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Post by squawberryman on Mar 25, 2023 14:51:29 GMT -5
Mr. Bradshaw I'm sure Glenn can contribute to the subject. Alan Warner makes lathe turned projectiles, as does Hammer bullets. Over on the long range forum they're the rage. Warner Flatline bullets link below. Can be taken to the reloading page if need be. www.warner-tool.com/flat-line-bullets/ |
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Post by Lee Martin on Mar 26, 2023 6:15:42 GMT -5
potatojudge - I had never seen photos of your Hart 6x47 Improved. Many thanks for posting. As you know, I'm a big fan of benchrest history. And your rifle has real lineage. 1) TJ Jackson was a renowned shooter, writer, and developer of precision shooting 2) Hart actions were outstanding receivers. There may be more modern designs, but Hart's did the three things you need from an action. They were rigid, had good fire control, and the bolt lugs mated tightly with the action abatements. Tony Boyer won the majority of his Hall of Fame points behind a Hart. 3) The 6x47 and its variants were bridge cartridges between the .22's and the 6mm PPC. -Lee www.singleactions.com"Chasing perfection five shots at a time" |
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Post by Lee Martin on Mar 26, 2023 6:23:57 GMT -5
Mr. Bradshaw I'm sure Glenn can contribute to the subject. Alan Warner makes lathe turned projectiles, as does Hammer bullets. Over on the long range forum they're the rage. Warner Flatline bullets link below. Can be taken to the reloading page if need be. www.warner-tool.com/flat-line-bullets/I don't know of anyone shooting monolithic bullets in 100 to 1,000 yard benchrest competition. However, they seem to dominate extreme long range shooting. For shorter distances, they poses some problems: 1) In short-range, we shoot relatively light bullets. Without a lead core, solid bullets tend to be too light 2) You can't spread the center of gravity (COG) and center of form (COF) enough with monolithics (making dynamic stability far from ideal). Now with the really long 15+ secant ogive bullets they shoot at say a mile in the 416's, the spread is sufficient 3) Cost - we shoot thousands of rounds a year. It would be cost prohibitive to shoot solids 4) Dimensions - while CNC allows monolithics to be made at very close tolerances, it's hard to beat bullets that swage from the same carbide die. I've spun my 6mm's and .30's in a bullet spinner and they dead zero on a 0.0001" dial. -Lee www.singleactions.com"Chasing perfection five shots at a time" |
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Post by squawberryman on Mar 26, 2023 7:19:39 GMT -5
Nuff said.
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Post by potatojudge on Mar 26, 2023 13:22:38 GMT -5
potatojudge - I had never seen photos of your Hart 6x47 Improved. Many thanks for posting. As you know, I'm a big fan of benchrest history. And your rifle has real lineage. 1) TJ Jackson was a renowned shooter, writer, and developer of precision shooting 2) Hart actions were outstanding receivers. There may be more modern designs, but Hart's did the three things you need from an action. They were rigid, had good fire control, and the bolt lugs mated tightly with the action abatements. Tony Boyer won the majority of his Hall of Fame points behind a Hart. 3) The 6x47 and its variants were bridge cartridges between the .22's and the 6mm PPC. -Lee www.singleactions.com"Chasing perfection five shots at a time" Well now I feel foolish for not googling TJ Jackson sooner. 7 points towards the BR Hall of Fame is impressive and I've been going down the rabbit hole of his accomplishments. I wish there was a way to know if he competed and won with this gun. Boyer, jeez that's a lot of points. www.nbrsa.org/short-range-group-world-records-hall-of-fame/The rifle is very nice. IIRC it's around 10 lbs with that deeply fluted barrel. Set up originally for what I assumed was an Unertl type scope, but the integral recoil lug/scope mount has been drilled and tapped for who knows what over the years, and unfortunately not always in a straight line. The bolt knob shows corrosion through the chrome. I wonder how the actions using Remington bolts compare to Hart made ones. Anyway, I didn't like the Nosler 222 Rem Mag brass and how the necks turned, so I'll be trying necking up 204 Ruger brass that's been prepped and annealed. |
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Post by Lee Martin on Mar 30, 2023 11:46:54 GMT -5
