This is a follow up to my previous post on clean barrel POI with .30-30 CB hunting loads.
On that occasion the bullet was 175 gn #U321297HP sized down to .312” and 33 gns 748, Lyman Orange Magic lube, velocity 2180 fps. Range was 100 metres and groups were five shots.
Rifle is Savage 99 with 24” 1:12 barrel. Scope is Leupold VXI 2-7, set on 7 for this shooting.
From that test it appeared that a trace of Ed’s Red remaining after cleaning ensured the following shot going to group – an important consideration for a hunting load. A dried out barrel (first fouling shot) sent the fouler high.
Cleaning between shots, trying to get a better representation of POI for the clean barrel shot, produced a five shot group of 1.67” with POI an inch below the regular group. This POI result, and the apparent reliability of the clean barrel shot, confirmed the practice of shooting with just a trace of Ed’s Red in the bore. This (bore conditioning, 33 gns 748, LOM) looks like a reliable hunting setup.
Next to be tested was the same bullet with 32 gns LeveRevolution, 2500+ lube, velocity 2177 fps.
This load behaved differently. Despite the bore having been wiped recently with Ed's Red, the fouler went about 4 ½” high and, more unusually, the first shot of the group also blew out high. The shots are circled in the image.
The next shot and the rest of the shots were down where they should be. The group without the first shot was under 2”. Tentative conclusions – 2500+ lube requires a different preconditioning, and may need more than just the single fouler before shooting the group. So far, this combination does not look like a good proposition for clean barrel hunting.
The next group was at 200 metres (not shown), same load, the barrel having been preconditioned by the previous six shots. Group was a whisker under 6” and a couple of inches low on my estimated sight setting. Leaving the barrel uncleaned for longer might be an option if using this load. So far no sign of curvilinear group increase with distance. RPM 130,200.
The benchresters among us may scoff at these groups, but what they represent is my chosen balance between getting a heavy hit on to the hog (velocity) and actually hitting him (accuracy).
