Is 9 twist satisfactory for the 195 EOL?

[Max Heat]

That's quite a few replies to respond to, so I'll try to generalize. In my quest for the ultimate get-there-in-no-time-"flat" MR-to-LR round, I have exceeded the charge levels necessary for good accuracy, in the stock 26" barrel. MY reasoning for getting the all-out 32 incher, was so that I could use lower charge weights that will get me my accuracy, WITHOUT having to pay the "penalty" of lowered velocities. I believe the lack of fluting will also help improve accuracy, by making it more stiff. And the way I see it, more weight = more stable = more accurate. Imagine standing in a field, trying to keep the crosshairs of a 36x scope centered on something hundreds of yards away (and possibly moving), without having anything to lean yourself or the rifle on. VERY tricky, to say the least!

I was was only using 600yd as an example, as I'll be shooting between say 200 and 1200yd. It's very hilly territory where I live, so unless an oportunity for a hilltop-to-hilltop shot arises, most of my "game" shots will occur at the lower end of the distance scale. Since the RUM has a fixed-power LR scope on it (36X), I most surely WILL be using my standard RM (S110), if I decide hunt IN the woods, since the scope on that one IS adjustable - down to 6X.

FYI - As far as weight goes; drop, drift, and TTT of the heavyweights ONLY wins out at 900+ yards (at max 7RUM loadings). It is the fpe alone of the heavyweights that undisputably reigns superior at virtually ALL distances, but increasing WITH distance. I"ve already gone 1 step up from the 120's that I used to shoot in the RM. With 2 steps to 180 (I HAVE shot some of them in the RM - my shoulder could DEFINITELY feel the difference though!), and 3 to 195, I will get there in good time.

 

[MontanaRifleman]

That's quite a few replies to respond to, so I'll try to generalize. In my quest for the ultimate get-there-in-no-time-"flat" MR-to-LR round, I have exceeded the charge levels necessary for good accuracy, in the stock 26" barrel. MY reasoning for getting the all-out 32 incher, was so that I could use lower charge weights that will get me my accuracy, WITHOUT having to pay the "penalty" of lowered velocities. I believe the lack of fluting will also help improve accuracy, by making it more stiff. And the way I see it, more weight = more stable = more accurate. Imagine standing in a field, trying to keep the crosshairs of a 36x scope centered on something hundreds of yards away (and possibly moving), without having anything to lean yourself or the rifle on. VERY tricky, to say the least!

I was was only using 600yd as an example, as I'll be shooting between say 200 and 1200yd. It's very hilly territory where I live, so unless an oportunity for a hilltop-to-hilltop shot arises, most of my "game" shots will occur at the lower end of the distance scale. Since the RUM has a fixed-power LR scope on it (36X), I most surely WILL be using my standard RM (S110), if I decide hunt IN the woods, since the scope on that one IS adjustable - down to 6X.

FYI - As far as weight goes; drop, drift, and TTT of the heavyweights ONLY wins out at 900+ yards (at max 7RUM loadings). It is the fpe alone of the heavyweights that undisputably reigns superior at virtually ALL distances, but increasing WITH distance. I"ve already gone 1 step up from the 120's that I used to shoot in the RM. With 2 steps to 180 (I HAVE shot some of them in the RM - my shoulder could DEFINITELY feel the difference though!), and 3 to 195, I will get there in good time.

Well that's a lot more info and paints a different picture. Your strategy is reasonable. Your reasoning for bullet selection is a little more questionable. Flat shooting in LR doesn't means very little. The most important external ballistic stat is windage. Assuming 3200 fps for the 180 and 3600 fps for the the 139 SST, the SST will require about 25- 30% more correction @ 600 yds than the 180.

I would go with the heavier bullets, especially for hunting. I would also get the barrel nitride and in fact I'm getting my 300 RUM, 6.5 WSM and 6-284 barrels nitrided.

Good luck

 

[MudRunner2005]

That's quite a few replies to respond to, so I'll try to generalize. In my quest for the ultimate get-there-in-no-time-"flat" MR-to-LR round, I have exceeded the charge levels necessary for good accuracy, in the stock 26" barrel. MY reasoning for getting the all-out 32 incher, was so that I could use lower charge weights that will get me my accuracy, WITHOUT having to pay the "penalty" of lowered velocities. I believe the lack of fluting will also help improve accuracy, by making it more stiff. And the way I see it, more weight = more stable = more accurate. Imagine standing in a field, trying to keep the crosshairs of a 36x scope centered on something hundreds of yards away (and possibly moving), without having anything to lean yourself or the rifle on. VERY tricky, to say the least!

