What did you do at the range today?

Ran the first 4 rounds of 30-06 through my new Shilen AlterNut barrel mounted on my Remington 78 action. I would have loved to run more, but these were the last 4 rounds of 30-06 I had on hand (yes, I know, shame on me, LOL). These weren't even top shelf loads by any stretch, WLR-M primers (mighty hot for stick powder), a full case of some AmericanReloading powder they say is "similar to N160" (I'm not sure it is at all N160 like, LOL), some R&P brass I picked up at the range and reloaded without measuring or sorting, and some 150 AccuBond's (factory seconds) stuffed to 3.340 OAL.

Anyway, 4 rounds is no big sample size, so this could all go to hell next trip, but -- those loads weren't (even close) to the best high accuracy thing I ever loaded up either, and I typically loose about 1/4 MOA off what I can do at a real range when shooting in my backyard like this, so - I'm feeling like this barrel is gonna work out great! For round one with this barrel/setup, I could not be happier!

Also note, the 1 not touching the other 3 was the first shot from the cold/never-before-fired bore of a freshly assembled rig, and my point of aim wasn't exactly perfect, given the lack of a defined center-point in my drawn on dot.


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May have spoke too soon. 168 SMK's in Lapua brass over IMR4350 with CCI Mag primers. I had 10 loaded, but stopped here, not impressive at all (this is 50 yards, not 100). And frustratingly, in my backyard range, I have some unavoidable wobble left/right I can see in the scope, but I am pretty much rock solid up/down... and this walked vertically.

I will maybe try that original load in Lapua brass with better primers, but if IMR4350 and 168 SMK's don't shoot at least decent in a 30-06, I'll be kind of surprised if anything else shoots much better if given a larger sample size.

Sighs.

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I built a prs barricade for my personal range last week. Put it up during the week and on Saturday my wife and I shot 150 6 creeds and 200 223s out of the trainer. Pretty nice having that addition to shoot from. Went out before church Sunday and shot 50 more from the creed, and 30 more this morning. Have an NRL match this weekend and then PRS the following. Been pretty fun getting into more matches.


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Recently did much the same for my range. Haven’t had a chance to shoot off it yet though…. Maybe tomorrow…

John

 
Recently did much the same for my range. Haven’t had a chance to shoot off it yet though…. Maybe tomorrow…

John


Looks awesome!! Good work!
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Did some load development for my AR trying Hornady 73ELD and 75HPBT.
Max load of H4895 and 73 ELD won
.8" 10 shot group at 100yds
 

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Prone this morning. From standing/slung I went prone, hit the 3moa,5MOA,7moa, swung the gun to the 70 yard ball, hit, then back to the 3moa for the fifth shot. Miss.

Hit the first 4. Missed the 5th shot. 13 seconds to first shot, 33 total. I dropped several seconds because I couldn’t see the target with the scope cranked to 2x. My mistake, but more of a problem on the range than in the field. I try to leave big game scopes set on at least 4X-6x for that reason.
 
Checked dope and speed on my NRL gun. Shot 4 stages of practice off the barricade with my PRS gun, then the same stages with my 223. Finished off with 100 rounds plinking small targets between 50-150 with my 22 LR Ruger precision.


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I had an excellent morning at the range today. I took my two Sauer 100s (6.5 CM and 9.3x62) and my CZ 457.

I’m still trying to find the right load for the 6.5 CM.
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Today, I tried the Fiocchi 129-grain SP, Hornady 129-grain SST, Hornady 120-grain ELDM, and shot the S&B 156-grain load again.

The Fiocchi was thoroughly unsatisfactory.
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The 129-grain SST was significantly better, but still not worth much of anything. I didn’t include the first shot in this group as part of the group because it was so outside the group. That was the first shot of the day with this ammo. I am assuming that was a gross error on my part.
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That ammo just isn’t worth further consideration anyway.

