Old Eyes Old Rifle Old Barrel Old Bullet Old News

[quicksylver]

Yup a saga of old stuff.....

So as you know the shooting season is upon us...it's what we have been patiently waiting and preparing for..

Yesterday was particularly nice....mid sixties , no wind, blue skies...perfect....perfect I thought especially for IRON SIGHTS....YES MY WORLD....

So...with trembling hands I dialed the safe combination ...creaked open the door and .....stood frozen for a moment ..and then reached in...anticipation...then it came to me...USE THE WELL WORN WORK HORSE...

She's an old war horse for sure..a Remington 1903, done up as match rifle in the sixties, used extensively in matches by an old gentleman.. Lou Benner...she wears a Sidgley USMC barrel, C-stocked, Lyman 48 long slide rear, Lyman 17 globe front sight made for the 1922 , 22 LR( it gives me more elevation).....

The barrels' throat is well worn from shooting at matches through the years... there is NO leade to speak of.. I have not been able to find the rifling with any bullets I have.... including a 314299 with a 304 nose, seated until it nearly falls out of the case....

I was about ready to rebarrel it with a NOS High Standard barrel ...but this voice kept saying "FIT IS KING"..
and although the rifling is also well worn I thought it can't be any worse than a Marlin Micro Groove barrel..

So moving on ... at he end of last season I took heed of the voices and my logic and sized bullets for her at .312 and ones with the larger noses..

I also used the slowest powder I have......

I took my time and enjoyed the day at the range...How did she do...?

Well that's the Old News part ...always one out....my shooting...not the lube or the bullet...ME....

After adjusting the sights to shoot on paper, placed at the bottom of the target (NRA B-2).. here's the results...

IMO...Not bad for Old Eyes, Old Gun, Old Barrel, Old Bullet....

BTW...why do we use scopes...?

 

[Ian]

Some of us have scopes because we never learned to shoot well with irons or peeps. Then our eyes got diseased and can't use peeps at all, so it's minute of paper plate at 100 with buck and bead, or scope. You know, it's difficult to shoot a half-inch group at 100 regardless of the type of sighting device. People make it out to be easy, but it really isn't. My hat's off to you and that old workhorse.

 

[quicksylver]

Ian.....thank you....I post these not to show off my shooting but rather because I am amazed at the accuracy potential of these fine old pieces of history....Remember these were massed produced during war time...with machinery way out of step by today's standards....

As for scopes...I think they are great....for hunting there is no substitute...I think I had too higher expectations of them when I started to use them for target work...but boy you sure can see with them.....

Plainly speaking ..I don't know how to use the dang things correctly. ...but I am impressed with them ...they have extended my shooting in to the later part of the day, cloudy days and winter months..for that I am greatful....

PLUS THEY HAVE KEPT ALOT OF MY FRIENDS SHOOTING ....

THANKS AGAIN
..Dan

 

[JWFilips]

Dan,
Great old rifle & Great shooting on your part! I'm still waiting for warm bright weather around here so I can switch back to my GEW 98 with receiver sights to try to put into practice at those great tips you have been giving me over the winter, on shooting these old war horses with receiver sights at 100 yds.
I'm definitely going to move from the 50 yd line to the 100 this summer with that old Mauser
Thanks for posting
Jim

 

[Ian]

Scopes offer some challenges as well as advantages. For one thing, they drastically increase the perception of mirage, which makes one second-guess the aim point. If you can't see the mirage, but can make out the target well enough to find center, this distraction doesn't present itself. Sometimes using a full sheet of typing paper as an aim point with crude, iron sights is more effective and repeatable than a 10X optic and precisely marked bull.

The view through my eyes is akin to driving in a medium rain with the wipers off. Clouds of stringy webs, dots, and blurry blobs of vitreous condensate interfere with my detail vision and consistently block apertures as if a piece of waxed paper was inserted behind them. Scopes are my only option for detail work, and even then I have to compensate for the appearance of distortion of the crosshairs. What a scope does do is offer magnification to let me pick through the visual noise, in the same manner as you can pick out a deer through heavy brush much more easily with low-power binoculars than with the naked eye.

