Hello Folks,

It's been a couple of years since I've fired this rifle, and yesterday I took it to the range. The last time I shot it I used the 175 gr Sierra Matchking loaded with # 4895, and I still had some of this ammo. The first two shots were encouraging, but the third was two inches low. I put the gun down and engaged a fellow in conversation. When I resumed shooting the same thing happened. At this point I decided to let the gun cool, and then I fired another shot on the previous target. It went right into the first two shots. So, it looks like a typical barrel warming problem. To confirm, I fired four shots, let the gun cool, and fired four more, The pattern gave perfect agreement. The first two went together, as did the second two. After 20 minutes of cooling, the next two made a four-shot group of about 1.5 inches, and the last two shots made a four-shot group of about 1.3 inches, two inches below.

At this point I was out of ammo. My plan is to load another batch and fire some groups, allowing five minutes between shots. Then, if the guns shoots nice groups, I'll (try to) be satisfied. It's a hunting gun, and shouldn't be called upon to deliver more than two shots in succession.

I still think I may want to shorten the barrel to 22 inches, add sights, and refinished the stock, with the addition of a spacer to bring the LOP to 14.5 inches. If I take on this project I'll let you know how it goes.

Take care, Tom