SX3 Debut

[Doe Master]

I agree with TPM ,cheap loads like Federal do not go well with a semi . If you shoot anything but goldmetals you will find that they burn very dirty . I shoot my pump with porting and the federals plug up the holes with the fouling .

[10Ring]

Very good post 10ring. Nice to hear from you. !

Thanks, I'm "alive and well" , shooting trap at the Canadian Sportsmans Club.

The Super Targets see some use on trap ranges but many trap shooters these days use break action guns, for example, the extractor on a BT-99 will pull something "nasty" out of it's chamber that would cause "issues" with some autoloaders.

I think there has been a competition of sorts between manufacturers in the past 15 years to produce the cheapest shell on the market since the demand is there.

The result is that shell quality on some of the lower cost shells is at a level that would not have been accepted when I was new to trapshooting in the early 1970's.

Remington Gun Clubs are a bit better proposition and they can be reloaded with the same data used for the Remington STS target hulls. I get 100's of these given to me by new shooters who don't reload. I can get five or six loads, at least, out of them. My press gives them a full resize and I can use them in my 1100 Classic Trap with 100% reliability; the Citori Grade I Trap and BT-99 have no problems with them as might be expected.

[TPM]

I agree with the Remington Gun Clubs. They seem to be the best of the promo loads. I haven't owned a semi in years but my pumps and doubles have always seemed to pattern better with the Gun Clubs than the other cheapie loads.

[mikej]

federals don't work well out of pumps either

[10Ring]

federals don't work well out of pumps either

The Top Guns can be a bit "sticky" in the chamber.

Even the old Federal Gold Medal hulls, their top of the line target shell with the brass heads (not plated steel) can resist extraction, slightly after a few reloads and that is after full re-sizing.

The odd Gold Medal can hang up in the chamber of my pumps, all of which have smooth chambers, in excellent condition, just enough to disrupt cycling the action.

I have about 3,000 Gold Medal hulls, I am using them up in my BT-99.

[mikej]

i should have said i was talking about rifles. federals jam every time in my 7600. i have had such poor luck with federals i wouldn't even think of shooting them out of a shotgun as a matter of fact i wouldn't shoot them out of a 22

[lscha]

\
The Top Guns can be a bit "sticky" in the chamber.

Raise your hand if you tried to get that mark off your computer screen that is above the ' T '

[10Ring]

\
The Top Guns can be a bit "sticky" in the chamber.

Raise your hand if you tried to get that mark off your computer screen that is above the ' T '

Gome now.

[Doe Master]

You are right 10ring the gun clubs load like a dream . I`ve tried using challengers for reloads , they worked in my O/U but were crap in the semi . Found with the federal hulls they seem to have a larger primer pocket .

[10Ring]

You are right 10ring the gun clubs load like a dream .

The thing is, a lot of the new guys at the club that don't reload give the GC's to me.

As much as I appreaciate it, I tell them, "why not hang on to them, if you decide to reload in a year or so, the big box of reloadable hulls will be like a big present ". For whatever reason they don't keep them, so I wind up with them.

Its not like I don't have 1,000's of empties but I can't resist a few more, especially if they would just be thrown out.

ecoaster

Back to the original post topic; we have a young guy that brings out an SX3 to the club. It has functioned quite well.

I see that he is using mostly Federal Top Gun target loads that seem to go through his gun quite well.

[10Ring]

The third round I switched up to Winchester Super Target Loads #7 1/2. Every one but three of them failed to eject! :

Also, something to be aware of, some clubs do not allow shot sizes over 7 1/2, just something to be aware of.

I relized I should have explained the reason for this.

When a club gets its approoval from the CFO's office, it is often stipulated that no shot size over 7 1/2 is allowed.

This is due to carrying range and shotfall distance, i.e. larger shot sizes retain more energy and travel farther, assuming velocity and elevation are identical.

An extreme case of this occured at a skeet club that used to operate in this area, on private propery. The owner could not figure out what he has hearing from his metal barn, well over 300 yards away. It was the SSG bounching off it ; some guy decided to "dump" some old SSG at the skeet field, that large shot carries a lot furter. I doubt they were that effective, there'd be quite a few holes in the pattern that a clay target could slip through.

Our club is limited to 7 1/2 and smaller for this reason; (I am the person there that deals with the CFO inspectors),

Also, if the club holds ATA registered shoots, ATA rules limit shot size to no larger than 7 1/2.

[ecoaster]

Thanks 10ring. I bought a case of the Fed Top Guns 7.5 on Thursday. I gave the gun a VERY good cleaning. Going out tomorrow to shoot again. The two vent ports on the barrel were hard to see at first. They are in the ring that holds the barrel on the mag. After that it will be time to drop a turkey choke in it and see how it patterns.

[10Ring]

The two vent ports on the barrel were hard to see at first. They are in the ring that holds the barrel on the mag.

I am not familiar with the SX#'s gas system but here's what I do with 1100's which MAY apply to the SX3.

A trap barrel for an 1100 has two .079" gas orifices.

I made up a tool which is a plastic file handle, fitted with a 4" length of 1/16" piano wire. This fits through the gas orifices with .0075" to spare. I run this through the orifices to clean out or checl for crud (high tech. gunsmithing term )

This is a technique sometimes employed by target shooters since we shoot a lot. My wife shot trap with an 1100TA for 10 years, putting about 40,000 rounds through it. My 2005 1100 Classic Trap has 10,000+ through it now; good cleaning practices are essential in this type of use.

Unfortunately, I don't know if the SX3 can be checked in a similar manner but it might be worth looking into.

[peter p]

Peter P, after removing the grease with gun scrubber what kind of oil would you recommend putting back on it to prevent rusting?

Ray,
I use rem oil in the spray can. I put a light coat on the magazine tube and on the bolt rails.
If your SX3 owners manual is the same as mine, look on page 7 and it will show you where the bolt rails are.
I also put a light coat in the barrel after I clean it.

[ecoaster]

10Ring,

Your type of cleaner would work for the SX3 to clean the "crud" . I managed to get a paint brush in there, but your idea would work better. Kind of like a tip cleaner for a cutting torch.