"Smith Fits"

[Bill Stallings]

I have a Smith thats giving me fits as far as group inconsistencies.my smith does not fall within the backwards rifling years so its not that. ive tried everything from different alloy to powder charge to cases. my question..is a Hoyt reline the answer for these guns when nothing else works? Have any of you had good results after?

[Lou Lou Lou]

Possibly depending on exact issues.
Since the Pietta is a casting and not a forging there is sometimes a void in the casting. Causes inconsistent ignition. The correction is usuallly a threaded rod with a new fire channel drilled in it.

[Keith Williams]

By your posting, do you have an older Pietta...as you stated it does not fall into the backward rifling years? A Hoyt reline should cure or eliminate one problem within the mix as well as, trying different lubes or adding more lube onto the round, changing bullet types, weigh bullets and establishing a workable medium, and lastly try different sizing dies. At least it is easy to see if the barrel is well lubed after firing several rounds with a good stare down.

Push a bullet through the barrel (sized or unsized...whatever you are currently shooting now) to see if bullet is producing fins - run it all the way through. This will cause inconsistent flight and grouping as it leaves the muzzle.

Have you barrel bedded the forearm and checked the barrel band for extreme tightness? I had a problem with the barrel loosening after I got it back from a reline. It would slightly spinoff the alignment mark on the bottom side.

Have you checked the crown for squareness? Hoyt will re-cut the crown automatically when lining the barrel.

Check the sloppiness on the rear sight, it can be pinched tighter to eliminate side play...shake it up and down for slop...if it's still problematic...replace with a better sight system.

I am in the same boat, and it has been a slow process of elimination to improve this Pietta performance.

Lastly, I am not too impressed with the Era Gone Smith bullet performance which is on the list for elimination if I cannot get better improvement from my 2005 carbine.

Besides what Lou offered up, it will be interesting to see what others contribute.

I hope this helps, good luck.

Keith A. Williams
15^th. Reg VA Vol Cav

[Bob Gorsky 10483]

Pm sent
Bob Gorsky

[B-Davis]

Just throwing out a strange suggestion. Would a hollow based minie work? If you may be interested, PM me. I would be happy to chat, maybe even send a few minies to you to try?