Rock Pit - Decision Made

[sabotloader]

Had another opportunity to get some shooting in today (High School Softball season is over), I took me awhile to figure out what rifle I was going to shoot, but in the end I decided on taking my reclaimed 45 Knight DISC Extreme to the shoot. This is a 1-30 twist DISC that I have been working with after purchasing online. For my part it turned out to be a very good purchase. When I bought it I was after the thumbhole stock that the rifle came with.

I remove the stock and sent it down to the Big Dipper in Lewiston - I wanted a Winter Camo TH to put on the Knight Ulite that I hunt with during elk season.





After checking the 45 rifle out, I decided heck! this was a good looking gun and even though it had some minor pitting it might make a good shooter. I had a really nice old fashioned wood stock in the back room that was unfilled so I put the barreled action in it - I like it reminds me of the good old days of wood and blued rifles...



When I got to the rock pit I set my portable bench up got the work bench set up and walked 7 birds to the rock wall. The first two shots went really well.. I just have to remember this rifle is set up for a zero of 200 yards. The scope on the rifle is a Leupold Ultimate Slam, so at a 100 yards I need to place the top of the center circle @ six o'clock on the bottom of the bird. After I shot the first 2 of 7 another pickup showed up with a group of guys that were going to shoot also. They watched me shoot a couple of more and then a conversation was struck up between us. They were trying to be nice to me and tell me that the rifle I am shooting was not legal for ML season in Idaho. Finally all that came out and I indicated to them that I only use ML's for hunting now and this is one that I would use during 'rifle deer season'. That peaked their interest and the next thing I knew I was offering to let them shoot it. Next thing I knew the remaining three birds were gone and we set up another 6 birds - which the 4 guys shot as well. They were really pumped how easy it was - I think the 'hook' was in but I am not sure it was set! Anyway after all this I packed up and headed east on my mission looking for elk or ground squirrels. It was a great drive through the back country and out to the Elk River Highway.

This is the shot - 100+ yards to the rock wall..



This was the first set up birds that I was enjoying the morning with...



Did not get a picture of the second setup - to much talking and shooting going on...

But it was a fun day + plus I drove through some of my old work areas that I have not been in since 2004...

Also since these strangers can shoot it as well as I can I figure it must be good- so I am going to use it for the first part of the rifle deer season here in Idaho...

 

[Muledeernv]

Nice looking muzzy. Going to try some new bullets for my muzzy this year have been using sabot rounds changing to power belts to see what shoots best.

 

[sabotloader]

Nice looking muzzy. Going to try some new bullets for my muzzy this year have been using sabot rounds changing to power belts to see what shoots best.

Just my 2bits... Power Belts are certainly easy to load and do shoot accurately - but I believe you are far better off shooting real copper-lead, all copper, or all brass bullet in a sabot. The bullets I was shooting this morning were 40x200 grain Brass Bloodlines in a MMP sabot.

 

[Muledeernv]

Do they shoot better than the hornady sabots sat low drags

 

[sabotloader]

Do they shoot better than the hornady sabots sat low drags

What rifle are you shooting?

I am not sure which bullet you are shooting in the 'Low Drags'?

The bullet you asked about the Power Belt - normally shoot very well - the knock on them and this is just my thoughts the Power Belt really is nothing more than elongated lead round ball. Even the copper coated PB, the copper is a very thin application. The new Platinum's are suppose to be stronger but I can not attest to that. The problem with a PB especially the lighter ones is that they tend to blow up if they contact a major bone. The heavier you or using less powder will reduce this problem.

There are lot of really good bullets on the market and IMO there are a lot of not so good. I really prefer to shoot a bullet designed for a rifle.

This the bullet I use in my 50 cal when hunting elk here in Idaho during the general rifle season



The 40x200 in this picture is the one that I was using today.



The were made by Lehigh Defense - but Knight now distributes them under their name and has named them 'Bloodline'

These are high end bullets along with Barnes and they are more expensive to shoot, but for me hunting - the added benefits that they provide are worth the cost.

