Fact: Painting your gun makes it shoot better...

23 October 2010, 01:04

I painted my A-Bolt Stainless Stalker. That stainless barrel really stood out.

It looks pretty good now and functions better as a hunting rifle now that it won't scare everything in sight off!

Well, since it looks so good, I was hoping I could make it shoot good too.

Went out with the 200 gr GameKing, some H4831SC.
Shot an Audette ladder at 425 yards...

Read the tea leaves and chose load #6. It didn't shoot too well at the OAL of the ladder. I didn't try to tune it with depth, I just bumped it up .5 grains to about load #7 and it shot MOA.

Went out and shot a seating depth test from MOAL.

The first group strung as you can see. I seated .010" deeper and got the .675" group.

Seated 3 more at the same OAL and shot them at 200 yards...

Right at 1" or a lucky group at .5 MOA

If I can find a buck November 16 through the 24, he's in trouble.

23 October 2010, 01:43

Boss Hoss

Looks like it to me!! Nice shooting..

23 October 2010, 01:43

vapodog

quote:
Fact: Painting your gun makes it shoot better...

Take some of that paint to the Carolinas and paint Hot Core.....that ought to improve the shooting even more.....

Nice shooting BTW!

23 October 2010, 12:13

keithv35

A paint job that nice, she ought to shoot a mile! I like the looks of that stock, blend right in with Nevada's high desert!

23 October 2010, 17:32

Hot Core

quote:
Originally posted by vapodog:
Take some of that paint to the Carolinas and paint Hot Core.....that ought to improve the shooting even more.....

If anyone is determined to do it, bring a HUGE Support Group, go ahead and call 911, have your Benefactors properly listed, and paint whats left of me Camo!!!

Always picking on us

24 October 2010, 02:50

Idaho Sharpshooter

2nd grade "Show & Tell" project...

Rich

I always wondered what color blind animals thought of camo? It does look well done

24 October 2010, 05:29

rcamuglia

Check out the big brain on IS!

Sorry the project didn't meet your threshold for importance and was beneath you! Animals see "shiny"

Something obviously motivated you enough to comment negatively. The paint?
The load development?

Pray tell.....?

24 October 2010, 05:38

rcamuglia

BTW, I bet you wear camo when you bow hunt....huh?

Wonder why?

24 October 2010, 07:24

bcp

quote:

I always wondered what color blind animals thought of camo? It does look well done

Go here and upload a photo,
http://www.colblindor.com/cobl...blindness-simulator/
then select:
Red-Blind/Protanopia
for a good simulation of what a deer sees.

Bruce

24 October 2010, 08:02

woods

Hey rc, your rifle looks really good, all except that gold ring on the scope!

Imagine how much better it would shoot with a blue chevron on the side turret!

____________________________________
There are those who would misteach us that to stick in a rut is consistency - and a virtue, and that to climb out of the rut is inconsistency - and a vice.
- Mark Twain |

Chinese Proverb: When someone shares something of value with you and you benefit from it, you have a moral obligation to share it with others.

___________________________________

24 October 2010, 08:14

TEANCUM

Looks like the camo one was dropped in the cow pie pile.

24 October 2010, 08:20

rcamuglia

There must be something in the water in Idaho...

It's on...

24 October 2010, 08:48

rcamuglia

Dang!

I shoulda said, "Well TEANCUM, being well acquainted with your past postings, you would know. You're an authority on bullshit!"

Regrets, regrets!

24 October 2010, 09:20

TEANCUM

quote:
Originally posted by rcamuglia:
Dang!

I shoulda said, "Well TEANCUM, being well acquainted with your past postings, you would know. You're an authority on bullshit!"

Regrets, regrets!

Looks like some of it splash on your rifle.

Maybe it's not to late to start over with the black.

24 October 2010, 09:46

TEANCUM

quote:
Originally posted by TEANCUM:
quote:
Originally posted by rcamuglia:
Dang!

I shoulda said, "Well TEANCUM, being well acquainted with your past postings, you would know. You're an authority on bullshit!"

Regrets, regrets!

Looks like some of it splash on your rifle.

Maybe it's not too late to start over with the black.

24 October 2010, 13:41

rcamuglia

Splash happens!
space

24 October 2010, 13:50

rcamuglia

"Looks like some of it splash on your rifle. "

Yes,

Den it dry,

Den it shoot 1/2 MOA.

. Or in dis case, 1/2

24 October 2010, 17:19

Hot Core

quote:
Originally posted by rcamuglia:
Den it shoot 1/2 MOA. . Or in dis case, 1/2

He will never figure "Den and dis" out.

