Governing the intermediate phase · The subsonic is not a cartridge, it is a system

14.4 Governing the intermediate phase

The chapter comes down to a hierarchy of four points. First, the muzzle: the crown has to be intact and clean, because it is the rifle’s last touch on the bullet and damage to it is the most underrated failure in precision shooting. Second, the burn finished inside the barrel, which depends on the powder choice of Chapter 7: an intermediate phase poor in unburned powder is cleaner in every sense. Third, the muzzle device chosen for your own use: the brake for control of recoil and of the sight picture in the serious calibers, the suppressor where signature and comfort matter, the bare muzzle where simplicity is worth more than either; in every case fitted with mechanical rigor and with the zero verified in the configuration it will be used in. Fourth, consistency: the configuration you zero in is the configuration you shoot in, and every change at the muzzle is a change of zero until the target proves otherwise.