Eddystone 1917 Mark

[Patrick Chadwick]

On that...we've seen '94 Winchester rifles with almost nothing left shoot fine with jackets ...

It just so happens that today I made an ammo comparison test with my WIN94 in 32-40. This rifle was once inspected by an expert shooter with a professional endoscope (NOT a cheapo borescope). His verdict: the rifle was useless for shooting - bore heavily worn at front and back, and rough in the middle. “Put it in a display cabinet or sell it to a collector” was his recommendation.

Fortunately, my rifle does not understand German and was thus not offended. I continued to use it, and last year managed to win the BDMP national competition at 100 meters /seated (I cannot manage prone any more). This was (and has been for years) using Speer .321/170gn flat-nose jacketed bullets (Hot-Cor).

However, those bullets are pricey over here, and today I tried out some g-g lead bullets and some plastic-coated thin-copper jacketed bullets. (Yes, I confess - looking for a cheaper solution!)

The results: the Speer performed as expected, the g-g lead were all over the target, and the plastic-coated ones must still be under way, as they haven’t reached the target yet.

Conclusion: as Jim pointed out: an optically lousy barrel can still perform well with the right ammo!