.357 baby carbine and short Malcolm - saga and range report
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.357 baby carbine and short Malcolm - saga and range report
I have been loving shooting this little carbine, in spite of the frustrations - it's been giving me fits getting the 3X short Malcolm scope stuck to it (literally). But it's a kick in the pants to shoot.
22" barrel and with the scope it weighs in a 5-1/2 lbs.
Leatherwood hasn't yet made an exact scope mount for the Remingtons, but I really liked the idea of using the exiting dovetails, so I started with a mount set they make for an 1885
First trick was getting the height right on the receiver mount.
In spite the fact my gunsmith said he bore-sighted it, first time out with cowboy loads, couldn't quite get enough elevation to hit the paper at 50 yds. - back to the drawing board.
Tried a .425 mount (the photo above), and it ended up being too tall. This time I was at 100-yd range, and I could dial it down to the top of the paper. I actually shot some windage adjustments aiming at the bottom of the paper,
and noticed a bugaboo - the scope slid a little bit in the compression ring locking collar which holds the scope tube at the front mount - the scope was sliding forward, driven by the recoil. So I tightened the screw. One reason I bought this gun was to shoot big loads - this time out I had been shooting BVAC reloads, 158-gr. 1300 fps, and threw in a couple of Buffalo Bore 180-gr, rated at the same velocity. I noticed the bigger loads hammered the scope a little faster.
A .325 receiver mount is probably perfect for this application, but I had .225 that came with the scope, a .425 I purchased, and a .275 that came with the 1885 mount set. I made a .030 steel shim and installed it under the .275 mount.
It put me on the paper, into the red, and then started walking everywhere.
I had shot about 20 rounds of BVAC 180-gr 1200-fps. I looked down, and the scope had traveled so far forward the eyepiece was into the rear mount, which is where my calibrations had gone. To top it off, the rear mount base was loose.
Back to the drawing board. First thing, I contacted Leatherwood, because I had horsed on the locking collar screw so many times, the screw slot was opening up. They kindly send me a pair.
I remounted everything with Locktite 242, and one extra addition - I used Locktite 609 between the scope tube and the locking collar.
Nice thing about this carbine is you can bore-sight at the range - open up the block and look down the range, which is where I started yesterday. 2nd shot was on the paper. As I was making my scope calibrations, I noticed my pairs were grouping very nicely - an inch or better at 100 yds.
Again, I was shooting BVAC realoads, 180-gr JHP 1200 fps.
My last 6 shots were at the 1" squares on each side of the paper, and I put 3 shots in each one - very happy with the result. I actually plan to dial this down to 80 yds, which is a flatter range for the .357, but again, I was very happy with yesterday's result. Sorry, no paper to show you (this guy doesn't shut down the range to retrieve paper)
The Locite solved it - everything was rock solid.
Re: .357 baby carbine and short Malcolm - saga and range report
That is too cool! Glad you got it figured out.
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Re: .357 baby carbine and short Malcolm - saga and range report
+ 1 I love the color of the wood too.TedH wrote:That is too cool! Glad you got it figured out.
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Re: .357 baby carbine and short Malcolm - saga and range report
Very nice!
Griff,
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AND... I'm over it!!
No I ain't ready, but let's do it anyway!
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Re: .357 baby carbine and short Malcolm - saga and range report
Well done! I knew that beauty would drill 'em in there like that..
"IT IS MY OPINION, AND I AM CORRECT SO DON'T ARGUE, THE 99 SAVAGE IS THE FINEST RIFLE EVER MADE IN AMERICA."
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Re: .357 baby carbine and short Malcolm - saga and range report
As Daffy Duck used to tell Bugs "You're dispicable!!!!" I want one of those so bad I can taste it.
Really nice piece.
Rob
Really nice piece.
Rob
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May your rifle always shoot straight, your mag never run dry, you always have one more round than you have adversaries, and your good mate always be there to watch your back.
Because I can!
Never grow a wishbone where a backbone ought to be.
May your rifle always shoot straight, your mag never run dry, you always have one more round than you have adversaries, and your good mate always be there to watch your back.
Because I can!
Never grow a wishbone where a backbone ought to be.
Re: .357 baby carbine and short Malcolm - saga and range report
Is that sling set up available commercially?
Re: .357 baby carbine and short Malcolm - saga and range report
from Dixie gun works - $13.geobru wrote:Is that sling set up available commercially?
http://www.dixiegunworks.com/product_in ... ts_id=9963
thanks Rob - I'm proud of it, and find myself petting it more often than any of my other firearms.firefuzz wrote:As Daffy Duck used to tell Bugs "You're dispicable!!!!" I want one of those so bad I can taste it.
Really nice piece.
Rob
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Re: .357 baby carbine and short Malcolm - saga and range report
Bulldog,
The reason you are having problems with the band slipping is it should be in front of the front mount instead of behind it. It isn't intended to take recoil, it is a stop to position the scope for the next shot. You pull the scope back to the stop, and when the shot is fired the scope remains stationary and the gun recoils away from it. The reason is to not put recoil forces into the scope that can damage it!. After the shot, reload, and then gently pull the scope back to the stop for the next shot. The scope will last a lot longer. If you don't believe me, find someone old enough to have been around when the old Lyman, Unertl and other of the long tube, adjustable mount target scopes were still common.
