Springfield Rifle

[Hot Foot II]

No sir,

Alas, there are so many things I'd like to do but time and work and other duties preclude such things.

Hopefully I will get to shoot more matches this year... last year was a tough one that always had some crisis jumping in to put shooting on a back burner.

I will dig out the chrono data for the loads I posted in my last post and display such... might help those who want to know what to expect.  Nothing really unusual velocity wise.  Don't know if I'll get to that tonight but I will for sure.

Anyone want the "how to" for yet another lube recipe?  It's called JR1 and is a modified Matthews with a little Springfield/Gov't spec Trapdoor ammo twist.

Smells good and seems to work just as well as SPG for typical midwest USA shooting conditions.

Good night all.... gotta go.... things to do before I sleep.

Hoppy

[Larry Gibson]

Hoppy

I'm going to have to try that swiss powder seems everyone is having good accuracy with it.  

Might as well throw in that lube formula too.

Larry Gibson

[Hot Foot II]

Subject:  TD Load data, Lube Recipe

Hi All,

As promised here are some chrono numbers (ref: prev  posted load details)….sorry this took so long…. been unavailable.

Swiss 2f/RCBS 500BPS
10 shots
Avg Vel 1173
ES 10.09
SD 3.46

GOEX Cart/Lym 457125
Avg Vel 1150
ES 11.34
SD 4.0

Two fouling shots were fired then deleted from chrono and the strings of ten fired….blow tube was used.   Expect vel increase of about 20-25 fps from clean bore.   And just to clarify things, the purpose of these loads is to produce the most accurate straight BP target load.  I’m not trying to duplicate the Gov’t issue round.  Spence Wolf already did that in his book which I have.  Highly recommended by the way!  If I could get my desired results without a blow tube I would be thrilled as I consider the blow tube a necessary nuisance for precision target work.  I don’t like it but it works.

The Sw2F (Not 1 ½…. I want to be clear on this) in my experience is a fairly “hot” powder.  Definitely more so than the GOEX Cart lot I have.  I have not tried Sw 1 ½  in the trapdoor.  I did try Sw2F with the 457125 and vel was approaching 1300 fps with unacceptable ES.  Unnecessary recoil too.  Vertical stringing at the longer distances.  Good accuracy out to 200m though and would probably be a real nice hunting load.

And Now…. The Lube:

Some who read this may never have played “kitchen chemist” with lubes and I think some cautions are appropriate.  Hot liquid waxes will burn us humans and if spilled on the heat source will burn very vigorously so use some common sense… think through what you are about to do to eliminate harsh surprises.  Mix the ingredience in a Pyrex type measuring cup that is large enough to contain the mix when it “saponifies” as the Murphy’s Oil Soap is added.  This is a chemical reaction with lots of bubbling, foaming and additional heat produced.  Melt the waxes in a proper glass container(s) placed in a pan of near boiling water.  Don’t melt the waxes in a pan directly on the heat source.  You may start a fire!   Pour the Murphy’s in slowly and this is best done for safety’s sake somewhere NOT over or next to the heat source…. there might be a boil-over.

OK….
In a sufficiently large Pyrex type measuring cup….put the following three substances.

4oz (liquid volume/melted) reasonably clean Beeswax
2oz     “           “        “    Bayberry Wax
2oz     “           “    Neat’s-foot Oil (Not Neat’s-foot Compound)

Stir….then:

SLOWLY add 2oz (volume) of Murphy’s Oil Soap…. The reaction will start.

When it stops and the mix is still liquid add 8cc of dry powdered graphite.  I used two dips of a Lee 4cc Powder Dipper for this.  Stir as the lube solidifies to keep the graphite powder evenly distributed.

I think it best to let the lube “cure” for a day or so to make sure the reaction is really over.  The stuff seems to stay warm quite a bit longer than expected which to me means the reaction is not completely over.  The finished lube is about the consistency of modeling clay and can be rolled into a sausage sized log that is easily stuffed into a lube/sizer… no hole needed like in the sticks of commercially bought lube.  I don’t think JR1 will work as a pan lube.  I’ve never pan lubed  but the word is that “saponified” lubes don’t remelt properly.  “JR1” is my initials and the “1” to designate my first homemade “keeper” lube that seems to work as well as SPG… at least it does in the conditions I normally shoot in.  

I should add that I use a compatible “bore dressing” made of equal parts beeswax,  Bayberry Wax, and Neatsfoot Oil (NO Murphy’s Oil Soap)… it’s like “Bore Butter” in consistency.  Add a bit of graphite powder while still liquid…. whatever looks good.

I also clean the bore with water to which a small amount of Murphy’s Oil Soap has been added.  A few damp patches, a few dry patches and then a patch of the “bore dressing” run back and forth.  Just before shooting I’ll run a dry patch through the bore to remove the excess making sure there is no slippery stuff in the chamber area.  When storing the rifle I’ll run some Break Free thru the bore.
 
Have Fun,

Hoppy