 

[358156 hp]

Plenty of life left in the old girl. She just needs a little accommodation at times. I wouldn't change a thing.

 

[JWFilips]

The view through my eyes is akin to driving in a medium rain with the wipers off. Clouds of stringy webs, dots, and blurry blobs of vitreous condensate interfere with my detail vision and consistently block apertures as if a piece of waxed paper was inserted behind them.

Ian,
I too have that exact problem. I use to be an avid amateur astronomer. Back when I was young My chums and I were written up a number of times in scientific journals for our observations. A few of those friends are still at it now ( in a professional level) I however have a hard time looking through small eyepieces and apertures ( due to large dark & webby floaters blocking my vision) It has played havoc with my own profession as a commercial photographer also....Thank GOD for auto focus!!!

I have converted 3 of my rifles over to aperture sights , however...why?; Maybe I'm a sucker for punishment and failure! however I do find ( sometimes having to wait up to a minute between shots) that I will get a clear view sooner or later. Sometimes I will get a 3 or 4 shot string with clear seeing. Then I have learned to shoot quick! I only shoot at 50 yds ( although last year I tried my hand or should I say my eyes at 200 yds) I have come close to groups like Dan's but then again that was at 50 yards less. Dan has really been encouraging me to move out to the 100yd line with my receiver sight rifles....figure I better do it now...not getting any younger.
Jim

 

[quicksylver]

Plenty of life left in the old girl. She just needs a little accommodation at times. I wouldn't change a thing.

Yes sir..well said...just like an old skiff and outboard...treat her right..take care of her and she will get you home....

 

[quicksylver]

Ian..I understand the mirage and can cope with it..what does baffle me.. (doesn't take much) ..is how easily I get eye fatigue using scopes..may be too much power..or the vintage scopes I use...

Jim..the sight picture at 100 is the same as 50..I just like reaching out there...or in my mind staying relavent in reguards to matches..
Hard to let go after 40 years...03's,A3's,M1's,
M1a's, AR'S then back to 03's this time with better sights and cast bullets with the advantage of lower recoil....

Got to say I have been using everything possible to get the "cob webs" out of the aperture...my friends are kind enough to humor me ....as we all know they are noexistant..crazy getting old..NO..?

 

[JWFilips]

Dan,
I guess I'm not recognizing that powder Is it similar to IMR 4064?

 

[Brad]

Irons work very well, with a target of appropriate size. Trying to hit a 2 in target at 100 with irons is tough, no so bad with a scope. Now make that target 8 inches and the irons are much better.

That is a fine rifle even if the bore is a bit worn. Why change anything, it seems to work quite well as is!

Nice rifle, good to see it back shooting

 

[quicksylver]

Yes Jim..it's like 4198...two flavors..but essentially the same. ...imr4064 and accurate 4064...
I get the same results with both..using WLR orCCILR primers...Ditto for 2520..but can't find any of that....

In my other 06's I can duplicate the groups with that bullet and 17 grs 2400 or 13.2 grs Uiversal...better fifling...

 

[JWFilips]

Ah! I see ...that is why my old 98 Mauser mentor , Larry Miller, suggested I use 4895 and 4064 in my well worn JP Sauer Mauser98
Always wondered why , when other folks were shooting 2400 in theirs!

 

[quicksylver]

Irons work very well, with a target of appropriate size. Trying to hit a 2 in target at 100 with irons is tough, no so bad with a scope. Now make that target 8 inches and the irons are much better.

That is a fine rifle even if the bore is a bit worn. Why change anything, it seems to work quite well as is!

Nice rifle, good to see it back shooting

Brad...I consider myself to be very fortunate to have gotten it...the old gang is thinking out too fast...Lou was a great asset to the club and very knowledgeable on wringing the. Best out of these shooting irons...
I have its sister ..a MK1 with a two groove barrel that our 90 year old club "armour " installed on it....probably the last job he did...

