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Thread: Accuracy problems

  1. #1
    Boolit Bub
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    Accuracy problems

    I am very new to paper patching and having lots of problems with accuracy and leading. I am using a 303brit #1mk3 with a .303 bore and .316 groves. The boolit is a lee-C309-180-R it has a .305 nose and .310 bands and cast from wheel weights. I use #9 onion skin paper and have tried 2,3 and 4 wraps from .314 to .319 and wrapped from the bands to the tip with no luck at all, it shoots about a 6ft. spread at about 30 yards.I twist the tails and clip,set them in a unsized case and let the bolt seat them.I have tried from 7 to 13 grains of red dot with no luck and 26 to 36 grains of IMR 4064. Does anyone have any suggestions that might help?

  2. #2
    Boolit Master
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    a 6ft. spread at about 30 yards.
    problems with accuracy and leading
    Wow!! That's awful. Maybe try a light neck re-sizing to tighten the boolits neck tension. As read apparently your powder charge isn't given enough time to get a good burn going before the boolit leaves the cartridge case.
    I would like to welcome you to this site.

  3. #3
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    ShooterAZ's Avatar
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    A much slower powder would be the first thing I would try.

  4. #4
    Boolit Bub
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    Do you think the 4064 is still too fast? Also I have tried seating deeper, to the crimp grove and slightly less with lite crimp and without. Same results.

  5. #5
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    I started paper patching with IMR4064 and had "OK" results. I then switched to Varget and things got a little better. Next I tried W760, (H414) and things really started to come together. If you have any IMR4831 or 4350 you might try those as well. You also may want to look at a little fatter boolit (.311-312) to patch up to where you need to be.

  6. #6
    Boolit Bub
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    I was under the impression slug needed to be .001-.002 over bore. I was thinking the nose on mine was ok(.305) but the bands are too thick(.310) not sure but I am getting good patch disintegration maybe too good.

  7. #7
    Boolit Bub
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    Shooter, right now all I have is 4064 and red dot,but if you were getting fair results with 4064 could you give me your recipe? At least I might get something on the target and a starting place.

  8. #8
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    Your final size needs to be .001/.003 over groove. You can try a thicker paper too.

  9. #9
    Boolit Grand Master
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    6 ft patterns at 30 yards are not caused by less than optimum bullets or powder choice

    Will the gun group with military or commercial loads?

    Is everything tight? I had a loose front sight one time. But check the action screws as well.

    Don Verna

  10. #10
    Boolit Bub
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    Yes gun does quite well even with the .309 mold,but did have a little problem with the front sight. I'm thinking the patch is not making it through the bore before shredding.

  11. #11
    Boolit Grand Master
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    That would explain the leading

  12. #12
    Boolit Bub
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    Does anyone else use the lee c309-180 mold for a 303? If so how do you go about patching it?

  13. #13
    Boolit Buddy
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    Quote Originally Posted by 1trkmind View Post
    Does anyone else use the lee c309-180 mold for a 303? If so how do you go about patching it?
    It is one of my favourites in the 303. For my No 1 Mk 3 and Ruger #1, I size the bullets down with a custom .304" push through die that Buckshot made for me. I then do 2 wet wraps with green bar printer paper. Once dry, I clip the tails and apply JPW evenly with my finger and run the patched bullets a final time through a .314" sizing die. They are then hand pressed into unsized cases from the rifle they were fired in. IMR 4350 is one of my favourite powders, though I do use others.

  14. #14
    Boolit Bub
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    I am thinking that the sizing to .304 is what I'm needing. Also my bore doesn't look bad but feels a little rough when I push a patch through it, could be causing problems. The bore is .316 so should I patch to that? The throat is .317 or so maybe patch to that and lube well to get over the roughness.

  15. #15
    Boolit Buddy
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    Yes, a fat bullet to fit your throat should be the way to go. You don't want gasses stripping your paper before your bullet reaches the rifling.

  16. #16
    Boolit Bub
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    Do you think the sizing down to .304 is important. My c309-180 is .305 above the driving bands and .310 at the bands. My bore is .303.
    Last edited by 1trkmind; 01-18-2017 at 01:28 PM.

  17. #17
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    Have you tried to clean the bore with JB paste to smooth it out? http://www.frfrogspad.com/homemade.htm
    Bore Paste
    An excellent bore polishing paste that works as well as JB's can be made from equal parts of BonAmi™, paste wax (like Johnson & Johnson or Butchers), and light oil. The BonAmi is the "doesn't scratch" product. Regular abrasive cleansers may be too harsh for use in a bore.
    put some one a patch and run it through the bore work it in and then run solvent patches down the bbl. After a few reps of this you should feel it smooth out.

  18. #18
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    Quote Originally Posted by 1trkmind View Post
    Do you think the sizing down to .304 is important. My c309-180 is .305 above the driving bands and .310 at the bands. My bore is .304.
    This will be dependent on your patch thickness. In my 30-06, I size a boolit to .308, and patch with a .0025 double wrapped. Final size to .311.

  19. #19
    Boolit Bub
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    What boolit are you using to size to .308? Is it a two diameter(nose & bands)boolit like my .309? What is your bore and groove on the 30-06 and how far up the nose do you wrap? Sorry for so many questions just trying to figure what I'm doing wrong. Also I think polishing my bore could only help, maybe the key since I've tried most everything else.

  20. #20
    Boolit Buddy
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    Quote Originally Posted by 1trkmind View Post
    Do you think the sizing down to .304 is important. My c309-180 is .305 above the driving bands and .310 at the bands. My bore is .304.
    By accident, I recently patched some bullets that I missed sizing down to .304" first. When I get some fired cases from my Ruger, I will shoot some of each bullet and to see how groups compare. I think that with a .316" groove to groove measurement, sizing down the .308" bullets should not be as critical for your rifle as it would be for my rifles which measure .314".

    Are your patches as close to identical as possible? Slight variances as to how the paper is applied, can show as big differences on the target. Just brain storming here....
    Last edited by grullaguy; 01-18-2017 at 12:41 PM.

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Abbreviations used in Reloading

BP Bronze Point IMR Improved Military Rifle PTD Pointed
BR Bench Rest M Magnum RN Round Nose
BT Boat Tail PL Power-Lokt SP Soft Point
C Compressed Charge PR Primer SPCL Soft Point "Core-Lokt"
HP Hollow Point PSPCL Pointed Soft Point "Core Lokt" C.O.L. Cartridge Overall Length
PSP Pointed Soft Point Spz Spitzer Point SBT Spitzer Boat Tail
LRN Lead Round Nose LWC Lead Wad Cutter LSWC Lead Semi Wad Cutter
GC Gas Check