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Post by Lee Martin on Aug 4, 2016 19:53:23 GMT -5
Glenn - I also bought an annealer but have yet to use it (Bench-Source Vertex). Slick little machine. Neck annealing isn't really common in short-range benchrest. A lot of folks claim it takes 2 - 3 firings for the performance to return. By that time you might as well switch to fresh hulls. I'm going to shelve these for now but eventually they'll get annealed. I'll shoot them as is and then annealed in a known barrel. We'll see what happens. As for my Shilen, I'm surprised it went to 1,600. It's rare to keep a 6mm comp barrel on much past 1,000. Conversely, the .30-cal BRs and PPCs last 3,000 - 5,000+. -Lee www.singleactions.com"Chasing perfection five shots at a time" |
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Post by zeus on Aug 4, 2016 19:59:49 GMT -5
Oh, well, then I guess you did good with that barrel of they usually give out at 1K!! I'm curious to see what I get life wise out of a few I've got now. However, I think at the rate I get to shoot we will both be retired before I rebarrel them  |
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Post by cherokeetracker on Aug 4, 2016 21:54:14 GMT -5
Lee,, you got me on the 30 Gorilla. I had never heard of it. I was wondering about the grain bullet, Because I did know about the 118s and of course the 125 grain, with a 1-17 twist, would be my 1st choice. I am glad to hear that you will swage your own. With barrels lasting as long as they do, everyone should understand why I would like one for Varmints.
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Post by Lee Martin on Aug 17, 2016 19:22:56 GMT -5
Match #2 – 08/13/2016 ______________________________ 200 yard IBS Varmint for Score (VFS) – Fairfax Rod & Gun Club  View from the bench. The near bank is 100, the distant berm is 200:   A competitor during the warm-up session:  Video: This was the first time the gun has seen 200 yards. Overall not a bad start. The Shilen is getting tired and the heat index was 108. Air temp touched 100. I did make a mistake by not cleaning the barrel. 1-3 record targets were all 50’s. I rolled the dice and shot the last two without hitting the bore. A 48 and 49 followed. Live and learn. -Lee www.singleactions.com"Chasing perfection five shots at a time" |
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Post by bradshaw on Aug 17, 2016 20:47:27 GMT -5
Lee.... congratulations. Astounding performance, gear and shooter aside, after indications of bore retirement based on your recent test groups. No room for slack in this crowd. Air current must have stood neutral or damn near dead to mute mirage. Noting also Mike Doyle won with a 6mm, which must maintain dead-nuts repetition to lay inside the.308 cushion. At two football fields, no less.
David Bradshaw
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cmillard
.375 Atomic
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Post by cmillard on Aug 17, 2016 22:47:04 GMT -5
well done
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Post by Lee Martin on Sept 8, 2016 19:26:11 GMT -5
Benchrest History – Part 3 __________________________________ The story of how drawing for benches came to be as told by H.L. Culver (Precision Shooting, December 1989): “Dear Dave, In the October issue, page #38, yes, that is indeed Edith Culver, as you speculate that it may be. I not only recognize her, but the front rest, the cartridge block, and the action on the rifle (which I made). In fact I made that whole rifle, except for the barrel of course. The lady shooting next to her is Bernice McMullen, who used to be the secretary of the NBRSA. A little story on who started the idea of “drawing for benches”. When we started shooting in 1951, Edith noticed that certain shooters always got the number one bench at Dubois and Johnstown. Both benches were relatively protected from the wind…at Johnstown by a row of trees and at Dubois by a high bank. While not popular, as an idea, with the shooters at large, they just accepted the fact that this was the way things are. Not Edith. She promptly went off looking for Ed McNalley who was then NBRSA President and demanded to know why we didn’t draw for benches. Well, old Ed just about swallowed his chewing tobacco. This was going to upset certain elements of the insiders….specifically the ones perched on those preferred benches. Nonetheless, in fairness to the gentleman, he came to think it was a good idea and backed it. Bob Hart became involved in the matter….which had folks all agitated on both sides of the argument….and helped put it through. The fellow who had previously always had bench one got his nose all out of joint over this and shortly thereafter dropped out of the benchrest game. I suspect you would know who this was David (Editor: Yes, the gentleman came from Maine). Homer L. Culver 1219 North Stuart Street Arlington, VA 22201 Left – Edith Culver, Right – Bernice McMullen. Johnstown 1955.  I’ll be sure to think of Edith when I draw a bench on Saturday. -Lee www.singleactions.com"Chasing perfection five shots at a time" |
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Post by Rimfire69 on Sept 9, 2016 6:51:11 GMT -5
More great history.
