At a recent gun show I bought a quantity of Nosler 70 gr HP in 243 calibre. I loaded up a few with 46 grains of H414 and wanted to try them out.
I also had bought a box of Remington 243, 80 grain pointed, to get the brass. I had shot ten of them but wanted to shoot the other ten, so to the range.
Those of you who have been following my posts will get tired of me promoting upward pressure on the front of the barrel for accuracy and how I would not have a rifle that would only shoot with a cool barrel.
About two years ago I bought a Marlin XST in 243, from a sight sponsor here, Guns and Games, who had them on sale for about $300. When I went to the range with it I did my usual test of a new, at least to me, rifle. I got a good rest and fired off five, one after the other. A good barrel well bedded will shoot all five into a good group, while a poorly bedded rifle will either make a larger group, or walk the bullets as the barrel heats up.
I was amazed that my new low priced Marlin made a beautiful group! So off with stock to see what the bedding looked like and was surprised again, to see a nice saddle for the barrel to ride in at the front of the Tupper ware stock. When the action screws are tightened it exerts quite a bit of pressure on barrel.
So, now for today at the range.
Put up two aiming marks, my usual black squares, on a piece of cardboard at 100 yards. I set up the chronograph and proceeded to shoot. A fouler, then five on target, one after the other, so the barrel heated up, with the 70 grain Noslers.
My first fouling shot, from a previously oiled barrel went 3439 fps, while the next five averaged 3537 fps.
And here is the target, showing the five made about .6"
I still had ten of the Remington 80 grain factory loads to fire for the brass, so I sat at my rest and fired all ten, with only a slight pause at five. The barrel was so hot it would have burned my hands if touched and I was getting some mirage in the scope. The scope by the way, is a Bushnell Elite 3200, 1 to 4.5x, set at 4.5. And here is the target of those ten. The centre light colored area is 2 inches square.
I also had bought a box of Remington 243, 80 grain pointed, to get the brass. I had shot ten of them but wanted to shoot the other ten, so to the range.
Those of you who have been following my posts will get tired of me promoting upward pressure on the front of the barrel for accuracy and how I would not have a rifle that would only shoot with a cool barrel.
About two years ago I bought a Marlin XST in 243, from a sight sponsor here, Guns and Games, who had them on sale for about $300. When I went to the range with it I did my usual test of a new, at least to me, rifle. I got a good rest and fired off five, one after the other. A good barrel well bedded will shoot all five into a good group, while a poorly bedded rifle will either make a larger group, or walk the bullets as the barrel heats up.
I was amazed that my new low priced Marlin made a beautiful group! So off with stock to see what the bedding looked like and was surprised again, to see a nice saddle for the barrel to ride in at the front of the Tupper ware stock. When the action screws are tightened it exerts quite a bit of pressure on barrel.
So, now for today at the range.
Put up two aiming marks, my usual black squares, on a piece of cardboard at 100 yards. I set up the chronograph and proceeded to shoot. A fouler, then five on target, one after the other, so the barrel heated up, with the 70 grain Noslers.
My first fouling shot, from a previously oiled barrel went 3439 fps, while the next five averaged 3537 fps.
And here is the target, showing the five made about .6"
I still had ten of the Remington 80 grain factory loads to fire for the brass, so I sat at my rest and fired all ten, with only a slight pause at five. The barrel was so hot it would have burned my hands if touched and I was getting some mirage in the scope. The scope by the way, is a Bushnell Elite 3200, 1 to 4.5x, set at 4.5. And here is the target of those ten. The centre light colored area is 2 inches square.
.... tight groups from a known honest nutter make me warm and fuzzy....
