colo native wrote on Sep 4^th, 2013 at 7:57am:


Hi,

Thanks for doing the test.  It's very helpful to have that information available.

But, in the interest of full disclosure - and caution:

This thread is so-far, an academic "what if" inquiry into what may be (or may not be) a problem only for those who are trying to squeeze that very last little bit of performance out of 44 1/2 rifles in benchrest competition.

If you're happy with your rifle, don't change anything. 

JackHughs

There are a lot of different ideas raised in this thread and I am stll pondering some of them, but would like to offer a few suggestions.

In our rifles older than about 1998 we used "traditional" screws for attaching the lower tang to the frame: threaded about 3/8", then unthreaded for about 1/4" at the same diameter as the thread major, then a head which matched the recess in the frame.  This works fine if the stock fit is good, but if the stock fit is too loose (or so tight the lower tang is being pushed out of position) the tang can be in the wrong position.  We now use screws with a larger shank so the tang cannot move at all. To check if this on your rifle, remove the stock and see if you can squeeze the lower tang up/spread it down.  Even if you are not getting any movement, if you want new-style screws drop me an email and I'll send you some.

The stock fit is always my second suspicion when I see vertical stringing.  Our stock fitters are human and wood is a natural product that can shrink and swell over time.  If you have a through bolt the stock must be glass bedded and best practices require tightening/loosening the through bolt each time you shoot.  If you don't have a through bolt glass bedding is often a good idea and certainly I would do it if you suspect the stock is moving.

If your hammer seems very stiff when you are cocking the rifle, you undoubtendly will be moving the whole rifle and will also be putting extra stress on the mainspring and the firing pin.  Back off the mainspring tension a bit, but you do not need to settle for occasional misfires.  You may need more hammer spring tension for rimfire ignition than you do for centerfire, but I don't bother to lighten it up for centerfire.

My first suspicion when I see vertical stringing is the load, but I'll leave that discussion to those who know more than I do.  This forum is a great resource for that information.

Gail Shuttleworth

Amen Fritz and it might be in regards to an issue that is not actually creating the verticle stringing, as Jack Hughes noted that has yet to be determined.