FirstFreedom
Moderator
Being the supreme moron that I am, I played musical scopes a week or so back, when I got home from the range after sighting in both my MLs, perfectly acceptably I might add..... so, back again today......
1. Everybody and their dog shows up.
2. Two guys on the far end have not brought a spotting scope, and one of the two, I swear to you, has the gall to call a ceasefire/cold range every 2 shots - maaaaaybe 3 shots, and WALK (not run) to the 100 yard mark to check his targets and back. He must have done this 6 or 8 times while he was there. This with less than an hour and a half of daylight left. Excruciating. This other guy and me were looking at each other waiting patiently, with knowing looks of "what in the hell is he thinking?".
3. ML#1 does a misfire first shot. OK, put it away, that's why I have a backup. Don't have time to mess with it. On to ML#2.
4. ML #2 is all over the place with T/C cheap shot 180s (.40 in .45 sabot). Hitting all over an actual paper plate, around the edges, but no better. Click this way. It corrects too much, impossible for the # of clicks I used. Click that way. It corrects too much again, impossible for the # of clicks. But after 20 or so shots, with 2 cleanings, at least I'm ON the pieplate. P.O.S. scope, I decided. OK, I'll just stick with the minute-of-pieplate....but wait, I have these other 180s - Precision bullets - surely I can group them (maybe it ain't the scope I thought), and there's just enough light to adjust my point of aim.
5. Still ML#2. Load up a charge with new bullet. Oops, the mark is not lining up - the mark on my rod is down in the barrel. So either I didn't put ANY pellets in, OR I put 1 instead of two. Probably I put one, but not two, by the looks of the mark, so no problem, right; I'll just shoot the 50 gr load, then keep on truckin. OK, load primer; fire. Pop; not boom. No ignition of charge. Hmmm, aaaaaaaah, ok, I must have put NO powder in, instead of 1 pellet. No problem. Use my bullet puller, pull the bullet, load up two, seat new bullet. Oops, now mark is too HIGH - there's 150 grains in there now! What I thought was a powderless load was actual another freakin misfire! Well, ain't no way I'm shooting a 150 gr load of 777 from a Traditions, with rumors of them blowing up. So I rig a rope from the pickup. Pull the trigger with rope from 20 feet back. Pop. No boom. Another !@%@#$%@#$%@#%#@%#@%, !@$%@%@%%, @#%#%#%#%, @#%#$#$%, @#$%#%#% misfire! (note the sheer number of adjectives there). So remove breech plug, hoping it doesn't blow on me in the process, push out the whole load from the front, wincing and pulling hand back quickly. It's dark now; go home. Now I must go back tomorrow when I should be loading up for the weekend instead. Hadn't been that frustrated in a looong time.
Lesson #1: Don't play musical scopes a week before ML season, when you are already sighted in, fercryinoutloud.
Lesson #2: (This dawns on me on the way home - wait for it....). Make sure you orient the 777 pellets the right way in the bore. Forgot about that. Probably what it was - only thing I can think of to cause the misfires, since I prepped the bores with blank primer shots before shooting.
I know, I know, I'm a nontraditionalist punk anyhow... I guess I'm being punished by the Primitive God of Davy Crockett for using an inline and powder pellets and scope and....
1. Everybody and their dog shows up.
2. Two guys on the far end have not brought a spotting scope, and one of the two, I swear to you, has the gall to call a ceasefire/cold range every 2 shots - maaaaaybe 3 shots, and WALK (not run) to the 100 yard mark to check his targets and back. He must have done this 6 or 8 times while he was there. This with less than an hour and a half of daylight left. Excruciating. This other guy and me were looking at each other waiting patiently, with knowing looks of "what in the hell is he thinking?".
3. ML#1 does a misfire first shot. OK, put it away, that's why I have a backup. Don't have time to mess with it. On to ML#2.
4. ML #2 is all over the place with T/C cheap shot 180s (.40 in .45 sabot). Hitting all over an actual paper plate, around the edges, but no better. Click this way. It corrects too much, impossible for the # of clicks I used. Click that way. It corrects too much again, impossible for the # of clicks. But after 20 or so shots, with 2 cleanings, at least I'm ON the pieplate. P.O.S. scope, I decided. OK, I'll just stick with the minute-of-pieplate....but wait, I have these other 180s - Precision bullets - surely I can group them (maybe it ain't the scope I thought), and there's just enough light to adjust my point of aim.
5. Still ML#2. Load up a charge with new bullet. Oops, the mark is not lining up - the mark on my rod is down in the barrel. So either I didn't put ANY pellets in, OR I put 1 instead of two. Probably I put one, but not two, by the looks of the mark, so no problem, right; I'll just shoot the 50 gr load, then keep on truckin. OK, load primer; fire. Pop; not boom. No ignition of charge. Hmmm, aaaaaaaah, ok, I must have put NO powder in, instead of 1 pellet. No problem. Use my bullet puller, pull the bullet, load up two, seat new bullet. Oops, now mark is too HIGH - there's 150 grains in there now! What I thought was a powderless load was actual another freakin misfire! Well, ain't no way I'm shooting a 150 gr load of 777 from a Traditions, with rumors of them blowing up. So I rig a rope from the pickup. Pull the trigger with rope from 20 feet back. Pop. No boom. Another !@%@#$%@#$%@#%#@%#@%, !@$%@%@%%, @#%#%#%#%, @#%#$#$%, @#$%#%#% misfire! (note the sheer number of adjectives there). So remove breech plug, hoping it doesn't blow on me in the process, push out the whole load from the front, wincing and pulling hand back quickly. It's dark now; go home. Now I must go back tomorrow when I should be loading up for the weekend instead. Hadn't been that frustrated in a looong time.
Lesson #1: Don't play musical scopes a week before ML season, when you are already sighted in, fercryinoutloud.
Lesson #2: (This dawns on me on the way home - wait for it....). Make sure you orient the 777 pellets the right way in the bore. Forgot about that. Probably what it was - only thing I can think of to cause the misfires, since I prepped the bores with blank primer shots before shooting.
I know, I know, I'm a nontraditionalist punk anyhow... I guess I'm being punished by the Primitive God of Davy Crockett for using an inline and powder pellets and scope and....