The good, the bad and the ugly........................
Aug 27, 2014 16:08:04 GMT -5
Post by Richard on Aug 27, 2014 16:08:04 GMT -5
Mostly bad ................Lets just say that if I took my gun the challenge I would have been laughed back to NC!
It is not that bad but I do have a story and questions? .45 PN 27 1/2" Rem. SML
Let me start out by saying that it was a beautiful morning at our club. The weather was about 72* and humidity was very low (this is an important aspect of my tale) it was sunny and there was no wind. Herman was down at his hunt club working on his stand or whatever so it was just Bill and myself. I had put together specific loads to test. I wanted to do a comparison between two duplex's: 5/62 of Clays/H-4198 and 5/62 of Clays/IMR-4198 The bullet being used in everything shot this date was again, the 200 gr. Hornady FTX which I have been playing with the past few weeks. A .060" veggie wads were used along with Win. 209 primers. Scope is Leupold 16X MK IV with mil-dot reticule.
First off, I fire two foulers usind 240 gr. Nos. hollow points with 7-60 Clays/H-4198. They both hit an inch apart and only 4 fps apart in velocity which was about 2760 fps.
So now I start my first group with the 5/62 Clays/H-4198 load. Three shots don't look great but are somewhat in the same ball park . 2770 fps with a 14 fps ES. Use the cool rod followed with one dry patch. Adj. scope to the left a bit.
Next up is the 5/62 Clays/IMR-4198 load. First shot way up high?? but velocity was 2773??? Second and third shots down low but fairly close together (velocities still in the same general range)? Fourth shot about the right height but to the right and the fifth shot back up by the first one?? Shots 2 & 3 are directly below shots 1 & 5 (all vertical)
Grab the scope and try to twist it, pry it or anything to make it move??? NO go?
So, the rest of my testing was to shoot 5/63, 5/64, 5/65 and 5/66 of Clays and H-4198 and see how they compared both accuracy wise and velocity.
Here again I start with the first shot of 5/63...........again up high, shot 2 down low, #3 up and to the right. This is a load that should be shooting one holers? Again look at the scope but then figured.....what the heck, let me check the action screws........................ Low and behold the front action screw had loosened. It took a quarter turn to tighten it back up. It was finger loose! This action has not been out of the stock for probably 1500 rounds. I now have 3,000 shots on this barrel and action. So I tighten things up and figure I am back to shooting bug holes...........well, the fourth shot did go up by shot #4.
Next up is 5/64..........definitely nothing to write home about but the vertical had disappeared.
5/65? No vertical but it strung left to right?...........No amount of wind that would do that?
5/66.........again similar stringing left to right but only 1/2" of vertical?
So here is an interesting note: The past few weeks where the weather had been hot and humid, I got good groups........actually some of my best but I was having trouble with sticky primers! Probably 75% of them needed to be struck again to remove from the bolt nose................This week it is much cooler and very little humidity and except for the slight sticking of my second fouler? NONE, I mean none of the other shots produce a sticking primer? Yet the charges I shot were the same or similar to loads previously that had stuck?
It sounds silly, but it is the only thing I can think of that was different? Flash hole still the same at around .025", I used the same 1/8" drill bit thru the flame channel? Powders all from the same lot? And the velocities are all in the same range?
Obviously the loose action screw was my bad but the sticky----loose primer thing? And the decrease in accuracy?
Ole' Hank would have had a field day kickin' my butt.
Anyway, I put this stuff on in the event others experience similar happenings and remind guys to Keep a check on their scope mountings and action screws. I got complacent because the gun had been shooting so well and never thought to check them. I now ran a tap in both action holes to clean them out and then hit them with carb. cleaner and blew them out. Also wire brushed the screws and then Blue lock-tite them back in. I think its imperative that both surfaces are clean and free from grease if you want a good bond with the lock-tite.
Richard
It is not that bad but I do have a story and questions? .45 PN 27 1/2" Rem. SML
Let me start out by saying that it was a beautiful morning at our club. The weather was about 72* and humidity was very low (this is an important aspect of my tale) it was sunny and there was no wind. Herman was down at his hunt club working on his stand or whatever so it was just Bill and myself. I had put together specific loads to test. I wanted to do a comparison between two duplex's: 5/62 of Clays/H-4198 and 5/62 of Clays/IMR-4198 The bullet being used in everything shot this date was again, the 200 gr. Hornady FTX which I have been playing with the past few weeks. A .060" veggie wads were used along with Win. 209 primers. Scope is Leupold 16X MK IV with mil-dot reticule.
First off, I fire two foulers usind 240 gr. Nos. hollow points with 7-60 Clays/H-4198. They both hit an inch apart and only 4 fps apart in velocity which was about 2760 fps.
So now I start my first group with the 5/62 Clays/H-4198 load. Three shots don't look great but are somewhat in the same ball park . 2770 fps with a 14 fps ES. Use the cool rod followed with one dry patch. Adj. scope to the left a bit.
Next up is the 5/62 Clays/IMR-4198 load. First shot way up high?? but velocity was 2773??? Second and third shots down low but fairly close together (velocities still in the same general range)? Fourth shot about the right height but to the right and the fifth shot back up by the first one?? Shots 2 & 3 are directly below shots 1 & 5 (all vertical)
Grab the scope and try to twist it, pry it or anything to make it move??? NO go?
So, the rest of my testing was to shoot 5/63, 5/64, 5/65 and 5/66 of Clays and H-4198 and see how they compared both accuracy wise and velocity.
Here again I start with the first shot of 5/63...........again up high, shot 2 down low, #3 up and to the right. This is a load that should be shooting one holers? Again look at the scope but then figured.....what the heck, let me check the action screws........................ Low and behold the front action screw had loosened. It took a quarter turn to tighten it back up. It was finger loose! This action has not been out of the stock for probably 1500 rounds. I now have 3,000 shots on this barrel and action. So I tighten things up and figure I am back to shooting bug holes...........well, the fourth shot did go up by shot #4.
Next up is 5/64..........definitely nothing to write home about but the vertical had disappeared.
5/65? No vertical but it strung left to right?...........No amount of wind that would do that?
5/66.........again similar stringing left to right but only 1/2" of vertical?
So here is an interesting note: The past few weeks where the weather had been hot and humid, I got good groups........actually some of my best but I was having trouble with sticky primers! Probably 75% of them needed to be struck again to remove from the bolt nose................This week it is much cooler and very little humidity and except for the slight sticking of my second fouler? NONE, I mean none of the other shots produce a sticking primer? Yet the charges I shot were the same or similar to loads previously that had stuck?
It sounds silly, but it is the only thing I can think of that was different? Flash hole still the same at around .025", I used the same 1/8" drill bit thru the flame channel? Powders all from the same lot? And the velocities are all in the same range?
Obviously the loose action screw was my bad but the sticky----loose primer thing? And the decrease in accuracy?
Ole' Hank would have had a field day kickin' my butt.
Anyway, I put this stuff on in the event others experience similar happenings and remind guys to Keep a check on their scope mountings and action screws. I got complacent because the gun had been shooting so well and never thought to check them. I now ran a tap in both action holes to clean them out and then hit them with carb. cleaner and blew them out. Also wire brushed the screws and then Blue lock-tite them back in. I think its imperative that both surfaces are clean and free from grease if you want a good bond with the lock-tite.
Richard