Trigger Time

I went out to the range this morning, to play with my chronograph, and to try out a new reload, and to get the .22 ready for squirrel season.

I started with the .22 and got the scope regulated for point of aim at 25 yards. Here is the target with Remington Subsonic HP ammo.



I think it is ready for the season. The rifle has a tendency to vertical stringing during rapid fire, as the barrel heats up. When I take a minute or so between shots, it stays in a half-inch group in the middle of the bullseye. The vertical stringing you see her is an example of barrel heating. I was getting okay velocity out of the ammo, averaging 952 fps out of my rifle. And, it is found inexpensively at Wal-Mart.

The next target was with the Winchester 94 in .30-30. That rifle has iron sights and I was trying out a reload of 30 grains of IMR 3031 under the Speer 130 grain FP bullet. I am disappointed with this bullet as it doesn't group as well as I want a rifle to group. Groups at 25 yards were disappointing, and groups at 50 yards were despicable.

The target, for your viewing pleasure:



That load, for those interested in the stats, gave me an average velocity of 2135 fps, with an Es of 169.2 and a Standard Deviation of 51.34.

I'm about out of those bullets and it is a good thing. I'm making an order from MidSouth next week, and I'll probably order some Remington 170 grain SP bullets. That rifle has shot those well in the past and the 170 grain bullet is pretty standard for the .30-30. When you are shooting a rifle like the .30-30, tradition is a good thing. I guess there is a reason why so many experienced shooters like the 170 grain bullet. My rifle shoots them well in the factory ammo, and I need to find a reload recipe that works.