More Plain Jane Groups -- Improving

[jds holler]

Here's one with the 8208, which meters well from my Uniflow. I'd like to get a good one with this powder cause it's supposed to be ummmmm -- temperature neutral??

 

[MrMajestic]

Looking good however I wouldn't be able to stop until I fed it some N-133. JMHO

 

[jds holler]

Looking good however I wouldn't be able to stop until I fed it some N-133. JMHO

N powders are about the only ones I don't have. Am I going to have to get some just to make you happy.jd

 

[jds holler]

Looking good however I wouldn't be able to stop until I fed it some N-133. JMHO

Does your N-133 meter pretty well? jd

 

[MrMajestic]

Does your N-133 meter pretty well? jd

Yes, RCBS with small diameter chamber and baffle installed. Of course repeatable strokes with the handle.

 

[jds holler]

Yes, RCBS with small diameter chamber and baffle installed. Of course repeatable strokes with the handle.

I pride myself in pretty good technique. I use the CLINK CLINK--CLANK method. On short cuts like benchmark or 8208 I'm usually +/- .1. Of course with sphericals and really fine stuff, I don't think you could weigh them more accurately than our throwers throw them. I'm starting to think that life's too short to spend weighing and trickling long grain powders. jd

 

[BoydAllen]

While shooting into the wind might seem to be a good approach, generally it is not. The reason can become apparent with a full set of flags between you and the target, and a little information. When you are shooting near to parallel with the line of the bullet, the angle of the wind, rather than its velocity becomes the main issue. Often, when shooting in this kind of condition there is a rather rapid cycle from one angle to another, that is hard to time even with the use of flags. Near a cross wind, the angle becomes much less critical, and wind velocity takes over as the primary factor. With the conditions that you describe, the main thing is that you have a streamer or ribbon on the vane of your flags that is heavy enough so that it rarely goes horizontal. Switching to one that is heavy enough will generally require rebalancing the flags due to the extra weight at the back.

Another thing that others have mentioned is your cleaning between each group and only having a single fouling shot. I would say that that is a serious mistake. Often it takes a number of fouling shots for even a good barrel to settle down. To do proper load testing you need to have the barrel in a stable condition. Even for the best, well broken in barrel that I own for my 6PPC, after a full brushed cleaning, I would never go to the record group with only one fouling shot after cleaning. I learned this from experience. If I am only patching, I will still allow a couple.

 

[jds holler]

Another thing that others have mentioned is your cleaning between each group and only having a single fouling shot. I would say that that is a serious mistake. Often it takes a number of fouling shots for even a good barrel to settle down.

Yeah Boyd, I followed that advice on my last trip, with good results. Fired my first group with that best BLC load, and then after 40 shots did another group with the same load. Both first and last groups were almost identical, and not bad. I'm going to increase and decrease by a few tenths from that charge and see if I can nail the node.

I admit to being flagless. I'm gonna try to do something about that. jd

 

[redrockranger]

I pride myself in pretty good technique. I use the CLINK CLINK--CLANK method. On short cuts like benchmark or 8208 I'm usually +/- .1. Of course with sphericals and really fine stuff, I don't think you could weigh them more accurately than our throwers throw them. I'm starting to think that life's too short to spend weighing and trickling long grain powders. jd

Drop it-- weigh it--trickle it. It will answer your questions. This after all is Accurate Shooter forum.

 

[BoydAllen]

When I started my benchrest journey, loading at the range and using something to look at what the wind was doing, I did not have anything in the budget for flags and stands, so I used some 1 x 2s with surveyors' tape attached to their tops, hanging to the ground. That was a whole lot better than nothing. Also, since I had not started competing, I was not limited as to the height of my "flags". They were about 6' tall, with ribbons about the same, easier to see. Obviously I was not pounding them in with a hammer at that height. Our range had some portable target holders, and by screwing a 2 x 4 block to the bottom of my 1 x 2s and using a 3" C clamp I was able to use a couple of the stands to hold up my wind sticks.