2012 Colorado State High Power Championship

[Trent]

Good luck to everyone shooting the CO State HP match this coming weekend!! I am very sad that I can't be there. Looks like way nicer weather than down here in the dirty south. Damn rain! I want to go shoot!

Anyway, I hope ya'll get a good turnout and the animals fall by the bunches!

[Bob Mc Alice]

Wish you were going to be here, Trent.

I am trying something different this year, a one day 60 shot match with each gun. Last years attendance was sad at only seven and eight shooters each day. We got done real early. Time to mix it up a bit. With little input I just decided to go one day this year and bump up the target count. I have ten shooters signed up, that will be it. CRC has only 25-28 of each animal so only fifteen of each will be set up. Four shooters on the line (4-3-3), and three relays. Number eight of every target will have a florescent painted head (C-T) or nose (P-R). These will have a one dollar instant payout for a hit scored an X. This will be done for both matches. Just a chance for the shooter to win back a little of his entry fee. I am prepared to shell out $50. or more if the winds are light.

I was out there yesterday with my wife practicing. Fired 100 rds. It was busy with regular members shooting at all the steel permanent targets mostly from the benches or off bipods. I was the only one shooting offhand. Perfect calm conditions but warm most of the day. The blue mule has a full gas tank and I got seven veteran target setters lined up for the match. I got two spots open just in case you can slip out of town for the weekend.

[Jerry G]

What did you practice with your wife Bob?

[Bob Mc Alice]

Get your mind out of the gutter old timer.

To the best of my knowledge, this is the first time CO has ever fired a 60 shot state HP match. Does any one else here shoot a 60 shot state or monthly club HP match? One or two day event? I am thinking this might work out well with as few HP shooters as we have left. I would love to see Bonner or Oneil clean 15 pigs or chickens. Maybe I will consider making this a regular monthly format, too.

[lone ringer]

Get your mind out of the gutter old timer.

To the best of my knowledge, this is the first time CO has ever fired a 60 shot state HP match. Does any one else here shoot a 60 shot state or monthly club HP match? One or two day event? I am thinking this might work out well with as few HP shooters as we have left. I would love to see Bonner or Oneil clean 15 pigs or chickens. Maybe I will consider making this a regular monthly format, too.

Bob, we did that a couple of times at our state match here in CA. Its fine with SB rifles but not really recommended for HP since the barrels get way to hot. I had a 6.5 Bryan (wildcat with the capacity of a 6.5 IHMSA) that I loaded with 33/34 gr of Win 760 powder and by the third series of five those 5 cases were no good since the primer pockets had enlarged a whole bunch.

[Trent]

Tony, I don't get the loose primer pockets thing. Can you explain? Takes a pretty high pressure load to toast a primer pocket.

I shoot f-class and including my sighters it's pretty standard for me to shoot 30-shot strings one shot after the other and my brass still comes out somewhat cool to the touch even at the end of the string. Barrel is hot"ish" but my brass isn't abused.

[DanDeMan]

Trent,

WW 760 is a double-base powder; nitrocellulose and nitroglycerin. It and its cousins are very, very temperature sensitive with respect to peak pressure. More than a few of us have seen what happens during a hot day after too many consecutive rounds; primers hit the ground before the cases or bolts won't open. Plus, double-base powders typically have a higher flame temperature so the chamber and throat heat-up quicker. And, their use will shorten barrel-life.

[Trent]

Thanks Dan!

[DanDeMan]

Thanks Dan!

Trent,

My pleasure. I'm partial to VVO N100 series powders (single-base & the cleanest burning I've ever measured) and the fantastic Hodgdon Extreme series of powders, also single-base and very, very temp insensitive.