New .30 Stingray Barrel The third .30 Stingray Krieger I had on my action was the best to date. The previous two were solid, but I had more wins and screamers with the latest. Some of that is me becoming a better shooter over the flags. No question though, this was an exceptional blank. With 3,105 rounds clocked, it has plenty of life left in it. .30-caliber barrels in cartridges like the .30 BR and .30 Stingray are known to go 5,000 – 6,000 before losing their competitive edge. Like the prior two, I’ve decided not to burn this one up. It's nice to have a known barrel to fall back on. This month I chambered Krieger #4; again, an 18-twist four groove heavy varmint. Some select photos of that process: Deltronic pins are used in conjunction with 0.0001” dials to index both ends. I start with the muzzle for zero run-out. Then I proceed to dial the breech end to 0.0000”. In doing so, the muzzle experiences runout (about 0.0015” on this blank). Even the best barrels have some wander. You can cut the shoulder to index the ‘wander’ in the vertical plane. This is known as ‘indexing’:  Then, the four jaw chuck is adjusted until every groove and every land align perfectly on a test indicator’s 0.0001” dial.  Tenon machined:  I don’t use roughing reamers. Instead I like pre-drilling and truing the hole with a boring bar. Centering the boring attachment to the bore’s axis:  Photo of the boring bar:  The gun was taken out and the barrel was broken in. This is done to wear down the radial machine marks left by the reamer in the lead region. These marks tend to strip copper for the first dozen or so shots. This was accomplished by the following: Fire one shot, then clean (repeated five times) Fire two shots, then clean (repeated three times) Fire three shots, then clean (repeated twice) Fire five shots, then clean (done once) The gun:  I then tested multiple tuner settings with my standard .30 Stingray load of 34.0 grs of LT-30, 0.005” off hard jam. All the positions shot well, but one showed the middle of a node and printed super tight. I locked the tuner and did a test five-shot group. Over decent wind, I stuck all five in a 0.081” spread:  The scope was adjusted so the POA and POI coincided. It cleanly took all five X’s:  Looks good, right? I should feel confident about Krieger #4. But I’m not. I never boast about a barrel until it performs well in competition. Matches matter. Test shooting at my personal range isn’t even a close second. It’ll see competition this weekend at Black Creek. Once again, the forecast calls for high wind. More to come. -Lee www.singleactions.com"Chasing perfection five shots at a time" |
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Post by potatojudge on Mar 30, 2023 15:31:31 GMT -5
Were you to fall back on your #3 barrel, would you reinstall it to a torque spec or to an indicator mark?
It's my understanding it probably doesn't make much of a difference, but it wouldn't be bench rest if there wasn't a precise ritual to it.
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Post by Lee Martin on Mar 31, 2023 7:37:41 GMT -5
Were you to fall back on your #3 barrel, would you reinstall it to a torque spec or to an indicator mark? It's my understanding it probably doesn't make much of a difference, but it wouldn't be bench rest if there wasn't a precise ritual to it. I set all my barrels to 75 ft-lbs using a torque wrench. So there's never an issue with re-installing them. Witness marks aren't necessary. -Lee www.singleactions.com"Chasing perfection five shots at a time" |
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Post by Lee Martin on Apr 5, 2023 17:58:17 GMT -5
Match #165 Black Creek Gun Club, Mechanicsville, VA IBS 100 Yards VFS In my last post, I spoke about how matches create confidence in a barrel. Saturday started building confidence in Krieger #4. Like the prior three matches, mother nature didn’t play nice. The weather report called for heavy rain and wind gusts of 50 mph. While it never quite got that bad, we had moments of honest 30 mph plus. And when it wasn’t doing that, the air swirled a ton. There were very brief moments when it let up enough to shoot. I was patient, using most of the allotted 10 minutes. The barrel impressed me. Spinning my home swaged 114 gr bullets, it showed excellent stability. In other words, the bullets didn’t get pushed around much through mild wind. When the tails swayed between 5:00 and 7:00, I center held and took X’s. Of the 6 I missed, none hung on the outside of the 10-ring. On the last target, I had a solid 3X lead. I fired one sighter and wiped out the X. Wasting no time, I sped through the record bulls before the big wind returned. It was one of those times where patience wasn’t in order. Wait too long allowing the 30 mph stuff to sneak in and I’d run the risk of blowing a 9. My 250-19X was good enough for the win. Like Krieger #3, Krieger #4’s first match was a win.   -Lee www.singleactions.com"Chasing perfection five shots at a time" |