There are production bullets on the market that are awful hard to beat also.

This is only a 75 yard target but you can see how well they fly...

 

[Muledeernv]

Have a tc omega and low drag 50 cal sabot 45 cal 250 grain bullet. Don't shoot long distance but would like to be able to at beast hit 200 in a good group shot my cow last year at 30 yards.

 

[sabotloader]

Have a tc omega and low drag 50 cal sabot 45 cal 250 grain bullet. Don't shoot long distance but would like to be able to at beast hit 200 in a good group shot my cow last year at 30 yards.

More questions and an assumption.... I assume you are using a scope on your rifle???

The newer Omega's normally have a rather tight barrel so the low drag might be your best bet...

Question - which stock do you have on the rifle - if it is the synthetic stock either black or camo - that could be a problem with accuracy.

This is post I made several years ago about the Omega and synthetic stock. If it is a synthetic thumbhole stock TC did fix part of the problem in that stock.

The Omega… A weakness is the black synthetic stock supplied with the gun. The same black stock is provided from the less expensive Z5 model to the more expensive Stainless steel models.

The weaknesses of this stock’ IMO, are the flexible forearm and the shallow recoil lug pockets in the stock. In fact you should inspect these lug pockets each time you take your rifle down for cleaning. These pockets can crack and will allow the barreled action to move on recoil, TC will warranty your stock if these cracks appear. Another thing you should look for in your stock is a polish mark(s) along the barrel channel in the stock. If these marks are appearing, that is the point at which the barrel is making heavier contact with the stock than other places and will cause the POI to move.

It is my opinion that I would prefer a barreled action that fits snugly in the stock with equal pressure on all points along the barrel, in other words fully bedded or a heavier stock that will not flex. This is expensive for a manufacturer to do when producing mass production rifles so for them the least expensive alternative is to produce stocks that provide a free floating barrel.

Normally when you purchase a synthetic Omega the barreled action will fit somewhat snugly in the stock. It will not remain that way over time and even though it might seem snug it is not equal.

There really is not a lot we can do about the flexibility of the stock especially in the forearm, but there are things that can be done to reduce its effects of the forearm pushing on the barrel.

The easiest fix is to float the barrel, move the barrel from contact with the barrel channel in the stock. One of the time tested ways of checking “floating” is to slide a dollar bill under the barrel from the fore-end back to the receiver, leave the ram rod in place.

To float the barrel – in my mind to methods one is much simpler than the other but really both are on the easy side.

Method #1… Simply shim the barreled up in the stock. I did this for a couple of seasons before I moved to the second easy step. Place a shim in the recoil lug pocket this will lift the action up and cause the barrel to lift in the stock. I made my shims from one of my wife’s Teflon cutting sheets. It is the perfect thickness, and everyone knows the durability of Teflon. Cut the shim to fit snugly in the bottom of the lug pocket punch a hole in the center of the shim for the lug bolt and install the barreled action. You should now be able to easily slide the dollar bill to slide under the barrel to the action. NOTE: because the pockets are so shallow I would not lift the action any higher than the thickness of one of these shims, and I suggest the reinforcement of the lug pockets as discussed later.

Method #2… Sand the barrel channel to fit the barrel. This is not as easy as it sounds but start by sanding the polished marks out of the barreled channel. As you remove these pressure points they will be replaced by other pressure points along the barrel. You will then continue to sand out points until the barrel sits snugly in the stock along its length, and further shooting does not cause further polished points.

Another simple fix you might consider… Look at the recoil pockets in the stock. It is a very simple fix to reinforce the lug pockets. This fix will stop the possible front to back movement of the action and probably stop the cracking of the pockets. I would suggest that you fill the area between the pockets with a fiberglass

Here is a picture that goes along with it...

 

[Muledeernv]

No scope and yes syn stock in camo and already checked the barrel no pressure points. And stock to barrel is tight. Use triple 7 mag pellets and 209 primers.