alexm Posted March 7, 2009 Report Share Posted March 7, 2009 I finally got around to putting in some range time with the .243 this week. There were a couple of things I wanted to tweak, namely moving the scope back a touch and replacing the the bushing on the moderator but without knowing when I would have time to re-zero I didn't dare touch it in case I didn't have an opportunity to re-zero before going stalking! I started off by moving the scope back (only about 1/2"). Obviously I expected this to shift the point of aim slightly.... however it actually moved it off about 3 feet at 100 yds! I had stuck up an A2 sized 1" grid but it was off the edge of even that and I had to get someone to spot the puffs of sand in the backstop in order to even get it on the paper! Had I known I would have bore sighted it first as I can usually get it on the paper at 100 yds just by eye but anyway... Next up was the moderator bushing. I had never been entirely happy with the machining job on the bushing as there was an appreciable gap (about 0.5 - 1mm) all the way around between the bush and the barrel. The shop that fitted it insisted it was fine, however having spoken to Wildcat back when I originally orderd the mod he recommend the bush is an interference fit, i.e. the barrel diameter minus acouple of thou. To be fair the accuracy or repeatability has never been bad, certainly for stalking purposes, but it had been playing on my mind and I got a replacement bushing machined to Wildcat's recommended spec. So I fitted the bushing to the mod and stuck the mod back on.... The group has dropped 3"! I adjusted the group back on to 1" high @100yds and shot a few more groups it started to become apparent that the groups had definitely tightened up with the new bush. One more click to the left and then.... Really chuffed with this, especially since I have a fairly chunky reticule in the scope for stalking and it covers up a sizeable portion of the target, even just at 100yds! Moral of the story is: The tolerance on a moderator barrel bushing perhaps isn't critical for stalking purposes, however, it DOES make an appreciable difference to accuracy! (All groups were shot with factory .243 100gr Federal Powershok soft points through a Sako 85 Finnlight w. Wildcat predator 8 mod) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shot shot Posted March 7, 2009 Report Share Posted March 7, 2009 not gona get much better than that Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bullet boy Posted March 7, 2009 Report Share Posted March 7, 2009 Pretty good that. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gonna Shoot a Wabbit Posted March 9, 2009 Report Share Posted March 9, 2009 interesting write up, thanks for sharing Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cubix Posted March 26, 2009 Report Share Posted March 26, 2009 Hello Alex, Finding your post was a blessing as I am in the exact same position as you. My new WC Pred 8 mod's plastic rear bush is 2 mm too small. I can get my local machine shop to do the work. Did you take your rifle to the machinists? or do the measurements yourself - the taper on the barrel looks hard to get a consistent interference fit on?? and were they OK about working on a gun part? Regards, C. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alexm Posted March 26, 2009 Author Report Share Posted March 26, 2009 Hi, I got a fine pencil and marked a line on the barrel with the mod and old bush on, then took the mod off and measured the thickness of the barrel using digital calipers at the edge of the pencil line. This might be trickier for you since your bushing obviously won't go on! I sent the dimensions off to Andrew Banner at Wildcat and he sent me back a new bushing machined to size for a small fee. With regard to the taper on the barrel, it doesn't need to follow this, just measure the barrel at the widest part where it will be touching. Your local RFD should also be able to do all this for you, or will have access to a machine shop who does machine work for them. Alex Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cubix Posted March 26, 2009 Report Share Posted March 26, 2009 Thanks, If I remove the bush it screws on OK, so I can see where the widest part would be. And the hole needs to be a couple of thousandths smaller than that - is that right? I'd just take the plastic bush to shop with the new internal dimenstions. C. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alexm Posted March 26, 2009 Author Report Share Posted March 26, 2009 And the hole needs to be a couple of thousandths smaller than that - is that right? I *think* that's what he said... to be honest your best bet would be to call Wildcat and check, as I sent them the dimensions of the barrel and let them subtract as necessary! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cubix Posted April 6, 2009 Report Share Posted April 6, 2009 Just to update you on this. I spoke to wildcat and they said it should be the same as the barrel. So I gave the part to my local friendly machinist and he did a great job at milling the hole out to 16.75mm for a fiver. It's a solid grip fit now, the rifle feels much tighter and punchier and it really took the noise out of the shot. Knocking out 1/2 groups at 70 yards. It feels like a different gun. It did move the POI up 3 inches and left 2 inches! Good job I didn't take the shot at the deer that was standing next to my zeroing spot when I arrived (and honest, hand on heart it was there!). Cheers for the help. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Blackbart Posted April 6, 2009 Report Share Posted April 6, 2009 Just to update you on this. I spoke to wildcat and they said it should be the same as the barrel. So I gave the part to my local friendly machinist and he did a great job at milling the hole out to 16.75mm for a fiver. It's a solid grip fit now, the rifle feels much tighter and punchier and it really took the noise out of the shot. Knocking out 1/2 groups at 70 yards. It feels like a different gun. It did move the POI up 3 inches and left 2 inches! Good job I didn't take the shot at the deer that was standing next to my zeroing spot when I arrived (and honest, hand on heart it was there!). Cheers for the help. That happened to me a few weeks ago !! But it was charlie..I had a big black board propped up against a hillside and was clarting about with the 22-250.The board was 235 yards away from shooting point,anyway hit the kill point on the boad and was happy.That night when lamping there was a bloody fox lying right next to the board !!Didnt get him as when looked at him,just over his right shoulder a meteorite came through the atmosphere and fell to earth,which sort of distracted me (no,i was not on drugs)Very weird nght. