Benchrest Competition Shooters Sequence

[doclu60]

Empty that crap out of front bag, playground sand works well. Don’t fill it hard.

Better yet, throw that Caldwell bag in the garbage and get a better front bag. I prefer Edgewood with Cordura ears. As soon as I read the last post from the OP I knew before I saw the picture that he was probably running a Caldwell bag, and there it was in the picture. The 'grippy" comment is what clued me in. I had the same stuff (rest/bag) before I started shooting sanctioned. First upgrade on the Caldwell back then was the bag. Makes a world of difference.

Scott

 

[DonW]

I don’t like to leave a round chambered all that long. If I am waiting in the conditions, before too long I just send a sighter or even just burn the round off the target. No need to chance a flyer.

 

[Hi-NV Shooter]

I don’t like to leave a round chambered all that long. If I am waiting in the conditions, before too long I just send a sighter or even just burn the round off the target. No need to chance a flyer.

This is for an unlimited rifle. I have left a round chambered for as long as 20+ minutes and if tuned properly will shoot that shot into the group. this is how I validate a tuner setting.
conditions sometimes won't allow that shot into the sighter or off target and you just have to shoot when you have the chance.

Lee

 

[Nick50471]

People talk about rounds "cooking" in the chamber. I've never experienced this in factory or unlimited class even in the Texas heat. Maybe if the sun's directly on the rifle but then you probably have other issues (scope etc). I've considered and tested if the rounds are cooking in my rifles while shooting and it's a non-issue for me

No…..it will not. A. Bores don’t get hot. B. In big time RFBR matches, not the least bit uncommon to load, wait for condition 1-2 minutes.
Got far more to do with warm lube in bbl changing.

P.S. final note to OP. Learn to shoot with both eyes open, one on target, one on flags.

Are you saying the round will "cook off" or it simply gets too hot and deteriorates the accuracy?

Apologies to the OP and everyone that quoted my post. I did not notice this was posted in the Rimfire forum. My bad.

 

[DonW]

This is for an unlimited rifle. I have left a round chambered for as long as 20+ minutes and if tuned properly will shoot that shot into the group. this is how I validate a tuner setting.
conditions sometimes won't allow that shot into the sighter or off target and you just have to shoot when you have the chance.

Lee

That is like shooting the first shot for record instead of sighters. That has nothing to do with tuner settings.

 

[Tony K Harper]

This is for an unlimited rifle. I have left a round chambered for as long as 20+ minutes and if tuned properly will shoot that shot into the group. this is how I validate a tuner setting.
conditions sometimes won't allow that shot into the sighter or off target and you just have to shoot when you have the chance.

Lee

Lee,

When shooting in RFBR with a time limit it is important to shoot in a rhythm. Meaning pacing your shoots as evenly as you can.

If you have to wait for your condition pull off the scoring target and shoot a sighter to keep your rhythm.

The reason is condensate builds up in the bore, some days more than others. That water in the bore will change the impact of the bullet. You are trying to keep all things equal. This has nothing to do with tune.

Most shooters will find if they wait too long the next shot will go high, out of the group. If you wait long enough for the condensate to dry you have also waited long enough for the lube in the bore to change which may or may not change point of impact. Regardless, it is better to shoot in a rhythm.

TKH

 

[TRSR8]

I think Lee was just using it as an example, not relative to a match per se.
Should note Lee also shoots in desert SW, so I’d assume the condensation build may very well be entirely different than East.

 

[Tony K Harper]

I think Lee was just using it as an example, not relative to a match per se.
Should note Lee also shoots in desert SW, so I’d assume the condensation build may very well be entirely different than East.

Good point. It will be different on different days regardless of where you are. In the desert I would think the condensate clears pretty quickly.

 

[Hi-NV Shooter]

Lee,

When shooting in RFBR with a time limit it is important to shoot in a rhythm. Meaning pacing your shoots as evenly as you can.

If you have to wait for your condition pull off the scoring target and shoot a sighter to keep your rhythm.

The reason is condensate builds up in the bore, some days more than others. That water in the bore will change the impact of the bullet. You are trying to keep all things equal. This has nothing to do with tune.

Most shooters will find if they wait too long the next shot will go high, out of the group. If you wait long enough for the condensate to dry you have also waited long enough for the lube in the bore to change which may or may not change point of impact. Regardless, it is better to shoot in a rhythm.

TKH

Tony,

Ideally a steady rhythm is best but most ranges I shoot won't allow this pace especially my club range. I been known to wait as much as 7-8 minutes to start shooting when a condition changes.

As far as the condensation, perhaps I misunderstood, but I believed Bill Calfee said to check a rifle/barrel for a stopped muzzle which is how he tuned a rifle he would shoot a couple of shots then just crack open the bolt without ejecting the fired shell, closed the bolt and wait a few minutes then eject and load a new round and fire it into the same group if the barrel was stopped(tuned) it would go into the group. I believe he called it the water bore test and said many times a rifle/barrel must be able to wait.

I use a similar method but with a live round, it hasn't failed to prove if a rifle is tuned or not. if I get a flier then it is not tuned.

Lee

 

[HalfCZ]

I took more out but shaping it with the black crap they ship is hard. Sand sounds better, thanks!

