Range Bison - Barnes Pneumatic

Bison Range Session

Having a Bison to test and good weather too ... wow!

After modifying this set trigger assembly ... it was time for another range session.

I decided to make up a couple of real quick steel plate targets. Easily moved. Something from which I could also recover the spent slugs.

Approx. 3/16" steel plate with welded rebar legs. I stuck the legs into the ground about 10 inches. Worked well. This was the back.

Started with round ball at about 35 yards. Just some function firing and trigger testing. Loved the trigger. Felt very natural now.

Also, I moved the sights alittle according to my plinking. Here's the first .570" round ball and you see the splat laying there! Man - what a Whollop it makes!

The "strike" side. This is only the "epi-center" of the mass. Most of the thing has sheared away in lead "petals". I have pics ...

Packs a heck of a punch too. Note the steel deflection!

Note the depth of penetration on the steel plate. The left side is the nose. The shape describes the indent. The right side is (was) flush with the plate back when the excess lead sheared off. (Pics down the page)

3 round ball at 35 yards. Open sights ya know. Top is a double.

Pic from the top - on edge. Note the distention of the steel plate with that double strike!

Moved this target to 50 yards. Stayed with the round ball .... (slugs later in the session)

Easy to find the splats. That was fun. Note the rifling marks on this 50 yard round ball splat. This shows that the ball flew as a bullet. Nose first - didn't tumble.

I'd taken the chronograph along. (This set up was shooting teh 58 round ball at 850-something fps. Firing thru the chrono, the rounds were striking on the far side of a stream about 45 yards away. They were kicking up dirt clods and sounded like they were REALLY hitting hard. Here's an entrance hole. Looked like a gopher hole!

I had a steel rod in the truck. I decided to probe the hole.

And then dig out the lead round ball...

I was shooting from a slightly higher ground, so the slug penetrated instead of skimming off. The open dirt trench describes the enterance (left) and ball at rest (right) I opened the trench top to find the slug and see the wound channel.

That's a 36" rod. The round went into the bank 20-22 inches!

Man, is THIS WORM gonna have a story to tell tonight! "That's right Barney ... I was just chumpin dirt when .... ...WHAM!!!!!!The whole earth opens up!! It's blinding daylight in here ... mud is flying everywhere ... and this metorite just misses my head .... or butt ... or whatever it is!!!!"

;?)

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