Range report- after working on rifle
 

Okay,

So I spent some time in the past 2 months working on accurizing my New Frontier Cascade Magnum .45 cal. I've had it for 2 years, and just was never happy with the accuracy I was getting. Average 100 yard groups were in the 6" range, although I did shoot some 4" groups along the way. With the help of some wise people from this site ;)I made some improvements.

First I used a file to remove excess stock material up to the first lug to free-float the barrel.

RE: Range report- after working on rifle
 

Then I used a glass bedding kit I got at midwayusa to bed the action. I might have gotten a little carried away with the bedding compound, but it seems to be okay.

RE: Range report- after working on rifle
 

Here's a pic of an average group I was shooting last fall before I did all this:

RE: Range report- after working on rifle
 

Here's a 5 shot, 100 yard group I shot yesterday. The load was:

195 grain .357 Dead Center
100 grains FFFG 777
Fed. 209A primer





This was the first time I've tried out Dead Centers, and I was pleasantly surprised. I had heard some stories from others about bad accuracy, but they seemed to shoot really well out of my rifle - a good hot, flat-shooting load, and they seemed to be very consistent.

RE: Range report- after working on rifle
 

Another load that seemed to shoot very well was:

10mm 200 grain XTP
Harvestor sabot
95 grains FFFG 777
Fed. 209A primer

RE: Range report- after working on rifle
 

I like shooting 5 shot groups, but I wanted to experiment some, so I didn't have time to shoot 5 times with each load. One disapointment I had was with the Variflame system. I bought it on sale hoping that also would increase accuracy. For those of you who aren't familiar with it, it's made by Precision Rifle (same company that makes Dead Centers) and it's basically a brass cup that is shaped like a 209 primer and holds a small rifle or small pistol primer. It promises better accuracy and less fouling. The less fouling part is true, but I'm not sure about the accuracy.

I fired 10 rounds with it, and out of 10 I had 2 misfires. Out of the 8 times it fired, at least 2 of those 8 had noticealbe lag times between the "pop" of the primer and the "BOOM" of the shot. This probably caused me to flinch a bit and might have messed up the group I shot with them.



Personally, 2 misfires out of 10 is not acceptable to me. I'll give up a little in accuracy to know that the rifle is going BOOM every time I pull the trigger. So after that, I switched over to the Federal 209's for the rest of the session.

RE: Range report- after working on rifle
 

Looking good Smelly, amazing what a little tweaking will do.

RE: Range report- after working on rifle
 

Overall, I've seen a huge improvement in accuracy. I think that if I had more time to tweak some of the loads, I could have dialed it in even more. I'll have to wait until next time..... Also, I doubt that if the rifle was capable of shooting 1" 100 yard groups that I could shoot that well. I've never been able to shoot better than 1.5" - 2" groups at 100 yards with any rifle. It's mostly due to a mild case of flinchitis I developed after too many years of shooting full-power 12 gauge slugs out of a lightweight gun for deer hunting. My range sessions back then usually went:

5 shots
3 Tylenol
1 badly bruised shoulder for the next week

I've been working on it, but I still sometimes flinch a bit when shooting. I'm so happy I've gotten into ML's - they are truly addictive, especially now that I'm happy with how mine is shooting. As Mr. Whelen said "only accurate rifles are interesting".

Thanks to everyone on this site that has given me good advice! I can't wait to get out again and tinker some more!

RE: Range report- after working on rifle
 

Yeah, those hard kickers will teach you some bad habits. Whenever I'm shooting hot loads I always bring along a .22 rimfire or my .22 Hornet. After a few rounds with a big kicker, I shoot a few rounds with the .22 to settle my technique down and get the trigger squeeze smooth again.

RE: Range report- after working on rifle
 

Hey, you did a real good bedding job on that gun.Made it a good shooter too.

RE: Range report- after working on rifle
 

Yeah, I'm really trying to work to un-learn the bad habits I picked up shooting shotgun slugs. I usually can make a good shot in the field when hunting, but I'd say that I'll flinch a bit on about 1 out of every 5 shots when I'm shooting from the bench for practice. Part of the problem too is that my scope doesn't have enough eye relief for a ML and I've got smacked in the eye a couple times when shooting a stiff load - also has made me nervous at times.