 

[ELR LVR]

Are you saying the round will "cook off" or it simply gets too hot and deteriorates the accuracy?

it could drive the pressure up accelerating velocity which will result in different shot placement vertically
---
Or if you are loaded hot already, blow a primer
---
One of the tests I've conducted with one of my field rifles is to do exactly this and gauge for vertical shot dispersion such as when shooting during hot summer months
Shoot rifle until barrel is hot, while letting the box of ammo cook in the sun with the lid closed
chamber a round and close the bolt so the round can cook in the hot chamber even further.
then fire that round and check to see how much vertical you just induced
So within that particular test I conducted a worst case scenario of all heat factors contributing to see just how bad it might be.
The particular powder I used was not affected in 95F heat during that test and fired that round right into the group
BUT!
---
some powders are more sensitive to this
some are not very sensitive at all
---
When you are out in the field, hunting, or shootings dogs etc you don't always have the luxury of controlling the temps of your equipment and ammo.
So you want to test to see for instance, should I lay a towel over my ammo in the sun
should I let my barrel cool a certain amount so the chamber isnt too hot
etc etc
---
for instance, lets say you're deer hunting, and you have your ammor on the dash of the truck within easy visual reach
So you see a buck at 300 yds and grab a box of ammo off the dashboard that has been sitting in the sun
might be a bad idea, so you want to test this so you are aware of it.
OR - avoid doing that
---
for competition - I'm sure you know how much more critical accuracy and consistency is.

 

[PWNolan]

it could drive the pressure up accelerating velocity which will result in different shot placement vertically
---
Or if you are loaded hot already, blow a primer
---
One of the tests I've conducted with one of my field rifles is to do exactly this and gauge for vertical shot dispersion such as when shooting during hot summer months
Shoot rifle until barrel is hot, while letting the box of ammo cook in the sun with the lid closed
chamber a round and close the bolt so the round can cook in the hot chamber even further.
then fire that round and check to see how much vertical you just induced
So within that particular test I conducted a worst case scenario of all heat factors contributing to see just how bad it might be.
The particular powder I used was not affected in 95F heat during that test and fired that round right into the group
BUT!
---
some powders are more sensitive to this
some are not very sensitive at all
---
When you are out in the field, hunting, or shootings dogs etc you don't always have the luxury of controlling the temps of your equipment and ammo.
So you want to test to see for instance, should I lay a towel over my ammo in the sun
should I let my barrel cool a certain amount so the chamber isnt too hot
etc etc
---
for instance, lets say you're deer hunting, and you have your ammor on the dash of the truck within easy visual reach
So you see a buck at 300 yds and grab a box of ammo off the dashboard that has been sitting in the sun
might be a bad idea, so you want to test this so you are aware of it.
OR - avoid doing that
---
for competition - I'm sure you know how much more critical accuracy and consistency is.

Remember we're discussing 22 LR here.

 

[ELR LVR]

Remember we're discussing 22 LR here.

my bad, didn't catch that

 

[wsmallwood]

it could drive the pressure up accelerating velocity which will result in different shot placement vertically
---
Or if you are loaded hot already, blow a primer
---
One of the tests I've conducted with one of my field rifles is to do exactly this and gauge for vertical shot dispersion such as when shooting during hot summer months
Shoot rifle until barrel is hot, while letting the box of ammo cook in the sun with the lid closed
chamber a round and close the bolt so the round can cook in the hot chamber even further.
then fire that round and check to see how much vertical you just induced
So within that particular test I conducted a worst case scenario of all heat factors contributing to see just how bad it might be.
The particular powder I used was not affected in 95F heat during that test and fired that round right into the group
BUT!
---
some powders are more sensitive to this
some are not very sensitive at all
---
When you are out in the field, hunting, or shootings dogs etc you don't always have the luxury of controlling the temps of your equipment and ammo.
So you want to test to see for instance, should I lay a towel over my ammo in the sun
should I let my barrel cool a certain amount so the chamber isnt too hot
etc etc
---
for instance, lets say you're deer hunting, and you have your ammor on the dash of the truck within easy visual reach
So you see a buck at 300 yds and grab a box of ammo off the dashboard that has been sitting in the sun
might be a bad idea, so you want to test this so you are aware of it.
OR - avoid doing that
---
for competition - I'm sure you know how much more critical accuracy and consistency is.

Well that clarifies it some anyway. When you say "cook" I think "cook off' and the only time I've ever seen that happen is with a machine gun and I understand that's rare.

As far as letting .22 LR ammo sit in the sun, I don't do it just because it doesn't seem smart. But I once helped Bill Calfee run a test on exactly what you're talking about. I won't go into the details but essentially we shot different speeds at different shot intervals. If I recall correctly the ambient temperature was around 100F. We would shoot then measure the temperature on the outside of the chamber. It was never over 105F and the heat did not seem to affect the precision of any lot.

Still I would not generally let ammo sit in the sun or even on a surface heated by the sun and expect to get the same level of precision. But I recall one match that started at noon in July. I don't know what the temperature was but it was hot. Just as the match was getting ready to start I realized I had put my ammo in my vehicle exactly in the sun. No choice; I had too shoot it. But it didn't seem to affect anything. I won the match so maybe something affected other people. I don't know.

On the flipside we tried that same experiment on a cold day while keeping the ammo very warm. There was a lot of vertical.

You can take all this for what it's worth which is probably very little beyond "somewhat interesting". I do agree with you about not letting ammo "cook". And I do agree that temperature variants probably effect different ammo in different ways. Why not? Everything else does.