How Many Are Just Trying To Get To Where You Were A Few Years Ago

Charles, Al, Boyd, .....
I see your point. I over heard some of the fellas last yr. talking.
I guess, there is something to it.
A couple of guys said after winning a 2 gun. It was 7 yrs. to win the next one....

After talking to some guys a few months ago. I said there is a common thread among Benchrest guys. We are stubborn, pig headed.....something along those lines. We were talking about shooting problems....
I haven't heard or seen these 2 guys since. But, everyone is busy these days....
 
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I had a very comprehensive response laid out. I guess I took too long to hit the "submit reply" button ( the computer ate it). In a brief nut shell --- The new barrel steel sucks,it will not "hang" through an agg.
Joel
 
Guys, I don't seem to have much trouble with my 30. It's the darned 6PPC that seems to be the culprit.

Skeet, I was not using you as an example, I was speaking of shooters in general. My apologies if it read like I was singling you out.

Congrats on a good year........jackie
 
Well Guys, I have barrels that love the surplus 8208, and a few that even like XBR
but inspite of all my efforts, I have none that are happy with 133 and I have 3 lots
 
As global warming intensifies and Co2 gets thicker bullets tend to spin less. That can cause all kinds of problems. We need Algore to come and explain it.
 
As global warming intensifies and Co2 gets thicker bullets tend to spin less. That can cause all kinds of problems. We need Algore to come and explain it.

I heard from a reliable source I can’t disclose, that.
Money is made from plants, and the bailout money printing process generates a telepathic resonance in other monies.
Shooters in their first couple of years have no money left in their pocket to resonate and spoil aggs.
 
. . . In a brief nut shell --- The new barrel steel sucks, it will not "hang" through an agg.
Joel
So, me playing experimenter -- Suppose you shot just one target Monday, one Tuesday, one Wednesday, etc. On Friday, when the agg is done, would it be better than if you fired the agg normally?

I seem to have two barrels like that, one in particular. It will shoot in the zeros Match 1, and get steadily worse.

Steel is from the early 2000s, which I think is what you'd call the good stuff, right?

I always figured it was heat, and kept threatening to build a device that would circulate kerosene through the barrel during the "at least 30 minutes" we get between relays.

[ASIDE (aka other possible causes)

Yes, I know conditions are always better during match 1. And I have a history of doing well match 1 in groups shoots, then going down hill (Boy, that was easy, let's get on to match 2 ... oh no, where did that one come from -- time to buckle down & get to work ... match 3 ooops -- settle down, ... 4&5, OK, those are good).

But for whatever reason, my score shooting tends to go the opposite, start by dropping a couple Xs, then get better.

Point three: I had a l1,000 yard barrel in 6 Ackley that absolutely began to open up after 9-10 rounds. Every time, no matter who's shooting. It had a tensioning tube which also kept the heat in. Five sigherts, five record rounds = wood. A years worth of wood. But seven sighters, five record rounds = wait till next time.

END ASIDE]

Has anybody taken one of those "maybe problem" barrels and cooled them down to ambient temperature before each target? Maybe Jerry Hensler?
 
Jackie,

I don't really have any answers. Look at all the world records being set every year and it makes me wonder if it is barrels or bullets.

Last year I suffered though mechanical problems that took away a lot of confidence. This year, I just can't seem to get a barrel to tune right for an agg. But after talking to a friend who had some of the same problems, he may have let me in on the answer so I have to check and find out.

Maybe our frustrations build subconsciously and puts up that imaginary wall that is hard to overcome. Just don't know. I've been praticing harder than ever this fall and have seen some improvement but not enough to be competitive in the top 20 at big matches or top 5 at the regular ones. Hopefully, once I get this range done, I'll be able to concentrate more, as it has pretty much occupied my time this summer.

Hovis
 
Jackie,

In my case, my program hit the skids in the middle of 2009. I struggled the remainder of that season. Late in the season, a friend who was acting as the Line Officer for the relay I was shooting on came to me and said, "will you please, just once for me, shoot a shot looking through the scope when you pull the trigger?" I was looking up, pulling the trigger and thus the rifle toward me. It's still a problem for me. I'm trying to work on it but, even with my RF rifles I have found that I am pulling the rear bag toward me as I shoot as well as yanking on the trigger sometimes.