What could be better ..conversation pieces..good memories ..and fine shooting guns..

 

[quicksylver]

Ah! I see ...that is why my old 98 Mauser mentor , Larry Miller, suggested I use 4895 and 4064 in my well worn JP Sauer Mauser98
Always wondered why , when other folks were shooting 2400 in theirs!

Yup...depending on the condition if the rifling
..I work my way up in burn rate..RD, Universal,2400,4198,Rx7,4895,2520, 4064.

Can't seem to get Varget to play...

 

[35 shooter]

The stock on your old rifle looks to have some very dense and straight grain running through it from stem to stern...nice wood indeed.

Very good shooting. Heck i was shooting groups over twice that size today with a 6 power scope.
Lol i was feeling pretty good about it untill i saw yours.

 

[quicksylver]

The stock on your old rifle looks to have some very dense and straight grain running through it from stem to stern...nice wood indeed.

Very good shooting. Heck i was shooting groups over twice that size today with a 6 power scope.
Lol i was feeling pretty good about it untill i saw yours.[/QUOTE

35..it is an older prewar stock..."s" stamped
BTW... NOTHING WRONG WITH 1" GROUPS using a 6x scope ..heck
8x is allowed in some matches..

 

[fiver]

the accurate version of 4064 meters muchO better and is for some reason more stable with cast loads.
I'm sure it has to do with it being easier to ignite.

doesn't stop me from using the IMR type a whole lot [for jacketed loads] but if I want a touch slower for cast then the Accurate is more in line for consistency.

 

[Ian]

QL says the particulars are a 50% case fill, 1,450 fps, and 11,600 PSI max pressure with a really slow rise and even slower fall. Amazing the A4064 will light and burn consistently in that big case at such low density and pressure, but it also explains the consistency on target...that's about as gentle a launch as one could possibly muster in a .30-'06.

Interesting comments on the floaties. Jim, I too can "wait it out" and get a clear view from time to time, and it is possible for a highly-skilled eye MD to remove the core of the vitreous humor along with the offending trash without doing a full-on vitrectomy, but there is no guarantee that vision will be as clear overall afterwards even if the floaties are removed. Plus there's always a significant risk of retinal tears and detachment, infection, etc. that comes along with any intraocular surgery. They've got it down pretty well now, though, being able to do the work through a 25-gauge needle, so minimally invasive. I was quoted about $8,000 cash pay per eye about three years ago, including peeling the epiretinal membrane in my left eye. Since I generally still see about 20/25 in that eye normally, and patients typically never see more clearly than that after surgery, it isn't worth the risk or $$ at this point. Maybe one day, if it gets worse.

I can still use a scope to good effect.

Dan, it sounds to me like you either have been using very poor, outdated scopes (by modern standards) or haven't quite gotten the focus correct. Extreme eye fatigue and strain will result in short order if you fail to tune the ocular lens to focus the crosshairs correctly for YOUR shooting eye. It's a bit tricky to get that focus perfect, and often takes several sessions with a rest period of hours or a day in-between, but getting it just right makes a world of difference. You should be able to stay in a good piece of glass for several hours at a time without eye strain.

 

[KHornet]

The eyes are wonderful parts of the body, and I have not taken care of mine well over the years. Eye strain is a real problem. My right eye is poor, and my left eye dominant. However I am right handed. Off the bench at present time I am forced to shoot left handed, due to right eye focus problems most of the time. Have tried shooting off hand left handed, and the results were akin to teaching a hog how to ice skate.

I shot well over 500 rds of 223 last week and there was a fair amount of dust present, and my right eye is still not focusing overly well a week later. I also have floaters on occasion and often look away from the scope and to green grass for a moment or two, and that seems to help some. It might help IF I shot with higher priced/quality scopes, but I do tolerably well with the lower end scopes. I agree Ian that it is tricky to get focus perfect, and often when you do, light conditions change just enough to change your perfect focus. This getting old is just not for sissies!