Lodi scores

[JKR]

Congratulations on your win, Tony. I agree that those were some wild conditions. I shot a good amount of long range twenty years ago as a high power shooter. I never saw conditions like they were on Saturday.
I came to this match knowing how to hold and squeeze and that’s about all. I had know idea what would happen or if I could still see with irons at 1000. When I first saw the mold Jim K. sent me, I thought, “you must be kidding”! I’m looking at a big blunt slug and being an old HP shooter, I’m thinking VLD!
Jim assured me this was a great bullet and talked me through load development. I bench tested at 200 yards until 10 shot groups were under 3”. My load is very simple really. Full case of 1 1/2 Swiss (85 grains), .060 poly wad pushed down .1”, Jim’s bullet wrapped in 9# cockel finished onion skin, case mouth squeezed down a little with a 45 Colt sizing die. That’s it. Jim said it was simple and it is.
What wasn’t simple was staying with the wind. Craneman, tell Daniel that I know how he feels. I didn’t do as well for my shooters as they did for me. My previous experience didn’t prepare me for the way the wind works on these big bullets!
It was a great time and left me wanting more!
Jim Ruch

[Distant Thunder]

Congrats to Tony and Jim, they showed what it takes to win and shoot well in some winds that had many scratching their heads.

Jim you made spotting easier by being a good teammate and shooting so well. Being a guy who had never shot paper patch bullets before a few months ago you showed that it is not really all that difficult if you follow proven principles and have a well designed bullet that fits your rifle well.

VLDs are great supersonic, but the world is turned upside down below 1300 fps and the design of the bullet has to follow the transonic laws of ballistics, too many don't, and the bullet you used does.

I think a lot of people learned some valuable lessons this past weekend and it looks like the paper patchers were teaching class! The .45-70 can and will get it done! The sweet spot in powder charge falls in the 82 to 85 grain range and that is right at the upper end of what the .45-70 can hold with shallowly seated ppb, it's a perfect match.

Well done guys, well done!