More BSA Bowkett Hornet .22 in Club 50 metre rimfire shoot.

[Yrrah]

Last Sunday at Surherland Small Bore range Sydney.
First my five shot sighter group : 50 metres with JSB 18.1 gr at 965 fps.

Then the 20 shot target. I chose not to adjust the sight but to hold off at approx 4:00 o'clock on the 9 ring.  Got caught with head and tail wind changes  in shots 3 and 4 and 16 and 17.  The 10 ring is the smallest thick black ring. The fine inner ring is the "X" rig for count backs. 

Score was 48, 48, 50, 48 for 194/200 and 5 "X"s

The BSA was shooting .22 JSB heavies of 18.1 gr at 965 fps, which has an interesting side note.  This barrel is hammer forged, very smooth and has a fractional taper from breech to muzzle that can be discerned with a tight cloth pull-through.  Unlike many barrels the bc of these and the lighter 15.9 gr JSBs does not seem to deteriorate as velocity goes higher than 900 fps.  At high power, even to 1020 fps with the 15.9 gr pellets the bc seems to at least stay as good or even improve. My surmise is that at the higher powers the pellet skirt, being blown out to a more bell shape profile, perhaps reduces drag and turbulence.  Nothing extravagent but perhaps enough to favour bc and stability.

20190308_113028-1.jpg (109.36 KiB) Viewed 13666 times

  This is a tight barrel and at the muzzle is close to .216".   In the past I have reported its bc , with its other barrel a .25 muzzle 0.243", to be better than that from my super accurate FX Royal Elite ST barrel when measured over 100 yatds from the same muzzle velocity.

Here is what it can do in the backyard 25 yards range on the Saturday: Five shots with the lighter 15.9 gr JSB with power turned down 8 turns of the HS adjustment to 930 fps for this pellet.

Hope you find some interest in this rifle's performance being as I've had it some ten years. Kind regards, Harry Yrrah.

[daisy]

Ya Harry it looks like it and you still got it.

[Yrrah]

Edit. In both the .22 and .25 barrels the bores have a continuous taper to, I understand, allow the hammer forging mandrel to be withdrawn. The result acts like a full length barrel choke and ensures the pellet is at its smallest radius at point of emergence.
Sorry for that.

[daisy]

Correction edit. The .22 barrel bore at the muzzle is near .216 not .243, which is what the .25 barrel is. In both cases the bores have a continuous taper to, I understand, allow the hammer forging mandrel to be withdrawn. The result acts like a full length barrel choke and ensures the pellet is at its smallest radius at point of emergence.
Sorry for that.
Is there an edit facility here for one's own text?

Harry
Just next to your name/photo there is 3 boxes on your own post, the pencil one lets you edit.

[LWR58]

Looks like you haven’t lost your touch Harry!!!

[mattw1]

Good job Harry,

Hornets always did have great barrels, in the UK FT bods were buying .177 Hornets just for their barrels.

[flmath]

That is bloody good shooting. BSA had quality control back then.

[curan]

Hi Harry,

Pleased to see you're still at it with the BSA.

(I suppose I should get inspired and drag mine out for a shot, but my results might differ from yours!)

cheers, curan

[Yrrah]

Thanks for that advice David. At 82 I'm still too young to lose memory but I don't recall ever knowing that.

Curan, keep shooting that Hornet to keep the O rings and seals flexible. If ever you need the regulator overhauled I will give you John Bowket's contact details. You must be chasing down retirement? ... Best regards, H.

[hornetboy]

Fantastic shooting, Harry! Love it

[Gavin M]

Great shooting as always Harry.
Good power from from the Hornet to. Is that standard or has it had a bit of a power tune?

[Yrrah]

Great shooting as always Harry.
Good power from from the Hornet to. Is that standard or has it had a bit of a power tune?

Gavin, it has one of John Bowkett's special regulators. I am unsure as to the reg setting or the transfer port lumen.
The reservoir is 125 cc extended to approx 160 cc, barrel length is approx 23.5 inches. It has two barrels, the .22 and a .25. It is with the latter that it shot 4 of 5 shots into less than 4 inches at 300 yards in from memory 2011.

Its stable mate is a normal .22 Hornet with the shorter barrel of about 18.5 inches. It too has one of John's later regulators.
Yesterday I did a shot string with it, which I think is amazing from only 125 cc reservoir. I will post a report on that presently. It is the rifle that, in one session outdoors, shot 6 sub inch groups of 5 shots in 11 groups. Two of the six were under the half inch and the average of the 11 was sub inch. When I post yesterday's shot string it will be apparent as to how such a small reservoir could have achieved that result. To add, in that session I shot a 12th group with the Excalibre and it too was sub inch making 7 of the 12 of that standard.
Best regards, Harry.

[curan]

Thanks for that advice David. At 82 I'm still too young to lose memory but I don't recall ever knowing that.

Curan, keep shooting that Hornet to keep the O rings and seals flexible. If ever you need the regulator overhauled I will give you John Bowket's contact details. You must be chasing down retirement? ... Best regards, H.

Retirement ....... ..... yeah, Harry, it's about another 5 years away yet, but it's sneaking up on me!