Grups with the new AR-30 in 300 WM

[Brent]

I figured I'd post the pic of the target the first time out with Dad's new AR-30.

I'd have to get the particulars on the load he was shooting, it was H4831 68gr - 72gr, and I think it was with the 190 SMK but I can't remember for sure.

Each 5 shot group had an additional .5gr of powder.

I forgot to rotate the pic, but the left side is the top and the groups were fired top to bottom and left to right. 69.5 and 70gr are the best in this test.

Just give you an idea of how well it shot if you were interested in one, these were the first groups he fired after breaking in the barrel. It shot a .350" group at 69.5gr and a couple in the mid .7's and one at .57" so he's pretty happy with it so far.

 

[c east]

I have an AR-30 in .338 and 300...Both are amazing...I have shot 3 one hole (one 33 cal hole) groups out of 5 strings fired with the 338 Lapua..The 300 Win likes the 200 Gr MKs but I just got 500 of the 220 and can't wait to try them...Now I need Jewel to make a trigger for this wonderful out of the box Rifle

 

[Brent]

c east,

My dad just couldn't leave it alone, he just finished converting it to left bolt. It'll work with either bolt handle, left or right now. He just got it back together after hardening the bolt handle and cocking ramp collar he built, so we're headed out to shoot it tomarrow.

I'll post a pic of his craftsmanship. He's planning on getting it parkerized in the next day or so, as I couldn't convince him to get it Camoed where Jeff had his done. He's not too sure what to think about the camo being on the rings and bases, mounting surfaces etc.

He ended up shaping the closing ramps with a small stone in a dremmel and finished them with a guided rod with a tool steel cutter he made that semi-resembles the bolt lug end of the bolt. It's tight, and works smooth as glass. It's actually smoother and tighter than the right bolt even it!

His could use a Jewell too. I'm sure that'll be his next purchace.

Dad got his Springfield Armory scope back from SA that had a TON of parallax in it, he said it looks fixed. I read an article in Guns and Ammo today where a guy commented on the SA scope he had for testing with a rifle, it wouldn't remove the parallax in with the AO either.

 

[James D.]

Brent; indulge us with some pictures if you get around to it, the mods sound interesting. BTW: I haven't heard a good thing about the Springfield scopes, it seems that they have the same reputation for reliability as a Tasco with the exception of a few hundred more dollars attached.

C East, what load are you running through the .338 Lapua? I haven't been successful in finding that perfect load in my rifle yet.

Something happened the last time I took my rifle to the range. My cousin was shooting it and as he was extracting a case and rechambering a round he must have bumped the safety because when he pulled the trigger, nothing happened... Then when the safety was bumped again the thing went off! I have never experienced this myself as I never use a safety but was able to recreate the problem at home a few times. After doing a search here and BRcentral it seems to be a problem related to the Remington style triggers. I am hoping that it's a burr or something and that it will cure itself but it's not a desirable thing to have on a rifle. Schilen has a decent trigger but it's not in the same class as a Jewell, maybe if it was worked on or adjusted it can be improved? Armalite just says that the trigger is a modified Rem 700 type without anymore supporting details as to whether it can be swapped out for another one.

 

[c east]

luckly I'm right handed....The groups I shot were all 5 shot and in 40 years of shooting the first one hole groups..I also shot 10 rounds into a 3/4 in group...takeing 1 min amd 10 secs to do it...I have a bunch of fancy stuff but these are the most fun..
I Also have a Mark V Action in 338 Lapua with a 33" barrel and it shoots the 300 grains into one hole also, but a whole bunch more money went there..These are all at 100 yards
Later

 

[Brent]

Sc0,

Either your trigger return spring is set too light, not enough sear engaugement, or a combination of both. FSR, or firing on safety release usually happens after pulling the trigger when the safety was on. Usually the trigger doesn't return all the way from the return spring screw being backed off too far. I'll take a look at my dads. I really haven't looked at his trigger closely, they are adjustable aren't they?

Adjusting my Savage Striker trigger has been pretty fruitless, I'm sure it's at 5lbs+. If I got lower, no matter what I do it isn't reliable when the bolt is closed "down" hard, it just fires. Too many moving parts in it, but I've seen another trigger for it that they claim will go to 1.5 lbs, yeah, we'll see about that one, this one sure isn't going to work.

