Finally quit raining and went to the ranch to feed and shoot my new ML. Only shot 8 rounds to zero. Fired at 25yds only at this session.
Learned to load and marked range rod and ramrod for Unloaded/Loaded lengths. White Hots and Hornady Bore Driver FTX bullets.
Felt the crud ring develop but nothing major. After 4 rounds fired I learned it was much easier cleaning after 3 rounds on the range. Used saturated pads with Simple Green. One patch both sides wet followed by one patch both sides dry. Subsequent bullets loaded very easily. Simple Green cut the crud ring easily as well as the barrel. Each time I cleaned the barrel it came very clean on the dry patch. I was amazed at how easy it was to clean. Noticed the flash hole clogging a bit, so each time I cleaned between shots I’d run a cleaner thru it. No hang fires. Groups were around 1” or closer with one in the same hole. Found some bullets impacted in the dirt berm and dug them out. Expansion was very good and the jacket did not separate from the lead core. One had the flex tip embedded in it. Also, the polymer seals blew off around 50 ft from the muzzle. Only wear on them was on the front where they engaged the rifling.
All in all, it was a great afternoon and I learned a lot.
And…….. I HAD A BLAST!
Been asking lots of questions and you guys have helped me understand a bit better. I appreciate it. Next session will be 50 and 100 yds thru chrony. Thanks for all the help!
Learned to load and marked range rod and ramrod for Unloaded/Loaded lengths. White Hots and Hornady Bore Driver FTX bullets.
Felt the crud ring develop but nothing major. After 4 rounds fired I learned it was much easier cleaning after 3 rounds on the range. Used saturated pads with Simple Green. One patch both sides wet followed by one patch both sides dry. Subsequent bullets loaded very easily. Simple Green cut the crud ring easily as well as the barrel. Each time I cleaned the barrel it came very clean on the dry patch. I was amazed at how easy it was to clean. Noticed the flash hole clogging a bit, so each time I cleaned between shots I’d run a cleaner thru it. No hang fires. Groups were around 1” or closer with one in the same hole. Found some bullets impacted in the dirt berm and dug them out. Expansion was very good and the jacket did not separate from the lead core. One had the flex tip embedded in it. Also, the polymer seals blew off around 50 ft from the muzzle. Only wear on them was on the front where they engaged the rifling.
All in all, it was a great afternoon and I learned a lot.
And…….. I HAD A BLAST!
Been asking lots of questions and you guys have helped me understand a bit better. I appreciate it. Next session will be 50 and 100 yds thru chrony. Thanks for all the help!
. Try not to breath in that white smoke. It's addictive. 
