Building a benchrest rifle

[bradshaw]

Lee, you might have to put mountain bike tread on the golf cart. Congratulations on your downpour marksmanship. Makes me think the supersonic bullet compresses a pressure shield around it on its way to the target. Nothing, however, pushes rain away from your eye to the target (the axis of your reticle).
David Bradshaw

[pacecars]

Since rigidity seems to be a very important factor, has anyone built a rifle with a solid one piece barrel/action?

[Lee Martin]

Aug 13, 2021 8:08:07 GMT -5 pacecars said:

Since rigidity seems to be a very important factor, has anyone built a rifle with a solid one piece barrel/action?

If I'm reading you right, no. Then you'd be stuck with that one barrel. And that assumes there's a way to make an action AND rifle a barrel from a solid piece of steel. Which is next to impossible. We use large diameter actions, fine tenon threads, and heavy barrels. Rigidity isn't a problem. Now how all that mates to the stock is an area of focus. That's why we use multiple pillars and strong bedding, or glue the action to the stock, or do both (aka - the glue and screw).

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

[Lee Martin]

Match #125
Black Creek Gun Club, Mechanicsville, VA
IBS 100/100 yard VFS Aggregate
__________________________________________________________

I held my second 100/100 yard aggregate event recently at Black Creek. This match was all about learning from past mistakes and averting disaster.

The past mistake was made in August at the Fairfax match. In the warm-up, the gun seemed to be printing high. I went down a click and took out all 5 X’s. But I failed to inspect the target and adjust accordingly. As it turns out, I was printing low on the X. As the match progressed, the barrel fouled and shots continued to go low. Not way low, but just enough to clip the botom edge of the dot. Or at least I thought it was. When the targets came back and the holes were folded in, I missed 5 or 6 X’s by a matter of hundredths. And even though I kept trying to hold higher, it wasn’t enough to net a good X count. I finished with a 250-16X and 9th place out of 17. The lesson learned? Don’t touch the scope turrets. The gun had been winning with my core scope settings. I should have shot it as is and adjusted POA.

Now for the averted disaster. In the first match warm-up, I put the click back into the scope that I took out at Fairfax. I killed all five X’s in the test session. Then on target #1, I stuck 3 shots in one hole on the sighter and felt confident moving to the records. But on bull number 1, all I heard was a click. I re-cammed the bolt but didn’t pull it far enough to yank the shell from the chamber. Again I heard a click. It was a dead primer. This is where it gets dicey. Since I run light neck tension and jam into the lands, the bullet would likely stick in the rifling. I took the gun off the bags, held it straight in the air, and slowly pulled the bolt. Sure enough, the bullet stuck. However, I managed to keep the powder in the case. Back on the bags went the gun and I ran to my equipment stash and grabbed a cleaning rod. Time was ticking down. I knocked the bullet out, hit the chamber with a can of compressed air, and prayed there were no powder granules that would impede the cartridge. It worked. I quickly shot all five bulls and nailed the X’s. I won match #1, finished 2nd in match #2, and won the grand agg on the tie breaker rule.











The gun has been working well, winning 3 of the last 4 matches. I hope it stays strong this weekend at the 100/200 yard IBS Nationals.

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

[pacecars]

Sept 8, 2021 18:44:16 GMT -5 Lee Martin said:

Aug 13, 2021 8:08:07 GMT -5 pacecars said:

Since rigidity seems to be a very important factor, has anyone built a rifle with a solid one piece barrel/action?

If I'm reading you right, no. Then you'd be stuck with that one barrel. And that assumes there's a way to make an action AND rifle a barrel from a solid piece of steel. Which is next to impossible. We use large diameter actions, fine tenon threads, and heavy barrels. Rigidity isn't a problem. Now how all that mates to the stock is an area of focus. That's why we use multiple pillars and strong bedding, or glue the action to the stock, or do both (aka - the glue and screw).

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

Thanks Lee. I assumed it would be a limited endeavor if possible since it would be a one time thing

[Lee Martin]

Match #126
Fairfax Rod & Gun Club, Manassas, VA
IBS Nationals - 100/200 yards VFS
_________________________________________________________

For the first time, the IBS Score Nationals were held at Fairfax. The range is well suited for big events. The benches and rock solid and large. The layout makes flag setting a breeze. Plus the Boy Scouts served as our target crew. And the weather couldn’t have been better. Temps were in the 80s, the sun was out, and the wind was manageable. It switched a fair amount but never blew hard. At National events, competitors have to rotate benches after every target. In this case, we moved five spots. Some firing lines make this challenging. That wasn’t the case at Fairfax. There were 47 guns on hand and it flowed smoothly. We expected more to attend since Virginia is so centrally located. Those that showed however had a great time.

