.0077" -- Smallest 5-Shot Group In History

[jackieschmidt]

Who built Mike Stinnett's rifle????? I bet he/she has a long wait to get a rifle done.

Perhaps, but In the two smallest groups ever shot in Registered Benchrest Competition, where do you think each shooter placed in that yardage.?

 

[jackieschmidt]

Stupid question, but why would the Panda action have to be blueprinted by Speedy ?

Wouldn't the Panda be perfectly true & square direct from Kelblys ?

Just curious.

You can take my word on it that the people at Kelblys were not pleased with Gunsmiths reported to be “truing” their actions.

 

[tsyarnall]

You can take my word on it that the people at Kelblys were not pleased with Gunsmiths reported to be “truing” their actions.

I bet not....

 

[707electrician]

How on earth do you measure a group that small

 

[ebb]

Yes Jackie but you can't put a yardage in your wallet.

 

[jdh47]

One must wonder just how much the action had to be trued? I'll bet not much if at all.

 

[expiper]

The previous record was the "untouchable" .009" group shot by Mac McMillan in 1973:

View attachment 1266141

Mac’s .009″ group was the “Holy Grail” of rifle accuracy. This .009″ record was considered by many to be unbreakable, a record that would “stand for all time”. Well, it took 40 years, but Mike Stinnett finally broke Mac’s record with an even smaller group in 2013. Stinnett’s NBRSA record .0077″ group now stands as the smallest 100-yard group ever shot in registered benchrest competition.

Here is the record certificate originally issued to Mac McMillan. We've been told Mac was shooting a .222 Remington:

View attachment 1266142

I was just reminiscing about the 70's and the people and events then,,,notice at the top of the target is Jess Corders signature ,,,,he loaned me a rifle to get started in Benchrest ,,,,he was on the measurement committee at that time and said that when he got the target it had been handled a lot and had absorbed a lot of moisture here in the east (West Virginia) and when he did the measurement the individual holes in the sighter measured .009" just like the 5 shot group did,,,the moisture in the west where it was shot was low ,prolly 30% or less,,,and the moisture here was 90% or more and made the paper (and the hole) swell ,,,,so it was probably a true zero group,,,,,Roger

 

[expiper]

One must wonder just how much the action had to be trued? I'll bet not much if at all.

It was McMillan action and stock and barrel,,,Roger

 

[gambleone]

I was just reminiscing about the 70's and the people and events then,,,notice at the top of the target is Jess Corders signature ,,,,he loaned me a rifle to get started in Benchrest ,,,,he was on the measurement committee at that time and said that when he got the target it had been handled a lot and had absorbed a lot of moisture here in the east (West Virginia) and when he did the measurement the individual holes in the sighter measured .009" just like the 5 shot group did,,,the moisture in the west where it was shot was low ,prolly 30% or less,,,and the moisture here was 90% or more and made the paper (and the hole) swell ,,,,so it was probably a true zero group,,,,,Roger

Very logical.

 

[mauser284]

Stupid question, but why would the Panda action have to be blueprinted by Speedy ?

Wouldn't the Panda be perfectly true & square direct from Kelblys ?

Just curious.

I ask that same sort of question all the time. I see people spending big money on a custom action then paying to have it blueprinted. These same sort of people laugh though and think it is a waste of time for me to have a Savage action blueprinted. Wait what? LOL

 

[WSnyder]

I ask that same sort of question all the time. I see people spending big money on a custom action then paying to have it blueprinted. These same sort of people laugh though and think it is a waste of time for me to have a Savage action blueprinted. Wait what? LOL

Nowhere did I read and Butch did not say that Speedy “blueprinted” it (whatever that means). What if Speedy just went over the fire control? Fitted the trigger and made sure the pin fall was optimal with no binding anywhere? A whole lot of small things might have been checked or cleaned up or changed without having to touch the lugs or lug abutments. It might have been absolutely perfect but someone had to put hands on it to see if it was.

 

[xr650rRider]

From the article "Both actions were sent to Thomas ‘Speedy’ Gonzalez to be blue-printed and have Jewell triggers installed."

If you've listened to any of the Speedy/Eric Cortina interviews or read the book "The Book of Rifle Accuracy" by Tony Boyer (which I'm sure the firing control section is from Speedy). They are modifying the cocking piece to reduce drag. The Panda has a pretty snug fit on firing pin for 1.2". They are opening it up for half that length, reducing drag and it works. I've got 3 Panda's and all had from .215" to .225" of firing pin fall. I called Kelbly's and the agreed nearer .250" would be better and sent me new trigger hangers for all 3. Now they are right at .250". So maybe that's the mods that were being done to Kelbly's actions.

 

[D Coots]

A Great Shooter once told me all actions are "just kits"

 

[swd]

I ask that same sort of question all the time. I see people spending big money on a custom action then paying to have it blueprinted. These same sort of people laugh though and think it is a waste of time for me to have a Savage action blueprinted. Wait what? LOL

There’s a BIG difference between blueprinting a Savage or Remington and some minor fitting and tuning a custom action..

 

[Old Navy]

There’s a BIG difference between blueprinting a Savage or Remington and some minor fitting and tuning a custom action..

That could be an all new topic.

 

[jackieschmidt]

A Great Shooter once told me all actions are "just kits"

Dave, Charles Huckabe once told me that some actions, even custom ones were just “born bad”, and no matter what you did, they would never shoot at a competitive level.

 

[STS]

I guess that's why benchrest needs a rolling paper behind the target.

The backer is used not because the rifle is super precision, it used because a lot of humans are inherently dishonest..

 

[D Coots]

Dave, Charles Huckabe once told me that some actions, even custom ones were just “born bad”, and no matter what you did, they would never shoot at a competitive level.

Very believable Jackie. Haven't seen Charles for a while, hope he's ok.

 

[Old Navy]

The backer is used not because the rifle is super precision, it used because a lot of humans are inherently dishonest..

I am 79 and occasionally tell a little lie but that is because I don't know what I am talking about.

 

[jamesdmock]

Single groups are measured to the nearest 1/1000th, not 1/10000th. Why this record is listed as .0077 is not statistically valid. I know that it was sent to records judges and the .0077 was an average, but that still does not make it valid.