Tuesday at the range...............
Jul 13, 2011 14:01:09 GMT -5
Post by Richard on Jul 13, 2011 14:01:09 GMT -5
Tuesday started out at 76* with about 100% humidity at 7:00 a.m. It rapidly rose to 90* in the shade and made your shooting glasses just want to fog up 
Not the kind of weather you want to shoot good groups unless..........................your are using your COOL rod ;D
All of todays groups were shot using the same duplex load of: 15/62-----SR4759/H-335 BALL powder (which I neglected to indicate on my load sheet
My bad! As with last weeks session, I wanted to shoot the four main bullets that I use in the .45 Pac-Nor.......The 200 gr. Hornady XTP, the Nosler 200 gr. hollow point, the Hornady 200 SST and the Barnes 195 MZ. These were all shot at 100 yards---Five shot groups. The best of the bunch, the SST was then shot at 200. Blue Harvester "Easy Load" smooth sabots were used on all loads. The cool rod was used on just about every shot except where the barrel had gotten a little cooler due to BS in between groups. I can sometimes get away with shooting two in a row without cooling for the second shot. All five groups were pretty much shot one right after another......So, for instance, the first shot of groups two followed right after the fifth shot of group one! So to say..........the first three shots are always better??? Actually all shots are about the same in relation to barrel heat. I never let the barrel get "Hot!". At "just warm?" the cool rod goes in for maybe 30 to 45 seconds. I go by the feel of the barrel just forward of where the load seats. I have also included some photos (camera phone pic's which are not as good as from my regular camera) of the shooting bench with just the base and lead sled, the sled with my rifle, the adjacent bench where I do my load prep. This includes the cool rod in the barrel, my cool rod cooler (in black) along with an array of implements I use the load and seat bullets. In the one photo you can see these gadgets lined up. Starting on the right is a small aluminum machined funnel which inserts in the muzzle, then a longer (home made) spin type jag starter, next is a "tight" neck muzzle guide with my very short custom fit starter (this just seats the bullet/sabot below the crown) that is bedded to the nose of the SST's. And, the last orange muzzle guide is used for cleaning and inserting the cool rod.
Next is my two patch mild bore conditioning: One patch with four drops of Rem. clean in and out and one dry patch in and out.
After throwing my charge(s) thru the funnel, I insert the bullet/sabot and index it to a mark on the face of the muzzle (this lines up the lands so two appear on each of four petals). Next I put the tight necked muzzle guide on and use the short starter to get the bullet into the bore...........I follow with the longer spin/jag starter, followed by the my heavy brass ram rod with and actual "spin-jag". With the three inch wide wood block which is bedded and attached to the forend of the rifle, It fits perfectly in the 3" formed bag I installed on the lead sled. This keeps the rifle in pretty perfect alignment every time it is replaced in the sled. Since the feet of the sled are guided by side rails, I simply have to push the entire sled/rifle forward to the "stop." The rubber feet slide on aluminum bases which I keep greased. This set up allows the rifle to recoil naturally as opposed to jumping up and around. I have a leather bag I sewed up with 16 lbs. of lead shot.
What I am attempting to illustrate here is consistency. The same goes for the way benchrest shooters.........shoot!.........And load!
So, group #1? No big deal, but "three in a row" did make one inch with the XTP.
#2...Three in a row hammered pretty good along with shot #1. Shot #2 I think was me
but..........it is what it is
#3 was really good with the SST putting all five in one inch.
And #4?
The first two went in ONE hole...........then proceeded to string vertically but still kept the last three in 1"
Now to two hundred yards with the SST..............1,2 & 3 printed in exactly one inch. Bill said: I would not shoot any more or you will spoiling the group ;D I somewhat agreed but pro ceded to shot the last two shots in the bull below it.............and yes, they would have messed the group I measured and superimposed that group and you can see where shot four would have opened it to 3.5" and shot #5 to 4" even. Just the nature of the beast. Had I shot group #3 at 200 yards, it probably would have produced a 2 to 3" group 
One note about this load: It was producing some muzzle flash........which indicated to me there is powder burning after coming out the muzzle. The ES's were not all that bad? So, I am going to reduce the 62 gr. of H-335 to probably............59 gr., but up the 15 gr. of 4759 to 16 gr. I would like to keep the velocity up where it is at. By reducing the slower powder and increasing the fast one, I'm hoping I can keep the accuracy and speed.
