Tuesday, February 03, 2009

Ok, I broke the M1 down completely,

everything except taking apart the trigger group, and inspected. No sign of lead fouling in/around the gas port, in the cylinder or on the piston. Cleaning the bore was two patches damp with Eezox pushed through, a third worked back & forth a few times, let sit a few minutes, then wipe a couple of dry patches through; cleaned just like normal, no visible sign of lead fouling.

Looking at the target, looks like about 4-4.5" at 100 with this load, with eight clicks elevation over the regular zero putting it dead-on. I do have to make a confession: some of that group may well be me. The inside of the rear sight was at an angle that got a lot of glare from the sun, which did not help. At all. It may be that I need a different bullet. Browsing through the stuff at Cast Boolits I've seen people getting good results with cast bullets from 130 to 200 grains, so there's lots of possibilities. This load worked nicely for the indoor range when I want to shoot the Garand there, but I'd like to get a load that gives better accuracy at 100. WHich this might under different conditions; just have to try.

I was able to try the 180-grain bullet, sized .311, in the #4Mk1 Enfield, and it shot nicely, though hitting a bit, about 3", to the right of point of aim(seems to be common with cast bullets in a gun specifically designed around a regular jacketed).

Now I've just about got things cleaned up, so I need to clean myself up and get to bed. Night, all.

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