New 30/375 wildcat

[elkaholic]

Update on the 30/375/S.I.
I just got my barrel back from the melonite treatment and thought I would post a pic. I should be getting it back together next week and hope to get time to sling some lead soon. If you decide to do the treatment, pay attention to what finish you want to end up with. A smooth finish (glossy) will result if you have a more polished metal to begin with: note the muscle break in contrast to the barrel. The action also looks like the brake. The barrel had a normal finish for a stainless as it comes from Krieger. This is more of a matte look. I like the contrast between the action and brake vs the barrel so didn't bother to polish the barrel first. The other pic is an attempt to look down the barrel thru the brake end and see the bore finish. You can "kind of" see the smooth, black look.......Rich

 

[elkaholic]

Got the rifle back together after the melonite delay. The next step is to chronograph the rounds that I numbered 1-3 from testing, pre-melonite, to see if there is any velocity difference. I hope to get a chance to do this soon and then move on to some long range trials.......Rich

 

[bigngreen]

Ya Rich, we're going to need some numbers by the end of the weekend and preferably with pics

 

[elkaholic]

Ya Rich, we're going to need some numbers by the end of the weekend and preferably with pics

Don't know that it will happen QUITE that fast, but soon I hope.
I got my Sightron back and it only has a .8% error.......Rich

 

[bigngreen]

Don't know that it will happen QUITE that fast, but soon I hope.
I got my Sightron back and it only has a .8% error.......Rich

Interesting, my buddies Sightron tracks a positive .9% by my testing to true MOA. I guess I'll wait patiently for numbers

 

[Pdvdh]

I tested, confirmed, and use 0.272"/click on one of my Sightron SIIIs. It's a 6-24x50mm. Once I confirmed and loaded this value into my ballistics program, I've never worried about it since.

 

[liltank]

I tested, confirmed, and use 0.272"/click on one of my Sightron SIIIs. It's a 6-24x50mm. Once I confirmed and loaded this value into my ballistics program, I've never worried about it since.

What are you guys talking about? What are you testing, and how are you testing it? Nice rifle by the way.

Tank

 

[elkaholic]

That came from another thread that I kind of included in this one. My click values were high on my scope and I sent it in to calibrate. I think Paul just used what they were and didn't worry about it.....Rich

 

[Pdvdh]

I meant I set my scope mounted rifle on a solid rest, and measured the distance the crosshair moved per click of vertical turret adjustment at 100 yds. I twisted the turret up and then down until the crosshair moved approximately 18" up and 18" down, and then divided the distance traveled on the target at 100 measured yards by the number of clicks turned on the scope in order to determine the true click value of my scope. In the case of my Sightron SIII, it turned out that one click of vertical turret adjustment moved the crosshair 0.272" at 100 yards.

Sightron advertises 1/4 moa click values, which would be 0.262 inches per 100 yards. But each vertical click of my scope measured out at 0.272 inches at 100 yds.

 

[liltank]

I meant I set my scope mounted rifle on a solid rest, and measured the distance the crosshair moved per click of vertical turret adjustment at 100 yds. I twisted the turret up and then down until the crosshair moved approximately 18" up and 18" down, and then divided the distance traveled on the target at 100 measured yards by the number of clicks turned on the scope in order to determine the true click value of my scope. In the case of my Sightron SIII, it turned out that one click of vertical turret adjustment moved the crosshair 0.272" at 100 yards.

Sightron advertises 1/4 moa click values, which would be 0.262 inches per 100 yards. But each vertical click of my scope measured out at 0.272 inches at 100 yds.