The 120-grain ELDM shows greater promise, but not what I expect out of this rifle. Here is the 10-shot group:
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And here is the 20-shot group.
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The 156-grain S&B remains the best so far, with one 1.79” group and one 2.25” group.
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Note also the five shots from the Sauer 100 9.3x62. I flinched badly on the third shot. This rifle isn’t suppressed yet. The blast and kick are tremendous. I was wearing ear plugs, headphones, and had a stocking cap on. I still have a bit of a headache from it. The PPU factory 285-grain is giving me 2185 FPS. I think I am going to cut it down to 18”, thread it, and count on my AB Raptor 10 to mitigate some of the side effects.
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I ran 4 mock NRL hunter stages. I gave myself 2 minutes to range(I knew where targets were) and engage the targets. I did 2 targets 2 positions, 4 targets 1 position. Ranges varied from 650 to 350. 12 and 10 inch rounds further out and 8 and 6 inch up closer. Cleaned the stages with my comp gun and then I dropped 4 shots with my 223. Ran a few PRS style stages with my comp gun off my barricade as well. Dropped a few on those.


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So I was told to remove the contact lens from my right eye a week before my doc appointment next week to see if I'm a good candidate for cataract removal and lens replacement surgery.

First thought: I'll take a week off from shooting.
Second thought: I'll shoot weak side instead. Perfect opportunity.

I've shot .22lr seated off trek poles and prone w/bipod a few rounds every day since removing the contact (I think that was Thursday?). Prone left-handed is awkward for me, certainly slower than right-handed, but not terrible.

Today it was warm enough to get the tractor running, plus the 4-wheeler and chainsaw, and I cleared the 50 yards I needed to stretch my range from 500 to 550 yards. That's done - I chainsawed all the little trees and shrubs and then pushed it all out clean-ish with the tractor then used the sprayer on the 4-wheeler to spray everywhere that I'm worried about regrowth. Next week I'll sow some grass seed back there too.

From 550 yards, seated. The bench you see is my old 500-yard bench. Above it and to the left, the white dot is my 500 yard plate (now 550).

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I went back right before dark and shot the 6.5cm prone and left-handed a few shots. With no right contact lens, dialing was a pain (had to use my reading glasses to see to dial) and it made me realize that my slightly nearsighted right eye (when I have contact in it) has been allowing me to read the scope dial. Can't do that with just my left eye.
 
Shot an NRL hunter match Saturday. Then yesterday shot 50 rounds of 223 and 50 6 creeds practicing PRS stages for an up coming match. Shot a few mags of 6 arc off the tripod and prone for hunting position practice.


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Went to the range Sat with a pile of ammo to try and find something that shoots better than OK, and to be methodical with my end of things.

Savage 110 Tactical LH 6.5 Creed(old model, not the new one)
Bushnell Match Pro 6-24
Bipod front, bag rear on a bench

100yds according to the range.

No scope adjustments after the first 10

Barrel was squeaky clean before going

I tried:
AAC 140gr SMK
Hornady 140gr ELD-M
Barnes Harvest 140gr TGK
Hornady Am Whitetail 129gr Interlock
Hornady Precision Hunter 143gr
S&B 140gr FMJ

After fouling 10 shots with the S&B, all were 5 shot groups.

No cold bore after that

No 5 shot group was less than an inch, I tried stacking 2 5 shot groups in some cases

Some were awful, particularly the S&B and the AAC.......probably 1.5-2 inches.

This was my first trip really paying attention to fundamentals: calling whether the trigger break was clean, pinning the trigger after the shot, getting a really steady position

I still had a few shots that I knew I yanked(thats progress I guess)

One was acceptable, probably right at an inch.

A couple were excellent groups......well under an inch......... if not for a flier. Usually at the last shot so very likely I yanked it. But at least a couple, I know I didnt yank.

Last time I went, nothing shot well at all and I realized when I got home that the thread protector was loose, it did not loosen up this time.

2 things I still have on my list are a chrono and loading my own.

It seemed like the recoil was sharper this time out, where I havent noticed that before. Not sure what that means.

I did notice that the barrel touches one side of the channel so I need to do a little work on that before I go next. So much for the stiffer Accustock. MDT XRS is in the plans as well.
 
Last night right before dark:

I took my 6.8spc with its new side-charging upper and new collapsible stock (because the old A2 is too long for my kids) and shot prone/lefthanded at 225 and 400 yards. I love that rifle. On the plus side, she's a heavy pig and recoil is nil. On the minus side......she's a heavy pig. I'd hate to pack that rifle very far.

More prone/lefthanded this AM with the .22lr and then some dry fire from sitting, left handed, no support sticks. Man, I'd have to be in dire straits to ever shoot anything sitting and lefthanded. Not my strong position, for sure.
 
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