Range day with the "Anal" Haenel Aydt

[catnthehat]

Got out too the raannge for a bit this afternoon, and dragged out the Anal Haenel!
The Haenel Aydt is a full blown Schuetzen rifle chambered in 8.15X46R, a European match cartridge very close to the 32/40 Winchester.
It was designed to use a "stop ring" bullet, a cast bullet with one band slightly larger diameter that stopped when it was inserted into the case mouth soft seated, then the cartridge was loaded into the rifle .
However, many of the 8.15X46 rifles had slightly different bore dimensions , there being no set standard in those days.
I have been using the .32 , 180 grin bullets that came with the rifle when I acquired it from Hornhead, but have not settled on an exact powder charge yet. 13 grains of IMR4759 seems to work fairly well, scoped up it was printing 5 in just under 1 3/4" today at 100 and cutting bullets at 50, and I was able too hit the 14", 200 meter gong offhand a few times , but I think I need a bit more velocity because of the 50, 100, and 200 yard discrepancies in accuracy.
That being said, this old gal is a whole bunch of fun to shoot and I am sure
Once I get the kinks completely worked out of it , it will be a supper irons rifle for offhand irons shooting!
Cat

[Redneck 7]

That’s a very nice rifle, thanks for sharing. I never heard of that round as I’m sure most people haven’t. It’s cool seeing older rifles like this, firearms have really developed since the start.

[FishOutOfWater]

LoL, isn't that an astronomy telescope ?

Cool rifle though !

[catnthehat]

Originally Posted by FishOutOfWater

LoL, isn't that an astronomy telescope ?

Cool rifle though !

The one on the rifle or the spotter?
The rifle scope is a mud 50’s Lyman 15x Super-target Spot, a super accurate scope that rides freely in the mounts with the aid of a Pope Rail ( named after its inventor I can only assume)to keep it square and returns to battery when shot .the spotter however is a1200mm B&L camera lens with an eye piece adapter - turns it into s 40X spotter!
Cat

[32-40win]

Looks like fun to me. Takes a bit of getting used to in order to figure out what it'll like. I didn't have a lot of luck with 4759, AA9 worked far better for me in the 32-30 and the 32-40. Quite a few are using one of the new IMR 40somethings now I see, say it burns cleaner than AA9, also running 235 & 250gr bullets though. I ran 180's in the 32-30 and 209's in the 32-40. Also milder primers helped, was using RP's, visible difference for me at the time.

[catnthehat]

I figured you would like that one Dave!
Some of the guys over on cast Boolits are using 4227 with great success, but I have a few pounds of 4759 that my 38/55 Hugh Wall really shot well with it as well as my Snider but most of my big cartridges guns have always shot BP really well.
I’m pretty sure I have some 4227 downstairs and I also really want to try Trail Boss in it, that worked well in several of my rifles.
Cat

[Scott h]

Very classy looking rifle !!! I bet it's a blast at the range !!!

[32-40win]

Ya , we were all breech seating them also, creates a bit bigger chamber that way, than you'll get with soft seating in a cartridge. Ran a 165 in the 32-30 that shot 10rds in about 7/8 at 100 with AA9 , wouldn't work at 200 though. Never did take the time to sort that out, as I got the 32-40 just after that. My next project will be with the Ruger #1 in 7-08. Maybe things will work the way they are supposed to, and I'll get to try that out next summer in where ever I land. 154PB Lyman, also a 150NEIGC and a 130GC Lee available to use in that. And if things actually go the way they are supposed to next yr, I'll order a CPA Stevens barreled action. Always liked those guns. Need to have one nice cast bullet gun to shoot in retirement, I have the proper pot belly for the elbow rest now, may as well make good use of it.

[roper1]

That is one cool looking rig & optics setup Cat! Be fun to shoot that old girl. Thanks for sharing!

[catnthehat]

Originally Posted by roper1

That is one cool looking rig & optics setup Cat! Be fun to shoot that old girl. Thanks for sharing!

Look me up next time you are in town, I'll let ya trip the trigger on it.
Cat

[roper1]

Originally Posted by catnthehat

Look me up next time you are in town, I'll let ya trip the trigger on it.
Cat

Heck of an offer that will be accepted if I get up that way. Thanks so much!

[58thecat]

Now that is a classy looking rig....myself I would put money into that as apposed to some fancy modern rig.....there is lots of craftsmanship there!

[David Henry]

Looks like a fun project to be working with Cat, any idea on the approximate age of that contraption. D.H.

[catnthehat]

Originally Posted by David Henry

Looks like a fun project to be working with Cat, any idea on the approximate age of that contraption. D.H.

I never tried to track the numbers David, but every one I see on the ‘net for sale seems to be from the 1920’s
Cat

[catnthehat]

Well, I got out today for a but with the Anal Haenel, it seems thhat it LOVES Trail Boss and .315 cast powder coated bullets! ( thanks Boogerfart for casting and coating them) Accurate, and the rifle cleans up supper easy after 40 rounds!
I'm still trying too figure out how to get reaall coonsistancy off the bench with this thing, but it Will shoot!
printed a 1 /12" group at 200 meters with it today after shooting it at 100 and a bunch of offhand at 200.
I had 6 rounds left when I decided to bench it seriously at 200, shoot 2 within an inch of each other, made a windage adjustment and put the last four into 1 1/2" .Pretty danged cool!

I even let a guy who was kind enough to take some pics of me shoot it and he was able to hit with it off the bench with one hand- because that is all he has is one arm!
I am slowly getting the kinks worked out of this rifle.
Cat