RE: Range report- after working on rifle
 

You are on target now Hound!;)


Maybe weighing out your charges with a scale, will help bring those DeadCenters in another half inch or so:)

Us 45cal shooters know what's BEST:D:D


.

RE: Range report- after working on rifle
 

You can't get any more all-American than a .45 :D. I got one just because I wanted to be different.

I really like the Dead Centers - except that they are really expensive. Too expensive to use for target practice,
but I figure if I play around with them some more I'll have a legitimate 175 - 200 yard load if the wind isn't blowing too hard.

RE: Range report- after working on rifle
 

Puta Sim's recoil pad on that kicker. You will love the difference. Made a lot of difference on my Omega.

Charlie

RE: Range report- after working on rifle
 

Great report. It looks like it definitely helped!!

RE: Range report- after working on rifle
 

Yes, I couldn't be more happy of the time I spent working on that rifle. Most of it was just time spent, not money.

Rifle = $119 (not on sale)
Free floating barrel = $0 (I used an old file to do it - took about 3 hours one night)
Bedding action = $18 (kit I found at midwayusa)

Total = $137 plus about 6 hours of work

Now I just need an excuse for my wife so I can buy another one - maybe join the .50 cal club;)

RE: Range report- after working on rifle
 

Just my 2 cents, but I can confirm about the Variflame system. Buy it and you also get a ticket for misfires. I tested it on my Knight Disc.

Same kind of opinion about DC bullets. Lead it to soft, most time you will damage it during the loading and they are not very accurate mostly withcharges over 100grs.

Best solution, buy anything else.

Salar

RE: Range report- after working on rifle
 

Yes it sure is nice when you can walk away from the range with a good feeling, like you really accomplished something. Iuse a "shooters friend" slip onrecoil pad on all my hard kicking guns when I plan on shooting more than a couple rounds, a real thick gel type, really makes a difference. Nice work and nice report

RE: Range report- after working on rifle
 

Hound

You should try those 45/40cal SST's are a Super Bullet! They won't distort from compression, AND you can drive them as fast as you want;) They drop deer with authority, just like shooting a 30.30 on steroids:D;)

100-120g of 777, ought to give you around 2200-2300fps:):D

RE: Range report- after working on rifle
 

I've never had the guts to try bedding a rifle.. maybe I should try that. I will have to look for a kit.


Nice shooting there with that rifle..

RE: Range report- after working on rifle
 

Just curious what your load was for this target?

You might want to try some 340 gr DC's. They shoot well in my Omega. Try them with 2 x 50 gr T7 pellets.

RE: Range report- after working on rifle
 

Might want to try some other 209 primers besides the Fed. 209a's. Those are about the hottest primer you can get for a shotgun. Don't think I would pay the price for the special ML primers though.
Looks as if you are on the right road though.

:)Al

RE: Range report- after working on rifle
 

Lane - thanks for the tip on the SST's. I did shoot a 3 shot group with them on Saturday - 2 holes were touching, but the third was a good 4" away - might have been a flyer, so I didn't post the pic. Unfortunately, I didn't have time to stay and play around with the SST's more - maybe next time. Have you used them on deer? I've heard some mixed reports about the .45 cal SST's performance on deer, but nothing on the .40 cal.

Cayugad - I'm not sure I would have tried bedding the rifle if I hadn't gotten some pretty specific instructions from someone from this site that did the same thing to a very similar rifle. Also, I don't think I would have done it on an expensive gun, or if it was shooting well to begin with - if it ain't broke, don't fix it, right? It was fun to do though - I love learning how to do new things:D

RE: Range report- after working on rifle
 

HuntAway-

That group was with shot with this load:

200 grain 10mm XTP
MMP tan sabot
80 grains FFG 777
Reminton Kleenbore 209 primer

That was the worst I think I shot - prior to free-floating and bedding, I shot some better groups, but none that were acceptable in my book.

I like the Dead Centers, but I'm not sure if I'm going to keep shooting them because of the price.

RE: Range report- after working on rifle
 

Looks like free floating the barrel and bedding the stock worked out pretty darn good for you. Worked like a charm with that old X-150 i had. Now you'll just have to work up new loads.