mcfadden222

Ok guys, thanks again for all the good advice. I got as much rust out as I could of my X-150 .45 cal. and went to shoot it today. The best I got was 4.75" groups @ 100yds. I had never shot a group with it before so I'm not sure what is was capable of. I was using pyrodex .45/50 pellets ( 2 of them), AND 195GR hp's. Would changing types of powder make a big difference? I am going to lap the barrel before I order another, as proposed by a bronco22000, to see if that will help. Any other advice is much appreciated, thanks!

frontier gander

195 grain powerbelt is more than likely your problem.

Switch to a 225 or 275 grain powerbelt. Also, dont over look the 300 grain powerbelt platinum.

http://huntingnet.com/forum/tm.aspx?...86&mpage=1

Would you be interested in free floating your barrel? It helped my x-150 greatly and can shoot under 1" groups now @ 100 yards.

I can type up a How To: for you with detailed info. It just requires maybe 20-30 minutes of your time with a simple file and then some rubber cement glue.

If interested, Let me know and i will cut out some shims and send them to you free of charge.

Branson

My gun (.50 cal x-150) seems to like 275 grain T/C Maxi hunters with 80 grains of Pyrodex RS. I'd recommend going to loose powder, but I used to use 295 grain Powerbelts with 100 grains (2x50 grain) Pyrodex pellets with reasonable accuracy. Good luck. I think the gun's just fine.

FG, isn't adding washers under the barrel an alternative to free floating? I heard it somewhere (probably on this board) and was thinking about it for mine (I'm too scared to start sanding away at the stock).

frontier gander

Washers would be to thick. It takes very little to float them. The only material that needs to be removed is on the sides of the stock that is touching the side of your barrel. Its very little material removal. In fact, Most of mine was paint build up from when they dip the stock in the camo at the factory.



Floated all the way to the first barrel lug.


When i first got it, 2- 2 1/2" @ 100 yards with powerbelts and great plains conicals was normal. After floating, Under 1" groups@ 100 yards is common 99% of the time. I also upgraded to Truglo Ghost ring sights and limbsaver recoil pad.

Tahquamenon

mcfadden222, Welcome!

I would suggest a couple of things.
1) Get a bore light so you may visually inspect the bore if you have not already done so. If the rifling is really damaged then the barrel may be gone and it's time to retire the barrel.
2) I would suggest switching to loose 777 2FG powder. You will be able to dial in an accurate load much easier. Also possibly consider lowering your powder charge as if the rifling/bore is prematurely worn, higher powder charges will increase the odds you will "strip" the rifling which can cause your accuracy to suffer.
3) May not be able to shoot a slip-fit projectile (like a Powerbelt or Conical) if the bore is that prematurely worn from rust. You may need to switch to a tighter fitting projectile such as a Hornady or Barnes XTP or Spire point for the .45 cal.
4) Lapping the bore may be the trick, but go slow. Don't want to take any more material than needed.
5) Floating the barrel is a great idea as well and easy to do.

Tahquamenon

mcfadden222

Thanks again guys! Frontier if you could give me an outline of yourfree floating plan, I'm gonna try that and the heavier bullets before the lapping.

Tahquamenon- The rifling is still there and very prominant, it just has small pits, and I'm gonna try that powder out as well, thanks

frontier gander

No problem, I'll get the type up to you later on in the day and send it through a PM for you.

Also will take my rifle apart and get detailed pictures where you need to look for heavy touching.

Get some 285 grain hornady Great Plains conicals. The X-150 really likes heavier conicals.

Branson

FG, I think you made a few posts in a thread I started a while back about free floating, but last I checked the pics were no longer there. Perhaps you could make it available to everyone as a post? I may have the cojones to try it this year.

frontier gander

Ok no problem. I'll do the type up here and post with pics.

Its really simple and easy. When i first heard of free floating i was scared to do it. Its nothing bad at all.

frontier gander

First off, Take your rifle, have either a roll of scotch tape or a black magic marker " Removes easily with windex" Look along the sides of the barrel and mark ALL material thats touching up against the sides of the barrel. All material that touches the barrel needs to be removed all the way up the the first barrel lug.





Once you've marked the areas that need to be taken down, Remove your barrel. look along your barrel for shiney markings. This is caused by the stock material rubbing up against the barrel. By removing this excess material, You'll remove the pressure thats pushing up against the barrel that leaves these ugly marks.


Black area is the paint/material that i removed. Its better to remove the material evenly so you have a nice clean gap alone the side of the barrel. It doesnt take much filing at all to get the built up material off. Go slowly so it looks clean.



Pictured below is what i'll call "barrel supports" From the factory, the barrel is pressed up against on these and just sits on them. File these down! These cause nothing but headaches and are of no use. On these, you'll need to take off around the thickness of a penny.




Rear Barrel Lug: Does yours have a Square imprint of the barrel lug? If so, You'll need to buy a little JB weld, Mix it up good, And use a tiny screw driver and just carefully filly that square impression and around the entire area. I like to do the entire area as pictured for extra support. If you do not fix this area, The barrel lug will continue to eat into the stock and will case your groups to be in a vertical line.
Dont worry about closing up the hole. You can always use a drill bit and clean it up. You dont need to build it up alot, Just get it flush with the original stock material.
Use a knife to rough up the area so the jb weld has something to grab on to and hold.



Next i simply used some Engine Bearing shim, Typcially called Shim stock. This is used to shim engine bearings when the clearances are to loose. Buy some of the thicker stuff they have, Use scissors and cut the shims out to fit tightly into the lug area and use a small dab of rubber cement in each corner to hold them in place.

I use 1 shim in the rear, and 2 shims up front. Remember that the JB weld will take up a little room and depends on how thick you put the jb weld on.
Cut out more shims than you'll need.


Once you get the stock filed, JB welded, <--- let the JB welkd dry for atleast 2 days to insure its properly dry.
Take the barrel and place it into the stock with NO shims. Grab a piece of paper and slide it down between the stock and barrel, Take note of tight areas. If the paper does not slide down, Remove the stock, Add One shim to the front and rear lugs. Redo paper test. It should take between 2-3 shims on the front lug and 1-2 shim in the rear. Do NOT crank down hard on the lug bolts, These only need to be snug.

If any of you need any help or need some pics of certain areas/ better info just let me know.

Dont let all this scare you off, Its very simple to do and just requires a little time and very little work.

Keep it simple and start off with marking the areas where material is touching.