georgewxxx
12-13-2006, 11:39 PM
Back in the first part of november I had a quiet day so I decided to fire up all 4 of my walnut K-31's. Had 60rds of cast trials all loaded up and ready to go. My thinking was to pick out the best shooter of the bunch. three of the guns I hadn't pulled the trigger on. With 20rds of three different 30cal weights, I could give each a chance to see how well it would do. The same 18gr of 5744 powder charge was used for all bullets. Everything was sized .309. If you want to call 2 1/2" good then the rest was only fair. They all ran about the same when you look a all the groups. The biggest was 7", and smallest was that 2 1/2". I know I've fired better groups with cast in one of those guns. My records show several 1 1/2" groups with other bullets & powder charges. I guess I don't remember what rifle I acquired first. I'd been using mostly the 284 Winchester brass that I've had for quite some time.
The old idea of trying jacketed ammo to how well any gun will do is a crock. After the cast was gone I fired 5 rds in each gun with both that FNM fmj reloadable ammo made in Portugal, and 5 rds of that supposed Swiss target ammo. The FNM ammo averaged 4" and was wimpy. If you mixed in those cast loads and shot blindfolded and someone loaded the gun for you, you wouldn't know what you fired. I suppose it's because of all the older model swiss guns that are still out there. The Swiss ammo had some snort to it, but only averaged 3 1/2". Better but not by much considering all the bragging that's done about it. Guess I should shoot up the rest of my 40rds of that FNM stuff, because if I remember right my first cast trials showed better groups verses using 284 Winchester brass. Judging from these trials, maybe pulling the bullets and load lead would be smarter.
For some reason those Swiss sights show sympathy toward my 63 year old eyes. Most iron sights get fuzzy after 10 rds are downrange. Wonder what the boys used at Camp Perry in their Swiss guns this year. They outshot most everything else on the line. My #2 rifle was the best with cast by a hair at an average of 2 1/2", but with hardball, it was in the middle of the pack at amost a 4" average.....Geo
The old idea of trying jacketed ammo to how well any gun will do is a crock. After the cast was gone I fired 5 rds in each gun with both that FNM fmj reloadable ammo made in Portugal, and 5 rds of that supposed Swiss target ammo. The FNM ammo averaged 4" and was wimpy. If you mixed in those cast loads and shot blindfolded and someone loaded the gun for you, you wouldn't know what you fired. I suppose it's because of all the older model swiss guns that are still out there. The Swiss ammo had some snort to it, but only averaged 3 1/2". Better but not by much considering all the bragging that's done about it. Guess I should shoot up the rest of my 40rds of that FNM stuff, because if I remember right my first cast trials showed better groups verses using 284 Winchester brass. Judging from these trials, maybe pulling the bullets and load lead would be smarter.
For some reason those Swiss sights show sympathy toward my 63 year old eyes. Most iron sights get fuzzy after 10 rds are downrange. Wonder what the boys used at Camp Perry in their Swiss guns this year. They outshot most everything else on the line. My #2 rifle was the best with cast by a hair at an average of 2 1/2", but with hardball, it was in the middle of the pack at amost a 4" average.....Geo