Range Day :)

[WadePatton]

Wade: I can shoot just fine from the concrete bench. I also prefer the front support to be as close to my natural hand hold as possible. The problem I have with those benches is everything on their edges causes damage to your rifle. Either the metal or stock. Until I can find a way to wrap the edges I will just have to carry lots of towels.

Yes, a horse blanket or pad of some sort would be quick and easy.  I also saw a concrete bench, when rooting through the internet for those pics, that had appeared to have a fitted wooden top.  Such a top cold be removable for storage or transport.  A simple flat board could be clamped on as well.  A shooter could also integrate a extension of the top with such, if deemed necessary.

[oldways]

I use a peace of pipe wrap insulation, the round stuff you use to cover copper pipes. It comes in different sizes and is already split I just put it around the stock or barrel and its cheap.

[retired fella]

A furniture moving blanket would be perfect.

[Marcruger]

I carry two large C clamps and a towel to the range. The clamps go about 2” apart on the bench edge, and the towel drapes over them. The vertical rifle barrel goes between the clamps. Voila. It cannot fall side to side. The same large towel protects the gun and my ribs when firing from the bench.  God bless, Marc

[Daryl]

Holding the forend in your hand, with the back of the fore-hand resting on the bags, will usually give the same point of impact as offhand shooting.
THAT is why we hold the rifles in that manner.  Just resting the forend or barrel on the bags will not give the same point of impact - usually.
Taylor is shooting his 1853 Joseph Lang 16 bore rifle.
Note concrete bench and blanket.

[msellers]

Here is the poor mans solution that I grew up using. Still my prefered, but I am not a competitive benchrest shooter. Can be made affordably at Home Depot, or from scrap laying around. Plus lays flat for transport or storage. The triangle boards slide in the cleat track to adjust front height, just use a rolled up towel or sandbag as previously discussed. I made mine from 1/2 plywood, but heavier is good too. The triangle boards can be made different proportionally for your style a d bench set up. Set up the triangles so the shallow slopes intersect forming a V notch for your front rest. The advantage of using one this rough dimension is that it clamps very nice in one of the black & decker workmate benches for a transportable solid shooting base.

[smylee grouch]

I have had good luck using a couple of those squeez quick clamps on the edge of a loading bench to keep the rifle from sliding off. They also work to hold the gun when you want to file on the sights.

[Bob McBride]

I carry two large C clamps and a towel to the range. The clamps go about 2” apart on the bench edge, and the towel drapes over them. The vertical rifle barrel goes between the clamps. Voila. It cannot fall side to side. The same large towel protects the gun and my ribs when firing from the bench.  God bless, Marc

Super idea.

[Smokey Plainsman]

Thank you, friends.

Went out for “round two” last night. My local outdoor rifle’s range in open late on Wednesdays.



Had a great time with the rifle. Sights aren’t off so much as I’d thought. I’ll need to drift them back the way they came a bit now. I also tried a spit’s patch for the first time. Worked a treat. Didn’t foul as quickly as the mink’s oil. Also tried No. 40 cotton drill cloth. Didn’t group good. Will need to retry later. Still not at the “shoot 60 shots with no wiping” stage by no means though.

The pillow’s ticking works swimmingly. Shot at 25 yards and 50 yards. At 50 yards I could not make out the tiny 2” orange circle pasty target. Shot about a 3” group. Will need s better more visible target for such range. Planning to do a bunch of load development this weekend.

One thing that happened though was after shooting several shots I got a cleaning patch stuck into the barrel. I drizzled some water into the bore and man it came out, and sprayed dirty water all over the range. Embarrassing. I think I’ll sand down my jag a bit so it’s not so overtly tight.

Overall loving the gun so much. I’ve found the breech face is a bit hard to clean. I think I’m getting the dreaded “crud ring” down there but have researched ways of eliminating it.

Will report back this Sat for the next R.R.

-Smokey

[smylee grouch]

Don't file that sight until you get your best grouping load figured out.

[Smokey Plainsman]

Don't file that sight until you get your best grouping load figured out.

