629 Smith & HP's

[sixshot]

Monday I dragged out my old, hardly fired 629 S&W 44 & mounted a 4X Leupold on top & gave it a test drive with some powder coated 244 gr penta HPs. Took me a few shots to get it on paper at 25 yds & the heat wasn't making it much fun. I ended up getting 5 pretty good shots on paper, holding on the right diamond, problem was I was hitting the left diamond & was out of test loads. The load was 10 grs of Unique, 244 gr penta HP, Winchester brass & a CCI LP primer from a rest.
So today I went back with another 12 rounds of test loads, it's only 5 minutes to the range. The only difference was the first seven rounds were sized .430" and the next 5 were sized .431". After making 2 adjustments shooting some old loads I was close enough to shoot my control load & they shot pretty good, just left of center. Switching to the bigger .431" loads the first round went a tick left so I dialed one inch right & fired the next four rounds. Yikes, nice & tight. I dialed 1/2" more to the right & got out of the heat & will test again tomorrow. Making adjustments with Leupold scopes can be a little test of your patience, sometimes they track spot on, most times they don't. At least I've found that the slightly bigger bullet is the sweet spot, tomorrow I'll move out to 50 yds, 100 yds & a few shots at 300 yds at a steel clanger.




Dick

[boatswainsmate]

SWC or 640 Design?

[bradshaw]

Dick.... good shooting.
My method to dial in the old friction-adjust Leupold is to take up slack (backlash) with CLOCKWISE adjustment.

To ZERO reticle in scope
* Write down each adjustment!
* Count WINDAGE TURNS----count half-turns----stop-to-stop for both windage and elevation.
* Example: if there are 5 half-turns from stop-to-stop, finish with 2-1/2 turns clockwise.
* Repeat for ELEVATION.
* Target one or two shots.

Base adjustment
* If scope base has windage adjustment, adjust windage with windage screws on base.
* Target.
* Make final windage adjustment on scope.

ZERO revolver
* Fire one shot @ 10 yards.
* If shot is close to center, target @ 25, then 50 yards.
* If error is 3” or more, zero @ 10 yards.
* Adjust windage and elevation separately. (I prefer to adjust windage and elevation separately, but have been known to combine adjustments----especially in competition.)
* When applicable for gun or bullet, zero @ 100 yards.

Unable to ZERO
* Check mount alignment.
* Visually check barrel straightness on frame.
David Bradshaw

[contender]

Dern,, that looks good! Makes me want to drag out my M29 & play a bit.

[45MAN]

DAVID: NOT UNDERSTANDING THE "CLOCKWISE" TIP 'cuz SOMETIMES YOU ADJUST CLOCKWISE AND SOMETIMES COUNTERCLOCKWISE DEPENDING ON WHETHER YOU ARE GOING UP OR DOWN or RIGHT OR LEFT, SO WHY "CLOCKWISE" ALWAYS?

[bradshaw]

Jul 24, 2024 8:54:06 GMT -5 45MAN said:

DAVID: NOT UNDERSTANDING THE "CLOCKWISE" TIP 'cuz SOMETIMES YOU ADJUST CLOCKWISE AND SOMETIMES COUNTERCLOCKWISE DEPENDING ON WHETHER YOU ARE GOING UP OR DOWN or RIGHT OR LEFT, SO WHY "CLOCKWISE" ALWAYS?

*****

To remove slack, aka backlash, from a scope adjustment, my final turn is to the right (clockwise).

When sighting calls for counter-clockwise adjustment...
* Continue counter-clockwise 1/2-turn----past desired setting.
* Turn clockwise to final setting.
* Repeat as necessary to Zero, but end up with clockwise adjustment.
David Bradshaw

[45MAN]

GOT IT, AND WHICH SCOPES DO YOU DO THIS ON?

[bradshaw]

Any scope on which I detect slack. (Slack sounds more descriptive of unwanted movement, than backlash.)

All Leupold Vari-X II scopes and other scopes which have FRICTION ADJUSTMENTS.

Numerous scopes with “micro-click” adjustments do not track consistently. Click adjustments are only as consistent and repeatable as they are precisely made. Precise tolerances of wear-resistant parts make for consistency with repeatability. Clicks by themself do not build repeatability.
David Bradshaw

[x101airborne]

I have had what Mr. Bradshaw describes very often in my life and even after shooting and sighting any of the multitude of friction and micro-click scopes I have, I make it a point to let them ride in the truck and shoot at least one round a day for a month before I call them "set". As you adjust to the right or up, which ever way you are lessening pressure on the erector tube with the adjustments, they can hang up and then suddenly jump point of impact way off at any time. Sometimes a little, sometimes a lot. This is less than desirable during deer season. Back in the days of us having nutria rats around here, shooting them (at them) at long range really told you where you were needing to do fine tuning. Not uncommon to have to adjust a scope two to five times before it was perfectly set and ready for opening morning. It was just one of those things that a poor pre-internet farm boy couldn't tell you why, but could dang sure show you it was a fact. Now with knowledge at my fingertips I can explain it a little better.

[nicholst55]

I was taught to always run 1-2 clicks past where I wanted to be on a micro-click scope, and then back up to the desired location. Reinstall the turret cap, and tap on it a few times with a quarter or something similar. I like David's advice for the friction adjustable Leupold scopes, and will have to try it.

[bradshaw]

In my experience, the old Leupold Vari-X II friction-adjust scopes are incredibly stable. Bill Ruger and Bill, Jr., used them on a spectrum of rifles. When I suggested we scope prototype .357 Maximum SRM-2, Bill, Jr. took it back to Southport, where it was drilled & tapped for the Leupold Dual Dovetail base and fitted with the Leupold 4x EER (Exended Eye Relief) with Duplex reticle----same scope Dick has on his 629.

Another interesting feature of these scopes, they have basically zero parallax. Which means, when your eye is on target, yet you eye moves off center in the scope, the reticle holds true on target. This is critical for long range marksmanship. Dick’s Leupold 4x EER, as well as the great Leupold 2x EER, remain far from obsolete.
David Bradshaw

[bigbrowndog]

Good shooting Dick. It is funny how .001 or .002 can make such a difference in a guns performance. I think that is the “witchcraft” of cast bullet making that puts some folks off of cast bullets.

David’s method for the old friction movement Leupolds sounds very reminiscent of adjusting the old iron sight target sights, Redfield Palma’s, Olympics, and Anschutz peep sights, as well as Williams and Lyman receiver sights.
Trapr

[seminolewind]

David’s method works with a couple of red dot sights I am familiar with too. Leupold Deltapoint Pro and Holosun sights hold a better zero if you adjust a couple of clicks too far then back to the desired setting. The POI doesn’t seem to drift with this method.

[sixshot]

Years ago when I shot rifles I use to bottom out the adjustments & count back to get positive correction, much like David mentions but with pistols scopes it usually hasn't been that much of a hassle. I'll start playing with it a bit more if I use more EER scopes. I have another Leupold 4X, a 2X7 & a 2.5X8 that currently isn't mounted.
I forgot to reply to someone about the bullet, it's the Miha #503 style.

Dick

[djoch]

Every Model 69 and 629 I own came with .028" - .029" cylinder throats.  Have your throats been opened up?  If not, pushing a .031" (powder coated?) cast bullet through a .029" cylinder throat appears to be a non-issue.  Do you find powder coated bullets to be more "forgiving" as a general rule or is this something unique to this particular revolver?  I've shot jacketed factory ammo most of my life and just started to reload, so have lots to learn.

Dave