Richard
Note: the duplex is SR4759/H-335 Ball powder
Not the kind of weather you want to shoot good groups unless..........................your are using your COOL rod ;DAll of todays groups were shot using the same duplex load of: 15/62-----SR4759/H-335 BALL powder (which I neglected to indicate on my load sheet
My bad! As with last weeks session, I wanted to shoot the four main bullets that I use in the .45 Pac-Nor.......The 200 gr. Hornady XTP, the Nosler 200 gr. hollow point, the Hornady 200 SST and the Barnes 195 MZ. These were all shot at 100 yards---Five shot groups. The best of the bunch, the SST was then shot at 200. Blue Harvester "Easy Load" smooth sabots were used on all loads. The cool rod was used on just about every shot except where the barrel had gotten a little cooler due to BS in between groups. I can sometimes get away with shooting two in a row without cooling for the second shot. All five groups were pretty much shot one right after another......So, for instance, the first shot of groups two followed right after the fifth shot of group one! So to say..........the first three shots are always better??? Actually all shots are about the same in relation to barrel heat. I never let the barrel get "Hot!". At "just warm?" the cool rod goes in for maybe 30 to 45 seconds. I go by the feel of the barrel just forward of where the load seats. I have also included some photos (camera phone pic's which are not as good as from my regular camera) of the shooting bench with just the base and lead sled, the sled with my rifle, the adjacent bench where I do my load prep. This includes the cool rod in the barrel, my cool rod cooler (in black) along with an array of implements I use the load and seat bullets. In the one photo you can see these gadgets lined up. Starting on the right is a small aluminum machined funnel which inserts in the muzzle, then a longer (home made) spin type jag starter, next is a "tight" neck muzzle guide with my very short custom fit starter (this just seats the bullet/sabot below the crown) that is bedded to the nose of the SST's. And, the last orange muzzle guide is used for cleaning and inserting the cool rod.Next is my two patch mild bore conditioning: One patch with four drops of Rem. clean in and out and one dry patch in and out.
After throwing my charge(s) thru the funnel, I insert the bullet/sabot and index it to a mark on the face of the muzzle (this lines up the lands so two appear on each of four petals). Next I put the tight necked muzzle guide on and use the short starter to get the bullet into the bore...........I follow with the longer spin/jag starter, followed by the my heavy brass ram rod with and actual "spin-jag". With the three inch wide wood block which is bedded and attached to the forend of the rifle, It fits perfectly in the 3" formed bag I installed on the lead sled. This keeps the rifle in pretty perfect alignment every time it is replaced in the sled. Since the feet of the sled are guided by side rails, I simply have to push the entire sled/rifle forward to the "stop." The rubber feet slide on aluminum bases which I keep greased. This set up allows the rifle to recoil naturally as opposed to jumping up and around. I have a leather bag I sewed up with 16 lbs. of lead shot.
What I am attempting to illustrate here is consistency. The same goes for the way benchrest shooters.........shoot!.........And load!
So, group #1? No big deal, but "three in a row" did make one inch with the XTP.
#2...Three in a row hammered pretty good along with shot #1. Shot #2 I think was me
but..........it is what it is #3 was really good with the SST putting all five in one inch.
And #4?
The first two went in ONE hole...........then proceeded to string vertically but still kept the last three in 1"Now to two hundred yards with the SST..............1,2 & 3 printed in exactly one inch. Bill said: I would not shoot any more or you will spoiling the group ;D I somewhat agreed but pro ceded to shot the last two shots in the bull below it.............and yes, they would have messed the group
I measured and superimposed that group and you can see where shot four would have opened it to 3.5" and shot #5 to 4" even. Just the nature of the beast. Had I shot group #3 at 200 yards, it probably would have produced a 2 to 3" group 
One note about this load: It was producing some muzzle flash........which indicated to me there is powder burning after coming out the muzzle. The ES's were not all that bad? So, I am going to reduce the 62 gr. of H-335 to probably............59 gr., but up the 15 gr. of 4759 to 16 gr. I would like to keep the velocity up where it is at. By reducing the slower powder and increasing the fast one, I'm hoping I can keep the accuracy and speed.
Richard
Note: the duplex is SR4759/H-335 Ball powder
