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Swamping The Corners

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thecapgunkid

40 Cal.
Joined
Oct 9, 2014
Messages
342
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6
First build.

When the Pecatonica Jaeger stock, barrel, triggers and lock showed up it came with a straight, 31” , .58 cal. barrel because they did not have any swamped barrels in stock. I did not want to wait and jury rig the barrel inletting, so I posted on two forums about swamping corners off the barrel rather than worrying about the inlet problem.

Zonie came up with some sophisticated mathematics that documented why only a negligible amount of weight would be removed. He was probably right.
On the other forum, one of the more experienced gunmakers jumped all over the project as lunacy. He was probably right. I don’t think he’s the best gunmaker around but I’d hate to have to live on the margin between he and the top five craftsmen out there. Besides, once he introduced his famous sarcasm, that about cinched it.

Now I was gonna swamp the corners. End of story.
This was gonna be a simple gun anyhoo

I haven’t been on the forums for a while because the move from Connecticut to Pennsylvania and the time it took to build my shop kept me busy. I finished this gun just before we moved in May from Hide-behind-the-rock-Connecticut-Gun-Control-Politicians to Gun-Heaven-With-Lots-of-Clubs-and-Ranges just outside of Harrisburg, Pa. Now I got to shoot this bad boy.

The Pecatonica Parts went together well with a minimum work and sufficient incompetence on my part to get by and I have a picture of it here. The shoemakers pegs holding on the leather buttplate were a must. That’s ”˜cause I am a Cordwainer first, and still unsure how much rifle building I will dare to try.

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The protractor and Sharpie were the maximum technology I would use on the gun to measure out the barrel.
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When I slurped on and rubbed in the Boiled Linseed Oil and Turps on the stock toward the end of the project I noticed that the eye could not easily see the swamping. When I held it up and sighted on the wall the weight issue did not matter because this rifle locked on and did not wobble.

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Ever since I could remember I did most of my sighting in work offhand, bracing the barrel for only the first four or five shots and then going full offhand. So, I needed a stand. Cross stick would not do and I was not going to sit down at a bench. Using some scrap furring strips, bolts and wing nuts I made a crude, adjustable rest with a wool pad. I can rest it on the bench, hold both the forestock and the stand and still shoot offhand out of the pouch.

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The range At Myerstown Pa is a simple affair, a hallmark of a small town club that looks like it contains a lot of fun. It is also private and sheltered, so during the week it was wide open. So I adjusted the stand and banged away. I don’t weight powder and subscribe to complex data and Mathematics, so I sawed off the measure and noted the ball/patch once I got the rifle as close to a whip crack as it was going to come. The short barrel did not help that sound, but the gun felt really well by about the third shot.

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Building the shop is a separate post, but I cannot decide whether I had more fun building than shooting. If there’s any regret at all, it is that I can only chat with or listen to those and other forum members rather than sponge up their knowledge in person”¦.so thanks for the math and thanks for the sarcasm.
 
Well, congrats....... Looks like you got it together & working. You even got a starting load ! Now work that load down to a 3 shot 1.5 - 2" group @ 100 yards & you will really have something !

Keith Lisle
 
Thanks, Dog6

The three top shots are the group after aim point adjustment. For the last shot I took my right earplug out and got a good sounding. The patches are striated but not ripped.

Have a day and a half
 
I don't see anything that says Yardage..... I always start at 25 Yards on a steel bench with sand bags. 1 want 3 shots in the same hole @ 25 yrds. If I don't have that.... Need a dif load or combo or whatever & start over......

Now you may think this is unnecessary, but I am saying to get an accurate load, you need to eliminate Human Error. If you don't eliminate that first..... it will always be there thus you end up going in circles, as you never need to know when that same error will spring up.

And I never want to hit the bullseye. I want a Perfect dot & I want to keep that, because you need the sight picture exactly the same Every Time. Do I prefer to hit low & right or left. 3 shots, change targets, Write On That Target Exactly all the details. Distance. Power Type. Charge. Patch. Patch thickness. Lube & how much. Ball dia. How hard you packed it. Every Detail. Even IF you swabbed, how you did it, with what, etc. I can move the sights to the bull when I am finished & have the load I want, that is not an issue & can be done anytime......

If you don't take specific details, again you end up spending allot of time doing things over, cause most can't remember 35 things of 35 dif loads & combos, etc.

I have went out back & shot for DAYS trying to find a 1 ragged hole 3 shot group at 50 yards. And once in a while I find it withing a few hours. But to REFINE it, takes Time & diligent concentration & documentation, if you want to obtain maximum accuracy. And I like to do it alone, so I have no distractions.

Now some don't like to do all that & just want a "Point of Deer" load & go one, & that is fine. :surrender: I have no issue with that, as it is there for Your enjoyment. :thumbsup: But to find the Best the barrel & rifle can do, it takes Time....

For me, if I can get the utmost from the rifle, THEN I can work on my shooting skills & then I know when I have a flyer it is ME, not the rifle. Thus I need to work on Me. :wink:

It all depends on what YOU want the rifle to do.

Keith Lisle
 
I shot at about thirty yards or so. The points Dog6 raised are true, but my main concern with any rifle is the trail walk.

That's one of the reasons I don't like to bench...the posture on the trail is just different and it affects the aiming.

There's another part of sighting in that is hard to put into words...Maybe it's when you look down at thr rifle and know it is dead on...
 
The posture on the trail may be different from the bench, but that doesn't change the accuracy of the piece. If you don't know what the rifle is capable of, or where your POI is in relation to your POH, then you can burn a lot of powder and lead and still not really know ANYTHING, other than how loud it is.
If the target is around thirty yards, then I'm gonna guesstimate the rifle groups around 8 moa. My old Sgt on the rifle team used to say your bench moa times 4 equaled your offhand moa. You better hope for some good sized targets.
Best of luck.
 
If that was 30 yards, either you are off or the Load needs MUCH work. At 25-30 yards, you need one ragged hole groups. Then you work out to the longer distances.

As I stated, remove the Human Error First.... It doesn't matter what kind of shooting, trail or whatever. If the load is not the best for the barrel & you KNOW it holds a tight group, you don't have a clue if it is You or the Barrel making the bad shots. A good solid bench & sand bags don't lie.

I had a guy a few years ago that I built a LH Bucks rifle for him in .50 cal. We sighted it in & it was doing great. He started shooting it off hand & was shooting over a 12" group at 50 yards ! :shocked2: :doh:
I worked with him all day shooting that rifle, when he left he was shooting about a 4" group at 50 yards. Sandbagged, the rifle would consistently put the ball in a 2" bull at 50 yards.
A month later he was back & was doing the same thing & had changed loads & etc. it was all over the place again. I loaded Exactly the same as last time & put it on the bench with sand bags & put 5 shots in a 2" bull at 50 yards & 3 are cloverleaf.

I'm tellin ya, the bench don't lie. :idunno: You work up a good load there that is tight & Consistant, THEN you adjust the sights for You and the Woods Walk. You will save ALLOT of powder, lead, time, aggravation, etc. YOu first get the rifle to do the best it can, the only problem then is You.

Keith Lisle
 
Thanks, Dog, but take a look at the last two shots in the center. That's what I corrected to. Then I got hungry and went home.
 
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