April 22, 2008   Roy took three shots off the bench to check how the barrel  grouped after being cut and conned. He used 75 gr of 2F, lubed pillow ticking and a .570 ball at 25 yards. Not bad at all. The single trigger trips the lock at a  very nice 14 oz. He said ignition was super fast too.

I plan on keeping a record of all range time right here while working up a load. I hope to find an accurate load somewhere between 80 to 90 gr of 3F black powder for hunting Whitetails.

Making Patch Lube

May 19, 2008  First time out.

Shooting to see what the rifle likes, I first tried 80 gr of 3F Graff powder, a .025 patch lubed with my bear oil/deer tallow mix and a .570 Hornaday ball. I swabbed after each shot with a dry patch. I was surprised to see the first shot was just a hair above point of aim and dead on right to left. The first two shots right next to each other. The third I knew as soon as I pulled the trigger It was a bad one, I lifted my head off the cheek as it fired. Recoil is surprisingly not bad at all and the 14 oz trigger is just wonderful for target work.

I then cleaned the gun and upped the charge to 90 gr of 3F Graff with the same ball/patch combo. She tightened up and the group was now centered at point of aim. Again on shot #4 I knew soon as I shot what I did. Well I guess I'm consistant when I raise my head off of the cheek anyway lol. I need to stop that...anyways all in all I could not have asked for a better outing for the first time out. I'm extremely happy with what this rifle has shown it's capable of. Now if I just do my part. The Rice barrel was so worth the extra money. Even after being cut, recrowned and conned it's probably more accurate than I can shoot it. It loads and cleans up easier than anything else I own.