OK I apologize if this is a redundant post. I posted about this rifle in October of 2020. I had not shot it since then. It is a Thompson/Center Tree Hawk, 1994 production. It started life as a .50. The barrel decayed/I neglected and became a patch shredder. So I got Bobby Hoyt to rebore out to .54. He did a great job with a round ball twist (1-60) and round bottom rifling.
I shot the rifle today using 80 grains of 3F Schuetzen, ticking patches and a .530 ball. I stretched out to 65 yards instead of 32 as per last time. My group is larger than I'd have liked. There was some discussion about the short barrel being unable to achieve enough velocity to stabilize the ball. But I think my large group problem has other causes.
I went and looked at my patches well after the session. Of the ones that I could find, several were "cut"and/or burned through. I was hasty in my patch lubing-and I think I failed to saturate the patches sufficiently. I am using Bore Butter because I have some. Of the twelve shots fired, eight are in a 4" group. Four of the others widen to the edge of a 6" military target. Look at the patches and you will see what looks like a correlation.
Next session I plan to make sure my patches are well saturated. I may also shoot some 535's, but I have to admit that the .530's sure loaded easily. I suspect the barrel is still rough, I every time I clean I do 25 passes with JB bore paste. Hopefully this will combine with shooting to polish the bore a bit more as the rifle gets used and shot-in.
Pics will tell the rest. I am still optimistic and, with the peep sight (Skinner Lo Pro) I have on the rifle I'd be hunting at 35 yds and closer. I kill nearly all my deer at those distances anyway and the early VA season provides lots of opportunity for those kinds of close deer encounters.
Pete Davis in western VA.
I shot the rifle today using 80 grains of 3F Schuetzen, ticking patches and a .530 ball. I stretched out to 65 yards instead of 32 as per last time. My group is larger than I'd have liked. There was some discussion about the short barrel being unable to achieve enough velocity to stabilize the ball. But I think my large group problem has other causes.
I went and looked at my patches well after the session. Of the ones that I could find, several were "cut"and/or burned through. I was hasty in my patch lubing-and I think I failed to saturate the patches sufficiently. I am using Bore Butter because I have some. Of the twelve shots fired, eight are in a 4" group. Four of the others widen to the edge of a 6" military target. Look at the patches and you will see what looks like a correlation.
Next session I plan to make sure my patches are well saturated. I may also shoot some 535's, but I have to admit that the .530's sure loaded easily. I suspect the barrel is still rough, I every time I clean I do 25 passes with JB bore paste. Hopefully this will combine with shooting to polish the bore a bit more as the rifle gets used and shot-in.
Pics will tell the rest. I am still optimistic and, with the peep sight (Skinner Lo Pro) I have on the rifle I'd be hunting at 35 yds and closer. I kill nearly all my deer at those distances anyway and the early VA season provides lots of opportunity for those kinds of close deer encounters.
Pete Davis in western VA.
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