Just a comment with regard to old time long range shooters oiling the bore between shots...  If you read Perry's book "Modern Observations on Rifle Shooting" which is all about what was then state of the art long range rifle shooting, you will see that the technique, at least for breech loaders, was to clean the rifle, oil the bore, then use a dry rag to remove the oil before shooting.  He says something to the effect that a little bit of water or oil left in the bore is the same as any other kind of dirt and will affect accuracy negatively.

With that said it is very common in modern Creedmoor matches, especially in hot dry places, to wipe with a oil/water mixture and leave it in the bore between shots.  But we are talking about a very thin layer.  Definitely not a replacement for lubing the bullets in any way.

Another thing to remember, the old time long range shooters used paper patched bullets and they required no lube.  Any use of oil had nothing to do with preventing leading of the bore.

Chris.
 

n.r.davis wrote on Aug 10^th, 2018 at 9:09am:


Best advice I can give is be prepared for disappointment.

If you are new to loading, starting with cast bullets you made yourself, and made a couple of questionable calls about the process. A sheet of plywood at 25 yards might be a good target backing to start with for sighting in.

I know that would have allowed me to say I hit the target my first few times out.

Loading jacketed bullets and smokeless powder gets reasonable results, with limited knowledge and experience. Cast bullets is a whole different ball game, at least for me. Attention to detail and refining your process never ends.

As a confession for encouragement I would say I have a reasonable understanding of what it takes to get a good load together. I brought home a new to me Rifle that came with brass and bullets. After a quick inspection and cleaning, a few hours of trying different powders, then bullets, resulted in a best group of maybe 3” at fifty yards. Out of frustration and to try to find the weak link in the process, I shot three rounds of jacketed bullets down range. Found out it wasn’t the rifle, it was capable of close to MOA groups without effort. They guy behind the trigger seemed to be able to shoot well enough. The brass performed reasonable. The bullets worked well in other rifles. 

Bottom line is the munitions department was screwing up. 
Now that in know what hat I’m wearing when I’m the weak link, I can do something about it.

All that to say, you might have set yourself up for dispointing results, simply because you want to shoot, more than you want to shoot well. Sometimes, often, I’m right there with you brother.

However it works out, enjoy it. Take good notes of what you do. Because if you stumble on the perfect load the first time, you will want to repeat it.

I couldn't tell you how much trouble having a real, skilled mentor meant to me when I first began this stuff. I know the advice to prepare for the worst is good to heed. But, if you listen to these fellows and stave off the impatience just long enough to get some proper (or even near-proper) lube on the bullets, you will cut the chances of a disasterous start down to no worse than a mild case of  disapointing accuracy that can be improved upon. If you go home with lousy accuracy and a leaded barrel it would be tragic. Lube those bullets- be proud of getting it half right the first time, and perhaps even better than that. Good luck.

Just an update, I managed to put 12 rounds on target Sunday, thanks for the tip of using a large backer, and found out that running 3 patches from the Breach to clear the bore and 4 passes from the muzzle to lube is time consuming.  For me a success!
1 plus 1 does not always add up to 2 in my head, I am a little odd at times, next stop is to pull the 10 left and grease the bullets proper like.   David

n.r.davis wrote on Aug 13^th, 2018 at 10:25am:


Don't forget that lesson, it may prove useful, even critical now and then. I learned that lesson at age 13 in 1953 and it was critical for my accurate shooting of that single shot BP cartridge rifle for years. Happily, decades later I learned how to make BP loads for a BP cartridge lever gun that grouped fully well for 10s of BP loads, without need for cleaning rod. And that was not the end of further learning how to make superior BP rifle cartridge ammo.

Best wishes for further success.

Such a wide horizontal spread raises question: "Is either front or rear sight loose in dovetail, etc.? Or is rifle flexing horizontally, perhaps because of loose butt stock, etc.?

Maybe Mr. Davis will check in, but my first thought was that was a vertical spread and a sideways photo?