I have had plenty if interesting in rifles, this thread is fuelling it - in an expensive way..... (reality is I probably won't due too hard (licencing etc)) Hay Ewe
Few years back a British Army Corporal set a new record for the longest kill(s). Here is the wiki article http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Craig_Harrison_(sniper) and here is a you tube doco about it http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Il43qkm7WMs Carried out using an AI rifle similar to above. there was also a thread about it on here, in JoMomma I think Hay Ewe
Yes I have seen the coverage of the Brit A-I shooter on the Sniper show (History channel?). A-I helped develop the .338 Lapua. Got $11,000 ??
Ok I'll play..the aluminum stock models are harder to hold off hand than you might think..:huh Gary - - - - - - -
nah, just doesn't look right, too bright for me I imagine the recoil would reverberate right through them as well, right in to your shoulder, cool but not for me Hay Ewe
But you are not supposed to let those rifles touch your shoulder. You just let your finger touch the trigger and then blow gently on your finger to set off the round.
Then what is the purpose of the (more or less) traditional shaped stock? Cosmetics, or simply something to put on the cradle/rest/sandbags? Seems like they could just attach the barreled action to a block of concrete and get a similar result.
mmmm...not so much. A lot more goes into the geometry of a bench rest stock than most would think. Big and heavy does nothing, center of bore to center of rear bag alignment is critical. They have to move Straight rearward, not twisting around and flailing. Affects consistent shot to shot repeatability mmm..no, not at all. Not even with 40 and 50 caliber rifles. 22 ppc shorts are fun too Gary
Okay, that makes a little more sense. I'm sure, as in most sports, in bench-rest shooting there are lots of little rules and specs that come into play, just as there are in IPSC or IDPA, shooting games I am more familiar with. I enjoy rifle shooting, but more in the plinking, hunting and three-gun context.
Picked up a Shooting Times magazine special issue at Fred Meyers today call 'Guide to Long-Range Accuracy'. It is a bunch of frothy articles about 'sniper' type rifles, ammo tests, scope ballistics settings, etc. Also some good new gun tests and a compilation/description of currently available longe range shooting hardware. I give it about a B- in quality, but is pretty unique. The best 'article/review' was on the Sako TRG-42 (.338 Lapua) and the 'quest for cold-bore accuracy'. I recommend the publication and have learned quite a bit from the stuff inside.
Yeah! Another gun thread! I shoot long range "sniper" matches in the PNW as well as tactical and 3-gun. My current long-range rig is a Remington 700p in .308 in an Accuracy International Chasis. I'm in the process of converting this gun to a switch barrel setup with the option of going to .260. Some of the long range matches limit calibers to .223 or .308. I occasionally get to shoot out of Helos The rifle I've hit 18" steel at 1135 yds with this rig. Here are some of my vintage Brititsh sticks:
I have a very similar Rifle, but in a Ruger. I've had some issues with mine as well. I have it in .223, and have used a number of ammunitions, and found that the Hornady V-Max stuff is pretty good through it. Consistantly measuring 5 rounds in .6" at 100 yards. My biggest issues with it are that it is really not that comfortable to shoot. I feel like I need to take a file and open up the thumb groove to get my wrist into a comfortable position with it on bags or a bipod. It is also a heavy sucker, and I have found that the mojority of times I would use it, I grab my .17 HMR, quite frankly, on woodchucks I rarely get opportunities to test the ballistics of either round. And my .17 HMR is perhaps slightly better on 5 round grouping than the .223 despite its lower weight. If I had a longer range to work them out on I might get a better feel for this.
You know your guns, bud. I live a few miles from where the SR-25s are made in Vero Beach, FL and played with one in the store there that stocks their stuff. I also visited the Navy Seal museum where the lifeboat from the Maersk Alabama sits with bullet holes from the Seal's SR-25s that took out the bad guys and rescued the Alabama's captain. And as mentioned I just read the review on the TRG-42 (.338 Lapua) and it seems that it is the ultimate 'cold shot' sniper rifle.
I picked up a Savage Model 12 VLP DBM in .308 for the missus yesterday. I plan to, uh, take her shooting Sunday. Short range, 200 yards or so. I don't have dies for 308 (yet) and was wondering if anyone could recommend decent off the shelf ammunition for it. We joined a local club that I found has a 600 yard range, my co-worker shoots his Garand there. I hope to see what it does atthat range, but first I'm going to need to work up a load that prints well at 1 and 200 yards.
Federal or Privi Match grade ammo with a 168 grain (Sierra) hollow point, boat tail bullet should do just fine. If you want better wind performance and for distances past 800 yds, try a match grade round with a 175 grain bullet. These rounds aren't cheap but they will reflect the accuracy of the rifle. PM me if your interested in buying .308 dies...I just bought a used rifle that came with RCBS dies....I'll sell them for $20.
I have never shot any store ammo except Federal Match in my Savage 12 .308. And that was just to compare with my hand loads. Also, I like the Hornady 178s and Hornady 168 BTHPs. Have shot Bergers and Sierras as well, but like the Hornadys since they do just as well and are cheaper.
I went to MidwayUSA and they are out of both kinds of Federal Match. After reading reviews, it seems the Hornady Z-max stuff is really thier match ammunition with clever marketing. I'll see if I can find any Federal stuff locally I guess. They sent me home with 2 free boxes of Grizzly zinc plated steel case stuff. I told him if he tried something like that again I wasn't going to buy any more guns there. He said I had to take it or he wouldn't sell me any more guns. :huh I do like buying stuff at mom n pop stores that play polka music in the background.