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Bullseye Training log

IGOR RETURNS FROM THE LABORATORY—MAY 13, 2006

 

Range Conditions—68 degrees and Partly Sunny, Winds ~15mph from behind

 

What a day. The local range was packed like Grand Central at rush hour. I decided to take a ride (a long ride) to the Paradise Valley Shooting Center. It’s a nice range if the tourist bus doesn’t show up—they line them up and let them go at hanging steel plates at 50 yards. Non stop clang and bang for an hour with no chance to put up a fresh target. Annoying, but easy enough to work around.

 

Range Closed—PERMANENTLY! A great big pile of stones was blocking the entrance road. I took a walk to see if anyone was around, and it was a crying shame what has become of the place. Graffiti and garbage all over the landscape. Two hours into the day, and I haven’t fired a shot.

 

I had been meaning to check out another State Game Lands range (159), and figured the day was shot already, so why not. When I got there (about 3pm) it was empty, not a soul in sight. The access road to the parking lot was closed off (it has been so since I first took a trip up there over the winter) but the range is open; I lugged my stuff up the hill and got set up.

 

The silver magazine has been tweaked to resemble the black as near as I can get it with the tools available. To try to eliminate variables I didn’t clean the pistol, just a fresh drop of oil on the rails. As I was working with Eley Pistol Match when things went to hell on Thursday, that is where I picked it up.

 

I got through four magazines (all in Silver) without a problem. Things got interesting at that point. A series of jams occurred, as usual, but I was able to detect a pattern this time around. It seemed that the rounds were feeding nose down and catching on the chamber mouth every time. I hand cycled a few times to keep a close eye on the works; lo and behold, the rounds were not following properly. They weren’t jamming really, they were not being fed high enough by the magazine.

 

I tried a couple of things at this point. First, I stripped and lubed the silver mag. It wasn’t dirty, but it sure was dry. Second, I loaded much more carefully and made sure the rounds and the follower were free by tweaking them with my thumb.

 

As a control, I switched back to the Black magazine for the last 15 rounds of the box. Everything fed smoothly, which leads me to conclude that the problem is very likely caused by the Silver magazine.

 

I was out of Eley Pistol Match, but had a box of Eley Pistol Xtra on hand. Again wanting to eliminate variables, I stuck with the Eley brand (same bullet shape and dimensions). Using my new “super careful” loading routine, and giving the bottom of each mag a good smack after inserting into the pistol (just to be sure!), I started another series. One box of ammo later, no failures to feed or extract. EUREKA!! As a side not, one particular group knocked my sox off, with six of ten in the X-Ring. Marskman must DIE!

 

That was the end of the Eley Xtra, but I wanted to keep going to see if I could get through 100 rounds without a malfunction. Never wanting for variety, I took a peek into my .22 ammo box (a cigar box, fits great in the bottom of my shooting bag) and came up with Wolf Match Extra as the next subject (victim?). A quick note—the Eley Xtra and the Wolf are rated within 3fps in the manufacturers specs (1033 for Wolf and 1030 for Eley Xtra). Eley Pistol Match goes at an even 1000fps, a significant difference. What a kick in the ass if this is all related to the more mild ammo!!

 

The Wolf ammo was very well lubricated, to the point where I needed to wipe my hands after loading each magazine. It felt good, and ten full mags went downrange without any drama. An added bonus—it is available locally in bricks of 500.

 

I was getting very tired at this point; my arm strength is not even close to normal. I figured I’d call it quits after a successful 100 round string. This is the first time that I’ve finished a training session with ANY level of confidence that this rig is match-ready. I’m looking forward to the next training session—we’ll see if all this work pays off with consistent reliability.

 

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