I have also had issues with using the wrong notes for loading. I had too many rifles, all of which required something different to eat. I got their formulas confused too many times. I solved that by streamlining but I haven't solved the handeling problem yet. For instance, one of the rifles I sold shot well enough to set a potential record in the second or third event the new owner shot it in.

I have been saying to those who will listen that all of us could benefit greatly form a coach. Tiger Woods has a coach, for instance as do any Sports Teams, who pay attention to individuals and how they are performing. Why not us?

Regarding tuning; it is real easy to get balled up there. I quit loading at the range because I found that I needed to have as few distractions as possible for me to be able to load consistent ammo. The distractions at the range were too much for me to cope with. It's easy for me to get lulled into believeing it is my shooting that is bad or my scope has gone south when it is a mistake I have made loading. It amazes me that people can appear to load willy nilly and still shoot well. I watched a Hall of Famer pushing powder into his cases with his thumb after dropping the overflowing charge, with some of the powder falling away as he was about to seat a bullet and he still won the match. I can't do that and win.

I haven't shot consistently well in over a year now but I know why, to some extent. I just need an enforcer to make me handle the rifle properly and to check my loads to make shure I have the right formula for the rifle I am using.
 
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I can definitely speak to concentration being a huge factor in my shooting. I put up my best scores and made the best choices when I was able to let the flags be my primary focus which can be difficult when running a match (wouldn't trade it though...my dad and I have had a great time this year. my wife who is scoring...tolerance is a good word!:)).
I did find, however, the worse I did the better shooter I became. Maybe there is something to be said for going through the tough times and, as has been said, getting back to the basics. Somebody is winning matches. What are they doing?
Mike
 
Sorry to get back into this so late, but these days, so little non-survival time.
In recent years a fouling issue has reared it's ugly head. It did not exist in years past. Is it the cleaning methods or the steel ? I believe it is the steel. As years go by I believe I get better at flag reading and tuning, I would hope all of you do.If in doubt of your skills, have another seasoned BR shooter get behind you with a spotting scope.Chances are you are not missing anything.Copper fouling has increased and subsequent walking of shots( up and to the right) has increased with this fouling issue.Clean the barrel with every solvent /paste known to man and the gun will drill zero's for one group then it will foul out and walk on you as it heats up.Try and shoot it cool and dirty and it will cough and gag.This year I had two Hart's that I have previously sworn off, but I won them as door prizes, so I chambered them up. Both shot well squeeky clean but would not group past the first match in the morning. In desperation I chambered up a Krieger late in the season but it immediately showed a copper fouling issue that has not gone away 600 rds later.Again, I believe the steel has changed. I cannot prove this as I am not a metalurgist or an insider in the steel industry,but I believe it. Am I going to quit shooting,No! Am I going to wait for the steel industry to admit to any changes in raw materials,No! ,but I believe that raw materials( can you spell China ?) is where the difference in all this steel originates. Maybe I'll try the old cast Iron skillet thing and season the barrels with "bear grease" before shooting them.
Joel
 
Not shootin' so good??????????

Actually it is because EVERYONE was shooting those "handcrafted in Raton N.M. bullets" but the supply dried up!!! (most people put someone else's bullet on the match report)

HA!!!!!!! GOTCHA!!!!!!!!!!

I quit making bullets, I even quit shooting BR.............had to take a break cause MY best shooting was not happening either.
I still look at the forum now and then, and can only suggest that you guys that have fallen into a slump start from scratch:
Good action, bedded properly, 14T barrel, 6 brands of 66-68gr bullets, and as many different powders as are appropriate for the ppc and start testing. Like a true beginner.
If that doesn't get ya back on track, I'd blame the low frequency waves the Obama Administration is broadcasting.
Speaking of the Obama Administration, ....................I'll save that for later.

NOW, if ya need some help with mid sized RC helicopters, maybe I can give ya some meaningfull help!
ba
 
I'm a believer that its in the steel as well. The last few years have seen the steel industry hard hit, just look at what Crucible has gone through. I wouldn't be the least bit surprised if they were taking short cuts to get the most bang for their buck. I've got some great barrels that are from steel of a few years back, but none of the barrel's I've chambered in the last 18 months or so are Big Match competitive. I've got some small match barrels, but several of them aren't even worthy practice barrels.
 
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