I shot well at 100 yards on Saturday and was in first place after 3 targets. As good as the gun was shooting, I couldn’t hold that position and ended-up 7th. Top 10 after day one was solid though. These events are typically won or lost at 200 yards. Sunday brought a bit more wind and hotter conditions. By noon it was 90 degrees and the mirage came with it. After three frames I was in 2nd place. Then the 4th target gave me fits. I got through it, but never found a condition which held long enough for me to nip more than one X. Even so, I was set-up well for a decent agg finish. That almost didn’t happen due to some drama on target 5. They called “commence fire” and I saw a beautiful row of orange flag vanes (which translates to a right to left push). It wasn’t brisk and I knew exactly how to shoot it. Earlier I nailed 4 out of 5 X’s on the same read. I stuck 3 shots into the sighter that landed in a knot covering the X. Time to shoot fast I thought. I chambered a round and noticed I couldn’t close the bolt. I pulled it back, tried again, and this time the bolt hung even more. The same thing happened after trying another cartridge. Something was in the chamber. Likely a piece of grit. We use tight clearances in these guns. The neck is only 0.002” undersized and the sized body is 0.001” or less top to bottom. I ran and got a bore mop and compressed air can. After a few minutes of fiddling, I cleared the chamber enough to close the bolt. But it was still binding a tad. I fired rounds into the sighter box, swabbing after each one. Finally I got it to where the bolt closed normally. A quick glance at my timer showed 2 mins and 20 seconds to shoot all 5 bulls. I took 10 of those seconds to say a quick prayer and checked the flags. They had completely flipped away from that nice condition. Instead of mild right-to-left, I faced a swirling wind which had picked up. I waited and played it safe, shooting center hold on the let-ups. I ran five shots in well under a minute and had 30 seconds to spare. I only took one X, but stayed clean hitting the 10 ring every time (note - @ 200 yards, the 10 ring is 1” in diameter centered by a 0.125’ dot). I was pleasantly surprised to see I took 3rd place in the overall agg. There were only 7 people that stayed "clean" on the weekend (no dropped points, 500 total score)



My bullets showed good stability at 200 yards. Notice the concentric outer and inner rings. On this bull I just missed the X. The dot looks big here, but at 0.125” it’s tough to hit at 200 yards.



The highlight of the weekend had nothing to do with my shooting. As I walked to the clubhouse, I saw the Scorer come out with a piece of paper. I also watched my close friend Wayne France walk by him. I asked if the paper was the final tally. It was. Before even noticing I got 3rd, Wayne France’s name jumped out as the winner. This is where it got good. Going into the Nationals, Wayne had 9 Hall of Fame points. HOF points can only be achieved at the Nationals. 1 point is awarded for a yardage win and 2 for the aggregate win. By winning it, Wayne eclipsed the 10 points needed to enter the Hall of Fame. I strolled into the clubhouse to find Wayne alone organizing something. I approached, stuck out my hand, and said “congratulation Hall of Famer!” A look of shock came over him. He replied, “What are you talking about?” While he knew he was doing well, he had no clue how well. I assured him I wasn’t joking. The look of disbelief was replaced with a big smile. Wayne has mentored me for over 5 years and we’ve traveled thousands of miles together shooting benchrest. I felt honored to break the news to him.

Views from behind the firing line:







Setting up the backers for the 200 yard match. These are used to triangulate crossfires which aren’t owned up to.



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

[bradshaw]

Lee.... congratulations on a superior performance among serious shooters. A cake iced as you break the news to your shooting buddy Wayne France he just shot his way into the Bench Rest Hall of Fame.
David Bradshaw

[Lee Martin]

Match #127
Black Creek Gun Club, Mechanicsville, VA
IBS 100 Yard VFS
_______________________________________________

I adhered to two of the many fundamentals of benchrest and got another win. They are: 1) If your gun has been shooting well, trust it, and 2) Be patient. My rifle won 3 of the previous 5 matches and took 3rd place at the Nationals. No reason to think it wouldn’t perform well last Saturday. Confidence in your equipment puts the rest on your back. I like it that way.

