Maven
03-05-2013, 05:45 PM
With miserable weather forecast for the rest of the week, I thought today would be good to try out the new gun: I wasn't disappointed with either! To simplify things, I stuck with only 1 powder brand, granulation, and charge; namely 60grs. Diamondback FFFg. Ditto for the RB, a 243gr. .550" pure Pb cast from a Lyman mold. Patch lube was what I typically use in cooler weather: Winchester Sutler "Moose Milk" + a dash of Ballistol + 91% isopropyl alcohol + several squirts of Dixie Gun Works "Old Slickum" (pretty much the same as Murphy's Oil Soap). The patches were .010" (compressed) 100% cotton twill, because I found .014" (compressed) pillow tick to be a tad tight (more about this later).
25 yd. Results (All shooting was done kneeling with my right elbow resting on the shooting bench): As expected, the first shot from the unfouled bore was ~ 1.5" high and several inches to the right of the point of aim. However, subsequent shots grouped nicely in under 2" with several touching. After adjusting the elevation a bit, I was able to chew away half of a red 2" target dot. However, there were several flyers, which did nothing for my groups. After examining the spent patches, I found several were "blown" or on the verge of shredding. I know a heavier patch should be used, but the .010" twill was fairly easy to start. Maybe using a
greased patch will prevent this, but that's for another day.
Results using a thicker patch: I substituted the .014" ticking patches for the thinner ones and was quite pleased with their performance: Not a hint of shredding or damage of any kind + excellent groups (~1"). However, starting the RB with these wasn't easy.
Results using a .530" RB + .024" denim patch (cut off legs from Waksupi's jeans: don't ask!). This worked OK, but needs a more thorough trial. The RB's were cast from WW's and measured .5304" -.5305" v. 5301" for those cast from pure Pb. While they started easily, they didn't group as well as the larger RB's, meaning ~3" v. 2" or less.
In sum, the smoothie will handily shoot into 2" or less (with many touching) and in truth, possibly 1.5" or less with a bit more experimenting. Moreover, while the set trigger makes firing the gun a pleasure, the stock doesn't really fit me, leaving me with a sore cheek. Firing it offhand, which is what I intend to do most of the time, is much more comfortable. With some more fiddling, I'm certain that the T/C will be an excellent shooter.
25 yd. Results (All shooting was done kneeling with my right elbow resting on the shooting bench): As expected, the first shot from the unfouled bore was ~ 1.5" high and several inches to the right of the point of aim. However, subsequent shots grouped nicely in under 2" with several touching. After adjusting the elevation a bit, I was able to chew away half of a red 2" target dot. However, there were several flyers, which did nothing for my groups. After examining the spent patches, I found several were "blown" or on the verge of shredding. I know a heavier patch should be used, but the .010" twill was fairly easy to start. Maybe using a
greased patch will prevent this, but that's for another day.
Results using a thicker patch: I substituted the .014" ticking patches for the thinner ones and was quite pleased with their performance: Not a hint of shredding or damage of any kind + excellent groups (~1"). However, starting the RB with these wasn't easy.
Results using a .530" RB + .024" denim patch (cut off legs from Waksupi's jeans: don't ask!). This worked OK, but needs a more thorough trial. The RB's were cast from WW's and measured .5304" -.5305" v. 5301" for those cast from pure Pb. While they started easily, they didn't group as well as the larger RB's, meaning ~3" v. 2" or less.
In sum, the smoothie will handily shoot into 2" or less (with many touching) and in truth, possibly 1.5" or less with a bit more experimenting. Moreover, while the set trigger makes firing the gun a pleasure, the stock doesn't really fit me, leaving me with a sore cheek. Firing it offhand, which is what I intend to do most of the time, is much more comfortable. With some more fiddling, I'm certain that the T/C will be an excellent shooter.