Post by Richard on Oct 30, 2016 19:35:33 GMT -5
Last Tuesday I was shooting Deep Purple with my new Sightron 8x32x56 scope. I proceeded to fire about six shots getting the POI just right! BTW, I love the scope and the reticle. The click adjustments are very positive and audible. So, having it zeroed "dead nuts on" at 100 yards with the 300 gr. SST type blem using a 6/65.8 Clays/H-4198 duplex, I decided to move out to 300 yards. So using the second hash mark (which would have put me 4" high at 100) I fired a shot. That shot hit 7" low and a couple inches to the right.
Now here comes the fuzzy part..............I evidentially took the gun to my "loading station" ( the next bench) and loaded it.
Then put it right back up on the lead sled. So now I am sitting behind the gun looking thru the scope, playing with the dials, checking which hash mark I would need to be on at 300. Then I put the second hash mark back on the bull and saw that the center dot was situated in a rock above the target........so, I decided to "dial the dot to the bullet hit and see how many MOA I needed if I did not use the hash marks. I then returned it back to the 100 yard zero and decided I would bridge the third and fourth hash marks. This procedure took maybe five to ten minutes of playing around. When I finished, I took the gun back to the loading station and loaded it---------------------------------------------------------THE SECOND TIME! Another 72 gr. of powder and another 300 gr. bullet 
Do Not need to hear about the witness marks! They only work when you have reason to look at them! In my mind, the gun had been fired and I needed to load it!
Well, you think CYCLOPS is a powerful gun? 672 grains of bullets and powder exited the muzzle at 3484 fps. I knew right off what happened as I saw the little wisp of smoke come from around the bolt.
The module swelled a bout .027" and was semi-stuck on the bolt. I was able to just tap it off. The primer was still in and very flattened. I ran a patch down the bore and could feel the bulge about 4" forward of the recoil lug. I tried to load another charge and bullet but the bullet got dead loose when it got to the powder column. Even being a duplex, it would not ignite so I put it up for the day and shot my other rifle.
Deep Purple was 29 1/2" long and now its 26" long. I am getting good at doing these HIS plugs!
Like I said, witness marks only work if you look at them. Lets just say that the fact my barrel was 1.250 in the area of the bulge, there was no safety issue. Had it been a sendero or lesser contour, ...........who knows. I am fully confident this barrel will still shoot very well as I know for a fact the 26" barrels will shoot just as accurately as the longer ones. I may give up 50 fps or so.
I have been shooting these smokeless muzzleloader for 9 years now and will bet I have shot close to 15,000 shots. I bulged my very first PN 45 on the very first day at the range, had it re chambered and put some 3600 shots thru it. I guess I am lucky that I have gotten away shooting as many shots as I do with only two FU's?
All I can say is keep focused when shooting the guns. I posted this as a wake up call for all members that FECE' can OCCUR!
Oh, so I switched to the other ML'er and put the NF scope that had been on Deep Purple on the 209 gun. I was sighting in the scope with my same duplex using the 300 gr. SST blems with no wads. They were shooting terrible..............five shots in and around maybe 2"? I checked the all the scope bolts and screws and could find nothing loose so I said to myself........Try the 300 Pittman's and see what they do?.................Bingo! 1/2" group.
My thought is that either the SST's were too loose or maybe they want a wad under them. At this time everyone was about done shooting so I will check it out this Tuesday.
BE SAFE!
Now here comes the fuzzy part..............I evidentially took the gun to my "loading station" ( the next bench) and loaded it.
Then put it right back up on the lead sled. So now I am sitting behind the gun looking thru the scope, playing with the dials, checking which hash mark I would need to be on at 300. Then I put the second hash mark back on the bull and saw that the center dot was situated in a rock above the target........so, I decided to "dial the dot to the bullet hit and see how many MOA I needed if I did not use the hash marks. I then returned it back to the 100 yard zero and decided I would bridge the third and fourth hash marks. This procedure took maybe five to ten minutes of playing around. When I finished, I took the gun back to the loading station and loaded it---------------------------------------------------------THE SECOND TIME! Another 72 gr. of powder and another 300 gr. bullet 
Do Not need to hear about the witness marks! They only work when you have reason to look at them! In my mind, the gun had been fired and I needed to load it!
Well, you think CYCLOPS is a powerful gun? 672 grains of bullets and powder exited the muzzle at 3484 fps. I knew right off what happened as I saw the little wisp of smoke come from around the bolt.
The module swelled a bout .027" and was semi-stuck on the bolt. I was able to just tap it off. The primer was still in and very flattened. I ran a patch down the bore and could feel the bulge about 4" forward of the recoil lug. I tried to load another charge and bullet but the bullet got dead loose when it got to the powder column. Even being a duplex, it would not ignite so I put it up for the day and shot my other rifle.
Deep Purple was 29 1/2" long and now its 26" long. I am getting good at doing these HIS plugs!
Like I said, witness marks only work if you look at them. Lets just say that the fact my barrel was 1.250 in the area of the bulge, there was no safety issue. Had it been a sendero or lesser contour, ...........who knows. I am fully confident this barrel will still shoot very well as I know for a fact the 26" barrels will shoot just as accurately as the longer ones. I may give up 50 fps or so.
I have been shooting these smokeless muzzleloader for 9 years now and will bet I have shot close to 15,000 shots. I bulged my very first PN 45 on the very first day at the range, had it re chambered and put some 3600 shots thru it. I guess I am lucky that I have gotten away shooting as many shots as I do with only two FU's?
All I can say is keep focused when shooting the guns. I posted this as a wake up call for all members that FECE' can OCCUR!
Oh, so I switched to the other ML'er and put the NF scope that had been on Deep Purple on the 209 gun. I was sighting in the scope with my same duplex using the 300 gr. SST blems with no wads. They were shooting terrible..............five shots in and around maybe 2"? I checked the all the scope bolts and screws and could find nothing loose so I said to myself........Try the 300 Pittman's and see what they do?.................Bingo! 1/2" group.
My thought is that either the SST's were too loose or maybe they want a wad under them. At this time everyone was about done shooting so I will check it out this Tuesday.
BE SAFE!