The conditions were switchy but gave windows in which to work. You had to be patient. In warm up, as well as sighters, the gun showed mild indifference to right-to-left push (orange flags). I could hold just off the dot at 4 o’clock and routinely score X’s. When the wind flipped to left-to-right (green flags), the POI moved more. That’s common since these are right-hand twist barrels. In other words, the bullet is spinning left to right. Add wind in the same direction and the shots stray a bit more than shooting into right-to-left. I found a good hold for green but really preferred orange. So I waited and on 3 of the 5 record targets fired my last 1 to 2 bulls with a minute or less to go. Each time, the orange returned and I hit dots. But running close on the timer can be risky. You may get the look you want. Then again, the wind could get really nasty.

I finished with a 250-22X. Michael Poole also shot a 250-22X but I won via the tie-breaker.



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

[tdbarton]

Congrats on your continued success, Mr. Martin. While not involved in the benchrest discipline personally, I’ve been following this thread with great interest.

[Lee Martin]

Match #128
Fairfax Rod & Gun Club, Manassas, VA
IBS 100 Yard VFS
_______________________________________

Another win in some tricky conditions. We had very brisk wind last Saturday with gusts in the 15 -20 mph range. Fortunately, that blow tended to be in one direction (left to right, aka “green” colored flag vanes). Like the week before, I was patient and waited for the flags to give one of two reads I felt I could shoot. They were mild left-to-right or let-up from a strong green push. My hold was 10:00 on the 10-ring throughout and that worked. I took 22 of 25 X’s in the match and 27 out of 30 X’s counting the warm-up. And for the second week in a row, I beat Michael Poole for the win via the tie-breaker rule.



I'm enjoying this stretch while it lasts. Like any sport, benchrest shooters go through up and down spells. So far, 2021 has been very 'up'.

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

[Lee Martin]

Match #129
Mid-Carolina Gun Club, Orangeburg, SC
IBS 200/300 Yard VFS Nationals
__________________________________________________

For the third straight year, the IBS 200/300 yard Nationals were held in Orangeburg, SC. It’s by far one of the toughest ranges on the circuit. The wind blows hard there and the mirage is brutal. This year’s Nationals were no exception. Saturday gave us 20+ mph gusts. In between gusts, it swirled constantly. Left-to-right in some spots, right-to-left in others. There was also a fair amount of in and out. The tough thing about Orangeburg is the wind rarely stays put for long. Shoot a sighter, dial up to the record bull, and see a completely different condition is the norm. I shot solid on Saturday and took 5th place out of 44 guns @ 200 yards. Sunday was the 300 yard segment and I was in the top 10 after 3 frames. Then the mirage hit. By record target #4, our optics were so blurred you couldn’t discern the rings or even see your bullet holes. All of us had to fly blind on the last two frames. Some guys guessed better than others. I lost a few points and ended-up in 15th place @ 300 and 11th overall for the weekend. And I should add, when I say some guys guessed better than others, I’m not referring to luck. They made educated guesses based on experience and held their own.

Early morning before the wind picked-up:





200 yards from the line:



View from behind my rifle:



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

[eagle1899]

Lee, I've followed this thread from the beginning. I'm enthralled by the process and success you've had. I've learned a bit myself as well through all this.

I look forward to your continued journey and the opportunity to follow along.

Thank you.

[Lee Martin]

Winter League is underway with 100 yards @ Black Creek the first Saturday of every month. That’s followed by U.B.R. 200 yard matches at Fairfax the week after.
_______________________________________________________________

Match #130
Black Creek Gun Club, Mechanicsville, VA
IBS 100 Yard VFS

Black Creek gave us cold temperatures and a lot of heavy, swirling wind. It wasn’t an easy day to shoot. At least not for most of us. Michael Poole shot an impressive 24X screamer through nasty conditions. I felt lucky to hit 20 out of 25 X’s for a distant 2nd place finish. In the previous matches at Black Creek and Fairfax, I beat Michael on the tie-breaker. This time he didn’t let me get close, putting 4 X’s between 1st and 2nd place.
_______________________________________________________________

Match #131
Fairfax Rod & Gun Club, Manassas, VA
UBR 200 yard VFS

UBR stands for the “Ultimate Benchrest”. We shoot that format at the FR&GC Winter League, 200 yards. I covered UBR before, but to recap:

