While back, talking about loads and flyers and why they happen

[Daryl]

Well, it happens.  I spoke of a group I shot with my .45 GM barreled flinter, containing 7 shots. After shots 1 to 3 - I had Taylor watch the target as the three shots made just about a perfect cloverleaf.  Shots 4 and 5 went high and right, he just looked at me and said, "What happened" - I did not know. Then shots 6 and 7 went right back into the group. Go figure - IT happens. I was having difficulty uploading the photo from my camera into Windows 8.1. Well, they materialized after 6 months, in a file that had been present all this time, on the desktop - go figure.

Every one of the 5 shots in the tight group, can be counted, which is not normal for such a small group - normally. Had I been shooting a .50 or .54, with the same C to C measurement, only 3 would have been visible - possibly. I measured it at one time, but it is not noted on the target itself. It was between .4 and .5" IIRC.  The two flyers have me baffled
.
Obviously, I need a sight correction, of 2" to the right as well as a rear sight height correction as the group is 2" higher than I like.  That is the difference a modification of the stock from full, to 1/2 stock made in the group location.

[smylee grouch]

Daryl, did the sun come out from behind the clouds on those flyers? This has happened to me on more than one target.

[L. Akers]

Earth wobble.

[Scott Bumpus]

Solair Flairs

[Three balls]

That would be a good three shot group, for me. I blame the coriolis effect.

[BartSr]

I have often wondered about those flyers myself.  So far I've come to no conclusion.  For me, it's probably the person holding the rifle.

BartSr
Paul

[longcruise]

A gun that pretty doesn't have to shoot good!

[Daryl]

LOL- we were shooting under the shooting shed roof, not out in the sun, so sun was not a problem.  I did notice a slight drop in wind (not much there to start with) and the mirage off the barrel made the target jump a bit.   

I suspect, had I been wearing a tinfoil hat, perhaps shots 4 and 5 would not have gone North.

[WKevinD]

Air bubble in the cast bullets?

[D. Taylor Sapergia]

I doubt that the bullet quality had anything to do with it - so rule that out.  Daryl casts very consistently.  The ignition time on this rifle is very quick and uniform, but there might have been a millisecond difference in shots 4 and 5...I don't know.  Sometimes on the trail, and shooting steel is much less critical than paper, I pull a bal out of the bag that is obviously inferior...wrinkled, casting flaws, etc. and shoot it anyway.  I rarely notice a difference in accuracy on these forgiving targets...huge X ring!

I don't think he has anything to worry about.

[jamesthomas]

 Glare on the barrel may have had you shoot high, or you lifted your head a bit to reduce it.

[WKevinD]

I don't think he has anything to worry about.

I don't think so either! If I shot a group like that (even with the flyers) at 60 yards I'd be bragging about it!

[Daryl]

If I remember correctly & it's sort of coming back to me, the more I think about that day, I was caught by barrel mirage lifting the bullseye. I chased it when touching off for those 2 errant shots. I recall mentioning to Taylor after the last two shots, I lined up the sights then brought the aligned sights up to the 6 o'clock position, then touched it off the split second the light disappeared between the bull and front sight blade, but before or as the bull jumped. This worked, obviously, as I didn't follow the jumping target.  Of course further testing is required. Just lucky to put those last 2 into the original group.

[little joe]

My personal shooting trials have indicated if you have  a reasonable powder, charge proper ball and patch combo ,the rest is skill and some variables such as wind and light. Also our health condition,age,eyes steady nerves ect. Do the  best you can and have a good time with it.

[D. Taylor Sapergia]

No matter how good we do, we want better.  Nature of the beast.

[Nate McKenzie]

Flyers are caused by an anomaly in the golden mean.

[T*O*F]

There is a law called the "Law of Random Dispersion."  If you clamp a rifle solidly in a rest and mechanically trigger it, the bullets will not go thru the same hole.  They will be randomly dispersed around a centerline.

[snapper]

As long as the randomly dispersed bullets are in the same hole that is fine.

Fleener