The Firearms MagEzine
A publication of
CenterFire
Central
http://www.centerfirecentral.com
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The Firearms MagEzine is no longer published
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VOL.
2 ISSUE
Circulation
1150
IN THIS ISSUE
THE EDITOR'S NOTES
Live
and Learn
WHAT'S NEW AT CENTERFIRE
CENTRAL
Changes
to Pet Loads
FEATURE ARTICLE
Live
and Learn
By
Bill Wade
PRODUCT REVIEWS
Savage
110 Tactical in 308
By
Ron Roberts
Hoppe's
Gunsmith's Benchvise
By Bill
Wade
RESOURCES
Other
resources for related information
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A WORD OF CAUTION
CenterFire
Central and contributing writers are not responsible for mishaps of any kind
which may occur from use or misuse of data or information published,
electronically or otherwise by CenterFire Central. Activities involving
firearms, ammunition, components and equipment require strict safety
precautions and training which are not detailed herein.
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EDITOR'S NOTES
The Young Ones
Motivating
today's young people is kind of like pushing a cat into a bucket of water. All
of the sudden they have 4 wheel independent brakes.
Tried
that once. Leroy needed a bath and it seemed logical (I was a teenager). He
actually liked water after that, but convincing him that he would learn to
enjoy it took a little effort.
My son
Tony is a lot like Leroy. He is getting close to 15 years old and I have harped
until I am hoarse, that he should be looking for a part time job. I have bent
several crow bars trying to pry him up off his duff. He did not see the need.
Anyway,
my brother and I finally found a nice piece of hunting ground and made the
purchase. It will open new opportunities for dove, turkey and maybe even quail.
Now Tony wishes he had been listening. He wants a new 12 gauge and even found a
couple at a show Saturday that he could have gotten a deal on. NO MONEY !
When
we returned home from the show, he called a business where he had applied a few
weeks back. He got the job. He called my brother, his mother, wrote to his
grandparents. Thought he was going to call NBC.
He
has already passed the Hunter Education course, killed deer and fired a zillion
rimfire rounds at the range. Now, the ball is in his court, but I think it is
safe to say that he is hooked. Now he realizes that to press on with this
interest, he will have to work for it.
A
student in the class "The Basics of Reloading" has mentioned that his
young son has been making the trek to the range with him and shows interest in
reloading as well. Wonderful, that is what it takes.
We
have all heard it said the today's young are the future of our sport and while
this is true, for the time, the keys are in our hands. It is up to us to see
that the keys are passed along properly.
Motivation
comes from mysterious sources but it is there and if we can do our part,
our
grandchildren should have the same opportunities that we have enjoyed.
Bill
Wade
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WHAT'S NEW AT CENTERFIRE CENTRAL
Handgun Data - Section
It
was bound to happen and it has. A new section has been created specifically for
Handgun
data.
Designed
to operate like the original Pet Load system, the Handgun Data section is easy
to get around and easy to plug in your favorites.
It
has already seen quite a bit of activity and I am certain that it will become
as popular as the Pet Loads and Wildcat sections.
I
more or less, re-named the Pet Load section and it is now called Rifle Data.
There
is now a single front door for all data entered by site visitors. Once inside the
front door you can choose from; "Handgun Data", "Rifle
Data" and "Wildcat/Improved Data".
Another
thrill last week, I decided to switch servers. The ISP I had been using to host
CerterFire Central was no longer "cutting the mustard". Don't know
what happened and I guess it really is not important, but service went from
great to poor over about a 3 week period.
Time
consuming and frustrating, the switch was finally completed on Friday the 29th.
Hopefully, the pages will load faster and I have been guaranteed better
service. Time will tell.
Thanks
again for all your input and patience.
Bill
Wade
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THIS MONTH'S
FEATURE ARTICLE
Live and Learn
Live
and Learn - a phrase we have all heard but one that I always have to adjust a
little: "Live and Learn - The Hard Way." And that could read,
"Live and Learn, the
I
had been fighting with a .223 NEF for quite some time and could not seem to
pinpoint the problem.
Assuming
it to be the loads I assembled for it, I was trying everything. Switched
powders, primers, cases, case length, seating depth, the works.
Nothing
seemed to really help and I finally decided it had to be the gun. My patience
was at an end and I decided to sell it. It was eating up a lot of time and
components.
I
removed the 4x12x40 Bushnell scope from the .223 and replaced it with a fixed
power scope.
Still
working with my new 220 Swift, I immediately put the 4x12 on it.
Guess
what? My groups went south on the 220. I could not seem to focus the scope and
figured it was a dirty contact lens. Ron, (see Product Review), was at the
range with me so I asked him to have a go at it. He could not see through it
either.
I
had noticed that this particular scope did not seem as clear as my other 4x12
but assumed it was not focused perfectly and that I would get it right when I
really took the time to adjust it. I was now taking the time and it was not
working.
We
checked the lenses for dirt, fuzz or other obstruction and could find nothing.
Once
back at the loading bench, I removed the scope. Holding it in a vertical
position under the florescent shop light, I peered into the objective lens. On
the underside of the lens, close to the center, was an imperfection of some
sort, about the size of a large rifle primer. It was a squiggly circular
blemish that had probably been there since birth.
I
looked at the eye sore 223 hanging in the rack and stuck with my decision to
sell it knowing I may have just discovered the problem. I was beyond the point
of caring and just wanted rid of it. Even if the scope was the problem, I was
not get the expected velocity from the rifle and it behaved as though I needed
to reduce the charge.
The
scope had been purchased at Wal-Mart and I could take care of it "right
now," so I headed for Wally World. They had them in stock and I planned to
exchange even up.
