Ruined Renegade's Restoration Results
04-21-2008, 01:10 PM
#1
Boone & Crockett
Thread Starter
Join Date: Apr 2007
Location: River Ridge, LA (Suburb of New Orleans)
Posts: 10,917
Ruined Renegade's Restoration Results
Hey guys, remember my Disappointing Day With The Renegade? http://www.huntingnet.com/forum/tm.aspx?m=2736181&mpage=1&key=&#273618 1
Well, after working the pittedbore over with naval jelly and oiled steel wool, I reshot the same loads I tried in my original range session -fifty yard five shot groups with 80 grains of Pyrodex RS and six different bullets. Did I have any improvement? Not really. Here's a short description of the results.
Patched balls - Still tearing up patches with groups in excess of six inches.
410 grain Hornady GP - Group went from 3 7/8" to 3 1/2".
320 grain REAL - Group went from 4 1/2" to 4 3/8".
250 grain REAL - Group went from 4 3/4" to 9" (what the hell!)
405 grain Lee .457 cast bullet in MMP orange sabot- Group went from 4 1/2" to 5" (bullet clearly not stable - evidence of wobble on target)
250 grain Gold Dot in Harvester crush rib sabot- Group went from 2 7/8" to 1 7/8".
The only thing that looked promising was the Gold Dots in crush rib sabots. Maybe the sabots are better a dealing with the pitting near the muzzle. So I figured I ought to explore that a little bit. I shot a group with 300 grain Gold Dots in crush rib sabots, and a group with 300 grain Remington Semi-Jacketed Hollow Points in MMP orange sabots. They actually shot better than anything else (targets below). Clearly, a little load experimentation around those bullets is in order. Looks like this barrel will never be a patched ball shooter - which is what I wanted - but it may turn out to be useful with a sabotted bullet.
Well, after working the pittedbore over with naval jelly and oiled steel wool, I reshot the same loads I tried in my original range session -fifty yard five shot groups with 80 grains of Pyrodex RS and six different bullets. Did I have any improvement? Not really. Here's a short description of the results.
Patched balls - Still tearing up patches with groups in excess of six inches.
410 grain Hornady GP - Group went from 3 7/8" to 3 1/2".
320 grain REAL - Group went from 4 1/2" to 4 3/8".
250 grain REAL - Group went from 4 3/4" to 9" (what the hell!)
405 grain Lee .457 cast bullet in MMP orange sabot- Group went from 4 1/2" to 5" (bullet clearly not stable - evidence of wobble on target)
250 grain Gold Dot in Harvester crush rib sabot- Group went from 2 7/8" to 1 7/8".
The only thing that looked promising was the Gold Dots in crush rib sabots. Maybe the sabots are better a dealing with the pitting near the muzzle. So I figured I ought to explore that a little bit. I shot a group with 300 grain Gold Dots in crush rib sabots, and a group with 300 grain Remington Semi-Jacketed Hollow Points in MMP orange sabots. They actually shot better than anything else (targets below). Clearly, a little load experimentation around those bullets is in order. Looks like this barrel will never be a patched ball shooter - which is what I wanted - but it may turn out to be useful with a sabotted bullet.
04-21-2008, 02:28 PM
#3
Dominant Buck
Join Date: Feb 2003
Location: Wisconsin
Posts: 21,193
RE: Ruined Renegade's Restoration Results
that is half the fun of these rifles...
You might have to order a .58 caliber 1-70 twist from Green Mountain and put on that stock. Then you can shoot a roundball that will stop anything you want to hunt. Although I am sure the .54 caliber from them would do fine as well..
You might have to order a .58 caliber 1-70 twist from Green Mountain and put on that stock. Then you can shoot a roundball that will stop anything you want to hunt. Although I am sure the .54 caliber from them would do fine as well..
04-21-2008, 02:42 PM
#4
Boone & Crockett
Thread Starter
Join Date: Apr 2007
Location: River Ridge, LA (Suburb of New Orleans)
Posts: 10,917
RE: Ruined Renegade's Restoration Results
You might have to order a .58 caliber 1-70 twist from Green Mountain and put on that stock. Then you can shoot a roundball that will stop anything you want to hunt. Although I am sure the .54 caliber from them would do fine as well..
04-21-2008, 04:54 PM
#6
Nontypical Buck
Join Date: Mar 2008
Posts: 1,181
RE: Ruined Renegade's Restoration Results
I have a rusty oldrenegade barrel I am working on. My load I am having the best luck with is 80 gr of Pyrodex P and a felt wad between the powder and a 320 gr real bellet. I chronographed it at 1440. Ron
04-21-2008, 05:34 PM
#7
Boone & Crockett
Thread Starter
Join Date: Apr 2007
Location: River Ridge, LA (Suburb of New Orleans)
Posts: 10,917
RE: Ruined Renegade's Restoration Results
Forgot to mention, I'm still thinking about chopping five inches off the barrel to see what it does. That will get me back past the worst of the pitting.
04-21-2008, 07:13 PM
#9
Boone & Crockett
Thread Starter
Join Date: Apr 2007
Location: River Ridge, LA (Suburb of New Orleans)
Posts: 10,917
RE: Ruined Renegade's Restoration Results
isint naval jelly a rust converter? have you tried jb bore paste?. i would give it a try.