Handsome Rob

I've got a question: Can crimping a rifle case cause HUGE velocity differences? I loaded up a bunch of .308 the other day. 165gn Sierra Gamekings over 42gn of 3031. The only thing is, I messed up & ran them all through a Lee FCD by mistake. I ran them all through a chrono yesterday & had the weirdest velocities. I was expecting speeds around the 2400 fps area. What I got was velocities from 1347 to 1986!! The only thing I know I did wrong was the crimp. Every charge was measured & weighed individually to +/- 0.1gn. Every round was measured for length to within 0.001" The only variable I can see is the crimp. I tested the chrono with some factory loads in .223 & they were right on spec. I'm having a hard time figuring this out.

That's not at all unusual. All barrels have tight spots. Tight at the muzzle is good! You don't need to lube your barrel at all. Only grease it for storage. Other than that, your patch lube is all you need. Just out of interest, what's the gun?

This is my first Savage bolt &, well, I know it won't be my last (mostly because I already have most of a second...) I'm honestly astounded by the out of the box accuracy with what basically amounts to whatever load I could put together with whichever powder I had on hand. I haven't even started working on load development yet. I bought the rifle as a cheap, knock about range/hunting gun that seemed cheap. I mean, that's basically all it still is. Other than the bottom metal & box mag the stock & break stand me at under $70. The only reason I changed the stock was to install the mag. My next Savage is getting put together on an old 110 long action. Now that I've joined Strategic Edge, I have the long range bug ;)

A little more than that! It ended up being around 34". The scope 'says' each click is ¼"@100, but beyond 100 that seems to be a crapshoot. With a 100yd zero, I had to hold roughly 30" over the 5' steel plate to hit near center. From there I came up 10 clicks at a time until I was shooting to POA. No science was harmed in the making of this! No idea what my BC or velocity is. I loaded up 100 rounds with whatever I had on hand, just to get the barrel broken in.

Took it to the range today, just to walk it in to 500yds & see how badly set up it was, for a cheap gun. I've got it in a take off Savage non-Accustock with Accurate Mag bottom metal. The action isn't bedded at all & the torque settings on the action screws are 'that'll hold it' tight. Cheap EGW alloy rail, really cheap UTG QD rings, Redfield Revenge 2-7x32 scope &$20 eBay brake. And after 46 clicks of elevation, this is how it performed at 500....

You're not trying to go for a real, thorough cleaning, just getting rid of the excess fouling. Leave the hot water for a deep clean when you get home.

If it's just between shots, just to clear fouling (I shoot 5, then swab) I use 1 patch, dampened with straight 91% alcohol, followed by 1 dry patch, wait a minute, load & continue. My accuracy will remain consistent up to 14 shots, but loading gets progressively tougher with every shot beyond 5 or 6.

It'll be fine. I brine rabbits & skwerls for up to 72hrs. Usually refrigerated, but room temperature will be fine.

Peggy Sue, my baby bloodhound. 8 weeks & 14 pounds.... Aaand at 21 weeks & 64 pounds.... I'm training her to blood trail deer, but mostly she spends her time doing this....

I'm probably over cautious, but I'm new to reloading & still paranoid. I drop powder & then seat & crimp one at a time. I never have a tray full of charged shells. I'm still paranoid enough that I weigh every charge too!

Marketing genius. Because "(It')s all good, man!"..... 's all good man..... 'sall goodman..... Saul Goodman. ;)

Mental illness blah blah...Alzheimer's blah blah blah... Maybe, but sometimes, a c*** is just a c***. You're a better man than me Gordon. I'd be in the papers.

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Going on 3 weeks now of sounding like Sam Elliott. It feels like he'll, but I'm pretty sure the wife keeps sneezing on me on purpose. I don't even LIKE Dodges. But seriously, yeah. Tight chest, raw throat, breathing like I just smoked a deck of Camels. It stopped being fun around day 1

Also, I 'knew' that my Winchester was unloaded... http://www.tngunowners.com/forums/topic/71657-broke-rule-1/?fromsearch=1

Aaand that's why I don't shoot at Terry's any more. If there were some clearly defined rules stating that weapons cannot be handled while the range is cold, fair enough, I'd have probably done the same thing & politely asked you not to. However, no such rules are in place & it's down to your own common sense & as such I'd have minded my own business. I've been swept at Terry's so many times, whilst at the benches & down range it's not even funny. For some reason the 'That Guy' ratio seems much higher than anywhere else I've shot. I'm actually starting to think that common sense & common courtesy should be re-classified as Super Powers.

He hunt? What about a youth sized .223 or .243? Gettim deer & coyote hunting.

Every now & then, even I manage to find a nut!

Mine's mid 18th century Southern frontiersman. One of these days we might have to have a fight :D

There's plenty of room! Even from Chattanooga, it's be worth joining. If you're more than 75 miles away, you get a reduced rate membership (half price, non pro rated, I think) I'd happily. HAPPILY drive 2 hours to shoot here. I've been once, & I'm already shopping around for parts to build a long range target gun!

You're welcome. I'll expect my gift-wrapped 'Thank You Kimber' when you hit 60 :D

STILL the damn Tinnitus.....

I would say that with a .44 & either .223 or .243, you're set up to hunt anything in the state. I often hunt deer with a .44mag (or .45 colt) & up to 100yds I can't imagine much that'll kill a deer deader. I went with open sights myself, but a Williams peep sight is honestly a better choice. I have one on my .30-30 & I'm way more accurate, whilst giving up nothing in speed on target. My preference for coyote is .223, simply because it doesn't tear up the hide so much & I try & salvage them where I can. However, anything over a .22 kills 'em doornail dead if you put it in their ear under 100yds! A .22mag opens up coyote hunting on WMA land too & is absolutely deadly with head/neck shots. I've found the .44 (& .45 loaded to .44 pressures) to be very much a 'bang-flop' deer round. Just make sure to use a suitable bullet. Pushing a self defense style hollowpoint out of an 18" barrel could lead to case separation. Winchester makes a very, very good 240gn softpoint that gets 1680fps out of my 16" 336

Hozzie, when I went & did mine on Sunday, there were only 9 or 10 of us. The range itself wasn't crazy busy (maybe 6 total in the rifle houses & 5 in the pistol pits) The meeting/orientation took about an hour. Oh, and once you've been through the walk through, you can shoot there & then with a guest pass. I received my gate codes & membership confirmation email on Monday lunchtime. Now to get on the long-range intro.....

I've just rejoined 2 groups to place a single 'want' ad for a rifle. Yesterday. I've already been "Reported for promoting the private sale of firearms or restricted items. W are restricting your account so the content may only be viewed by persons over the age of 18" Nice.