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alexm Posted April 7, 2009 Author Report Share Posted April 7, 2009 Just to update you on this. I spoke to wildcat and they said it should be the same as the barrel. So I gave the part to my local friendly machinist and he did a great job at milling the hole out to 16.75mm for a fiver. It's a solid grip fit now, the rifle feels much tighter and punchier and it really took the noise out of the shot. Knocking out 1/2 groups at 70 yards. It feels like a different gun. It did move the POI up 3 inches and left 2 inches! Good job I didn't take the shot at the deer that was standing next to my zeroing spot when I arrived (and honest, hand on heart it was there!). Cheers for the help. Excellent, glad you got it sorted! Out of interest, when you say the POI moved, do you mean with/without the mod? Or with the new bushing? It's just I can't work out how you got the mod on before if the bushing was 2mm too small! Or were you using it without the bushing? My .243 drops 2" without the mod on at 100yds whereas my .223 seems virtually unaffected! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cubix Posted April 7, 2009 Report Share Posted April 7, 2009 Excellent, glad you got it sorted! Out of interest, when you say the POI moved, do you mean with/without the mod? Or with the new bushing? It's just I can't work out how you got the mod on before if the bushing was 2mm too small! Or were you using it without the bushing? My .243 drops 2" without the mod on at 100yds whereas my .223 seems virtually unaffected! Sorry, I meant it moved once I put the mod on with the machined busk - it was the first time I'd fitted it - I know you are supposed to be able to use it without the bushing, but I didn't because that's just another variable to deal with when working up the new loads. That tight fit on the barrel obviously changes the harmonics. But the rifle seems to like it. If I can, I'll post up my targets later. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JohnGalway Posted April 7, 2009 Report Share Posted April 7, 2009 Didnt get him as when looked at him,just over his right shoulder a meteorite came through the atmosphere and fell to earth,which sort of distracted me (no,i was not on drugs)Very weird nght. Jesus BB I must remember that one Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Blackbart Posted April 7, 2009 Report Share Posted April 7, 2009 Never seen anything like it john,about the size of a bus with bits breaking off it as it came through the atmosphere On the bush or no bush.I use mine without a bush at all.The difference in poi when i take the mod off altogether is huge and can be measured in feet at 200yards. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jamie g Posted April 7, 2009 Report Share Posted April 7, 2009 I finally got around to putting in some range time with the .243 this week. There were a couple of things I wanted to tweak, namely moving the scope back a touch and replacing the the bushing on the moderator but without knowing when I would have time to re-zero I didn't dare touch it in case I didn't have an opportunity to re-zero before going stalking! I started off by moving the scope back (only about 1/2"). Obviously I expected this to shift the point of aim slightly.... however it actually moved it off about 3 feet at 100 yds! I had stuck up an A2 sized 1" grid but it was off the edge of even that and I had to get someone to spot the puffs of sand in the backstop in order to even get it on the paper! Had I known I would have bore sighted it first as I can usually get it on the paper at 100 yds just by eye but anyway... Next up was the moderator bushing. I had never been entirely happy with the machining job on the bushing as there was an appreciable gap (about 0.5 - 1mm) all the way around between the bush and the barrel. The shop that fitted it insisted it was fine, however having spoken to Wildcat back when I originally orderd the mod he recommend the bush is an interference fit, i.e. the barrel diameter minus acouple of thou. To be fair the accuracy or repeatability has never been bad, certainly for stalking purposes, but it had been playing on my mind and I got a replacement bushing machined to Wildcat's recommended spec. So I fitted the bushing to the mod and stuck the mod back on.... The group has dropped 3"! I adjusted the group back on to 1" high @100yds and shot a few more groups it started to become apparent that the groups had definitely tightened up with the new bush. One more click to the left and then.... Really chuffed with this, especially since I have a fairly chunky reticule in the scope for stalking and it covers up a sizeable portion of the target, even just at 100yds! Moral of the story is: The tolerance on a moderator barrel bushing perhaps isn't critical for stalking purposes, however, it DOES make an appreciable difference to accuracy! (All groups were shot with factory .243 100gr Federal Powershok soft points through a Sako 85 Finnlight w. Wildcat predator 8 mod) nice shooting mate. i have the same problem with my scope. its the zeiss but the no4 rectial and well its perfect for foxing at night on targets the crosshair covers the target. i had to 3 shot groups touching yesterday with a mild load 50 grain vmax. but it was alittle windy and as the ground was soaking wet i was on the top of my 4x4 which isnt the best postion to shoot from. so looking forward to getting out with some more loads to try Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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