Also, I found that the RL-17 is unbelievable with respect to low flame-temps, low peak-pressures and very high MV's. I've been working with a custom 223 for Palma; my chamber design for Laupa 223 brass and Berger 90-gr Long-range Target Bullets. With just 28.5-gr of RL-17 under the 90-gr Berger my Oehler is recording MV's of 3,040 fps. And, the chamber temp is cooler than with any other powder even though they will not produce MV's anywhere near what the RL-17 will produce. I'm talking about in excess of 150 fps less with a hotter chamber. Man, what's not to like. It has a burn-rate similar to H4350 Extreme, both great powders for 6.5 X 47 and 260's. My 26"-barreled, 260, HP Hunter will launch 155 Cauturucios to over 2,900 fps with no pressure problems. Man, is that load ever a ram-buster. I've put temp sensing gauges on the barrel at 3 locations; at chamber mouth, mid-barrel and muzzle. No other powder produces such low barrel temps and such high MV's...not even close. The Swiss make the powder, it is truly amazing based on what I think I've learned over the past 32 years of tinkering with this stuff.

[Trent]

Everyone's shoulders must be too beat up from the 60-shot matches to give us an update!

[Bob Mc Alice]

Looks like Phoenix had the same winds we had today. http://phoenix.riflesilhouette.com/Mont ... 20sep.html

60 shot matches are great, will do this again for sure. Bonner won both guns. I will give a complete update Monday afternoon with pictures. And...I got some good results to share concerning how hot barrels really get after 15 shots. (Hint: not so much.) Stay tuned.

[Trent]

Oh! I had it in my mind that you guys were shooting on Saturday. Looking forward to the report. I have a calculus test and a Chem-2 test today... at least I'll have something to look forward to when I get home!

[Bob Mc Alice]

It was hot and windy out on the prairie yesterday for our state HP match. Winds were out of the south all day anywhere from 10-18mph and the temperature hit 90 degrees. This was our first ever 60 shot match and it went very well. We had eight target setters, about one for every shooter and they were fast at resetting the range. It only took three hours to get 10 shooters through 60 shots. A half hour for lunch and three more for the hunter gun. Dave Bonner won both rifles with a 41/60 std. rifle and 43/60 hunter gun which is a master score. Nice shooting , Dave. The dollar bonus targets were fun again this year. Jeff Block was the only shooter to hit all four of his money shots with the standard rifle. The wind kept anyone else from repeating this. All together I gave out $32.00 in bonus bucks. Some pictures of the match.....
http://s766.photobucket.com/albums/xx302/seveno8/CRC/



I wanted to know just how hot the surface of a barrel got after firing 15 shots. I made up a seven foot long thermo couple lead for my digital thermometer. This thermometer gives instant readouts making it ideal for this test. An inch of bare conductor contacted the barrel and was covered by a one inch square of .005 brass sheet, then taped in place to prevent moving. Placement was just ahead of the chamber a few inches. During morning practice I set up my 7-08 heavy gun and fired 15 shots non stop in a steady but not rushed pace. I was busting chickens and pigs while Dave was recording the numbers. The load was a 130 SMK and 37.0 grs. Varget. The ambient start temperature was 62. Shot #1...66... #2...74... #3...79... #4...84... #5...89... #6...94... #7...97... #8...102... #9...106... #10...110... #11...113... #12...116... #13...120... #14...124... #15...127. So, the final temp reading was only 127 after 15 shots.

During the actual match we set up Daves 6.5-47L hunter gun for testing. This time all other testing was under actual match conditions with brief pauses between sets of five. Due to the wind we were using up most of the clock. The load was 33.0 grs. Varget pushing 123 SMK's. Ambient start temp was 87. Shot #10 was 126 and #15 was at 142 degrees.


Scott volunteered his stock Rem. 700 blue 24" 7-08 hunter for the test. His ram load is 40.0grs. Varget pushing a 168 SMK. Ambient start temp was 90. Shot #10 was 142 and #15 was 158.

Lastly I set up my 7-08 hunter gun. Load is 38.0 grs. Varget with a 150 SMK. Ambient start temp was 90. Shot #10 was at 144 and #15 at 155.

The test showed that for every shot the temp increases by about four degrees. Adding five extra shots for a 60 shot match adds about 10-15 degrees to the final barrel temp using Varget. More powder = more flame= more hotter.


The End.

Comments and criticism welcome.

[DanDeMan]

Bob,

Great experiment and write-up, thanks for sharing.

[Trent]

Bob, outstanding test! That is some valuable information.

Dave said that the wires messed up his barrel harmonics on one of his Turkeys and he missed way low. (or maybe it was his Pig zero!)

Man I wish I could have been there. I miss yous guys.