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Post by Lee Martin on Apr 11, 2023 18:09:10 GMT -5
Match #166 Fairfax Rod & Gun Club, Manassas, VA IBS 100 Yards VFS Growing confidence in Krieger #4 - last Saturday, we shot a 100 yard match at Fairfax. Fortunately, we didn’t have the extreme wind encountered in the previous 3 matches. It was switchy and swirled a lot at times. But the blow never went much higher than 10 mph. My barrel almost seemed immune to mild wind. Like Black Creek, if the flag tails were swaying between 5:00 and 7:00, I held on the dot and took X’s. And if you’ve read much of this thread, you’ll notice I frequently use the word “patience”. This match required a fair amount of it. I waited for conditions I liked using most of the clock. Only once was I caught in a switch and it cost me an X. The first two flags were mild right-to-left and the far two were mild left-to-right. Just as I went to break the trigger, the first three flags picked up hard green, with the tails bending to 3:00. It missed the X but was still well on the 10-ring. Lesser barrels may have shot a 9. I had a solid 6 X lead going into the 5th target. All I had to do was hit 10’s and the win was mine. I nailed 4Xs and missed one by a tad. That small miss cost me another screamer award (24 X’s).   This coming Saturday, I’ll be shooting a UBR 100/200 yard match in Leetown, West Virginia. The series started in March and it pained me to miss it. I’ll be there this week with a 6 PPC. Since the targets are caliber neutral between .22, 6mm and .30, it gives me a chance to play with my light varmint rifle. It has a new Krieger on it with only 70 rounds down the bore. Untested in competition, I’m eager to see what it’ll do (in spite of giving up 3 pounds to most of the rigs I’ll be going against). My 6 PPC. BAT 3L action, Scoville stock, March 48X scope, and Krieger 13.5 twist barrel:  -Lee www.singleactions.com"Chasing perfection five shots at a time" |
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Post by bradshaw on Apr 14, 2023 8:27:02 GMT -5
Lee didn’t just arrive on the podium, Les dug, scratched, and clawed his way to the winner’s circle a thousandth-inch at a time. Attention to detail takes on a new dimension when the distance from FIRING LINE to FINISH LINE is measured in thousandths. Meticulous attention to detail can be put in one word: preparation. Competitors and commentators often say it’s a mental thing. I see it differently. Body & mind are aspects of the same vessel: either body & mind sail together or one sinks the other. On the Firing Line, preparation sugars off to having physical & mental self devoid of past or future at hammer fall. To dream of the future----be it the next shot or winning the match----pulls you out of the present. To romance the past----to chase the last shot----pulls you out of the present. Distraction endangers the round under your finger.
Preparation means your rifle or pistol is ready for work. Preparation brings us to the present and liberates the marksman to act. Sharpshooting is a simple-minded discipline free of distraction. When no flags or foliage or dust or rain is present to read a breeze, the back of your neck, your face, the breeze on your eyes will do. Bullets when you can see their flight or Point of Impact make an excellent wind gauge.
A dead giveaway that mind & body are out-of-sync: breathing is off, out of rhythm. A couple of deep inhales----two is better than one----helps restore concentration, while fueling the eyes to focus. Oxygen is the fuel of the sharpshooter. Can’t focus without it; can’t think without it; can’t drive your shot without oxygen.
Lest this be taken as preaching, it is not. I preach only to myself. Some days, or hours, or minutes, or even seconds, we find ourself in a zone, barely aware we are inside a performance. The empty mind of marksmanship.
By the standard Lee Martin sets, I am a caveman at marksmanship. What spells success in Handgun Silhouette wouldn’t get through the gate at Bench Rest. Yet, over the years, it’s been this shooter’s observation a kind of mutual respect binds these disparate disciplines. There is only one way to get there----be in the same place at the same as your target. That timing may be measured in thousandths also... thousandths of a second.