Ultimate Benchrest (UBR) is a sanctioning body that’s been around for ten plus years. Like IBS varmint for score, the object is to hit the center 10-ring dot at 100, 200, or 300 yards. But the targets and scoring deviate from the IBS and NBRSA system. UBR matches span four record targets, each containing six record bulls and two sighter areas (IBS & NBRSA have five records targets with five bulls and one sighter). UBR also doesn’t measure X counts on top of your score total. Instead, hitting the center dot counts for 11 points. Hitting the 10 ring but missing the dot equals 10. Beyond that, it sticks to the standard 9, 8, 7, 6, and so forth scoring. In UBR, a perfect match equates to 264 (11 x 24 center dots). Moreover, UBR uses caliber neutral targets. There are .22, 6mm, and .30 caliber targets that scale the rings and dots to compensate for bullet diameter.

I’m mixed on the UBR system. The scaled targets do level the playing field on caliber. Plus I use a .30 caliber and the 200 yard 10-ring is only 0.900” in diameter (compared to the IBS’s 1.0”). Shooting the smaller 10-ring commands a hair more accuracy (compared to the IBS). What I don’t like as much is the ability to shoot your way back into a match by hitting a bunch of 11’s. In IBS, you land a couple of 9’s and you’re dropping fast. No way to climb back up. In my opinion, it leaves less room for error (loosely translated, more pressure on the shooter – and I like that).

Saturday I was off to a flying start. I nabbed 4 out of 5 X’s on targets 1 & 2 and another 3 out of 6 on target 3. I had a solid lead going into the final frame. The wind picked up, but I took my time, laying down a lot of sighters. As I went around the paper, I missed the dot by a slither here and a slither there. I wiped one X out of the first 5 and knew I needed the last to seal the win. The wind had strengthened. With a lot of time left, I went to a sighter. Holding dead center, the right-to-left wind pushed the bullet to 9:00 (see below). I held off to the right, fired, and obliterated the X. Noticing no material change in the conditions, I moved to the last bull employing the same hold-off. Bang!!! I peered through the scope and saw it went 10:00 by the dot. A little more push probably came in as the trigger broke. My lead was solid enough though that I figured I won. Even if someone matched my score, I had the tie-breaker. But it wasn’t to be. Mike Morgan hit 5 out of 6 X’s on the last target and beat me by 1 point. There was no “what if” to be said that day. I fought hard on the last target and couldn’t close. Mike Morgan on the other hand shot stellar.

Sighters taken before firing on the last bull:



The last bull, narrowly missing the dot. Had I clipped it, I would’ve had the win. That dot is only 0.100” @ 200 yards. It really is a game of thousandths.



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

[Lee Martin]

Match #132
Black Creek Gun Club - Mechanicsville, VA
IBS VFS - 100 Yards
____________________________________________________________

A goal of mine in benchrest is to shoot a perfect 250-25X at 100 yards. Prior to Saturday’s match, I had come close five times with 250-24X scores. Now make that six 250-24X finishes. The conditions were pretty mild, but there was wind that would pick up and swirl. My gun had a 25X in it this day. On the warm-up and first two targets, it was center punching the dot. Target #3 started out the same. Two sighters were taken and both went in the same hole on the X. I moved quick, taking advantage of calm air. The first four bulls were solid wipeouts. I went to finish out the frame, touched the trigger, and simultaneously the flags at 40 and 60 yards went green. The tails were hard 3:00, enough so I was worried it would land a 9. But the bullet held the 10-ring, but to the right of the dot. I got the win and another screamer award. However, if I had just touched the trigger 2 seconds sooner on the missed X, I’m sure I would’ve had a 250-25X (a feat which has only been done around 30 times since 1970).



The shot taken immediately before the dropped X.



The missed X. It looks wider than is actually is. The center ring is 0.50” and the dot is 0.0625”.



I don’t know if I’ll ever get a 250-25X, but I’m grateful to have come within one X six times.

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

[bradshaw]

Beautiful work, Lee. You’ve picked a tough mountain to summit. To summit is in your rifle. It’s in your homemade bullet. It’s in your load. It’s in you, which only your shooting can make me say. In this case the shot clock was not on the wall but in the wind.
Beautiful shooting,

In stalking the first 80x80, only bullets proved it could be done. I wasn’t about to believe it until it happened. Suspense rides each bullet. A marksman rides each bullet. That moment belongs to the shooter.
David Bradshaw