Building a benchrest rifle

[alukban]

I would servo the heck out of those bad boys and run it from an iphone

[Lee Martin]

New Wind Flags
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I recently upgraded to Rick Graham wind flags. While the old set worked fine, they were way busy for my liking. They just spun too much, even in light wind. That can be distracting plus I never got used to the propellers. Those propellers also tend to shield the tail on wind blowing towards the target. Grahams eliminate these points and are considered by many to be the finest made for short-range BR. After three days of shooting behind them I tend to agree.



A repost of my homemade carrier:



These sit atop Bill Dittmer poles. Constructed out of stainless and aluminum, their range is 24” to 84”.



The Graham’s use a long tail, hi-viz colors, and arrows for quick direction reads.



The front ball is split on color. If you see black the wind is blowing out. If you see white it’s blowing in.



-Lee
www.singleactions.com
"Chasing perfection five shots at a time"

[Lee Martin]

Varmint for Score (VFS)
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The targets posted to date are all group BR-100’s. There is a 200 yard version but I haven’t worked with those. Mostly because we’ve yet to extend our range. Group benchrest is all about precision; namely putting five shots on paper in 7 minutes with minimal dispersion. Varmint for Score benchrest (VFS) caters to the accuracy minded. In score the goal is to consistently hit dead center on the bull. Load tuning, wind doping, bag management, and so forth are equally important in VFS. The fundamentals of the game don’t change just because the targets do. The other inherent advantage to VFS is the matches are easier to administer. Unlike group, score doesn’t require a moving backer.

On Saturday I’m competing in an IBS VFS-100 match. It took 3 years to get to the competition phase but that was always why I got into BR...and also the impetus for this thread. I must admit, I haven’t spent much time shooting score. Two Saturdays and 16 targets to be exact. Below is the target used in VFS-100



The lower right bull is the sighter, followed clockwise by the five records. You have 10 minutes under IBS guidelines to complete all five. You’re allowed only one shot per record but unlimited shots on the sighter. The 10-ring is 1/2” in diameter and contains a 1/8” dot, or “X” as they’re called. Hit any portion of the 10-ring, even the outer edge, and it scores a 10. Hit the X in the middle and the score is a 10-X. A perfect target would be scored 50-5X. Five targets create the aggregate making a perfect agg 250-25X. The 9-ring is 1” in diameter, the 8-ring is 1.5”, and the half-inch increments continue out to the 3-ring. Caliber is capped at .30 which puts me at a slight disadvantage. The 0.065” diameter difference can cost points and X’s when you’re right on the edge.

Here is a target I ran last Saturday. Shot #1 is at 4:00 on the sighter 10 ring. The barrel was unfouled and cold. Shot #2 took out the X. Record #1 was a 10-X-wipeout, meaning the bullet removed the dot completely (note – wipeouts are used as tie-breakers when competitors achieve the same score). Record #2 was another 10-X- wipeout. Record #3 just hit the 10 ring and I’m not sure why it went vertical. The wind had nothing to do with it. Conditions were calm for that pull. Record #4 is where I would’ve loved to be shooting a 30-cal. The third photo shows how close I got to nicking the X. I believe this would’ve been scored a plain 10 with no X. Clearly another 0.065” worth of bullet would’ve hit it. Record #5 is a 10-X but no wipeout. Total score = 50-3X. This may seem easy but trust me it isn’t. To be inside the 10 ring at 100 yards your gun needs to shoot low-to-mid 2’s. Hitting all five X’s means you’ll have to be capable of 1’s.

50-3X target:



10-X-wipeout:



A plain 10. Again, if you push the paper from the back I don’t think it touched the dot:



VFS follows the IBS and NBRSA heavy varmint rules. The gun can weigh no more than 13.5 pounds. I double checked mine and have a little over 3 ounces to spare:



-Lee
www.singleactions.com
"Chasing perfection five shots at a time"

[bradshaw]

Lee.... thanks for a clear explanation of these Bench Rest marksmanship categories. Reckon now you'll be inundated by targets from the tribe of shooters who have not been to the Top of the Mountain, who report shooting "hundreds of sub-inch groups at 100 yards with revolvers," and whose hunting rifles print "half-inch groups at 100 yards all day long."

Reckon I'll keep on trying to shoot "minute of barn."

Again, your study in the organics of shooting is greatly appreciated,
David Bradshaw

[zeus]

Looks like a shooter!!!

[2 Dogs]

I hope you whip em good Lee!!

[Lee Martin]

Match #1 - 07/09/2016
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I shot my first registered match Saturday at Fairfax Rod & Gun Club (Manassas, VA). The event was 100 yard IBS varmint for score. Temps were in the low 90's, winds were for the most part mild, and mirage was high. I finished 14th with a 249-11X. The one point I dropped was shooter error and it cost me 10th place. But that's par for the course; I'm sure everyone can make a similar excuse.

Final standings (they got my name wrong, likely due to my illegible handwriting on the entry card):



The Benson Range:







Relay #2 (I was on #1)







If I shoot more score matches I may screw a 30 PPC or 30 BR (rebated rim) barrel onto this action. The smaller 6mm lost 3x's on the day whereas a 30 would've hit the dot.