David Bradshaw
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Post by Lee Martin on Apr 27, 2023 18:17:14 GMT -5
Match #167 Leetown Gun Club, Leetown, WV UBR 100/200 Yards VFS This was the second UBR match held at the Leetown Gun Club in West Virginia. I missed the first in March, but indirectly competed. Mike Morgan shot my 67 gr 6mm bullets and won the match. I was hoping they’d fly as good for me. The 6 PPC I took is one I’ve been playing with for 4 years now. However, this was the first time it saw competition. It wears a new 13.5 twist Krieger. The barrel has shown promise, but I’m still learning what it likes. I went preloaded with my bullet over 28.0 grs of LT-32. Seating depth was jam minus 0.005”. The plan was to keep it in tune dialing the tuner. The range is laid out nicely. Benches are concrete and spacious. Shades are angled above the benches to eliminate direct sunlight. The field is completely flat, making flag setting a breeze (pun intended). There was very mild wind throughout the day. Conditions weren’t tricky for the 100 yard segment. We shot that under sporadic rain. By the time we got to 200, the rain stopped, and the sun appeared. This created a ton of mirage. Guys shooting 22’s had difficulty seeing their bullet holes. It wasn’t too bad with my 6mm, but the mirage bleed off confidence in my point-of-aim. There was easily a ring to a ring and a half of “shutter”. It shot good at 100, taking 4th place out of 10. I made a few tuner adjustments throughout, and the gun responded. On the last target, I think I figured out a tight dial. I took all six X’s on that frame. At 200, I kept missing X’s by the smallest amounts. Four had to be reticled they were so close. Unfortunately, none of those made. I only dropped one 10 ring on the day and that was at 200 yards in miserable mirage. A few guys that placed higher than me in the grand agg dropped more than one 10, but made them back with X’s (ie, 11’s). The four 11’s I missed narrowly at 200 cost me quite a few positions. But overall, I was very pleased with how my 6 PPC performed. It was an exceptionally well-run match. I look forward to shooting there the rest of this season and beyond.   My gun on the line:  View of the 100-yard targets:  Looking bad at the benches:   The club house:   -Lee www.singleactions.com"Chasing perfection five shots at a time" |
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Post by Lee Martin on May 10, 2023 17:49:17 GMT -5
Match #168 Virginia State Championship, Fairfax Rod & Gun Club, Manassas, VA IBS 100/200 Yards VFS _____________________________________________________________________ This was my 8th time shooting the IBS Virginia State Championship. Being held at my home, and favorite range, I always wanted to win one. That honor includes getting your name engraved and added to the traveling trophy. Last Saturday, I finally did it. It was a perfect day weather wise. Temperatures were around 70 degrees and most of the time the wind was very light. We shot 200 yards first and the only tricky part was managing the mirage. My gun was shooting well, though I did have a close call. On target #4, I was gifted the condition I wanted the most. Mild right-to-left. Holding 4:00 on the edge of the 10-ring, I took 3 out of 4 X’s. It went away for a minute, but not by much. I waited for it to return and that’s when patience bit me. Out of nowhere the wind got nasty. Blowing at least 10 – 15 mph, I refrained from shooting; that is until the clock ticked under 2 minutes. I fired a sighter and watched the bullet sway 4 inches off the 10-ring. To my right, I heard Don Jones, who I’ve known since I was a teenager, say to Wayne France “He waited too long”. Don was right. With no let-up in the wind, I held way aggressive and fired. The hole just touched the outside of the 10. Catastrophe averted. I finished strong and took 2nd place at 200. Jeff Green bettered my 250-11X with a 250-12X. In the afternoon, we rotated 10 benches and went to work at 100 yards. The mirage lifted and the wind stayed manageable. I was able to win the yardage with a solid 250-23X. That was good enough to win the overall event.   Don Jones (left) and Wayne France (right) – two guys I have a ton of respect for. .jpg) Flag setting for 100 yards looking back at the firing line: .jpg) .jpg) John Bosley waiting for the ‘commence fire’ command: .jpg) Competitors inspecting their targets: .jpg) -Lee www.singleactions.com"Chasing perfection five shots at a time" |
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Post by bradshaw on May 11, 2023 7:01:00 GMT -5
Beautiful shooting by Lee, iced with the Hail Mary shot at the end of the clock, a familiar territory in which success liberates exhilaration. Wind inspire panic in one shooter, while in another shooter, the wind funnels concentration. Even with the clock running out, sighting & timing make the dance.
Lee, how is the mirage defector attached?
David Bradshaw
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Post by Lee Martin on May 11, 2023 9:41:24 GMT -5
Lee, how is the mirage defector attached? David Bradshaw David - the disc simply screws into the front of the scope's objective. It reduces the amount of light capture, and in turn reduces mirage. Hard to say by how much, but at times it seems to lower it by 50%. All of my March scopes wear the disc. In fact, I never take them out, even when mirage isn't bad. It darkens the field of view a little, but not enough to compromise the target's appearance.  -Lee www.singleactions.com"Chasing perfection five shots at a time" |
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