Accuracy Crowns and Damaged Bedding--PS Magazine

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vicvanb

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In the latest PRECISION SHOOTING I read two articles claiming the type of crown (11 degree vs. 90 degree recessed vs. 45 degree) didn't seem to affect accuracy, nor did moderately damaging the action bedding.

What say you?
 
I say the bottom has fallen out from PS. This last issue was abysmal, with the crown article being the worst. Consider she took a new barrel with no base line data, lopped off .4" (mfgs say 1"), chambered & put a crown on, shot 10 shots , re-crown &10 shots, re-crown &10 shots, re-crown & 5 shots (??) all this shooting at 200 yds sans flags with a 10x scope with european reticle, " I attempted to shoot in the same conditions", yet her targets (shot over a period of months apart) noted the following; winds 5-7 mph; winds gusting to 20 mph or more....No mention of any cleaning or fouling shots. As I said elsewhere, this author wasted 35 bullets, primers, powder, and 7 pages in a once revered publication. It had now become an embarrassment. Luckily it's mailed in a discrete sleeve.
 
As far as crowns go it'd seem to me that a crown that's square with the bore and properly done otherwise should shoot well, no matter whether it's 11°, recessed 90°, 45°, or just flat 90°, or any other combination. The only difference would be how well the crown would be protected from inadvertent damage - that's when clumsy oafs like me drop them and they go heavy end first.

I was a little surprised at some of the "damage" that was done that caused no great decrease in accuracy though. Maybe we all worry too much? On the other hand if the bedding in your rifle looks like it was done by a chimpanzee on drugs it might make you wonder how it's going to shoot which could cause problems since most shooting is a lot mental.
 
Glad I did not renew the subscription several years ago.
 
I was hoping Jackie & some of the others would write some articles on how to tune a gun or gun smithing are just about any thang related to target shooting.
Max
 
Not true about the vendors. The Editor has complete last word of the magazines content.
It just needs some new writers , that are willing to spend some time writing articles.
Then haveing them reviewed . accurate articles take time to write and so does proper editing.
 
max.burgess said:
I was hoping Jackie & some of the others would write some articles on how to tune a gun or gun smithing are just about any thang related to target shooting.
Click to expand...

+1

I would definitely pick up an issue if Jackie was one of the contributors.
 
vicvanb said:
In the latest PRECISION SHOOTING I read two articles claiming the type of crown (11 degree vs. 90 degree recessed vs. 45 degree) didn't seem to affect accuracy, nor did moderately damaging the action bedding.

What say you?
Click to expand...
First off, I haven't read the article. When I fill out my IBS renewal form, I write in "No Precision Shooting." The first time, back in the 1990s, I got a call from Jim Borden himself, then the IBS president. No fuss since; it seems to be getting more common.

As to the two articles: Well, we knew for a number of years that the type of crown seems to make no testable difference on the target. There are 100s of threads attesting to this on our forum.

As for the damaged bedding, it depends. There's only about three small points that really matter. Damage them, problem. anywhere else, nevermind.

What would have been startling & worth the analysis of how these things were done would have been if someone got the opposite results.
 
GerryM, if the vendors dropped their advertising, because of the poor quality of the articles in general, the editor would have to change things or lose money. As long as the advertising money rolls in he doesn't have to change anything. He can publish more articles on "Accurate Rubber Band Guns".
 
I believe that the problem is that in a world that has become increasingly about buying rather than building, and where the road to accuracy has been well explored, well written articles with fresh material are hard to come by. Dave is an excellent writer, and editor, but he can only print what comes in. In the last few years the role of the internet as a source of information about shooting has increased. I am sure that this has had an impact on interest in , sales and budgets of magazines. There is also a generational issue. The experiences that led boomers into shooting, reloading, and interest in the highest level of accuracy are not being duplicated in the following generations, so we are not being replaced. None of this is Mr Brennan's fault. Write and article, and send it in. You too can be a published author :)
 
Good analysis Boyd.

