Start each day with a fresh load and cap to ensure ignition at crunch time.
Shoot! I use T7 and I load the day before opening day and the load may stay in the barrel for months... If you keep it dry you will have no problems... But I am known for breaking the normal rules.
Here is a test I did several years ago… it is very long as the test was run over several days…
OK, I am trying one here in northern Idaho. I am trying to simulate the same things I would do as if it were going hunting.
Day 1 - weather 32 degrees humidity 67%.
a) Wipe the bore with 2 clean white patches...
b) Took the gun out in the shop - fired two Remington 209-4's cap
c) Back in the house wipe the barrel again 3 dry patches...
d) Load 100 grains 0f T7-2f - right from the shooting box that has been in the rec room since hunting season...
e) Topped with a MMP HPH-24 sabot and a Speer 300 grain Gold Dot.
f) Inserted a used primer in breech plug
g) Cleared snow from deck and put rifle on the deck
It will stay till about 4:00 then come right back into the garage (unheated) Then back into the house and back outside in the morning what ever weather comes - let it come.
This will continue until sometime next week when I have to go back to work...
Day 2 - Sunday Temp 43 Humidity 75%
Another great thaw has began and it has been raining all day...but in reality - I would be a good hunting day and if I could I would be hunting - so out went the rifle for its daily stay on the deck.
It is wet but I am confident that the bore is dry... so the test will continue..
Day 3 - Temp 39 Humidity 76%
Well, the rifle is out on the deck - but it is really a nice day. No adverse weather expected today, just a really nice day.
I am still quite confident that the gun will shoot and will shoot normally, but I do have to work tomorrow so the gun will be inside all day. Just kinda like a normal hunting week for me. I do not think it will get back out until Thursday and on Thursday through the week end we are suppose to be in a Arctic cold mass. It will be out in those temps and maybe i will get to shoot it next week.
After re-reading Cayugad experiments - I ma really leaning to the theory of humidity not condensation being the probable culprit. I can not imagine the humidity that Cayugad is talking about because I guess we do not have it. As you can see our humidy as been stuch around the 70% mark.
I have also discussed with myself, how can humidity adversly effect the powder sealed in the barrel between the sabot and the face of the breech plug? I know that water running down the barrel to the sabot will eventually get by the sabot and to the powder - so why can't humidity do the same thing. Unlike a PRB or a lubed Conical humidity is not sealed from the powder. Next in the case of the Remington, insterting a 209 primer into the breech plug does not seal water from the powder either, so again if water can get there why not humidity? In the case of the Omega where the drop block pressures the 209 primer into the primer it might provide a better seal and Knight spent a lot money developing a primer carrier that solves this problem also.
Underclocked through a challenge out to do the same experiment with a White and a #11 breech plug. In my coversations with Doc he assures me that his #11 BP and a #11 cap will be sealed - hunt with it is a downpour and the cap will go off. So - conclusion no humidty or water will get to the powder , of course with any #11 cap you can seal it in numerous ways. So - next conclusion with a sealed #11 and a PRB or a lubed conical the gun will sealed - humidity will not get it.
The adventure contiues, the rifle went out this morning at about 6:30 am from the house. The temp was -2 and the humidity this afternoon was near 70%. The sun came out and it was a nice day - but cold...
Shooting day has been moved to Monday - temp is suppose to make it to the mid 20's and it is a government holiday so i do not have to work - well sort of... I am still betting the Rem will fire just fine...
Temp 3F Humidity 72%
The gun went out this morning @ about 7:00... it went from 68F in the rec room to the deck @ 3f. No weather, other than cold expected today.
Still looks like I may be able to shoot Monday - it is still predicted to warm up to the mid 20's
Saturday evening and I was a bit wrong - we did get a dusting of snow... Temp is 14F Humidity 68
I am now going to bring the gun in and it goes in the unheated garage/shop Temp in the shop is 36F
Well, I was able to wind this test up today after trap shooting. I drove on out to the rock pit and set up the table and the target.
Actually I was glad to get this over because part of me was really worried about the gun going off - but for the most part I was positive.
Remember this gun was loaded on Saturday 1-6-07 and has been in out since then. Yesterday I was a little more concerned than I wanted to be, the gun had been out all day in14 degrees and lower temps... It snowed on it a bit also.Then late that afternoon it was taken from the deck to the garage - temp in the garage was 36F. It stayed in the garage for 2 hours warming??? up. When I went out to get it from the shop it was 34F - then brought it into the rec room 66F - In my mind if failure was going to occur it was going to be now. But, as I observed it standing in the room the scope never fogged up so I remained confident.
Remember the scope was only bore sighted as I had just recently put it on the leupold base.
Setup at 25 yards - placed the primer and pulled the trigger - it felt really good and was I happy! Loaded two additonal shots to check accuracy and group - you can see the results. Moved the target to 50 yards - but did change bullets - I changed .451 300grain Speer SP bullets. I touched off two of these. Made a scope change (4 clicks right) shot another 3.
I really believe the thing that made this work is the gun never went from really cold to really warm at any time, but the gun did come in the house every evening. This is the same senario that occurs during hunting season - the gun comes from the field to a cold pick up cab warms slowly in the truck cab as the cab warms - Might repeat this process 2 or three times a trip and then finally goes in the house when I get back.