-Lee
www.singleactions.com
"Chasing perfection five shots at a time"

[cmillard]

great job!! when you gonna do a long range rifle?

[gunzo]

"If I shot more score matches I may screw a 30 PPC or 30 BR onto this action. The smaller 6MM lost 3x's whereas a 30 would've hit the dot" -Lee

It's a shame the U.B.R. scaled to caliber targets aren't used across the board. I think it would be nice to be competitive in both games without having to have different guns, 1 for score & 1 for group, or swapping barrels & fiddling with zero all the time. Oh well... it's all good, Hope you enjoyed your first match.

[2 Dogs]

That's a great start Lee, and I bet no one else there was shooting a rifle they built from scratch!

[Lee Martin]

Benchrest History – Part 2
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Elmer Keith at the Pine Tree Rifle Club, Johnstown NY in 1955. Second row up, second from the right. To his right is Bob Wallack, Homer Culver, and Warren Page.



Keith attended this event while visiting a friend who was competing. He had just come from the Remington plant in Ilion, NY and was headed to Springfield, MA to meet with S&W. Again, the year was 1955...the reason he was out east should be obvious.

-Lee
www.singleactions.com
"Chasing perfection five shots at a time"

[cherokeetracker]

If I shoot more score matches I may screw a 30 PPC or 30 BR (rebated rim) barrel onto this action. The smaller 6mm lost 3x's on the day whereas a 30 would've hit the dot.

-Lee
www.singleactions.com
"Chasing perfection five shots at a time"

You Plan on turning some cases? Or can you buy them now? And If you decide to do a 30 cal then I want to know for sure what twist barrel you plan to use. I figure a 1-17 is best, but curious what you thoughts are. In case you haven't guessed, I really do like the 30 BR . I think it would make a good Varmint round,, Just like many before me. Well,,, It's August now, and I am hoping that you do good in your upcoming shoot.
Charles

[Lee Martin]

Charles - if I add a .30 barrel it'll be a straight .30 PPC or .30 Gorilla (.30 PPC improved). I'll form brass from Lapua .220 Russian. Most use 1:17 or 1:18 twist and 112 - 125 grain bullets.

The plan is to shoot this PPC for group and VFS. At least for now. I may take the plunge into a .30-cal next year. When I do it'll involve 3 more presses and a set of Ulrich dies. I've gotten into swaging my own.

-Lee
www.singleactions.com
"Chasing perfection five shots at a time"

[Lee Martin]

Barrel Life
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There have been questions about competitive barrel life throughout this thread. I’ve always answered with a wide range of rounds fired. To recap, in benchrest some barrels stay sharp to 2,000+. Others nose dive as early as a few hundred. Then there are those that never group from the start.

I borescope my Shilen every 100 – 150 rounds, particularly in the lead and throat region. Minor pitting at the neck junction appeared around 1,000. The 1 1/2 degree lead also grew as evidenced by the land transitions. Beyond that there’s your normal bore abrasion which is superficial. My cleaning regiment of Kroil and Butch’s followed by Iosso ever 150 shots kept things tidy. There’s no hard carbon fouling or copper build. So does that mean the barrel is still in its prime? Not necessarily. Two weeks ago I started seeing my aggs increase. Under still conditions and sound gun handling, groups which used to be 1’s grew to low 2’s. Through tougher wind, targets that used to land low-2’s jumped to high 2’s. Supposedly when barrels begin to fade they don’t fling shots all over the place. Instead you’ll have 1 or 2 flick out. That’s exactly what I experienced on 7/23. Here’s a beautiful 4-shot consecutive string that would've been a screamer (~0.084”). My fifth shot walked over still flags and perfect tracking. The latter was confirm through the reticle.



Last Saturday the Shilen gave up more ground. Humidity was low and the wind was calm. Basically conditions I know how to tune for. In spite of this, I couldn’t get the gun dialed. Eight targets fired on and only one sub-2 group. 4 were in the mid-to-high 2’s, and two went well into the 3’s. A couple of uglies from 7/30:





Mechanically the gun checks out. The pillar screws spec’d on torque, firing pin protrusion was perfect, and the scope mounting was solid. That leaves three possibilities: 1) I was off, 2) the barrel is giving up the ghost at 1,630, or 3) the problem lies in the brass. I’m hesitant to blame the bullet or loads. Both have shot dots in those surroundings. Now the brass could play into this. I’m on my 33rd reload and haven’t annealed. Necks work harden and once that happens they can cause inconsistent tension. Bullet release then becomes erratic.

I have a 200 yard VFS match on 8/13 and no time to chamber my next Shilen. I’ll limp this barrel through that event and then install another 13.5 twist. New brass is already prepped for fire-forming in that blank.



-Lee
www.singleactions.com
"Chasing perfection five shots at a time"

[zeus]

Annealing is an issue I'm getting into as well with some of these bigger guns to make sure the brass lasts. I looked at different options and ended up grabbing a Giraud. Haven't had time to set it up but I'm optimistic it will work for what I'm needing. Let me know what you figure out on he barrel. Figured it would last a little longer than that personally.