some loading controversy

[Chill Wills]

Progress update:
Based on our emails he lengthen a case to a very long 2.135" using the die mounted case stretcher BAC sells, the one produced by the gunstock checker. By repeated test fitting and trimming it in his rifle he found that cases stretched and trimmed to 2.115" was the desired length. He then made all his cases for that rifle 2.115".

Last weekend we held a silhouette match and I got to observe again. He has two loads. One, a dedicated 200 meter load using a lighter bullet for offhand chickens. He shot five which is good shooting anytime!
His other load used for P-T-R, using the heavy MB type bullet is not an accurate load and really does not hold the target well in any condition. Maybe a 3 MOA load. Hits are here and there so all one can do is bracket (center) the elevation as best you can guess and they land where they land somewhere in that larger circle.

He was planing on bedding the buttstock with a Brownell's bedding product next. We are going to meet and shoot test loads after he has completed this next step.

[Don McDowell]

I wonder if he's not trying to shoot a bullet that is just a touch long for the rifling twist?.

[Chill Wills]

Good thought Don. The bullet is 1.425" shot in a 18t 45 barrel. Should be good. However, I have thought that one possibility is something is out of alignment when fired - starting the bullet's flight with built in yaw from the get go. That can be checked but it will have to wait.

Gota go vote now....

[Don McDowell]

I would drop back and try the Saeco 645, the Baco 525 mb, or even the lowly oft forgotten lyman postel and see if things don't tighten up a bit.

[sharpsguy]

What Don said--

[Chill Wills]

I would drop back and try the Saeco 645, the Baco 525 mb, or even the lowly oft forgotten lyman postel and see if things don't tighten up a bit.

By "drop back" I think your point here is try a shorter bullet. Correct? I really don't think that is the trouble. I have round holes and god stable flight with even longer bullets than his current P-T-R bullet, the 525 money bullet. I fully agree, trying to get stable accuracy from a bullet that is long and marginally stable is a fools errand. I've been on that errand.

The SAECO 645 would be a good one to put in the 'mold of the month club' bullet trial but I predict neither bullet length nor style of mainstream bullets will turn out to be the cause or the cure. I bet it will turn out to be either, primer choice, bedding, or prone rifle management during the match. The latter is the one I often see and the hardest to help with. At matches I stand behind the competitors and watch. Simple things like recognizing you are hanging on (from) the rifle in the prone stages can cure high/lows. I see this kinda stuff all the time. Maybe it is the number one reason for high/low hits. Riflemen on the mat start out by putting themselves in the wrong prone angle and as a result, take a pounding from the recoil. This leads to monkey hanging on the rifle to keep from getting hurt. It is really hard to shoot your best when you are dodging the butt stock. The rifle reacts to the different pressures from shot to shot as the rifleman tries slightly different holds throws the shots every direction. Most often we don't even know we are doing it.

[Lead pot]

I just have had a interesting thing going on with my new rifle that has shot well all summer and just two weeks ago I shot it in the rain and last Saturday I had a problem holding the 8 ring with the same load. I loosened the forearm screws and things came back together. Wood swelling putting pressure at a different location on the barrel changing the harmonics??? I took the wood off and have it in a box with a 60 wad light bulb. Lets see if it comes back when it dries out.

[Don McDowell]

Michael, correct, my "drop back" was indeed go to a lighter bullet. That 645 has shot well in every 45-70 I've ran it thru.
Agreed many a time the "flinch" will eat our lunch when shooting prone. I saw someone at a match that had a string attached to the crosssticks he used to measure that he had the correct height. I have noticed many times that if I don't have the sticks at just the right height things don't go so well down range, reaching the eyeballs or scrunching to hard into the comb causes no end to the problems down range.
Sure hope you can get your friend on the right track, and get him and that rifle to find a working arrangement.

[Chill Wills]

How come your up at this hour???? Watching the election results? Good bet?

[Don McDowell]

yessir was a short time from going to bed and sunup.