Picky revolver?

[tackdriver]

My S&W M36's favorite food is cheap Fiocci wadcutters. I can, without trying very hard, keep these in a 2 inch group at 7-10 yards. Its second favorite food is the 158 grain LSWCHP Buffalo Bore that I carry it with. I can usually keep these in a fist-sized group. All of the above is offhand in double action.

Now, when I was at the range yesterday, the only thing they had was some magtech 130 grain FMJ. I was shooting about five to 10 inches low at 7 yards with this stuff and it was all over the place. I have had similar experiences with American Eagle 130 grain FMJ. I have run a couple of boxes of Federal 158grn LRN through it with only slightly better results -- call it a pie-plate group at point of aim at least.

Ideas?

 

[EdInk]

Bullet weight?
Ammo quality?
Just an off day?
Mental hang-up about ammo?
Rudy Giuliani for President in 2012? (Oh, about guns! Sorry.)
Dirty barrel?
Gettin' old?
Out of practice?

IMHO from what you described the first two are the most likely reasons.

 

[tackdriver]

Bullet weight?

Grouping at a higher or lower POI, OK. This stuff just doesn't group.

Ammo quality?

Kinda what I was thinking. I've noticed that the more available ammunition (Magtech) is getting to be garbage. I had a similar experience with a completely different pistol in a different caliber that is otherwise very accurate.

Just an off day?

Happened to two different shooters running the gun.

Mental hang-up about ammo?

See above.

Dirty barrel?

Also what I was thinking. Gun shoots well with lead, poorly with FMJ. Rifling not grabbing the harder metal? I shot some bore scrubber or something like that down the barrel and ran a brass brush through a few times just before we went to the range.

Gettin' old?

Wife is 27. She had the same problem.

Out of practice?

Nah. I was at another range less than a week ago when I burned through the last of those Fiocchis.

Thoughts:
If you haven't tried them, the 148 grain Fiocchi is excellent. It's also just about the cheapest .38 spl round out there if you can find them.

An unreported factor in the initial post was that there was a fat kid and four adults squeezed into the next stall over shooting a scoped .308 at 25 yards. this is an indoor range that advertises it can handle just about everything short of .50 BMG. That will rattle you. And yes, their shoes were marked L and R, and they were donned accordingly.

 

[l98ster]

10 inches low at 7 yards?? Thats pretty significant! I would give the gun a good once over, and concentrate on seeing if the barrel was leaded. If the gun is in good timing, and the overall condition is good, go get another box of the fiocchi. If the good ammo shoots well, stick with that.

There has to be something up with shooting 10 inches low at 7 yards. I have to believe that all factory ammo is better than that!

Good Luck....
-George

 

[EdInk]

I've never been to a range that permits more than two people per lane. It would be nice to have an indoor range that permits higher powered rifles. The place I go to shoot, only allows .223 and it has to be frangible ammo. Also, you can't shoot FN5.7 or S&W500 handgun rounds either.

 

[g.willikers]

Different bullet diameters might cause this.
The Jacketed ones are most probably slightly smaller in diameter than the leaded.
It's possible that your barrel is slightly on the large size.
If so, the results would be as you are experiencing.
The only way to find out is to slug the barrel.

 

[Standing Wolf]

Most of my guns have ideal loads, average loads, and loads that deliver mediocre accuracy—assuming I'm shooting well, which isn't always the case, I'll admit. It's far from unheard of for identical guns to prefer different loads.

Wadcutters often deliver better accuracy than other rounds: lower velocity and attendant recoil, plus two to four times the bullet bearing surface can make a noticeable difference.

If you're shooting for accuracy, find the round that works best and stick with it, or better still, develop the round that works best and stick with it. Developing your own loads takes time and effort, won't really save you much money, but can deliver amazing accuracy.

 

[Elvishead]

OP

I was shooting about five to 10 inches low at 7 yards with this stuff and it was all over the place. I have had similar experiences with American Eagle 130 grain FMJ.

Yeah, I don't shoot as good with American Eagle 130 grain FMJ, but it might be me. especially past 7 yards.


Seem's I shoot the best with my Gold Dot HP 135g +P .38s SB, even up to 50 yards as long as I do my job, and they always have nice clean holes up to 50y.

 

[tackdriver]

This isn't a range toy. It's my EDC. It has shot well in the past with the carry ammo, as I mentioned, so I haven't doubted it. This most recent experience has shaken my confidence.

It is a 1971 model. And I got it quite used. It locks up fine, and according to the do-it-yourself timing test (maybe posted here as a sticky?), the timing was fine. The barrel isn't leaded.

BUT, I did notice when I went to clean it the last time that there is a bit of lead build up to the left of the forcing cone. Is there anything else I can do to check the timing short of sending it to a gunsmith? The local gunsmith retired and the "new" guy isn't a revolver guy.

 

[bcrash15]

My only thought given all that's been said is that the barrel might be pretty leaded by now if you have been shooting a whole lot of wadcutters and unjacketed ammo through it. It can be very difficult to get all the lead fouling out, and jacketed bullets might have a hard time "riding over" the lead deposits. On the other hand, in my experience lead bullets tend to swage and push through the lead and shoot better in an already fouled barrel.