Looks like I'll have to wait a few days for a lull in the wind. Since I can't shoot, I'll put in some time working indoors on various projects.

All work, no play for a couple of days. - I look forward to shooting a few groups. In the past re-crowning like this has improved accuracy. We'll see if that is the case, this time.

That's the way that I look at it. It's hard to see how or why I would wind up having any regrets.

After several days of gusting 20-30mph winds, the weather folks claim that tomorrow morning will be calm (and cold) so I can finally shoot a few groups and see how the thing shoots. I can also see what kind of velocity I'm getting without the tripod with the chronograph getting blown over.

It will be 29 degrees, so my Browning goose-down hunting jacket will go, a thermos full of hot coffee, and a pair of gloves! - I'll be out there at the crack of dawn if they are right about the wind finally taking a break.

On a barrel that has a brake, is there a need for a crown on the actual brake or a crown on the barrel all that is needed?

I've always seen it done on the barrel only. I wouldn't think the brake would matter, since it's larger than the bore.

Just the barrel.

I finally got a nice calm (but cold) morning, and fired off enough rounds to check velocity with the chronograph, roughly sight the gun in, and fire a group at 50 yards.



The hole below the group was my first shot after chronograph testing. I adjusted the scope up a bit after that and fired five more.

I found that my loads were short of the 3240 fps speed that I was hoping for, only averaging 2795 so I'll bump them up a little bit, next time.

My light target loads grouped poorly, at about 1" at 50 yards for five rounds. Velocity was a bit low too, I was hoping for roughly 2000 fps, but only averaged 1742 instead. So this load will be a bit hotter next time out, too. Usually these are the most accurate loads of all. I think the low velocity was the problem there... My son has a different theory, placing the blame on a loose nut behind the trigger.

I'll bump those two loads up a bit, and buy a box of factory ammo to try on the next outing. It hare-lips me to shoot factory loads, but I'll have to get over that and try some anyway to see how the gun works out with them.

So, things didn't work out as I was hoping, but I still had a lot of fun shooting. I managed to miss the chronograph this time, and got to chew the rag for a while with a nice fellow who was shooting over at the pistol range.

Things get cold overnight here, but warm up by 20-30 degrees not long after the sun comes up. It does this every day, due to the altitude and the desert air, which is pretty dry. By the time I was done shooting, I was ready to shuck out of my goose-down hunting coat. It got down to 29 last night, but is supposed to get up to 55 during the day.