You
can be certain I was going to check the lenses. Under those lighting conditions
though it was not possible. Next best would be a side by side comparison to
another brand. I had the clerk hand me a Simmons 3x9x40.
It
seemed clearer and noticeably less expensive. I am a sucker for cash so I opted
for the cash and the Simmons.
Guess
what? My groups tightened back up.
After
the 223 was history, I was visiting with Jim Garrison at H & R 1871 and
mentioned that I had sold my NEF after a long battle I felt I had lost. He
informed me that I should have returned the gun to H & R and they would
have taken care of it.
Had
I sent the rifle in, I would have removed the scope and he probably would not
have found the accuracy problem with the rifle. He assured me that out of the
box accuracy on that rifle should be fantastic and anything less should be
returned to them.
We
did not discuss the velocity issue but I am confident that he still would have
been interested in my concerns. I would suggest that if you have one of these
rifles and are having problems with it, send it back with a note describing the
problem.
I
guess in my mind, it was one of those gray areas. I purchased the rifle from a
dealer who had "fired it a few times" but I basically paid new price.
Later I found the dealer had messed with the rifle and I figured that the
warranty was void. That too, was a bad call on my part. H & R would have
worked with me had they found the problem to be a direct result of the dealers
tampering.
With
all the scopes I own and have owned, I guess I was bound to run across a defect
sooner or later. I am certain Bushnell would have taken care of me as well, but
the cash back from trading down made the inevitable loss on the 223 hurt a
little less.
Living
and learning, the hard, expensive way ! Then again, no one ever said education
was easy or cheap.
Bill
Wade
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PRODUCT REVIEW
Savage 110
Tactical in 308
Introduction
from the Editor; I made Ron's acquaintance through the Internet and turns out
that he lives about 15 minutes from my home. Ron offered to help with my first
"Reloading Class" at the local college and has helped ever since. You
may recall the product review on the Hornady Lock-N-Load Progressive that he
wrote up for me in the July issue.
Ron
is an excellent marksman with handgun and rifle and a heck of a gunsmith to
boot. To my knowledge, he is the one who
discovered the problem with the Ruger 77/22 bolt. See
Ruger Grouping article It seems to be quite a popular topic among those who
own and shoot these rifles. If he can't make it shoot, it is not going to.
I
hope to put a tap on the side of his head and share more of his knowledge with
you in the future.
Bill
Wade
Savage
110
By
Ron Roberts
Recently I bought a Savage 110 tactical in 308. I
had read good things about this rifle and wanted one, no real need I just
wanted one so when I found one at the gun show I picked it up. I took it home and put a 4x16 power scope on
it and gave it a thorough cleaning after which I lapped the bore and rifling
with a mild abrasive. I do this to all new rifles to remove any burrs on the
rifling left by the manufacture.
A friend of mine who works at the local gun shop and
I headed for the range. Since I didn’t have any 308 ammo loaded we grabbed a
box of
After
getting home I put the rifle up, planning on looking in to the problem in a day
or so. Well, you know how that goes. About a month later I got time enough to
give it a good look. When I pulled the action out of the stock, I saw that the
pillerblock was actually setting below the level of the fiberglass in the
bottom of the stock by about 1/32. This gun was supposed to be pillerblock
bedded, to me, this meant that the two pieces should be touching. After about
20 min. with a dremel tool all the pieces met like they were supposed to. While
I was at it I cut out around the recoil lug and cut the barrel channel out a
little deeper for a good free float. I adjusted the trigger to get a 1-½ lb.
pull. I then used Micro Bed to bed around the recoil lug area to give it a good
solid fit.
As
usual the weather turned bad and it was another three weeks before I could get to
the range to try out the gun and see if what I had done worked. When I finally
got up there I had managed to make up a few hand loads to try out. The first
three shots measured ¼ inch center to center the next shot was off ½ inch ( I
could have pulled it) and the 5th shot went back into the first
hole. With the sights set a 2” high at 100 yds. I put it back in the case and
went home with it. It is good enough for hunting or anything else I need to do
with it.
Maybe
I got a bad stock from Savage, the other two 112s I have shoot great. Any time
you do large production runs one or two bad ones will slip through. So if you
get a gun that is supposed to shoot very well and it doesn’t, check the bedding
on it. A good solid bed is the basis for good accuracy.
Ron
Roberts.
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Hoppe's
Gunsmith's Benchvise
I
had long needed a vise of some sort when I stumbled across this vise at a store
that was going out of business.
The
vise is a 4 piece package that includes 2 bases and 2 uprights. Pictures
The
bases can be screwed to your bench top or a piece of wood clamped to the bench
top.
One
of the uprights is Y shaped and padded to hold the barrel and will even
accommodate a bi-pod. It is adjustable in height to keep the muzzle at a
downward slope, which keeps solvent from draining back into the action. The
second upright, an overgrown clamp, is also padded and grips the stock firmly.
The
uprights drop into the base and lock in place with a quarter turn clockwise.
I
mounted my vise on my bench out at the front edge, and this works well for me.
With
the uprights removed, the bases are only about a quarter inch high and do not
get in the way.
When
I go to the range, I remove the bases from the bench and screw them into the
top tray of my range box. I suppose that screwed to a board, they could be
clamped to the shooting bench or the tailgate of your pickup.
I
need to break down and buy another set. My favorite part of them is storage.
Twist the uprights out and toss them in a drawer, out of the way.
Until
I have more storage space and money than I know what to do with, I will use
this vise.
Bill
Wade
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OTHER RESOURCES
Sinclair International http://www.sinclairintl.com/
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Copyright 1999 by
CenterFire Central
All Rights Reserved