Here's some pics of the AR-30 (southpaw now) and a link to some more close ups.

Click on the drop down menu and there's 7 pix below the AR-30 1 pic. http://www.imagestation.com/album/?id=4289203001

1.3" 10 shot group at 200 yards with 190 SMK's yesterday, **** it shoots good!

 

[James D.]

I am working on the 300g SMK bullets at the momment and the H1000, it's accurate but I am trying to squeeze more out of it before I am satisfied. (my next batch will be Retumbo and the 300gr)

Brent, how much did Armalite want for that extra bolt handle or was it a custom project? Also how is that badger bolt knob working out? Have any problems hitting it while operating the trigger? That's a alot of work but the pictures make it look easy, I guess if your dad wanted to get serious he could add a mag release on the other side of the rifle to match the bolt. Also I noticed that you removed a bottom piece of the stock, (the piece that almost touches the grip), was it in the way?

 

[c east]

The 338 Lapua load was 106 grs of 870 with 250gr sierra MKs
No pressure at all..

[ 11-11-2003: Message edited by: c east ]

 

[Brent]

Sc0,
The bottom piece that's missing, he cut off. It wasn't hooked to the grip so it never offered any rigidity to the stock, mainly for rear bag use and he uses a one piece rest so he didn't want it on there...

The bolt handle, as seen in image 7 in the album link is still plenty far away from the trigger shoe. It's no where near the scope tube at the top either, which is nice. The Badger bolt knob is really nice, I don't think he has a single rifle without one now. He just got the knob for the other handle he said. The handle/cocking ramp sleeve in pic 7 he's holding is the original right hand.

He ordered the bolt handle from Brownells and machined it some, I never did see what it looked like when he got it tho. He had the radius milled on the end to fit it to the sleeve, and I believe he turned it down some, threaded it and fit the BO knob.

He had three sleeves made at the same time out of 4140 CM. The bores in them were incrementally smaller so he could use the tightest fitting one and hone to finish. He then cut the two notches out and filed to fit the bolt perfectly. Length and I.D. are critical with this piece, so is fitting the notches tightly.

After the bolt handle notch and extraction ramp were milled in the receiver, a slot was milled lengthwise on the left side where a block of 4140 was TIG welded on to thicken that side for the new bolt stop. The sides of the block welded in was built up with the TIG and radiuses filed to blend into the receiver.

The bolt was positioned with the lugs vertical to figure where the bolt handle was to be TIG welded onto the sleeve. The bottom of the cutout in the action and stock was exactly the same as the opposite side, so that part was easy.

The stop at the top of the extraction ramp was purposely left thick to file finish the last few thou so lugs aligned with raceway perfectly. This was finished first, then the closing ramps were carefully cut back and finished so the bolt would finally close and there was about .030" - .040" clearance at any point throughout the bolt rotation cycle.

The very last thing that was done was the cutout for the cocking ramp, as the alignment, depth and shape at the bottom of this is very, very critical. This was done once, file fitted, lapped in, bolt handle bent to finish angles, then hardened, but it proved to be too wide at the bottom of the cocking slot, so it was built up with the TIG and redone once more. Cocking on extraction was too stiff and not right, so it was redone. After built up and reworked, lapped again, and rehardened, then it worked slick.

Lots of measuring, figuring, filing etc, but was really not too difficult to do tho.

It cost him $200 for all the machine work, sleeves and welding, but he did do everything else himself, so it could have been a lot more had he not.

An extended grip he had used on the AR10 was modified to fit and move it to the rear more. He ordered a different one and should have it in a few days, the one there is too narrow and doesn't fit your hand as well. At least the trigger's under your finger tip now, and not the second friggin knuckle anymore...

Mag release. Hmmmmm.... He's probably working that one out as I speak.

[ 11-12-2003: Message edited by: Brent ]

 

[James D.]

A very impressive modification...

I think that I am going to do the Badger knobby job on my rifle as it looks more functional than the smallish OEM handle. It's not as labor intensive as the other mods that you listed but I should be able to handle it.