Originally Posted by kwg020
Originally Posted by Swifty52
Originally Posted by kwg020
You guys are right, too many variables. I have to come up with a better plan. I don't have a chrono so there is no checking speed. As for the wind and the flag, I did the best I could with what I had. I was using a club range so there was no setting it up to my liking. Since I was by myself I didn't have someone to check the wind for me. This is a low budget project with limited resources. I'm doing the best I can with what I have. The results may be inconclusive .

kwg


I can’t cure your lack of chronograph but with the wind flags there are alternatives.
1. Get or make a 24-36” garden stake. Around here the plastic ones go for about 2 bucks.
2. Surveyors tape any color. Price on that has jumped quite a bit since I bought. About 7 bucks for 100 ft.
3. Tie a 1.5 - 2ft. Piece of tape to the stake or whatever length you want. Place the stake in a position and height where you can see it through the scope but doesn’t obscure your target. You now have a crude but visible wind flag. Make up different heights or as many as you want and place them at different yardages. Crude but effective.

I can’t help with the stakes but if needed send me your address by PM and I will send you a roll of surveyors tape at no cost to you.
Again I applaud your efforts but you gotta understand that we can be a very critical audience.


Hello Swifty
I can come up with something to hang next to my target when I go out the next time to check the wind. Our range faces due east and the last time I shot we had a strong wind out of the south. We also have a burm on the south edge of the range and the wind does all kinds of weird things once it clears the burm. It is what it is. I didn't expect MOA accuracy with the way the wind was blowing and I sure as heck didn't get it. A chrono would be nice but I have other needs for the cash. It's just a little further down the list of "must haves". The new radar chrono's have really gotten my attention but the money is not there.

When I started this my primary learning concern was; is pressure coming back through the primer hole ?. I have noticed that the CCI 400's seem to have either a softer or thinner cup than the CCI 450's and the Federal Match primers I have been shooting. I punctured 3 primers the last time I was out with the CCI 400's. I have punctured some on other rifles in the past. That is why I don't have but just a few left. I don't trust them especially with fast burning powder. When I get done with this batch I will go to the Winchester small rifle primers and pretty much start over. I should have some of the bugs (variables) worked out of the process by then.

Accuracy was and is my secondary concern but I am interested in seeing if there is an improvement. If I start puncturing primers with the .086 holed brass I'll stop post haste before I break something. If I don't break anything I'll try a slightly larger hole. I don't know if I will reach a 3mm hole. That's a pretty big hole. The study as presented by NVhnter claims up to a 28% improvement in accuracy. That's a huge claim but he had several learned fellows guiding him through the project so I am not going to doubt his word. I would settle for just a fraction of that percent.

I'm scrounging through my brass now to find something that is all matching so I can eliminate the brass variable. As for primers, during times like this CCI 400's may be the only thing on the shelf. I want to know what their limitations are and what I can do to mitigate the limitations. The other learning objective is, am I wasting my time making the holes in brass uniform in size?? Based on what I read above some folks apparently think it's worth the time and others are not doing it. We shall see.

kwg


kwg,
To be clear, I had no personal involvement in the masters thesis on primer holes that I provided the link to. Just something I came across online that I found interesting and pertinent to your original post.

I would also suggest that unless your Mini-14 has been upgraded to improve it's accuracy you are wasting your time looking for improvement there. Unless yours is one of the newer target models, Minis are just not accuracy rifles. Stick to testing with your AR.

Let's Go Brandon! FJB