... and even hits the target.
OK, it was only 25 meters. But I forgot my shooting glasses. Shooting with the driving glasses means seeing a sharp target behind a very fuzzy foresight. And no sign of the backsight. About the same sight picture as when firing a shotgun.
So why on earth did I do it?
Because the typical method described elsewhere for fire-forming (anneal neck of case, load with small dose of pistol powder, plug neck, fire) just does not work. The Flobert caps that I use for the rimfire cases drive powder, plug etc out through the barrel without any ignition of the powder. So it had to be a real load with the hefty inertia of a lead bullet. In which case, I thought, I might as well point it at a target.
Afterward, the target looked like this:
Attachment 43554
And the cases like this:
The cases have not yet had a final trim, so the mouths are a bit irregular. The second case from the left was cut to 42mm, as this was the length later used by the
Swiss
for a centerfire version. However, the chamber neck is long enough to accommodate cases cut to 44mm (the other 4 cases) and still have the mouth clear of the transition cone. This modification allows a good dose of lubricant to be placed between the overpowder wad (milk carton) and the bullet. Seat bullet to appropriate length (roughly lands contact less 1mm) and
fire.
I could write: enjoy, because I was delighted when the very first shot out of this 145-year old rifle was the 9 at 9 o'clock, followed by the 8/9 at 11 o'clock. Experience shows that a second load, with formed cases, will be better - especially if I remember to take my shooting glasses!
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