks on the irons.
The 19 ROT .44-90 BN also has held me high at the few MT 1000 and the Q.
Below are the two matches at Lodi that I used the 19 twist and the load record I used for those two matches. The bullets I swaged that is shaped like the Gibbs and yes it's a 500 gr 1.445" and the 510 gr 1.485" long.
I swaged those bullets that heavy because I seen writing from the Creedmoor matches and they used them then. But I won't use them in my .44-77 19 twist, but I have and they stayed on the 600 yard stop sign at the Q without a problem.

On the 2013 match I lost the 900 yard target because of the mist that rolled in and I had to pull the front sight aperture out and use the whole hood just to make out the target.
I think you might remember that morning.

But yes in good hands the .44 BN's will get the job done just as well as any of the calibers.

I haven't shot the .44-90BN CPA at any matches so I won't comment on it, but the 19 twist barrel is going back on because it shot so well.

Kurt