Your conclusion was:

None of this is Mr Brennan's fault. Write and article, and send it in. You too can be a published author :)
Click to expand...

Couple of points: If a magazine can't find material that attracts its audience, either it is the editor's fault, or it is time for the magazine to cease publication. (Though I believe in the case of Precision Shooting, there is a financial entanglement with IBS, which may muddy the waters.)

* * *

I was talking with a typeface publisher back in June. This wasn't a big company like Linotype or Adobe, but a mid-size company. Before the last "recession," their primary customers were magazines, mainly new startups (established magazines have already selected and purchased their typefaces). They were wondering if those sales would come back as the economy picked up, and people have more disposable income. One possibility was yes, as the internet was already in full song in 2008. But the other is your scenario, that magazines as a source of information are dead, in part because during the hiatus of the recession, we've all found alternative sources of information.

I don't think the latter is true. One traditional difference between published material (magazines, in this case) and conversation (aka rumor) is that published material is suppose to be vetted. If it is not, that is the editor's fault. Otherwise, Precision Shooting is simply a very expensive Benchrest Central.com
 
I'll make a couple comments here about the magazine. I agree, the content in the magazine should be completely vetted by the editor. If there is bogus information or non-topic content, it should be left out. From what I have read in the past, Brennen can be very hard to deal with, and also refuses to use the internet for the business. Shouldn't a company that is desperate for content make it as user friendly as possible? I mean in this day and age for a company to not use email is ridiculous. I also agree a magazine in itself is probably on the way out, just like a newspaper.

Brennen can write? Well back when Gary Armatrudo (sp) was starting his magazine, he wrote most of the articles himself until he started getting content in from others. So why doesn't Brennen write something? Surely if he's ever sat at a bench and pulled a trigger, he has something he could contribute that pertains to the subject matter.

I don't get the magazine anymore. It's not worth it in my view to pay 76+% of a membership for a magazine I don't even read.
 
I've written a few articles for P.S. Magazine....probably 4 or 5 in all. In each instance, I found Dave Brennan to be helpful and instructive.

He's to the point, firm and fair. Some skins are too thin for this approach, but I find it pretty refreshing. In the heyday of P.S., there were quite a few well known writers listed inside the front cover as contributors. They gradually moved away from that, but now I see where they have added Staff Writers to the fold. Hopefully this will add to the content and depth of the articles.

Good shootin'. -Al
 
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We don't see any articles about tuners anymore now that Calfee won't write for Precision Shooting anymore.
Maybe if all knew the reasons why this happened they would better understand why the magazine is in such a decline?
Lynn
 
There must be a way people can send in articales and get payed $100 dollars or so for there knowledege, my son does it for The Maine Sportsman and does a good job. We need more fresh minds on what is the best way to get a rifle that is a good shooter to a screamer. we've had enough discussions on benchrest central to write a book. And don't say that we have run out of Ideas. Fred Bear said people would run out of things to write about hunting, but he was wrong. I'm still thinking of ways to make my rifles shoot. But Sorry I'm not a writter!

Joe Salt
 
Joe, P.S. has always payed for articles. I'd encourage anyone that has an idea in their noggin to give Dave a call and see if it's something he's intererested in. He'll walk you through the steps for submitting, etc.

Good shootin'. -Al
 
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Precision Shooting has really gone downhill.I hated to do it,but I didn't renew last fall.
That's a shame,as one good article in each issue would have kept me.
I really liked reading Dick Wright's stuff!
 
Its Brennens baby he can do what he wants with it. Brennen has expressed this many times.
The bottom line is the magazine makes money. Brennen has complete control being the editor.
Its not up to the vendors to decide anything. If a vendor wants to drop due to the magazines content,
the opinion is so be it. I'm sure they won't though. The reason they subscibe and advertize is for exposure to the
shooting community. At his age hes doing the best he can. He even wrote about it in the magazine.
 
Charles E
Id like to see some long range articles, there are some out there that seame to know a lot about shooting long range.
Thanks Max
 
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