Getting the parked Krag sighted in

[madsenshooter]

Today I shot the parkerized Krag in a CMP Clinic at a nearby rifle club hoping to get a good zero for Camp Perry. I didn't do bad, nothing like a super shooter the likes of Bob S would do, but 420 out a possible 500 is good for a 118yr old rifle. I'm pretty sure the problem isn't the rifle at all, it's all the nut pulling the trigger. Anyway, I think I got the zero I wanted, shot a 95-2x in slow-fire prone, the rifle was putting em where I was pointing it when the striker fell.

They had a sitting rapid stage, something the Vintage Rifle Match doesn't have. Glad they don't. Not wishing to change my stock weld and subsequently my new found zero, I tried shooting the stage from kneeling. We won't talk about how my legs don't bend well for sitting anyway. But the kneeling rapid fire was my worse stage, with a 72.

Wonder of wonders. I made it through the whole match without a miss! Even shot a 88-1x from standing, a big improvement over last year's Camp Perry performance. I knew that tight fitting jacket would help. The rifle was shooting good enough that I could pretty much tell where the shot was going. I finished with an X and I was able to tell my scorer that's what it was before the target came up.

The guys at the range enjoyed seeing the old rifle there, one said it would be his safe queen if it were his. Another old fellow, who I've seen photographing at Camp Perry, was taking a lot of pictures. Other than me, there was a lone Garand on the line, the others were shooting AR-15s.

In all honesty, there's almost always zero wind at this range, the backstop is a huge hill that protects the range from a lot of wind, and there's trees on 4 sides. Check it out at the link below, zoom in a bit. It's nothing like shooting in the wind off Lake Erie. This is something that'd take more practice to master than I can afford to do. They're having an 80rd match tmrw. I have Garand ammo loaded, hmm. Time to do a little accounting.

https://maps.google.com/maps?oe=utf-...ed=0CHoQ_BIwAQ

That nice fitting jacket made the relative cool temps of today pretty hot. Paul, you're going to thank me for talking you into a morning slot!

[Griff Murphey]

Sounds like a great shoot, Madsen!

[Pentz]

Making me feel puny...got to get out to the range....

[psteinmayer]

That nice fitting jacket made the relative cool temps of today pretty hot. Paul, you're going to thank me for talking you into a morning slot!

Hell Bob, I'm still thanking you for introducing me to the whole match shooting in the first place. I LOVE it!!! I will say, however that I don't have a shooting coat, and most likely won't as funds are very tight right now, and they don't have one made by "Omar-the-Tent-Maker" anyway (I need a 4X). I did pick up a shooting mat this year though... and I am going to be much better prepared this year also! I'm hoping to Medal this year...

[madsenshooter]

Nothing wrong with just a sweater Paul, anything on the ol elbows to keep them from getting burned by the black rubber on the mat. I heard some comments about the age of my shooting coat from somewhere down the line the other day. "Haven't seen one like that in years!". That might be because it had "Pops" written inside of it. It's very thin, the good fitting jacket is a motorcycle leather jacket that has pads in the shoulder. Like this one: http://www.zalando.co.uk/esprit-coll...2g016-802.html It goes under the light shooting jacket. Wow, $380 new, I had no idea! Found it in a closet when I moved into a house. My accounting didn't allow me to go the Garand match today, but they have three matches in July. Don't be too disappointed if I use my K31 instead of my Krag. All depends on how some cast bullet shooting goes. I have some special nose pour molds made by a Pennsylvania gunsmith who catered to the benchrest bullet crowd, the late Don Eagan. The bullets I gave you are patterned after one of his molds, but base pour.

[Bob S]

nothing like a super shooter the likes of Bob S would do, but 420 out a possible 500 is good for a 118yr old rifle.

I appreciate the compliment, Bob, but I'm just the proverbial one-eyed fat man now. Can't get into a proper sitting position because of deteriorating hip. But I'm workning on an "alternative".

Resp'y,
Bob S.

[madsenshooter]

So, you got the Distinguished when you was younger, most do. I was almost a small arms instructor in the AF, was on paper. Had cross training approved if I extended for 2yrs. Wife didn't like the military life, I got out. Should've stayed and lost the wife, which I eventually did anyway. Ah, hindsight..

Hey Bob, you remember that Eagan bullet I was shooting in the Krag, the MX3-30-AR? Remember I said makes a better K31 bullet? This is how it does at 2000fps out of my K31. Got me a tight bore, .294x.3055, actually tapers .005 from throat to muzzle, .3060 at the throat.

[Bob S]

Bob,

My Distinguished badge is an antique. So is my retired ID. :-)

I am pretty sure I have that mould around here someplace. Would appreciate your load data (for Krag and K31) if you would. By email if you don't want to publish .....

Bob S.

[madsenshooter]

In my Krag with a .301/.310 pipe, it was 20gr of Blue Dot, the bullet seated out into the rifling, which left that big lube groove above the case mouth. In the K31 I'm using 25.7gr of a Swiss made powder, SPP210, that Wideners was selling at one time. They said 4198 speed, but others have indicated it's a little faster. I was getting 2000fps out of both rifles. With the tighter bore of the K31, I couldn't get up to 2000fps using Blue Dot without pressure exceeding the strength of the alloy, which was about like lino, but with a little copper. I've had the bullet faster in the K31 using slower powders, but 2000fps seems to be it's best accuracy level. My mold was the last one made with the old worn cherry, so it's probably minimum dimensions. Cherry broke next time I had a mold maker try to cut a mold for me.

[madsenshooter]

Grumble, grumble, what a mess! I went out the other day to see which of 4 loads shot the best. Well, somehow during my recent move it seems some loads with different powders, which were otherwise the same, got mixed together. Only a 2gr difference in the powder charge, cases can vary by more than that, so I couldn't weigh them to discover which was which. Pull em down, start over. They were mixed when I was trying them for accuracy, and probably at the match I shot a couple weeks ago. "Oh, bother!", said Pooh. If I had enough components, I'd have just used the mixed ones for fun rounds and started a different batch rather than pull them down, but....