Smith Corona way off with 110 grain bullets

I had taken my gun to the range a week ago. I loaded up some bullets 110 grain and they were fine. I was shooting about 2 inches high at 100 yds. I took the same gun to the range and the bullets were flying about 5 feet or more high at 200 yards. I am useing H414 57 gr with a COL of 3.030 the max listed was 3.170, the starting load I used of 57gr shows a velocity of 3044fps. It was the same bullets, powder and load I used before and got three shot groups at 100 yds of 2 inches. After I could not print at 100 yds on paper I removed the bolt and did a bore sight and it was on center of paper for a bore sighting. Tried it again and same thing hitting several feet high. I am not sure what is going on, any help would be appreciated.

Your load sound sounds fine and is listed as the starting load in the manual. While I would probably expect them to hit pretty high, yours does seem excessive.

Since you say the point of impact changed between your first range session and the next, then something else happened. I don't know your familiarity with 1903's or reloading so my suggestions may seem too basic, but...Possible sources to check:

1. Powder loading mistake? Any pressure signs or heavy bolt lift? Pull a few and double check the load. Check the scale zero while you are at it
2. I'm presuming your rifle has the USGI rear sight. The 03A3 rear sight is prone to slipping on the ramp if the detent spring is weak or broken. Usually is slips down the ramp. Perhaps it was bumped up. I realize you say it bore sighted and that should get things in the neighborhood.
3. while wildly high, did it still group? Any crown damage between trip 1 and 2?
4. Stock (action) bolts still tight?

I'd try some factory 150gr 30-06 bullets. Any will do. I'd expect them to be on paper, reasonably close to matching the elevation on the ramp if everything is set properly and you have an unmodified, letter stamped, front post.

Good luck!

I loaded up some 150 grain with 48.5 H414 starting load for that bullet. I also will check it with some factory loads and do two shots with the factory and two with my reloads and see if I can hit paper next week. It is a USGI rear sight. It was slipped up but only half way between 100 and 200 yards. Stock and action seem OK. The only thing I noticed was that when I went to put the bolt down in most every case it took a lot of force to drop the bolt handle. Not to say I had to hammer it or anything but I had to tap it with the palm of my hand to bring it down into battery. At first I thought the bullet may not be seated right but I checked and its under COL recommended for that bullet. The refiling is not perfect but I was hitting two to three inch groups with the same reloads last week.

47 Grains of 4064 behind a 160Gr bullet works very well.

Strange thing, I took some factory 150gr, remington, 150 grain hand loads and some hand loads of the 110 grain. First I shot the facotry, the rounds hit about two inches low of center, the 150 hand loads also hit same place and then the 110 grain did not hit paper again. I guess the gun just will not use 110 grain bullets.

If you have to tap the bolt handle down, I suggest your cases are too long and need trimmed. As for why you're getting odd groupings, I'd want to be there watching to see what changes between range trips.

I agree with BAR if your cases are to long you can get variations and also set yourself up for excessive pressures due to the fact of the case mouth crimping the bullet and this will not be the same for each case which gives you erratic grouping a good set of calipers and a Lyman trimming tool with the 4 cutter carbide head is the go once set up it trims accurately to .0005" that's what I get it down to with my 6.5/284.

Don't know the dies you use, but if you over-crimp with RCBS taper crimp dies it WILL swell the case just below the shoulder causing the same symptom. Wanna see mine I still have to break down....:(

You might be better served with a faster powder. H414 is pretty slow and would be better with 180 grain or heavier bullets. Try IMR 3031, H/IMR 4895 or Varget around 48-50 grains. Remember you are pushing the bullet 300 fps faster than the sights are graduated for so they will shoot high. You could also move the sight to match the load rather than making a random load fit the sights that may or may not be regulated to its ballistics. A 110 grain bullet at 3000 fps may not hit the same spot as a 150 grain bullet at 2700 fps at 200 yards but I would not expect a five foot difference.

Dave

Quote:

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Originally Posted by chuckindenver

47 Grains of 4064 behind a 160Gr bullet works very well.

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Yep, 150 to 165 IMR 4064 is the ticket......RL 15 good too. The '06 fires 130 and above ......way above, just fine. The light bullets just don't stabilize....you would need a one in 14 twist.

I have a box of 125 Speer TNT bullets. I have been using 45gr. of 4064 as my load, and it runs very well in my 03-A3. I am planning to try 44 gr. in my next loading. I like the reduced recoil as I had surgery in my shoulder. Good luck.

I've had mixed luck with 110gr bullets in any of my '06's, either they like them or they don't. I did run onto something that surprised me tho...a couple of years ago I stumbled onto a cartridge adaptor for shooting .30 Carbine in a .30-06. In my military guns I get 2" groups pretty routinely, my 2-grove '03-A3 really likes them staying around 1" from the bench. That's better than it shoot regular ball ammo. My commercial guns don't fair quite so well, about 3" is the best they'll do with the adaptor.

Not quite the same as loading in regular cases, but to me it's handy for plinking and letting recoil sensitive people shoot the old war dogs.

Rob

I don't know if I would be so quick to say light bullets don't stabilize in these barrels. I have started playing with some Lapua 100 grain bullets and I'm getting some fairly decent groups with them at 100 yards, less than 2 inches using Varget. I have a lot more work to do with these bullets yet but the lack of recoil is truly amazing. I actually started using these bullets initially in one of my Krags just to see what would happen and I obtained similar results.

Rick H.