Gottcha! Thanks

 

[elkaholic]

As I posted earlier in the year, I tested the pre treated melonite barrel with 3 brass that were selected by weight, carefully trimmed and neck turned, and numbered 1-3. My load was 77 1/2 grs. H1000, 218 SXR, and fed 210 primers. Temp was 50 degrees and filtered sun at 4:00. Shots were fired from a cold, fouled bore. The following velocities were recorded:
Round #1....2790'
Round #2....2805'
Round #3....2811'
(avg=2802') Spread=21'

Today, I tested with the melonite treated barrel. Again, I had filtered sun at around 3:00 but the temp was 81 degrees. I used the same lot of powder, primers, and bullets. The following are the results:
Round #1....2831'
Round #2....2840'
Round #3....2850'
(avg=2840') Spread=19'

As you can see, there were some striking similarities in the gains recorded by round #.
Round #1=41'
Round #2=35'
Round #3=39'
Also, the increases were consistent, with round 1 being the lowest and round three being the highest. I will try to get a cooler day to see how much difference the temp makes as there was a 31 degree difference. I have not found H1000 to normally be that temp sensitive, so it would appear that the preliminary test resulted in a gain in the treated barrel. (38') avg. It might be somewhat less than that on a cooler day? There is also a question in my mind as to whether the increase is due to higher pressure (tighter bore) or smoother surface which will equate to more velocity with equal pressure?.....Rich
p.s. If it proves nothing else, it does show that the velocity increase was consistent each time for the same brass which proves that brass prep, to gain consistency, is soooo imortant!

 

[elkaholic]

As I posted earlier in the year, I tested the pre treated melonite barrel with 3 brass that were selected by weight, carefully trimmed and neck turned, and numbered 1-3. My load was 77 1/2 grs. H1000, 218 SXR, and fed 210 primers. Temp was 50 degrees and filtered sun at 4:00. Shots were fired from a cold, fouled bore. The following velocities were recorded:
Round #1....2790'
Round #2....2805'
Round #3....2811'
(avg=2802') Spread=21'

Today, I tested with the melonite treated barrel. Again, I had filtered sun at around 3:00 but the temp was 81 degrees. I used the same lot of powder, primers, and bullets. The following are the results:
Round #1....2831'
Round #2....2840'
Round #3....2850'
(avg=2840') Spread=19'

As you can see, there were some striking similarities in the gains recorded by round #.
Round #1=41'
Round #2=35'
Round #3=39'
Also, the increases were consistent, with round 1 being the lowest and round three being the highest. I will try to get a cooler day to see how much difference the temp makes as there was a 31 degree difference. I have not found H1000 to normally be that temp sensitive, so it would appear that the preliminary test resulted in a gain in the treated barrel. (38') avg. It might be somewhat less than that on a cooler day? There is also a question in my mind as to whether the increase is due to higher pressure (tighter bore) or smoother surface which will equate to more velocity with equal pressure?.....Rich
p.s. If it proves nothing else, it does show that the velocity increase was consistent each time for the same brass which proves that brass prep, to gain consistency, is soooo imortant!

Fired three more rounds today in reverse order 3-1, and got a 10' spread that averaged 2830'. The sun was at a different angle and it was only 71 degrees but still 30' over the non-treated barrel. Don't know when I will get any 50 degree weather like the original test?
I also noticed my groups had opened clear up to almost 1 inch and was really getting concerned that the melonite did something BAD to my accuracy. I then noticed that the poi had also changed so checked my scope mounts and sure enough!! Tightened the mounts and fired the last two rounds that I had and they went into one hole......More later.....Rich

 

[liltank]

Fired three more rounds today in reverse order 3-1, and got a 10' spread that averaged 2830'. The sun was at a different angle and it was only 71 degrees but still 30' over the non-treated barrel. Don't know when I will get any 50 degree weather like the original test?
I also noticed my groups had opened clear up to almost 1 inch and was really getting concerned that the melonite did something BAD to my accuracy. I then noticed that the poi had also changed so checked my scope mounts and sure enough!! Tightened the mounts and fired the last two rounds that I had and they went into one hole......More later.....Rich

Sounds like a winner Rich.

 

[Pdvdh]

Good information Rich. Thanks for recording and sharing your pre- and post-melonite treatment MVs.