Right, I’m not gonna. But I will probably adjust for windage. You’d have a hard time convincing me the best load would also send all the balls at an angle away from the bore axis LOL.

[Daryl]

What Smokey is suggesting, is to not remove too much sight, such that when you find 'the' load, you've taken too much off.
Granted, you do have a lot of sight height to deal with.

That muzzle crown and smoothing will go towards no crud ring and shooting without having to wipe the bore. The big plus is
better accuracy at longer ranges, ie: 50 yards and further out.




names starts with ja for baby boy

[Hungry Horse]

The Konocti Rod and Gun Clubs range rules clearly state, that if guns are not in the process of being loaded, or shot, they shall be racked in the rack behind the firing line. This has kept guns from falling, and either being damaged, or discharging and hurting someone. I feel this has kept our range safe for many years
 Our benches are ambidextrous, with a heavy steel frame, and a cast concrete top, covered with a half inch rubber pad to protect guns, and shooters elbows.
 Our club has been in existence since 1958, has over 700 members, and has not had a major range accident in its history. I am proud to be the current president, and have been so four other times in the past.

  Hungry Horse

[Smokey Plainsman]

What Smokey is suggesting, is to not remove too much sight, such that when you find 'the' load, you've taken too much off.
Granted, you do have a lot of sight height to deal with.

That muzzle crown and smoothing will go towards no crud ring and shooting without having to wipe the bore. The big plus is
better accuracy at longer ranges, ie: 50 yards and further out.




names starts with ja for baby boy

Thanks. How does an ensmoothed muzzle’s crown somehow produce a reducification of the crud ring?

[Bob McBride]

Nice shooting. My only comment is not to touch the sights until you’ve got your load dialed in perfectly. Nothing like having to replace the front sight to teach you to wait until you KNOW the load she likes above all others before busting out the file. Ask me how I know. Cheers.

[Dobyns]

I'm not a fan of those fluorescent aiming points aince they tend to glow and fade depending upon the ambient light.  Try a 2" square of black or dark blue on your 50 yard target backer and see if it helps.

[Smokey Plainsman]

I'm not a fan of those fluorescent aiming points aince they tend to glow and fade depending upon the ambient light.  Try a 2" square of black or dark blue on your 50 yard target backer and see if it helps.

Great idea, was thinking the same. It was pretty “hazy” looking at that range for sure.

[Daryl]

The smoothed crown allows you to load a tighter combination which in itself, eliminates the crud ring.

[Smokey Plainsman]

The smoothed crown allows you to load a tighter combination which in itself, eliminates the crud ring.

Can you elaborate? How does one do this “crown smoothing?” as it were?

[rich pierce]

Tighter load leads to basically wiping while loading of enough lube is used and prevention of crud ring. Smooth crown makes tight load easy to load.

[Smokey Plainsman]

Tighter load leads to basically wiping while loading of enough lube is used and prevention of crud ring. Smooth crown makes tight load easy to load.

Very cool. Thanks! What is a good way to ensure I have the proper radius, and if not, how do I add a radius to the crown?

[Brokennock]

I believe Daryl posted pictures of the process earlier.

[Smokey Plainsman]

I believe Daryl posted pictures of the process earlier.

Pictures yes, an explanation, no.

[msellers]

I believe Daryl posted pictures of the process earlier.

Pictures yes, an explanation, no.

Here is some discussion on Daryl's method.
Mike
https://americanlongrifles.org/forum/index.php?topic=12706.msg120664#msg120664

[Daryl]

I put a patch down the bore about an inch to "catch" the grindings.
Rotate your thumb back and forth into the end of the bore, with the emery or wet/dry paper. I use 320 grit mostly
but have used 400 on occasion. Turn the rifle 90 degrees every now and then - maybe every 15 seconds. Replace the
paper or emery when it doesn't cut any more.
The proper angle is the one you end up with - it will be just fine.  You want to smooth the sharp angled cuts made by the
barrel makers cutter.
After I'm done, tweezers or needle nose pliers grab the patch for removal.