24 October 2010, 19:04

rcamuglia

quote:
Originally posted by woods:
Hey rc, your rifle looks really good, all except that gold ring on the scope!

Imagine how much better it would shoot with a blue chevron on the side turret!

You're right about that!

It's a cheap Leupold VXII model with the LRVD. What I don't care for about it is the thick reticle, otherwise it's OK.

I put a Stoney Pt. finger adjustable target knob on the elevation dial and it works great. It's the newer version of the scope that has "clicks" and not friction.

I have a couple of these scopes and a couple of VXII's with the Varmint Hunter reticle on big game rifles.

***HINT***

It's pretty easy to fit your favorite load to the reticle. In the manual or online at Leupold the distance between the aimpoints is given in MOA at the highest power setting. I check my drop table for the load to determine which sight in range fits best to make the other aimpoints work or be close. Of course you need to shoot it to confirm.

For example for the scope and load for this .300 WM. According to the drop table, a 200 yard sight in will make the next aimpoint down on at 290 since there is a 1.7 MOA distance to the next aimpoint when on the highest power setting. The bullet also drops 1.7 MOA from 200 to 290.

And so on for the rest of the aimpoints. The next is a 4.13 MOA drop from the center crosshair which fits the drop table at 390. The next point is 7.02 from the center so the drop table matches at 500 (top of the picket)

I shoot to confirm then tape the reticle info on my scope for quick reference...

Not every load I have "fits" the reticle perfectly at even 100 yard intervals.

24 October 2010, 21:37

butchloc

quote:
Take some of that paint to the Carolinas and paint Hot Core.....that ought to improve the shooting even more

i just knew that there some reason i hang around here

25 October 2010, 02:24

Cliff Lyle

I do like the look of the rifle and it shows that it's a shooter and so are you.

Did you camo the stock?

25 October 2010, 02:46

rcamuglia

Yes sir!

My first one. It was fun and easy to do. As you can see, I also painted the shiny stainless barrel flat black.

25 October 2010, 04:21

ted thorn

quote:
Originally posted by Idaho Sharpshooter:
2nd grade "Show & Tell" project...

Rich

I always wondered what color blind animals thought of camo? It does look well done

Rich,
I'm ready for you to do some "show" with your "tell" start posting some pictures of your big elk, custom rifles, fast cars ect. We would all enjoy I'm sure. Don't forget your elkskin outfit for B/P hunting.

Oh...with you in them of course, please.

25 October 2010, 08:05

bartsche

This is getting to be a great camp fire. pass the black berry mouth wash.

Painted rifles are nice.

roger

25 October 2010, 13:26

Cliff Lyle

quote:
Originally posted by rcamuglia:
Yes sir!

My first one. It was fun and easy to do. As you can see, I also painted the shiny stainless barrel flat black.

RC,
Sorry, I didn't finish my statement. I knew you did the metal but was unsure if you did the stock or had it done elsewhere. Tell me how you did the stencil camo.

25 October 2010, 20:44

rcamuglia

Sure Cliff!

If you go to this guy's site, you'll see pretty much how I did mine. There's quite a lot of info out there on the web if you Google "how to camo paint my rifle" or something to that effect.

After reading various guy's methods and thought processes, I had a good idea of what I wanted. I think that lighter camo colors actually function for the purpose better. I used some Chamisa plant in my yard for the stencil. Chamisa is like sage brush. To hold the Chamisa clippings I cut 2- 4" pieces of 1/2" plywood about an inch wide. I layed the clippings between them and used a little plastic clamp I got at Harbor Freight for 1$ to clamp the plywood together and hold the Chamisa. It was then just a matter of holding the clamp and Chamisa up to the stock and spraying over it.

I used the Aluma-hyde epoxy based spray paint from Brownell's. Black, OD green, coyote, desert tan, parkerizing grey...

Unlike most of the sites I checked which the guys layed down a light color first, then stenciled with the darker ones, I started with the darker colors first. I wanted the images of the brush to be dark when the stock was finished, so to do that I stenciled with the lighter colors.

26 October 2010, 02:20

ramrod340

Nice looking paint. Sure glad it made it shoot better as well. I've found that over the last 40 years if I leave off the last round of my planning grouping my rifles always shot better as well.

The link has some excellent tips on the painting. I use plastic wire core "evergreen" in a similar jig then use an old camera stand to allow me to curve the pattern all the way around the stock.