Replacing my Barrel
- Thread starter rowdyjoe
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FrontierGander said:
Thanks Jon. I've replaced the factory nipple with a Spitfire. It worked well in the old barrel and should do the same in the new one. If not, I have a couple of Traditions stainless nipples to try.
BTW ... I had to shim the front sight to get it tight. It took about .008" to tighten it up. The rear sight mounted right up with no problem. The under rib was a bit choosey about which mounting holes it liked but, I got it figured out.
Thanks to everyone for all the help and support. This project has been fun and a great learning experience. I'll try to remember to take some pictures in the daylight and post them here.
First range trip was Friday, 9/1, and accuracy was promising. First 5 shots at 50 yds produced a group tight enough to use as a reference to adjust he sights. Those hits were about 3 inches high and 3 inches right. After sight adjustments, best accuracy was a 2.5" group about 1" high from center with windage right on. I think the sights are "on" so, next trip I'll start concentrating on tightening the group by adjusting ball size, patch material, and amount of patch lube.
I'll save some of my targets and post them as I progress in the search for accuracy.
I'll save some of my targets and post them as I progress in the search for accuracy.
Great to put bring a mistreated gun back to life, isn't it? I picked up a 50 cal TC Hawken with a sewer pipe bore, just waiting for me to have it rebored to 54. You're encouraging me to get busy with that.
Keep us posted as you tune your loads. Even better, post pics of your hunts!
Keep us posted as you tune your loads. Even better, post pics of your hunts!
BrownBear,
Yep. I rebuilt it, shot it, everything worked as it should, and it didn't blow up in my face. Don't really know if I should feel proud or lucky.
Now I'm thinking about having the old barrel re-bored to .54. It would be nice to have a choice of caliber. Both of them fit equally well so there should be no problem swapping the barrels.
I'll be posting targets as I progress through the process but, doubt I'll do any hunting. However, if the opportunity presents itself ..... ???
Yep. I rebuilt it, shot it, everything worked as it should, and it didn't blow up in my face. Don't really know if I should feel proud or lucky.
Now I'm thinking about having the old barrel re-bored to .54. It would be nice to have a choice of caliber. Both of them fit equally well so there should be no problem swapping the barrels.
I'll be posting targets as I progress through the process but, doubt I'll do any hunting. However, if the opportunity presents itself ..... ???
It's getting better. I made another trip to the range this afternoon and I believe the accuracy is in there. I just need to work harder to find it. Here's the latest target from today. The top 3 holes were my last 3 shots AFTER I found the rear sight was a bit loose. (grrrrrr ....knew I should have put thread lock on that danged thing)
All hits are on my point of aim. I was holding 6 o'clock for the first 7 and a center hold on the last 3. When I sighted it in on Friday, I was using a much smaller bullseye and holding 6 o'clock.
I used Hornady .495 RB and .011" (compressed) ticking for this target and it appears to produce consistent hits. Once I get the rear sight nailed down, the groups should get tighter. Notice there's a windage spread probably caused by the sight moving slightly side to side.
The target was posted at 50 yds.
Oh, by the way ....no more blown patches.
All hits are on my point of aim. I was holding 6 o'clock for the first 7 and a center hold on the last 3. When I sighted it in on Friday, I was using a much smaller bullseye and holding 6 o'clock.
I used Hornady .495 RB and .011" (compressed) ticking for this target and it appears to produce consistent hits. Once I get the rear sight nailed down, the groups should get tighter. Notice there's a windage spread probably caused by the sight moving slightly side to side.
The target was posted at 50 yds.
Oh, by the way ....no more blown patches.
Yep, that target made me smile knowing that I was making progress.
I had to shim the rear sight to hold it in place as the screw was as tight as it would go. A piece of .007" feeler gauge cut to fit under the retainer did the trick and I also added a bit of blue thread lock to the screw for security. I didn't notice the sight being loose until after I had fired a few rounds and when I noticed the east-west spread I checked the sights and found the problem. It wasn't moving much but, it was enough to cause trouble.
I haven't been to range again to see how much the rear sight is off but, hope to be able to go before the week is out.
I had to shim the rear sight to hold it in place as the screw was as tight as it would go. A piece of .007" feeler gauge cut to fit under the retainer did the trick and I also added a bit of blue thread lock to the screw for security. I didn't notice the sight being loose until after I had fired a few rounds and when I noticed the east-west spread I checked the sights and found the problem. It wasn't moving much but, it was enough to cause trouble.
I haven't been to range again to see how much the rear sight is off but, hope to be able to go before the week is out.
Went to the range Friday (9/22) to check the rear sight work and to re-zero. Well, the later was not needed. I got lucky in re-installing the rear sight and got it very, very close. I used the same load and lube as the last time and the target below shows the results haven't changed ...except point of impact. I used a smaller target this time, hung it at 50yds, and held at 6 o'clock.
Now that the rear sight is fixed in place, I have a good place to start for tightening up the groups.
I used the same load and lube as the last time and the target below shows the results haven't changed ...except point of impact. I used a smaller target this time, hung it at 50yds, and held at 6 o'clock. Now that the rear sight is fixed in place, I have a good place to start for tightening up the groups.
I finally got around to casting some RB with my new Lee 10 lb pot and .495 two cavity mold. I cast about 140 balls and remelted about 20. I then weighted each ball and divided them into two groups. One group of 73 balls weighs between 182 & 183 grains. The other group weighs between 181 & 181.8 grains.
I went to the range yesterday (Friday) to test my newly cast RB and they performed very well using the same .011" pillow ticking and lube combo I used with the Hornady swaged balls. All shots were fired using the heavier lot of balls.
You can see by the target that I'm having a bit of trouble keeping the front sight in vertical alignment constantly. I really need to work on that.
I went to the range yesterday (Friday) to test my newly cast RB and they performed very well using the same .011" pillow ticking and lube combo I used with the Hornady swaged balls. All shots were fired using the heavier lot of balls.
You can see by the target that I'm having a bit of trouble keeping the front sight in vertical alignment constantly. I really need to work on that.
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