After a load was considered worthy of consideration, some loads were developed using my homemade gun clamp and a bore laser. One of the advantages of low velocity shooting is that the reduced recoil allows my clamp to be used. Coupled with the bore laser, it reduces fatigue and made it easier for me to get repeatable results. I can’t use the clamp with my Pietta Sheriff with a 5 1/2″ barrel, but I can use it with my Ruger Old Army with a 7 1/2′ barrel.

Gun Clamp Opened

Gun Clamp & Bore Laser

My bore laser’s lens is off center from the housing, so the laser must be turned in the gun barrel to find the center. The laser is rotated while inserted into the bore. The 3 o’clock, 6 o’clock, 9 o’clock, and 12 o’clock positions are marked. A horizontal line is drawn between 3 and 9, and then a vertical line is drawn from 12 to 6 to make a crosshair. This ensures that different group centers for the same load can be reliably compared.

I’ve noticed that using the gun clamp reduces my group sizes by about 50%. For example: from a rest I might be getting groups of 1 1/2″, using the clamp may reduce that size to 3/4″.