The reason you are having problems with the band slipping is it should be in front of the front mount instead of behind it. It isn't intended to take recoil, it is a stop to position the scope for the next shot. You pull the scope back to the stop, and when the shot is fired the scope remains stationary and the gun recoils away from it. The reason is to not put recoil forces into the scope that can damage it!. After the shot, reload, and then gently pull the scope back to the stop for the next shot. The scope will last a lot longer. If you don't believe me, find someone old enough to have been around when the old Lyman, Unertl and other of the long tube, adjustable mount target scopes were still common.
Re: .357 baby carbine and short Malcolm - saga and range report
CBH, thank you for your reply, and you may be 100% correct - but every short Malcolm scope example (12 of them) shown on Leatherwood's page is shown mounted the same way.
http://www.leatherwoodoptics.com/index. ... &Itemid=52
http://www.leatherwoodoptics.com/index. ... &Itemid=52
Re: .357 baby carbine and short Malcolm - saga and range report
Sorry I don't have anything to add that will help you, but did want to say those are some really nice pictures!
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Re: .357 baby carbine and short Malcolm - saga and range report
+1!firefuzz wrote:As Daffy Duck used to tell Bugs "You're dispicable!!!!" I want one of those so bad I can taste it.
Really nice piece.
Rob
Nothing so needs reforming as other people's habits.
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Jones for that
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Just ain't where it's at
-Mark Twain
Proverbs 3:5; Philippians 4:13
Got to have a Jones for this
Jones for that
This running with the Joneses boy
Just ain't where it's at
Re: .357 baby carbine and short Malcolm - saga and range report
thanks, I shot a tripod and timer, except the last, which offhand with a flash (and indoors - could have been any color lights around).kasTX wrote:Sorry I don't have anything to add that will help you, but did want to say those are some really nice pictures!
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Re: .357 baby carbine and short Malcolm - saga and range report
I'm one of those old guys, and CBH is right. I had a 10-power Fecker 1-1/4" scope that served me well back in the 60's and early 70's. The stop belongs in front of the front mount. Inertia keeps the scope in place as the rifle recoils, and it is up to the shooter to pull it back against the stop. Otherwise the scope will slide further and further forward. Higher end scopes than my old Fecker - like like the Lymans and Unertls - had a collar and coil spring that bore against the back of the front mount and compressed on firing, automatically bringing the scope back into position when it relaxed.Cast Bullet Hunter wrote:Bulldog,
The reason you are having problems with the band slipping is it should be in front of the front mount instead of behind it. It isn't intended to take recoil, it is a stop to position the scope for the next shot. You pull the scope back to the stop, and when the shot is fired the scope remains stationary and the gun recoils away from it. The reason is to not put recoil forces into the scope that can damage it!. After the shot, reload, and then gently pull the scope back to the stop for the next shot. The scope will last a lot longer. If you don't believe me, find someone old enough to have been around when the old Lyman, Unertl and other of the long tube, adjustable mount target scopes were still common.
I think Leatherwood ought to look at those examples they show. Someone (the photographer?) didn't set them up correctly.
Riamh Nar Dhruid O Spairn Lann
- motto on the Irish Regiments' flags
- motto on the Irish Regiments' flags
Re: .357 baby carbine and short Malcolm - saga and range report
thanks again, gents.
I checked MVA, and sure enough, they post installation instructions showing the battery stop mounted in the opposed direction.
http://www.montanavintagearms.com/scope ... tions.html
may be back to the drawing board here again.
p.s., this is not something we mounted - this is the way all the scopes come from Leatherwood.
I checked MVA, and sure enough, they post installation instructions showing the battery stop mounted in the opposed direction.
http://www.montanavintagearms.com/scope ... tions.html
may be back to the drawing board here again.
p.s., this is not something we mounted - this is the way all the scopes come from Leatherwood.
Re: .357 baby carbine and short Malcolm - saga and range report
I sent the link to this thread to Technical Support at Leatherwood.
They replied that my scope is installed correctly, and they were complimentary.
I found this thread on ASSRA
http://www.assra.com/cgi-bin/yabb/YaBB. ... 02222863/0
This mount is really the way they intended it.
I borrowed this quote from the ASSRA thread
They replied that my scope is installed correctly, and they were complimentary.
I found this thread on ASSRA
http://www.assra.com/cgi-bin/yabb/YaBB. ... 02222863/0
This mount is really the way they intended it.
I borrowed this quote from the ASSRA thread
their scope tube is not supposed to move in recoil so the bases take all the force, and will tear out of the dovetail without the extra base. I bought one of their early production before they had the recoil base and I have pictures of the damage. ...
All of this being said, if you want this scope for casual plinking, it will be fine, if you have used a scope like an MVA and try to shoot a match with the Leatherwood Malcolm you may hate it. I forgot to mention use plenty of Locktite.