Fitch
Well-Known Member
I had a thread about this new rifle when I purchased it new which is here:
http://www.longrangehunting.com/forums/f19/new-long-range-rifle-arrived-55980/
I've since finished all the planned improvements. The earlier thread covered truing the receiver and crowning the barrel. Since then I've installed the Sharp Shooter Supply competition recoil lug, epoxy pillar bedded it, and taken it to the range for a load development session.
The bedding job looks like this:
I made a new rear pillar out of steel that is a slightly taller copy of the original pillar. It had to be taller because the magazine box retention tang went over the top of the original pillar. I shortened the mag-box tang as you can see in the picture. It basically "snaps" into place with the receiver over, but not touching the portion of the tang that used to go over the rear pillar. Works great. Rifle cycles very smoothly, feeds flawlessly.
I used 60 grit paper on a split dowel to clean out both pillar holes, degreased/cleaned the pillars with brake cleaner and epoxied them in place with Devcon 10110 (I really like that epoxy for bedding).
The tang area was sanded to get additional clearance and restained with some dainish walnut stain/sealer.
The rest of the bedding job was pretty straight forward.
I put together some test loads using the 150g Barnes TTSX and RL25. After further testing this bullet seated in Win brass to 3.311" COL, pushed by 67.5g of RL25 lit by a WLRM primer shoots pretty much like this at 100 yards:
That will work.
I've loaded up another 20 of them to take out for zeroing the hunting scope at 200 yards - that will have to wait for the new scope to be purchased. With that done I'll get drop data to 500 yards, put it away and wish Deer Season was here.
I'll work up a load for the 168g Berger if they ever make any more of them - right now near as I can tell there are exactly none of them for sale anyplace on the planet..
Meanwhile, this TTSX will get it done on any deer I'll see here in So. Central PA at any range I'll see them at. I don't want to waste barrel life shooting a smorgasboard of bullets through paper. This is supposed to be a 0 - 500 yard meat in the freezer rifle with this bullet and I've no doubt it is.
This
is turning out to be one of the nicest rifles I own. It is remarkably accurate with just a little accurizing work (true receiver face, competition recoil lug, recrown, epoxy/pillar bed), has the best factory bore I've ever seen, by far the best in my gunsafe for sure, is very comfortable to shoot with out a muzzle brake, has a very nice 2 lb hunting trigger right out of the box, and an action that cycles smooth as butter.
I can't believe I stumbled on it for sale on (for $600.00 NIB) Gunbroker while looking for a donor rifle to build one essentially exactly like it that I'd budgeted $1,300 to build (doing the work myself).
Serendipitous for sure, but I'll take it!
Fitch
http://www.longrangehunting.com/forums/f19/new-long-range-rifle-arrived-55980/
I've since finished all the planned improvements. The earlier thread covered truing the receiver and crowning the barrel. Since then I've installed the Sharp Shooter Supply competition recoil lug, epoxy pillar bedded it, and taken it to the range for a load development session.
The bedding job looks like this:
I made a new rear pillar out of steel that is a slightly taller copy of the original pillar. It had to be taller because the magazine box retention tang went over the top of the original pillar. I shortened the mag-box tang as you can see in the picture. It basically "snaps" into place with the receiver over, but not touching the portion of the tang that used to go over the rear pillar. Works great. Rifle cycles very smoothly, feeds flawlessly.
I used 60 grit paper on a split dowel to clean out both pillar holes, degreased/cleaned the pillars with brake cleaner and epoxied them in place with Devcon 10110 (I really like that epoxy for bedding).
The tang area was sanded to get additional clearance and restained with some dainish walnut stain/sealer.
The rest of the bedding job was pretty straight forward.
I put together some test loads using the 150g Barnes TTSX and RL25. After further testing this bullet seated in Win brass to 3.311" COL, pushed by 67.5g of RL25 lit by a WLRM primer shoots pretty much like this at 100 yards:
That will work.
I've loaded up another 20 of them to take out for zeroing the hunting scope at 200 yards - that will have to wait for the new scope to be purchased. With that done I'll get drop data to 500 yards, put it away and wish Deer Season was here.
I'll work up a load for the 168g Berger if they ever make any more of them - right now near as I can tell there are exactly none of them for sale anyplace on the planet..
Meanwhile, this TTSX will get it done on any deer I'll see here in So. Central PA at any range I'll see them at. I don't want to waste barrel life shooting a smorgasboard of bullets through paper. This is supposed to be a 0 - 500 yard meat in the freezer rifle with this bullet and I've no doubt it is.
This
is turning out to be one of the nicest rifles I own. It is remarkably accurate with just a little accurizing work (true receiver face, competition recoil lug, recrown, epoxy/pillar bed), has the best factory bore I've ever seen, by far the best in my gunsafe for sure, is very comfortable to shoot with out a muzzle brake, has a very nice 2 lb hunting trigger right out of the box, and an action that cycles smooth as butter.
I can't believe I stumbled on it for sale on (for $600.00 NIB) Gunbroker while looking for a donor rifle to build one essentially exactly like it that I'd budgeted $1,300 to build (doing the work myself).
Serendipitous for sure, but I'll take it!
Fitch
