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I posted this report on another muzzleloader site I belong to. I thought a few people here might find it interesting as well.
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I took two quick trips to the range both last night, and this morning. I have a lot a new stuff, (and some old) that I have been trying to work the wrinkles out of.
As many of you know I just got my HB about a month and a half. This weekend was my second trip to the range with it. Unfortunately the temperatures have been 85-95 degrees every time I have made it out.
I have been shooting reloader 7, with mmp short black sabots, and 300gr XTP's. My hope was to simply get this setup to shoot reasonably consistent 2-3 in groups before trying to mix things up too much.
The reason I am shooting the reloader 7 is that it was the only decent powder I could get my hands on locally the first day I went out. Others have shot good groups with the above combination and I thought it would be a reasonable place to start.
I have had decent success on my previous trip achieving 2-3 in groups. However, they were not consistent with occasional 4-6 in groups thrown in.
The past trip I was using a Lee dipper. I quickly realized that was a road to mediocrity, at best. I decided to get a Hornady Pacific M beam balance for a reasonable price to take of my powder measuring needs.
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I was hopeful that alone would help bring some more consistency to my groups.
Another area I felt could use some help was my rests. I have previously been using a Tite-group Brute rest for most of my shooting.
http://www.titegroup.com/
using the Tite-group
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These rests really excel at absorbing recoil and aiding in sighting in new scopes etc. Unfortunately, they do not provide the accuracy necessary for really shrinking group size. I had been looking for new set of rests for a while. After consulting a few friends, (Chuck included), I decided on “The Rock” up front and a Protektor bag in bag. Of course it quickly became obvious I could spend an additional 35$ and take a huge step up in functionality and get the Rock BR, so this is the path I went.
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Admittedly, I had a lot of new elements being thrown into the mix this weekend, and I was in a bit of a rush both days. However it seems the consistency of my accuracy went out the window. I would have an occasional series of great shots, only to be followed up by somewhat random groups. After assessing the situation I came to the realization that barrel heating was part of it. After slowing down to allow the barrel more cooling time the groups did tighten up. However when the day was done, I really felt I had done my job, (shooting wise), yet the consistency just wasn’t there. Here is a perfect example of my weekend….Below is the last 3 shot group of the weekend. You can guess which shots are 1 and 2. Then you can imagine how I felt after seeing 3.
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Now I know the first thing that came to my mind. I was thinking I just couldn’t shoot. So at the end of the first night I took out my Savage 210 shotgun to check my accuracy with a factory load. I quickly shot 3 reasonably good shots, and then admittedly a bad fourth shot. The important part being, I knew the moment I made the bad shot. It was easy to call. Below is the group. (The 5th shot is from Jcchartgirl).
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So….at the end of today when I was getting frustrated I decided to try the 210 again. I shot three shots, and again an almost identical repeat of last night. When I say identical…I mean identical….as in I realized that the group I shot the previous night was likely a reasonably tight group that had strung due to a heat barrel. And the same thing had just happened. On each day I shot a three shot group that was evenly strung apart. Both taped almost exactly 3 in in length, and moved apart at almost exactly the same angle. My point here being, I am fairly confident I was shooting much better than the results from 10ml were indicating.
Savage 210 day 2
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Obviously I will start investigating some new load/bullet combinations. I would just be interested in hearing any comments/suggestion on my experiences this weekend.
Thanks in advance JEFF
A Few More Pics…..
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I took two quick trips to the range both last night, and this morning. I have a lot a new stuff, (and some old) that I have been trying to work the wrinkles out of.
As many of you know I just got my HB about a month and a half. This weekend was my second trip to the range with it. Unfortunately the temperatures have been 85-95 degrees every time I have made it out.
I have been shooting reloader 7, with mmp short black sabots, and 300gr XTP's. My hope was to simply get this setup to shoot reasonably consistent 2-3 in groups before trying to mix things up too much.
The reason I am shooting the reloader 7 is that it was the only decent powder I could get my hands on locally the first day I went out. Others have shot good groups with the above combination and I thought it would be a reasonable place to start.
I have had decent success on my previous trip achieving 2-3 in groups. However, they were not consistent with occasional 4-6 in groups thrown in.
The past trip I was using a Lee dipper. I quickly realized that was a road to mediocrity, at best. I decided to get a Hornady Pacific M beam balance for a reasonable price to take of my powder measuring needs.
I was hopeful that alone would help bring some more consistency to my groups.
Another area I felt could use some help was my rests. I have previously been using a Tite-group Brute rest for most of my shooting.
http://www.titegroup.com/
using the Tite-group
These rests really excel at absorbing recoil and aiding in sighting in new scopes etc. Unfortunately, they do not provide the accuracy necessary for really shrinking group size. I had been looking for new set of rests for a while. After consulting a few friends, (Chuck included), I decided on “The Rock” up front and a Protektor bag in bag. Of course it quickly became obvious I could spend an additional 35$ and take a huge step up in functionality and get the Rock BR, so this is the path I went.
Admittedly, I had a lot of new elements being thrown into the mix this weekend, and I was in a bit of a rush both days. However it seems the consistency of my accuracy went out the window. I would have an occasional series of great shots, only to be followed up by somewhat random groups. After assessing the situation I came to the realization that barrel heating was part of it. After slowing down to allow the barrel more cooling time the groups did tighten up. However when the day was done, I really felt I had done my job, (shooting wise), yet the consistency just wasn’t there. Here is a perfect example of my weekend….Below is the last 3 shot group of the weekend. You can guess which shots are 1 and 2. Then you can imagine how I felt after seeing 3.
Now I know the first thing that came to my mind. I was thinking I just couldn’t shoot. So at the end of the first night I took out my Savage 210 shotgun to check my accuracy with a factory load. I quickly shot 3 reasonably good shots, and then admittedly a bad fourth shot. The important part being, I knew the moment I made the bad shot. It was easy to call. Below is the group. (The 5th shot is from Jcchartgirl).
So….at the end of today when I was getting frustrated I decided to try the 210 again. I shot three shots, and again an almost identical repeat of last night. When I say identical…I mean identical….as in I realized that the group I shot the previous night was likely a reasonably tight group that had strung due to a heat barrel. And the same thing had just happened. On each day I shot a three shot group that was evenly strung apart. Both taped almost exactly 3 in in length, and moved apart at almost exactly the same angle. My point here being, I am fairly confident I was shooting much better than the results from 10ml were indicating.
Savage 210 day 2
Obviously I will start investigating some new load/bullet combinations. I would just be interested in hearing any comments/suggestion on my experiences this weekend.
Thanks in advance JEFF
A Few More Pics…..
