Had a bit of time to go to the range today with the No 1, after having shimmed up the forearm hanger and bedding the forearm to ensure it only touches the hanger. The rifle was in the garage so it started out at a temperature of maybe 20-30F, being about 15F outside today.
Everything today was shot inside at 50 yds, and all loads had at least a modest crimp--some done with the RCBS die and looking more like a roll, others with the Lee FC and looking about like the Remington factory .45-70 collet crimp.
First 20-rnd assault took place with the 420gr cast big meplat rounds over 45gr 4198, producing a somewhat vertically-stringed 4" group.
The second 10-rnd group was 5" top to bottom, also a vertical string less than 2" wide. These loads were the 350gr jacketed soft point (round nose) 'factory second' bullets from Midway, over 38 gr 4198.
Third up was a 20-rnd group 4 1/4" top to bottom--a 3 in group if I discount one obvious flyer. These were my 325gr cast bullets over 45 gr 4198.
Next was an interesting result--300gr Hornady hollow points over 42gr 4198, forming a 1" wide group 2.5" top-to-bottom--all 15 rds touching but one.
With the barrel now quite toasty hot and about 90 minutes into the session, the final 20-rnd group formed a single 2" diameter round hole. These were the 420 gr cast bullets over a modest 38gr 4198. Heavy bullet, light charge, hot barrel. Really quite hot, actually.
While this isn't shooting to brag about, for sure, it looks like 'progress' is being made, sort of. At the very least I now have some hope for a brighter tomorrow. It appears that the 420 gr cast bullets can shoot, and the light 300gr Hornadys can most likely find a sweet spot, too.
I'm thinking I'll load a good bit of the 420/38 combo for a single session, running the gun on just that diet for a while to see if I can maybe tune the forearm hanger, do a more thorough bedding job, and see how much cold-to-hot is really having an impact. I'll squeeze in some loads using the same bullet and a range of 40, 42 and 44 gr of 4198 to try to develop a trend.
It seems to me there'd be a benefit to a custom front rest for this gun to allow the gun to be rested only on the very aft portion of the forearm, and yet allow operation of the lever. Right now I have to completely removed the gun from the rest to unload/load--which is an irritation.
Everything today was shot inside at 50 yds, and all loads had at least a modest crimp--some done with the RCBS die and looking more like a roll, others with the Lee FC and looking about like the Remington factory .45-70 collet crimp.
First 20-rnd assault took place with the 420gr cast big meplat rounds over 45gr 4198, producing a somewhat vertically-stringed 4" group.
The second 10-rnd group was 5" top to bottom, also a vertical string less than 2" wide. These loads were the 350gr jacketed soft point (round nose) 'factory second' bullets from Midway, over 38 gr 4198.
Third up was a 20-rnd group 4 1/4" top to bottom--a 3 in group if I discount one obvious flyer. These were my 325gr cast bullets over 45 gr 4198.
Next was an interesting result--300gr Hornady hollow points over 42gr 4198, forming a 1" wide group 2.5" top-to-bottom--all 15 rds touching but one.
With the barrel now quite toasty hot and about 90 minutes into the session, the final 20-rnd group formed a single 2" diameter round hole. These were the 420 gr cast bullets over a modest 38gr 4198. Heavy bullet, light charge, hot barrel. Really quite hot, actually.
While this isn't shooting to brag about, for sure, it looks like 'progress' is being made, sort of. At the very least I now have some hope for a brighter tomorrow. It appears that the 420 gr cast bullets can shoot, and the light 300gr Hornadys can most likely find a sweet spot, too.
I'm thinking I'll load a good bit of the 420/38 combo for a single session, running the gun on just that diet for a while to see if I can maybe tune the forearm hanger, do a more thorough bedding job, and see how much cold-to-hot is really having an impact. I'll squeeze in some loads using the same bullet and a range of 40, 42 and 44 gr of 4198 to try to develop a trend.
It seems to me there'd be a benefit to a custom front rest for this gun to allow the gun to be rested only on the very aft portion of the forearm, and yet allow operation of the lever. Right now I have to completely removed the gun from the rest to unload/load--which is an irritation.