DennisPA
Well-Known Member
I need some help finding out what I am missing. I would like to start shooting the Ridgeway VBR silhouette matches. They are a steel silhouette match shot at 850,900,950 and 1000 yards. My question is about caliber for this type of shooting. I currently have a 220 swift 14 twist rifle which I know in its current configuration would be completely inadequate for this discipline. I have contacted the match director to get some clarification on some of the rules and to get a feel for the caliber need to knock over the silhouettes. This match deviates from the NRA norm by not having a caliber minimum.
Per the director a common match caliber is 6 Dasher, he personally shoots a 260 & and 6.5 x 284. So I started looking at the numbers of retained energy, drop and wind deflection at the match distances, using the 6 Dasher as my baseline. I found some interesting data comparing the 6 dasher, 243(Director's suggestion), 308, 25-06,7 SAUM, 300WM, 223, 220 Swift fast twist just for fun.
By setting the minimum retained energy baseline at the 6 dasher I noticed that the Swift with a 90g Berger had about 240 ft-lb's more energy, is 500 fps faster, and has 35 inches less wind deflection and 225in less drop at 1000 yards then the Dasher. All of the muzzle velocities for these calculations were driven from loaddata.com's max loads -20%. I figured in order to get an accurate load I would more than likely not be a max. So from my list the only caliber that had less wind deflection was the 300wm and none of them had less drop then the Swift.
So when mentioning a fast twist Swift the director replied "You would be at distinct disadvantage". Why?? I know every time a fast twist Swift comes up people bring up that it's not what the caliber was designed for and such. Since when has what a caliber was designed for mattered to a wildcatter? Not that a fast twist Swift fits the definition of a wildcat but you get my drift, it a deviation from the 12 or 14 twist norm. If you look at the history of the swift a little deeper you'll quickly find the parent cartridge the 6mm lee navy was designed for 75 to 100+ grain bullets. So why is it such a stretch to put a 90 grain bullet with a higher BC then the 6mm lee navy could have ever dreamed of in a swift?
I'm not concerned with barrel wear unless anyone has experience taking a fast twist swift deep into the round count in a competitive environment. I have competed with my 14 twist for the past 2 years and have personally passed the 2000 round mark, and it is shooting the best groups I have ever shot. I personally think a lot of the Swift barrel burner myth is just pour cleaning.
So what am I missing? Any advice would be greatly appreciated. Thanks in advance.
Per the director a common match caliber is 6 Dasher, he personally shoots a 260 & and 6.5 x 284. So I started looking at the numbers of retained energy, drop and wind deflection at the match distances, using the 6 Dasher as my baseline. I found some interesting data comparing the 6 dasher, 243(Director's suggestion), 308, 25-06,7 SAUM, 300WM, 223, 220 Swift fast twist just for fun.
By setting the minimum retained energy baseline at the 6 dasher I noticed that the Swift with a 90g Berger had about 240 ft-lb's more energy, is 500 fps faster, and has 35 inches less wind deflection and 225in less drop at 1000 yards then the Dasher. All of the muzzle velocities for these calculations were driven from loaddata.com's max loads -20%. I figured in order to get an accurate load I would more than likely not be a max. So from my list the only caliber that had less wind deflection was the 300wm and none of them had less drop then the Swift.
So when mentioning a fast twist Swift the director replied "You would be at distinct disadvantage". Why?? I know every time a fast twist Swift comes up people bring up that it's not what the caliber was designed for and such. Since when has what a caliber was designed for mattered to a wildcatter? Not that a fast twist Swift fits the definition of a wildcat but you get my drift, it a deviation from the 12 or 14 twist norm. If you look at the history of the swift a little deeper you'll quickly find the parent cartridge the 6mm lee navy was designed for 75 to 100+ grain bullets. So why is it such a stretch to put a 90 grain bullet with a higher BC then the 6mm lee navy could have ever dreamed of in a swift?
I'm not concerned with barrel wear unless anyone has experience taking a fast twist swift deep into the round count in a competitive environment. I have competed with my 14 twist for the past 2 years and have personally passed the 2000 round mark, and it is shooting the best groups I have ever shot. I personally think a lot of the Swift barrel burner myth is just pour cleaning.
So what am I missing? Any advice would be greatly appreciated. Thanks in advance.