I was was only using 600yd as an example, as I'll be shooting between say 200 and 1200yd. It's very hilly territory where I live, so unless an oportunity for a hilltop-to-hilltop shot arises, most of my "game" shots will occur at the lower end of the distance scale. Since the RUM has a fixed-power LR scope on it (36X), I most surely WILL be using my standard RM (S110), if I decide hunt IN the woods, since the scope on that one IS adjustable - down to 6X.

FYI - As far as weight goes; drop, drift, and TTT of the heavyweights ONLY wins out at 900+ yards (at max 7RUM loadings). It is the fpe alone of the heavyweights that undisputably reigns superior at virtually ALL distances, but increasing WITH distance. I"ve already gone 1 step up from the 120's that I used to shoot in the RM. With 2 steps to 180 (I HAVE shot some of them in the RM - my shoulder could DEFINITELY feel the difference though!), and 3 to 195, I will get there in good time.

1) Fluting actually makes a barrel stiffer, and it also dissipates heat faster because it creates more exposed surface area of the barrel.
2) You don't need a 36x scope to hunt 600 yards, unless you just want one that big. Even then, unless you're shooting chipmonks, you won't need that much magnification. Army snipers have made headshots at 1,000+ for 60 years or more with a 10x Unertl...I think you can shoot a deer sized animal in the pump-house with less than 36 power...

3) Who the hell makes a fixed 36x scope?

 

[MontanaRifleman]

1) Fluting actually makes a barrel stiffer, and it also dissipates heat faster because it creates more exposed surface area of the barrel.
2) You don't need a 36x scope to hunt 600 yards, unless you just want one that big. Even then, unless you're shooting chipmonks, you won't need that much magnification. Army snipers have made headshots at 1,000+ for 60 years or more with a 10x Unertl...I think you can shoot a deer sized animal in the pump-house with less than 36 power...

3) Who the hell makes a fixed 36x scope?

Actually, fluting does not make a barrel stiffer. A non-fluted barrel will be stiffer than a fluted barrel of the same contour.

A fluted barrel of the same WEIGHT (larger contour) will be slightly stiffer than a non-fluted barrel

The heat dissipation advantage is minimal. Fluting is basically cosmetic. I like fluting but not enough to pay anything extra for.

 

[Max Heat]

Thanks MTR, for setting the mudrunner straight on that.

The scope is a Tasco model TSS36x44, circa '02. It was one of Bobby Hart's own personal scopes, that he sold to me for a VERY reasonable price. Obiously, it has to be some kind of XLR benchresting scope. It measures in at almost 20 inches long, has extremely fine, almost invisible x-hairs. and screw-on metal end caps. It doesn't have any mil-lines or dots, "save" for the 1 teensy-weensy microscopic little dot right where the 2 hairs cross. It's turrets feature 60 (1/8moa) clicks per turn, and has scaling that allows the # of turns to be kept track of.

I was looking at the order sheet for the new barrel yesterday, seeing that it uses a 34" blank. That made me start thinking real hard about upping my desired finished length to 33", for another 10 bucks. But what holds me back, is that even at 32", it s going to be an extremely tight fit in the hardcase that I will be using for it. Any opinions on whether or not I should go the extra inch, and forget about the hardcase?

And just to clarify, I consider my self to be much more of a "shooter", than simply a "hunter". Most of the people around here do hunt, especially deer. But the vast majority wil fire maybe a few sight-in rounds before the season begins, then 1 or maybe several more, depending on how many tags they have. FY I - Tags sold out this year faster than they ever did before - I ended up with only 1 antlerless tag. But then they put the rifle away, not to see any action again until the next season. But I like to do WAY more shooting than that. I like to shoot at paper targets of course; along with coins, soda & beer cans, & other canned goods, disposable batteries, 'sploderz - as I like to refer to "reactive" targets, etc. But you can bet your sweet petuties, that if I was able to get a fix on a mouse at 600yds, I would have absolutely no qualms about taking it out - and I would feel proud for doing it!

OK, I gotta bail, so I canget SOME work done today.

 

[Dick Tinsley]

I'm not touching this one!!! IMO there's more than a mouse fix goin on here! I'm outa here!!!!

 

[MudRunner2005]

No comment as well..........Had one, but retracted it. It's not worth the effort.

 

[Max Heat]

I'm not touching this one!!! IMO there's more than a mouse fix goin on here! I'm outa here!!!!

Hey, hey now! Maybe I was starting to get just a bit out of hand, so I will take a chill. But obviously my enthusiasm for shooting must have come through. Since I do LIKE chipmonks, I don't shoot at THEM. But being that mice (and rats as well) are disease carrying RODENTS, and home-invaders on top of that, they are NOT on my good side.. I guess that's why I stated it in the way that I did. 36X or not, even being able to SEE a mouse at 600yd, given the backgrounds that they typically operate within, is prit-near impossible. But I don't care WHO they are - ANYONE who manages to tag a mouse at THAT distance has GOT to be **** proud that they made the shot.