It is Spring and Rondy Season begins…

Today was the first opportunity that I had to get some competitive round ball shooting in. Really do not know whether it is the competition or the conversation that really draws me to these things. On thing is for sure the people are really nice and really make me feel at ease even though I am certainly a pilgrim with not a whole lot of authentic looking period stuff.

Anyway todays even was sponsored by the Hells Canyon MLA. It was down on the Snake River just west of Lewiston and Clarkston. Yep! Lewis and Clark country, in fact while we were shooting I thought I might have heard their party on the river below us going by, but when I looked over at the rive it was a large modern jet boat and nobody on board looked like Lewis and Clark.

I go to these events just for the rifle shooting portion so I really am not competing for prizes just the shooting… I do get a little bit of a turned up eye when they ask me my mountain name and I say Sabotloader – and I always say it kinda Frenchy “Sayboloader” hoping they do not figure it out, but today as I am signing up and I write my name down on the entrance form, the guy who has been real nice up to this point looks at the name and says ‘you aint shooten none of them here today!’ I did agree right away no saybo’s today.

Well being the first event of the year I did manage to leave an important item at home – forgot my camera, so I had to use my cell phone trying to get the pictures off now.

It was really a fun event, there was only ten shots on the rifle trail but a couple of them were really a challenge. I was Ok with the thought of only 10 stations because I figured I would go through the course the first time with my good PRB Renegade for score than come back with the new PRB Renegade just to check and see how it shot.

The first shot of the morning is the ‘tie-breaker’. It would seem to be a very easy shot – heck just 10 yard at a small card with a black dot on it. I actually hate that short shot…



Then station #1 – a shot at a 6” horizontal tank about 35 yards out. I hate that one also as I do not like horizontal targets… but all went well and I rang the target.

Station #2 Crows @ 25 yard on a spinning wheel… well the wheel is stationary until you shot a crow and then it spins… It did not spin for me…

Station #3 Vertical Oxy tank gong @ 50 yards… not a problem with vertical… it gonged.
Station #4 Three hanging gongs of different size… 20 yard. Little gong 3 points, mid size 2 points, large gong (4”x4”) – 1 point – I took the middle one – scored two points on this one.

Station #5 12”x12” Metal Part @ 40 yards - gong

Station #6 Vertical Stack 3” wide Springs – White Spring 2 points Black Spring 1 pt. got 2

Station #7 Square Black Gong 2 @ 80 yards – gong

Station #8 Metal White Bear @ 100 yards - Dong

Station #9 Vertical Metal Bar @ 60 yards - gong

Station #10 A large man sized metal plate @ 180 yards – really high uphill angle… I’ll be darned if I didn’t git it.

It was a nice day and it was fun… Next time I will have my camera for some better shots…

After the ML - shoot I drove back up the hill, went to Troy shot trap in the afternoon and then went back and shoot an indoor 22 range - GOOD Day for shooting.....

Sounds like a fun day Sabotloader. Man, I wish there was something like that in my neck of the woods.

it sounds like a lot of fun.

Yep, I bet you had a good time. Sounds like you did pretty good with your shooting, too.

Anytime we can get outdoors is fun times... Ray

That looks like a lot of fun. I wish we had those in our area.

OK this seems like a good thread to get back into the converstion again.....

I have 3 Renegades that I use for shooting PRB's, all three of these rifles are very simular in the fact that they are 1/48 twist Renegade barrels, one is Douglas, one is a Shilen, and the last is a TC made barrel.

The load remains the same in all three rifles....
60 or 70 grains of T7-2f powder
A Ox-Yoke Wonder Lube Wad
Either a .015 cotton Wonder Lube patch or a .018 Pillow Ticking Wonder Lube Patch,
A .490 Round Ball

Al three rifles shoot very accurately with this load....



The problem.... The recovered patches...

These patches are/were purchased from TOW, they come in a heavy aluminum zip lock package that is complety sealed from the air. When you open the package the Wonder Lube is very moist. I do supplement the lube on the patch by adding some of Cayugad's Moose Milk - so I believe the patches are well lubed and equally lubed.

This is an example of recovered cotton patches and wads. The upside of the wad is the side I believe was sitting on the powder. And you can see the patch is shown with the ball side down.



In all three barrels, the 0.015 patch loads with what I feel is just the right amount of pressure all the way down the barrel smoothly and with equal pressuer.

I can load a 0.018 patch with more pressure but it feels tight...

When I go to recover patches to check their condition... that is when the problem become apparent.



Cotton patches on top - Pillow Ticking on the bottom - equally treated patches...

It comes down to the fact that cotton patches work very well but the more common and more popular Pillow Ticking patches shred something fierce. The do not appear to be burnt...

I have looked for answers to this problem before but still have not in my mind got it figured out.

Just so you know I really believe that all three bores are glass smooth and free of any pitting.

I have shot, or did shoot a few cans of GOEX-3f from these guns when I first tried shooting PRB's and I do not remember if the same problem existed with GOEX or not. I just really prefer shooting T7 - cleaner and I do not have to shoot as much per load so it is a bit cheaper...

And remember the guns all shoot very accurately - well accurately for me...

Thoughts?