Mysteries of the Rifle, Part Deux

In the last post, we covered up to replacing the scope on my Ruger Model 77 as my Dad and I continue to seek out some issues I have been having with consistency and accuracy of various hand loads as differentiated between his Model 77 and mine (again, both in the .243 Win caliber).  It took me a while but I finally found that picture I took over the summer once we had the scope on and were testing the rifle out:

Dad put in a concrete shooting bench at the same spot my grandfather had his old wooden bench.  You can see the 25-yard target for a rough bore-sight shot (and for practicing with my .40S&W Springfield XDM), and then the 100 yard target downrange.  The chronograph was used to ensure consistency of the loads from shot to shot (the 3060 fps was a HOT or fast load and different from all the others I shot that day; it was the last round from some loads my grandfather put together...in 1993!).  Some might notice that we don't have a shooting "sled"; one of those heavy-duty holders that you place your rifle into and lock it into place to remove the "human variable".  We feel that this defeats the purpose of handloading ammunition and shooting your own rifle.  You WANT to know how the trigger pull feels, what kind of recoil the load has, and to gain practice with working the action and reloading the magazine if/when needed.  Yes, your shoulder will hurt after a full day of shooting, but at least you will have a better understanding of how your firearm works.  But I digress...

We continued to experience a lack of consistency with the new scope but the accuracy had increased somewhat. After about 40 rounds or so through my rifle (not in series, always in groups of 3 with time in between for the barrel to cool) through the morning plus another few rounds through my Dad's M77, the issues with bad consistency and accuracy continued in my rifle while I could shoot groups under one minute-of-angle (MOA) with my Dad's rifle and same ammunition I shot through my rifle.  We both felt that the trigger pull may have something to do with the lack of consistency.  The factory trigger pull for Ruger M77 rifles of our eras was set somewhere between 6-7 pounds and there was a bit of creep in my trigger.  Think about it this way, you know you have to pull hard on the trigger to fire the gun but at the same time, you know that the "kaboom" is coming.  What would your natural tendency be?  Mine is to start to cringe as that trigger starts to slide thus my attention is taken off the target to preparing for the recoil of the rifle.  A lighter trigger pull PLUS some work to reduce the creep and increase the crispness of the sear release will reduce the chances of the human element coming into play and throwing the rifle off target, even by only a few millimeters.

SO, this past summer we sent my M77 off to a gunsmith that has worked on various rifles for my family over the past 30 years or so.  After a one month layover at the gunsmith, the rifle returned with a MUCH improved trigger.  We had asked for the trigger pull to be reduced to 1.5 pounds and it came in at that point with a very crisp release with no creep.

WHAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAT?  I can already hear the gun-savvy readers response to that light of a trigger pull with their eyes probably as big as a Buick hubcap.  "You can't set the trigger pull to be so light, it will go off when you bump it or drop it!  That's dangerous!!!!!".  Baloney.  First off, basic firearm safety states that the rifle should remain unloaded until you are ready to use it.  Therefore, the rifle remains unloaded when I'm driving a vehicle until it is parked and I am prepared to fire it which is usually when I'm in the place I am hunting or if I am preparing to walk to that place.  In the event I am a passenger in the vehicle (as is often the case when I am out and about with my Dad on the ranch), I will load it as we never know when we will happen upon a skunk, feral hog, coyote, or some other pest.  However, the safety will then be on until the rifle is pointed at the target and I am ready to fire AND it will be pointed out the window if there is some issue where the safety fails and the rifle attempts to discharge.  Likewise, the safety is always on while I'm sitting in my spot for the day in case it does get bumped when I nod off or shift positions.  Anyway, most rifles come with a "heavy" pull from the manufacturer because of liability concerns if something were to happen...and I bet that the gunsmithing community doesn't mind one bit because it provides a steady stream of customers!!!

Off the soapbox and back to where we were.  After the return of the rifle, we sat down at the bench once again to re-sight the rifle and again had mixed results.  My varmint hunting load of 75-grain Hornady Hollow-point bullets were shooting 1-groups, on-target, and consistently!  I felt really good about this and we left the rifle as it was at the end of the summer because we had run out of time for shooting as the wind had increased considerably and we didn't have enough other loads prepared for a thorough testing.  Another lesson learned: considerable time it takes to handload the ammunition, prepare for a shoot, conduct the shoot and comparisons, all while at the mercy of the weather (in our case at least, I'm not going to pay for an indoor range when I have one for free that is available whenever I want it!!!).  I thoroughly cleaned the rifle with that fabulous Hoppes No. 9, swabbed down with sheath oil to remove fingerprints and preserve the metal and finish, and the rifle was placed into the safe until mid-October.

By this time, our annual fall-roundup was taking place at a family ranch, the one with the prairie dog problem. After taking care of our primary task with the cattle, my Dad and I headed over to the prairie dog town the last morning we were there to do our best at reducing the population a bit.  After missing a coyote at well over 400 yards for my first shot of the day (it was a long shot, pun intended), Dad and I proceeded to use my Ruger M77 to dispatch quite a few prairie dogs.  The numbers aren't important (don't want to offend too many PETA types out there...) but we ended up shooting another 40 rounds of the 75 grain Hornady HP loads and well over half of them landed on target at distances from 100-250 yards.  I thought my problems with the rifle had been solved if I could land a round at that distance and on target as many times as I did...

However, that was not the case and will be discussed over the next couple of installments and this will bring us up to "real-time" posts as we continue to follow the mystery of my Ruger M77 .243 Winchester rifle.