June 24th, 2022
From the late ’70s to 1983, a large, concrete-walled warehouse was used in Houston for benchrest testing. Bob Fisher and Virgil King set up a bullet-catching stop at the end a 30-yard-wide, 325 yard-long fire lane. This was unobstructed even during warehouse use. This allowed accuracy tests to be conducted in almost perfect “no wind” conditions. Over a period of six years, 30 shooters were invited for testing their rifles. The results were incredible, with many “zero groups” being taken in the facility. The incredible results of the Houston Warehouse were remarkable, with many “zero groups” being shot in the facility. The issue was long out of print, but Secrets of the Houston Warehouse is now available online. CLICK HERE TO READ Secrets of the Houston Warehouse. “Over a period of six year, the accuracy attained in the Houston Warehouse was beyond what many precision shooters believed possible for lightweight rifles shot from sandbags, and aimed shot to shot by the human eye. A handful of talented, serious experimenters, armed with the best rifles (with notable exceptions), were able to boldly explore the limits of rifle accuracy. This was possible because the unpredictable conditions of wind and mirage were eliminated. A shooter could confirm the rifle’s accuracy limits or pinpoint the problem under these steel skies. The Houston Warehouse is a perfectly stable environment. Only a few exceptional rifles could display the real thing, drilling multiple groups that are well below the unbelievable.100? barrier. However, the majority of rifles were disgraceful for their owners. Scott’s article also highlights some technical points. “One thing that IS important, however, is that the bullet be exactly seated against the lands. This fact was reported by T.J. Jackson in Precision Shooting’s May 1987 issue. T.J. wrote in a letter to T.J., in all of our testing in Houston… and the dozens, and dozens, of groups that Virgil King shot there ‘in zeroes ‘… he never fired a single official screamer team when he was ‘jumping’ bullets. His best groups were always seated in the lands or at the very minimum, touching the lands. Virgil stated that his practice was to place the bullets so that the engraving was half the width of the lands. He noticed a strange phenomenon with rifles that could shoot: If the bullets were seated too short and the powder charge was too light, the groups formed vertically. The groups became horizontal when he moved the bullets further out and increased the powder charges. The groups would form big globs if he continued to go further. He explained that the trick is to find the middle point between horizontal and vertical. This point should be a small hole. The Houston Warehouse’s lessons can be applied elsewhere. Is this repeatable magic or not? We remind readers that T.J. Jackson’s discovery worked for his barrels, his type of cartridge, and his choice in bullets. Jumping bullets can produce excellent results in other cartridge types using bullets such as Berger Hybrids. The Houston results are still fascinating. It is important to pay attention to how someone shoots in the “zeros”.
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