Will It Blow?

[Richard Flanders]

I've done the old 'arms length' thing in testing a damascus bbl'd Ithaca Flues 12ga. The forearm popped off but the bbls were/are just fine and I shot a round of skeet after the test firing. I just used a Federal target load. I think this apparatus Bruce showed is an excellent setup for test firing. I like the bungeed shot bag that will allow the gun to recoil some without shocking the stock too much. I would likely add some hvy sheepskin or soft leather to the bbl support saddle and enclose the stock in a sheepskin bag made just for that to prevent scuffing of any kind(I have lots of sheepskins). This is a very good setup for testing bbls. I have a couple of Caldwell Lead Sleds for sighting in rifles. Neither has much of a pad in the pocket where the buttstock fits. I spent about $100 in components trying to get a scope sighted in on a Win Mod 70 fwt .30-06 last year. Just couldn't get it to NOT print all over a 10" target at 100yds. Finally I realized that the too-hard seat for the butt was causing such jarring on recoil that the scope was loosening and moving all over. I folded up a thick wash cloth and put it in for a better pad for the butt and the issue instantly went away. None of these guns are meant to take being fired against a hard immovable object; you'll break the stock or jar something loose. I like this setup Bruce shows.