One of our Staff members offered me a deal on a rifle of his, that his uncle had bought new back when. Pre-'64 Winchester Model 70 .243 Featherweight, with Redfield rings, mount, and 2-7 Redfield scope on it. I ran the SN on the action, and it came back as being made in 1953. The barrel was bade in 1955, which was the first year that the M70 came out in .243 (and, coincidentally, was the first year that the .243 ever came out.). It's easy to see how rifles made in 1955 might well have actions made in 1953, and I see nothing that implies that the action was rebarreled. So, kewl! I've got a first year production of that cartridge in that rifle, and a very usable one at that.
My fellow moderator also generously sent me a couple of hundred .243 cases for reloading, along with two boxes of loaded ammo that his uncle had loaded in 1968! One was a box of 100g Sierra Spitzer SP over too much 4350. The other was a box of 70g Hornady Spire Point over 40 grains of 3031.
Today, I lapped the rings, put the scope on, LockTite'd the screws, and headed out to the range. The first three groups, I was kind of disappointed; they were fine vertically, but had horizontal stringing to give me 2.5" to 3" groups. What causes that?!? Well, I kept moving the scope to get it sighted in, and it began to get dark. Finally, last groups. I fired one group of each old loading, and went to get my targets. Hot Dog! I suppose that it just takes a few groups for everything to just get "settled in." The action had been out of the stock. The scope had been off the rifle.
Sub-1" groups at 100 yards, those last two targets had. I'm tickled pink-- I've got me a good "deer stick."
Realize, these groups are with 36 year old handloads!!
My fellow moderator also generously sent me a couple of hundred .243 cases for reloading, along with two boxes of loaded ammo that his uncle had loaded in 1968! One was a box of 100g Sierra Spitzer SP over too much 4350. The other was a box of 70g Hornady Spire Point over 40 grains of 3031.
Today, I lapped the rings, put the scope on, LockTite'd the screws, and headed out to the range. The first three groups, I was kind of disappointed; they were fine vertically, but had horizontal stringing to give me 2.5" to 3" groups. What causes that?!? Well, I kept moving the scope to get it sighted in, and it began to get dark. Finally, last groups. I fired one group of each old loading, and went to get my targets. Hot Dog! I suppose that it just takes a few groups for everything to just get "settled in." The action had been out of the stock. The scope had been off the rifle.
Sub-1" groups at 100 yards, those last two targets had. I'm tickled pink-- I've got me a good "deer stick."
Realize, these groups are with 36 year old handloads!!