Does it Make Sense to Have Two Identical Match Rifles?

[Indiana6547]

My match rifle is a custom 6.5 x 47 Lapua on a Rem 700 action. I really like this rig. I need to re-barrel a former .243 Remington 700 to a new caliber. The spent .243 barrel is in the same exact chassis as the 6.5 x 47 (XLR Element), both with Timney CE triggers. I am honestly thinking of building a 2nd 6.5 x 47 that is virtually identical to my current. Maybe I'll run a different brake or something. I can spread out the wear and experiment more with one of the two identical rifles. Another advantage is I don't need to purchase new dies and other tools for a new caliber. Does this make any sense at all?

 

[Mark M.]

If it makes sense to you, that's really all that counts

 

[gunsandgunsmithing]

I have three br rifles but none are really alike, but I wish they were. My two primary guns are Borden actions and I tried to find a borden/klub/Robertson stock when I put the second one together but couldn't find one at the time. So, I got a TMBR from Tom and it works very well but I find small differences, mostly feel related, that I think cost me a couple of silly gun handling mistakes at the last match. Those issues are mental mistakes but if they were identical..well. maybe just one less thing to take away from my attention to the flags and other things.

I believe we can be competitive with different setups but that handling the gun shouldnt take thought but be muscle memory ideally not having to think about it.

 

[Walt Krafft]

I have 2 identical t2ks. Wish one was at least a different color. They alternate between match and practice depending on barrel wear.

 

[Bob3700]

U can work hard to make two rifles identical but it is very hard to do.
The stock is the hardest thing to make exactly alike. Triggers of the same manufacturer will feel different ( maybe very slight) , but u can tell which rifle u are shooting. Chambering n ammo is the easy part.

 

[gunsandgunsmithing]

U can work hard to make two rifles identical but it is very hard to do.
The stock is the hardest thing to make exactly alike. Triggers of the same manufacturer will feel different ( maybe very slight) , but u can tell which rifle u are shooting. Chambering n ammo is the easy part.

I put a lot of emphasis on how a new build handles. I think it's the details that often separate good guns from great ones.

I dont have trouble making them very much alike but I suppose that is a hair that can be split several times.

Would you elaborate on where you find differences in the stocks of the same make and design.
I typically inlet in a mill so can I can get consistency in bedding, from one to the next.

Thanks

 

[jelenko]

handling the gun shouldnt take thought but be muscle memory ideally not having to think about it.

This!

 

[Sandstorm]

I too have Two 6.5x47 Lapua's In different stocks and used for F-Class.
One is a switch Barrel with a 284 Shehane in a Kestros for long range work while the other is my dedicated mid range gun in a MBR
Both are completely different with no similarities other than caliber.

 

[js2013]

I did that, one was dedicated for matches, the other for practice.

The match gun had a Krieger barrel that shot great and I didn't want to shoot it out practicing. The practice gun had a less expensive Douglas barrel (that turned out to shoot damn well also). I'd just move the rear sight to whichever rifle I was shooting. Beside it never hurts to have a good backup.

 

[boltman13]

My two 6.5 Creedmoor, F-Class Long Range rifles are not identical but alternating barrel wear lets me have a rifle for matches while the other is in for a new barrel.

 

[Tim Singleton]

You need two match rifles if you can swing it in case you have a failure of some kind part way thru a match
So may as well build it as identical as you can

 

[chkunz]

My match rifle is a custom 6.5 x 47 Lapua on a Rem 700 action. I really like this rig. I need to re-barrel a former .243 Remington 700 to a new caliber. The spent .243 barrel is in the same exact chassis as the 6.5 x 47 (XLR Element), both with Timney CE triggers. I am honestly thinking of building a 2nd 6.5 x 47 that is virtually identical to my current. Maybe I'll run a different brake or something. I can spread out the wear and experiment more with one of the two identical rifles. Another advantage is I don't need to purchase new dies and other tools for a new caliber. Does this make any sense at all?

I did that when I was shooting XTC with the M14 service rifle. I would start the shooting season with one with a new barrel in the spring and have about 2000 rounds thru the barrel and good zeros by the time I got to Perry and then finish shooting the barrel out in the fall and winter, During the year I would have the second M14 rebarreled and ready to start the cycle over the next spring. This really worked well for me. It may not be needed for some applications but worth a consideration for having a back up gun if competition is you hobby.

 

[R.Morehouse]

I have 3 ppc's, 2 LV & a rail. all RLR off my reamer. 3 different actions and the brass is close but not dead nuts exact. Have not had any failures yet to need to have to run for the "back-up", but knowing it is there with ammo ready to go is a good feeling.

Regards
Rick

 

[Doug Beach]

Makes more sense to have two the same, than two different.

 

[Ranger007]

Makes more sense to have two the same, than two different.

BINGO

 

[vahena]

I have 2 Speedy S.O.D. cerus rifles , same reamer same stocks in 284 Shehane, same flavio triggers, rad @ recoil but I had a 6 dasher Robertson stock, jewel, that gave me more 200 15-17 Xs than the 284s at 600 yds. So I decide to sell the dashe,r sold it due to muscle memory from one to the other and built a 6 dasher switch barrel on one of the shehanes and now I dont have to think about muscle memory anymore as I hold them both the same. first time out with the new dasher fireforming cases, it shot 2- 200s and a 198.with no load development other than my old dasher load, just jam. So it seems to work for me.

 

[JFrank]

My match rifle is a custom 6.5 x 47 Lapua on a Rem 700 action. I really like this rig. I need to re-barrel a former .243 Remington 700 to a new caliber. The spent .243 barrel is in the same exact chassis as the 6.5 x 47 (XLR Element), both with Timney CE triggers. I am honestly thinking of building a 2nd 6.5 x 47 that is virtually identical to my current. Maybe I'll run a different brake or something. I can spread out the wear and experiment more with one of the two identical rifles. Another advantage is I don't need to purchase new dies and other tools for a new caliber. Does this make any sense at all?

Are you intended on using the same reamer on both sharing a die as well then having a separate tune for each I’m imagining each liking a different bullet.

 

[Indiana6547]

Are you intended on using the same reamer on both sharing a die as well then having a separate tune for each I’m imagining each liking a different bullet.

Would use same reamer on both.

 

[JFrank]

Would use same reamer on both.

Yes I would

 

[Kimber.204]

I've been looking at the stable (or gun safe) and been thinking about this. I've got a lot of great rifles, but they're all very different.
I'm trying to make High Master in NRA Highpower and I practice at the range several days a week. If I had two identical rifles then I could easily swap between them to run through a 50 or 80 round practice match as fast as possible. It would save a lot of time by not waiting on the rifle to cool between stages (in an attempt to preserve barrel life). I was doing the switch barrel thing for a while....I'd practice with one, then spin on the match barrel for matches....but eventually life happens and it's midnight before a match the next morning and you realize you didn't swap barrels and confirm zero after your last practice session. Then you think about driving 2hrs to shoot a match with bulk reloaded ammo with an SD of 50 (exaggerating, but you get the point).

I just put a new barrel on my match rifle in 6XC.
Honestly I would love to have the same rifle in .308 to work on recoil management. I can work on mechanics by dry firing....no second rifle needed.

Even now, I often take other rifles to the range with me, but they have different stocks/triggers/actions/scopes. I hesitate to shoot them because my positions are different, the sight picture is different, and the trigger is different. Regretfully, I may need to sell a few things to standardize a little bit.