First go at Sillywets ...

[J.B.]

Yes I think the 50 x 2 1/2 may be a tad too much. One of my shooting buddies here is using a Winchester/Browning BPCR in 50/90 and it certainly knocked the feathers off the chickens when it connected ! I only mentioned the 50/70...because .. A) I have one and B) it meets weight. Oh yes...and I can actually hold it off hand for a while without getting the shakes. I've shot it at a gong match out to 800 yds and it seemed to work on the day. A chicken dance...now that would be something to see... I managed a pretty broad smile with ten pigs in a row... but keeping it together for the last two wasnt easy. Was probably 'beginners luck' ...but it was certainly fun to see the plates fall

[Nuclearcricket]

Video, Video, we need video when you slam down your first chicken and do the chicken dance.
Yes shooting those steel critters is great but yes it does have the drawback of increased excitement when it looks like you have a clean run going. When you have 4 down and are working real hard on the 5th one, it is very hard to keep your concentration on that front sight and keep your heart rate at a manageable level. But that is both part of the fun as well as part of the challenge. I do know that having shot those steel critters for a number of years, I can probably count on my hands the number of chickens I have dumped into the dirt. I guess that every once in a while they just get suicidal from standing there all the time and doing nothing.
Enjoy the game, its some of the most fun you can have with a gun and your clothes on.
Shoot well
Sam

[J.B.]

JB , I've sort of been thinking a #3 with a standard weight 30 inch barrel in the 44-2 1/4 might be just a grand little rifle for a multitude of things..

... Sounds very close to a nice single trigger Hartford I recall someone acquiring on this forum . There were some relatively light rifles on the line for the match I went to and I'd imagine they ranged in weight from 9 lbs through to 11 1/2 lbs on average. My first rifle ( Quigley influenced...like so many ) .. was a 34" heavy. Lovely off the sticks but too much for my chicken arms off hand. The 50/70 runs a 28" standard weight bbl and I'd think a 28" heavy..or heavy half would be just about perfect for me for off hand. Certainly notice a better off hand balance with a 30" half round...than full octagon... for me at least. ...Oh I can feel another order coming on...

[Don McDowell]

This original Hartford 50 , with the 26 in heavy barrel is a delight to point and carry.