Hello all:
Can anyone help me with 1911 accuracy?
A lot of you have showed some verrrrry nice customized 1911's. I am wondering how accurate these guns are?
I have a Springfield Mil-spec 1911 which I fitted a barrel over the winter months, and am now working up loads for it. The barrel to slide and bushing fit is tight, there is zero down-play in the lug lock-up. As the slide comes into battery, there is an ever so slight over-center click as it just nudges onto the stop on the barrel lug. There is no dectctable movement in the front bushing, however it can be removed without a bushing wrench, barrel to bushing fit seems pretty good, there is just enough room to tilt the barrel in the bushing slightly, about as much tilt as is encountered in functioning, much less, and something would bind. Hood fit is a thousandth or so on the back, and about .001 on one side, and .002 on the other. Slide to frame is OK, nothing exceptional, the new barrel tightens things up a bit, due to the tighter hood and lug fitting.
I have taken mine out a half dozen times working with a 200 grain Lee round nose flat point cast boolit sized just a smidgen over .452 (this boolit functions great, and casts very consistently). I have also shot some at .451
I am using wheel weights, both air cooled and water quenched varieties, and a number of powders, Bullseye, Tightgroup, WW231, Unique, Universal, 700X, AA #5, and maybe one or two more I forgot.
I just get the feeling I should be able to punch a 1 hole group at 25 yards, sometimes the shooting goes well, sometimes not.
I will admit that the improvised rest from a piece of culvet pipe is not the most steady, and my sitting position behind it is uncomfortable as hell. What I'd give to be back on the range sitting on a nice chair behind a pistol rest and a solid bench!! Unfortunately, I don't have access to a Ransom Rest, and I constantly wonder if my grip is partly to blame, especially when I shoot a group that is tight in the horizontal, but strung in the vetrtical.
Can anyone help? A penny for your thoughts on how to improve.
Here is the ole Gal, the trigger is stock, but is modded inside to remove over-travel. This is one of the better groups it has shot, 4.4 grains of Tightgroup behind a 200 grain cast. It runs about 820 fps, and doesn't lead, however, a tad more powder, and a trace of leading will form on the leading edge of the rifling lands. The leade stays pretty clean.
Here's kind of an interesting observation, as I work through load work-ups, (say start with 3.9 gns, then work up to say 5.4 in .2 grain increments) a lot of the time you hit that obturation point, before which no leading occurs, after which, the barrel begins to get streaks of leading. Sometimes you get good groups with these hotter loads, sometimes not. However, barrel leading does seem to be detrimental to the accuracy of lower powered rounds, firing them after hotter rounds that left lead in the barrel. This can be seen in the following progression
Top left photo: clean barrel with 4.4 gns TG (seems to be a good load that shoots well). Top Right: Another group with 4.4 gns TG, however, this one was fired after the barrel leaded from other rounds of a different load I had fired. Bottom Left, another target with 4.4 gns of TG, but after firing a few jacketed rounds to clear the barrel of lead. Then to confirm I fired one more group, as seen in the Bottom Right target. Hmmmmmm.
OK, on to more targets. Here are some using Bullseye, I kind of expected to get tighter groups with the BE, this is where I suspect the looser groups are my fault, perhaps not holding or resting the pistol properly, I am open to any suggestions anyone may have to offer...........
On another shooting session, I shot these from a Ruger MKII target 6 7/8" and a Smith M-52 .38 Master Target pistol. I will acknowlege that my hold and eyesight are not always perfectly aligned with the Bull, especially when I rush a shot. But these targets perhaps demonstrate how much I can be off, well at least on the Ruger, I scoped it, and it shoots 1/2" groups or smaller at 25 yards. So this gives me an idea of how much inaccuracy I am causing.
I am open to suggestions and experience with these pistols. Thanks all.
Can anyone help me with 1911 accuracy?
A lot of you have showed some verrrrry nice customized 1911's. I am wondering how accurate these guns are?
I have a Springfield Mil-spec 1911 which I fitted a barrel over the winter months, and am now working up loads for it. The barrel to slide and bushing fit is tight, there is zero down-play in the lug lock-up. As the slide comes into battery, there is an ever so slight over-center click as it just nudges onto the stop on the barrel lug. There is no dectctable movement in the front bushing, however it can be removed without a bushing wrench, barrel to bushing fit seems pretty good, there is just enough room to tilt the barrel in the bushing slightly, about as much tilt as is encountered in functioning, much less, and something would bind. Hood fit is a thousandth or so on the back, and about .001 on one side, and .002 on the other. Slide to frame is OK, nothing exceptional, the new barrel tightens things up a bit, due to the tighter hood and lug fitting.
I have taken mine out a half dozen times working with a 200 grain Lee round nose flat point cast boolit sized just a smidgen over .452 (this boolit functions great, and casts very consistently). I have also shot some at .451
I am using wheel weights, both air cooled and water quenched varieties, and a number of powders, Bullseye, Tightgroup, WW231, Unique, Universal, 700X, AA #5, and maybe one or two more I forgot.
I just get the feeling I should be able to punch a 1 hole group at 25 yards, sometimes the shooting goes well, sometimes not.
I will admit that the improvised rest from a piece of culvet pipe is not the most steady, and my sitting position behind it is uncomfortable as hell. What I'd give to be back on the range sitting on a nice chair behind a pistol rest and a solid bench!! Unfortunately, I don't have access to a Ransom Rest, and I constantly wonder if my grip is partly to blame, especially when I shoot a group that is tight in the horizontal, but strung in the vetrtical.
Can anyone help? A penny for your thoughts on how to improve.
Here is the ole Gal, the trigger is stock, but is modded inside to remove over-travel. This is one of the better groups it has shot, 4.4 grains of Tightgroup behind a 200 grain cast. It runs about 820 fps, and doesn't lead, however, a tad more powder, and a trace of leading will form on the leading edge of the rifling lands. The leade stays pretty clean.
Here's kind of an interesting observation, as I work through load work-ups, (say start with 3.9 gns, then work up to say 5.4 in .2 grain increments) a lot of the time you hit that obturation point, before which no leading occurs, after which, the barrel begins to get streaks of leading. Sometimes you get good groups with these hotter loads, sometimes not. However, barrel leading does seem to be detrimental to the accuracy of lower powered rounds, firing them after hotter rounds that left lead in the barrel. This can be seen in the following progression
Top left photo: clean barrel with 4.4 gns TG (seems to be a good load that shoots well). Top Right: Another group with 4.4 gns TG, however, this one was fired after the barrel leaded from other rounds of a different load I had fired. Bottom Left, another target with 4.4 gns of TG, but after firing a few jacketed rounds to clear the barrel of lead. Then to confirm I fired one more group, as seen in the Bottom Right target. Hmmmmmm.
OK, on to more targets. Here are some using Bullseye, I kind of expected to get tighter groups with the BE, this is where I suspect the looser groups are my fault, perhaps not holding or resting the pistol properly, I am open to any suggestions anyone may have to offer...........
On another shooting session, I shot these from a Ruger MKII target 6 7/8" and a Smith M-52 .38 Master Target pistol. I will acknowlege that my hold and eyesight are not always perfectly aligned with the Bull, especially when I rush a shot. But these targets perhaps demonstrate how much I can be off, well at least on the Ruger, I scoped it, and it shoots 1/2" groups or smaller at 25 yards. So this gives me an idea of how much inaccuracy I am causing.
I am open to suggestions and experience with these pistols. Thanks all.
