1st Shots with .45 Buckhunter

[arcticap]

I went to the range yesterday and tried out my
new Traditions Buckhunter Pro long barrel .45 pistol
for the 1st time. I benchrested it and sighted it in at 25
yards using 777 fffg and various sized patches. It only
needed 20 - 25 grains and I even shot a few without any
patch at all, the ball just dropped right in and they still hit the
target.
The trigger pull was very clean after oiling and is now
broken in, but some of the shots were still a little erratic that
weren't all my fault.
The ignition is fast and extremely strong, and the rifling is a
1 in 20" twist.
The Buckhunter did "buck" a little but I didn't use the muzzle
break. My main complaint is how much cleaning I had to do
afterward, it took much too long to get fouling out of the nooks
and crannies. Thank goodness for Hoppes Black Powder Solvent
which dissolved the residue.
I wouldn't recommend this long heavy piece for any kind of one
handed target shooting. I'll be giving it another workout sometime
soon because it was a lot of fun to shoot.





The barrel was getting dirty, the muzzle was moving at the
shot and there were 2-3 shots off the edge of the target.
You can see 2 dirtier holes in the middle that I'm fairly sure
were 2 of the .440 balls shot without a patch.
The thread protector acts like a false muzzle and makes the
patches harder to center so the balls would drop in when I
tried to correct it. Next time I'll just unscrew the thread protector
or the muzzle break when loading, they both unscrew easily.
I'll experiment with it some more.

[mg66]

I like it ... nice looking pistol.