Post by Twanger on Jun 12, 2006 8:53:28 GMT -5
Started out shooting Marlin Slugmaster 12-ga, Simmons 3.5-10X scope.
Shooting 2-3/4” Lightfield Sabot slugs.
Had found that both screw holes for the forward scope ring were stripped, so I drilled and tapped them for an 8-32 screw. Had high hopes that this would solve the poor grouping problem.
First shot at 50 yards was not on the paper. Moved target to 25 yds & shot… X-ring. Weird.
Back to 50 yards. Shot X-ring. Huh? Zeroed scope and shot for group. Had 4 in nice one-hole group at 2” high, and two 4” high or so. Ugh. Manic depressive grouping continues. At this point a small 10-15lb spotted deer fawn ran out onto the range and somebody’s large brown dog ran out onto the range after it. All of the rangemasters started yelling “THE RANGE IS COLD!!!, THE RANGE IS COLD!!!” Took the opportunity to clean up while dog was retrieved. Fawn escaped unhurt.
Decided to shoot another group for score, aiming 2” low at 50 yards to ‘hopefully’ hit the center. Another manic group. End of slug gun shooting. Drive to river. Throw slug gun in river.
Just kidding. Looks like a scope problem – vertical stringing., with L/R fine. Decide to swap out the suspect Simmons scope for new Leupold 3-9 that I just bought, which I did Sunday night. Will also float the barrel before next range session, time permitting.
Change to White M97 451-cal w/ Bushnell 3-9 3200 scope. First load was Hunterman 460gr Knurled Magtips, no gas-check. All groups shot with 70gr T7/2F.
Started at 50 yds. Surprise! Gun is shooting about 2.5” left. Moved 4 clicks and got the expected move with one shot. Moved another 4 clicks and got another inch. Note that I only lube these bullets about half-way up from the base with blue White lube... or is that White blue lube? Note that pic shows GC bullet, but this was shot with non-gc bullets (I just didn't have one handy when I took the pic.)
Moved 2 more clicks right and switched targets to 100yds. Shot two regular and 3 gas-check bullets for a 2.2” group. Not bad, not spectacular. The trigger seems to be breaking a bit heavy today. Can it be adjusted down a bit?
At this point, I was confident enough to shoot my crop damage qualification targets at 50 and 100 yards with the last ten non-gas-check bullets in the box (more at home). I aimed 2” low at 50 so the group was centered. For some reason I dropped one shot low in each group. No idea why. They all felt good when the trigger broke. The leftmost shot at 50 yards (right hand target) was intentionally pulled 1” left so that the reviewer would see 5 holes in the target. Seem to be shooting fine, apart from the unexplained slight flyers.
With qualification targets out of the way, I decided to shoot a couple of other Hunterman bullet types. Shot a group of 5 Keith type hollow points that went well under 2 inches, possible 1.5 inches. Not bad at all. These are just about as accurate as the magtips. I’m damaging the tips of the bullets a little when getting them started. I need to make some custom starters with the right shape to keep from damaging them when loading.
Switched to Whitworth type at 100yds. Had one flyer that ruined an otherwise very nice group taking it from 1.5 inches to about 3.5 inches. All shots felt good.
Still wondering if I’m pounding them a little too much and deforming the tips, and if this is causing flyers. Once in the bore they pretty much go right down without any problems. Any suggestions on how to get them started without mangling the tips?
Shooting 2-3/4” Lightfield Sabot slugs.
Had found that both screw holes for the forward scope ring were stripped, so I drilled and tapped them for an 8-32 screw. Had high hopes that this would solve the poor grouping problem.
First shot at 50 yards was not on the paper. Moved target to 25 yds & shot… X-ring. Weird.
Back to 50 yards. Shot X-ring. Huh? Zeroed scope and shot for group. Had 4 in nice one-hole group at 2” high, and two 4” high or so. Ugh. Manic depressive grouping continues. At this point a small 10-15lb spotted deer fawn ran out onto the range and somebody’s large brown dog ran out onto the range after it. All of the rangemasters started yelling “THE RANGE IS COLD!!!, THE RANGE IS COLD!!!” Took the opportunity to clean up while dog was retrieved. Fawn escaped unhurt.
Decided to shoot another group for score, aiming 2” low at 50 yards to ‘hopefully’ hit the center. Another manic group. End of slug gun shooting. Drive to river. Throw slug gun in river.
Just kidding. Looks like a scope problem – vertical stringing., with L/R fine. Decide to swap out the suspect Simmons scope for new Leupold 3-9 that I just bought, which I did Sunday night. Will also float the barrel before next range session, time permitting.
Change to White M97 451-cal w/ Bushnell 3-9 3200 scope. First load was Hunterman 460gr Knurled Magtips, no gas-check. All groups shot with 70gr T7/2F.
Started at 50 yds. Surprise! Gun is shooting about 2.5” left. Moved 4 clicks and got the expected move with one shot. Moved another 4 clicks and got another inch. Note that I only lube these bullets about half-way up from the base with blue White lube... or is that White blue lube? Note that pic shows GC bullet, but this was shot with non-gc bullets (I just didn't have one handy when I took the pic.)
Moved 2 more clicks right and switched targets to 100yds. Shot two regular and 3 gas-check bullets for a 2.2” group. Not bad, not spectacular. The trigger seems to be breaking a bit heavy today. Can it be adjusted down a bit?
At this point, I was confident enough to shoot my crop damage qualification targets at 50 and 100 yards with the last ten non-gas-check bullets in the box (more at home). I aimed 2” low at 50 so the group was centered. For some reason I dropped one shot low in each group. No idea why. They all felt good when the trigger broke. The leftmost shot at 50 yards (right hand target) was intentionally pulled 1” left so that the reviewer would see 5 holes in the target. Seem to be shooting fine, apart from the unexplained slight flyers.
With qualification targets out of the way, I decided to shoot a couple of other Hunterman bullet types. Shot a group of 5 Keith type hollow points that went well under 2 inches, possible 1.5 inches. Not bad at all. These are just about as accurate as the magtips. I’m damaging the tips of the bullets a little when getting them started. I need to make some custom starters with the right shape to keep from damaging them when loading.
Switched to Whitworth type at 100yds. Had one flyer that ruined an otherwise very nice group taking it from 1.5 inches to about 3.5 inches. All shots felt good.
Still wondering if I’m pounding them a little too much and deforming the tips, and if this is causing flyers. Once in the bore they pretty much go right down without any problems. Any suggestions on how to get them started without mangling the tips?
