LAST EDITED ON Feb-27-02 AT 09:09AM (MST)[p]stalker: Kraig, you have a twist that lends itself to conicals more than roundball. The 1:48 twist was developed to be a "catch all" twist that in theory is supposed to handle both roundball and conicals, but I personally believe, from my experiences, that it lends itself more to conicals. Why don't we go in that direction right now, and see if we can get it to perform correctly so that you, and your daughter, have confidence in the weapon. If the procedure I'm going to recommend doesn't work we can always go back to the patched roundball, ok?
You have a lapped barrel that we will assume is free of burrs and chattermarks. Here is what I think you should do:
1. I would choose the BlackBelt hollow nose lead conical as a minimum for elk.
2. I am making the assumption that you have open iron or a peep sight.
3. More than likely through the years you have moved your front and rear sights. You can either leave them where they are or reset them to "zero-zero". I would leave them where they are if you are ABSOLUTELY CONVINCED that the shooter of the rifle, or the bullet, is the problem and not the sights. If there is any doubt whatsoever that the sights might be wrong then I would reset them and start from scratch.
4. Pick a nice calm day and go to the range. Set your target at 25 yards.
5. Take some Goex Clear Shot 2f and 3f with you.
6. Fire a couple of rounds through the barrel to get it warmed up. You don't care where these hit the target. Run a spit patch down the barrel and then a dry patch.
7. Start your first string of 3 shots with 90 grains of 2f.
8. Do the absolute best you can possibly do to make these first 3 shots the best you have ever done. If you have the slightest thought that any of these shots could have been better then totally ignore them and start over.
9. Let's assume you held really good. You should have all 3 shots fairly close together at some place on the target.
10. Run a spit patch down the bore, and paste up the 3 shots.
11. Repeat Steps 7 and 8. Is your 3 shot string in relatively the same place on the target? If not, there is a problem with either the rifle, the sights, or the shooter. If they are in the same general area you can now start making adjustments.
12. Run a spit patch down the bore.
13. For your next 3 shot string increase the powder charge to 100 grains of 2f. Fire that string. Did the strike point move on the target? If everything is equal then it should have moved.
14. Run a spit patch down the bore.
15. If the strike point from that 3 shot string did not move, ignore it, paste up the holes and repeat Step 13.
16. If it moved then increase your powder load for the next 3 shot string to 110 grains. Fire that string. Did the strike point move on the target? If everything is equal it should have moved.
17. Run a spit patch down the bore.
18. If the strike point didn't move repeat Step 13.
19. One of the things that you should have been paying attention to through this whole exercise is if the shot groups were "tightening up" or spreading out. If they were staying about the same, or tightening up, then everythings cool.
20. Now begin the process of moving your sights so as to put your shot groups "dead on in the middle of the bullseye".
21. You can now move the target to the 50 yd line, or to the 100. It's up to you.
22. Fire a 3 shot group and see where the strike points are. Adjust your sights to move the strike of the bullet to "dead on in the middle of the bullseye".
Kraig, go through this procedure, and after you have completed it jump back on here and let me know what the results are. We are not finished with this process so it's important to let me know about your results. Now, let me say this without being offensive, ok? The whole key to this process is the shooter. If you have any physical issues such as eyesight, high pulse rate, heavy breathing, nervous condition, smoking, heavy coffee or soda drinking, bucking, flinching, pulling etc. your results could be skewed. Be honest with yourself and take these into account. A lot of times undesirable results are not caused by rifle, bullet, or powder; but my the person firing the weapon. What I am saying is make sure that the shooter is not the problem. We can solve the rifle, bullet, and powder problems: you are the only one who can solve any shooter problems.
For now, you should do the shooting. We will make some adjustments later on so that your daughter can handle the recoil, ok? Another factor to take into consideration is the physical size of your daughter. The "pull" of the Renegade might come into play if she is small. Is the rifle comfortable to you? Measure your arm length and your daughter's arm length. How much difference is there?
