Mixed emotions...

Bill Calfee

Gun Fool
Mixed emotions...

CYA friends:


I finally got to test this little old school .825.....

It shoots good..............

But, it ain't killin' it.......

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I did put it back in my left bolt E......

And I still haven't skimmed the Pippin......although it's shimmed, so I really don't believe this is an issue...

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CYA friends, I've got a fresh comparison in my mind, to compare this little thing to.

I just fit a Muller 4-groove for a gentleman, a .900"......and this little thing isn't in the same league with this .900 Muller...

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I will say this.......conditions weren't real good.....but, I guess I'm just looking for excuses here....

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Soooooo............where do I go from here?

Man I wanted this little thing to kill it......

I've got some pondering to do.......

Your friend, Bill Calfee

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PS:

The little thing ain't bad.......but, expectations today are so high.........

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Hate to give up

Hate to give up

CYA friends:


This little old school .825 doesn't shoot bad........

But it's not where we need to be today....

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So I pulled the little barrel and examined it closely...

Remember, I just post chamber lapped it....

If one isn't careful when one post chamber laps, one will wind up restricting the breech.....the length of the restriction being what the average the length of the lap one leaves in the bore is, as one is lapping..

After carefully slugging this little thing, I do have a slight restriction just past the leade...

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The question is now, how to remove it?

Without ruining the barrel.

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As the little thing stands right now, although it is pretty competitive, it isn't going to be a PSL winner.....

So, I'm about to either ruin it, or, take it all the way to where it needs to be.

I've got the lead pot ready to go.............

Your friend, BC

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I'm wore completely out...

I'm wore completely out...

CYA friends:


I'm shot.........wore completely out...

But, I removed the restriction at the breech of this little old school .825..............

Now, have I enlarged the bore too much by doing this?

Right now, I'm still .2220" in the grooves at the muzzle...

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I'm going to fix me a head cheese sammich, then hit the sack......

If I can drag my hind end out early tomorrow morning, before the wind picks up, I'll be at the range seeing if I've salvaged this little thing...

CYA friends, just three more weeks till the most important big time RFBR match to come along in years:

"THE MAIN EVENT", to decide the PSL GRAND CHAMPION for 2017........


Off to bed, BC

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Bill,
What's your current thoughts about a barrel for Old School?
Hawkeye Wizard

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Friend HW:


Since we've both written books, yours folks can read, mine?.........anyway, one of us needs to write a book about this left bolt E/Pippin....

I mean, we've been at this for over five years now....which ain't your fault.......

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Anyway, I was so hoping that little old school .825 would work.....and I know you were too....

And another thing.....the Pippin..

It's a beautiful, all walnut Pippin.....

And, after all these years it's taken on that beautiful, reddish chocolate color of aged, finished walnut......it looks like it's been stained with alkanet root, but it hasn't.....

But, it has to be skimmed again.....and, it needs bumpers.....

So I acquired a LV McMillan Edge.........and was going to use it instead of the Pippin...

But, since Bill Pippin is no longer with us, there's no way I'm not going to use this beautiful Pippin...

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And another thing.....

Back when this whole thing started I picked out a name.......

But now the name Old School has grown to my mind....especially with what Todd "Merlin" Wooten did with Merlin, and that little old school .825, at the last PSL.........

I've got unlapped .900 Ratchets and 4-C Broughtons......but they ain't old school....

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So, today I got to looking back in the corners of the shop.......

And I found some 6 groove, 17 twist Douglas blanks........that have a big breech end for the Remington XP thread pattern....and of course they're unlapped....

And one of them is about .835"...................which is why I hadn't used it on a XP......most of my XP's are from .800" to about .815".....

And of course it is most certainly old school...

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So that's where I'm thinking about going......

Your friend, BC


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By the way, Mary Stark's #9 pistol uses one of these 17 twist Douglas's...

HW, you can get a feeling of just how tiny Mary's little barrel is.....it makes the HH/MD look twice as large in diameter......that little thing is just over .800"


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CYA friends

CYA friends

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CYA friends:

I'm pondering on going this route.......

I want 'OLD School" to be old school......as far as the barrel is concerned...

A Baity 6 ignitioned E Turbo and Bill Pippin stock most certainly aren't old school....they're just the complete opposite, of course.

But, I want the barrel to be......

Your friend, BC




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Here's the markings on the breech end of this Douglas 17

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You can see the enlarged breech end.....this barrel was intended for an XP.....but, at about .835", unless I turned it down, it was too big...

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Friend HW

Bill,
How would a 17 twist work in the cold?
I've had to wear a snowmobile suit for some April shoots up here.
Hawkeye Wizard

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Friend HW:


Although I've fit quite a few 17's over the years, I can't answer your question from actual cold weather testing...

In normal summer conditions I've never been able to tell a difference....

Man I wish that little .825" would have worked out......

I'll do some more pondering......

Your friend, BC
 
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