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Post by Lee Martin on Sept 13, 2016 19:19:47 GMT -5
Match #3 – 09/10/2016 100 yard IBS Varmint for Score (VFS) – Fairfax Rod & Gun Club. ________________________________________________ It was another near 100 degree day in Northern Virginia. The mirage was plain wicked and that’s where the veterans shined. They know how to shoot through it...I’m still learning. All and all, I was pleased with my results. I stayed ‘clean’, never dropping a 10-ring. I tied for 10th, but came in 11th due to the Creedmoor rule.   By the 4th record target, the mirage turned my POA into a guessing game. I only hit one X that round and it must’ve shown. Long-time benchrester Charles Curry was to my right. He asked if the mirage was getting to me. I emphatically said “yes”. He then dropped some advice on how to handle it. My next, and last target, was a 50-5X and four of those were wipeouts. Luck? Maybe, but I’m eager to apply his advice again soon. Final target = 50-5X. On bull #2 I just missed the wipeout.  BTW, the highlight of the match was seeing Dick Grosbier shoot a perfect 250-25X. That doesn’t happen often. It’s sort of like throwing a no hitter in baseball. -Lee www.singleactions.com"Chasing perfection five shots at a time" |
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Post by Rimfire69 on Sept 14, 2016 7:04:49 GMT -5
Fantastic shooting.
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cmillard
.375 Atomic
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Post by cmillard on Sept 14, 2016 9:02:14 GMT -5
very nice Lee!
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Post by mhblaw on Sept 16, 2016 11:15:42 GMT -5
...and Mr. Curry's advice on handling the mirage was?
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Post by cherokeetracker on Sept 17, 2016 7:07:31 GMT -5
Turning the scope to less powerful magnification has helped me in long range shooting before, but I an curious about what Mr. Curry's advice was too?
On another note trying to keep the barrel cool helps to a small degree, and using a shade on your scope does too. But in long range shooting the higher the temperature goes the mirage moves in.
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Post by Lee Martin on Sept 19, 2016 19:31:23 GMT -5
Curry's advice was simple but effective. He said center your reticle on the mothball and forget about fine tuning POA. More often than not, your eye is right the first time. Dialing to compensate for bouncing crosshairs just throws off your rhythm. The more you focus on that, the less attention you pay to the flags. On my fifth target I quickly stuck the 3/32" dot on the X and shot my condition. And yes, lowering the magnification cuts mirage. My scope is a fixed 40 however, so that isn't an option. Some guys shoot 12 - 42x Nightforces and are able to drop to the 20's. The downside is you lose some aim resolution. But I have to disagree on scope shades. They do a wonderful job in cutting light reflection but have no effect on mirage. To the contrary, they can trap hot air and actually increase perceived mirage. -Lee www.singleactions.com"Chasing perfection five shots at a time" |
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Post by cherokeetracker on Sept 19, 2016 21:29:24 GMT -5
Curry's advice is good. I will have to remember it. I know of some guys that have used a venation blind as a shade over the barrel to try and keep heat from coming straight up into the scope. This is done in the field shooting Prairie Dogs, not at a shooting match. I am sure you have rules to go by.
I still like the fact that you have built the rifle and competed with it. Keep at it. I want to see you move up that list nearer the top.
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