Well, this is sort of a summary of what I've learned from building my first 1000 yard rifle. At the time I started this build either this site and a few others were not around or I was not aware of them so some of the decisions were based soley on my years of tinkering around. Ultimately the project is a huge success to me. So for anyone new who might be considering their first long range rifle here it is.
About two years ago I decided to compete in a few 1,000 yard matches and simultaneously decided that none of the rifles in my small collection were suitable. After all, in a new endeavor one would need a new tool. I also decided that it would be the best stuff I could get, no rebuilt factory stuff this time.
After doing a little research I settled on the 6.5 X 284 which combined excellent ballistics and moderate recoil. It also had an excellent reputation for accuracy.
Since I knew I'd be using a heavy profile barrel a stiff receiver was in order. I also wanted a standard length action in order to seat the long VLDs well out of the powder. Nesika Bay offers their L action in several diameters so I ordered up one in 1.47 diameter, solid bottom, RBRP figuring that the extra diameter would make up for any stiffness lost to the additional length. An extra thick pinned recoil lug, matching 20 moa picatinny rail and trigger gaurd were ordered. When the action arrived I was extremely pleased with the fit and finish. Stunned is more like it after dealing with a couple of recalcitrant 700s.
In the meantime I considered all the various barrel makers I had used over the years, with no clear cut winner in terms of accuracy but a few that didn't quite make the grade. Ultimately I settled on a match program barrel from Lothat Walther in a 1-9 twist heavy varmint taper. I already had two standard L-Ws chambered on other rifles and they shot as well as anything I'd ever had previously.
It was time to order a reamer. The decision was made to go with the slightly larger Norma body dimensions as compared to the original Windhester .284. After agonizing over whether to go with a no turn neck or tight neck on the advice of others I went with a standard .301" neck and ordered a reamer from Clymer. When I mic'd the reamer it was right.
Since Lothar Walthers LW-50 steel has a reputation for being a PITA to work with, I contacted the boys up a Nesika and they said they'd chamber and mount the barrel as they were using a lot of L-W barrels at the time and were set up for them. Mike Allen and the guys did a fine job, fast turnaround and a not unreasonable price. It finished at .9" dia at 26"
Still needed a stock. Well, given that I would be shooting off a bipod at some matches I went with a known quantity, a McMillan tactical. Over the years I've had a lot of McMillan stocks and haven't had a single complaint, well maybe one. They are always busy so if you send them something custom you'd better be patient. And at the time it was the first large diameter square tang standard length Mesika they'd been asked to pillar bed in their new A-5 stock with a few additional touches like a 3-way butt plate, thumb wheel cheek piece and a rail in the fore arm. There may be another outfit as good as McMillan, but none better, a perfect build.
Well, time was running a bit short and I needed rings and a scope in a hurry. A quick trip up the road to Gun Country in Georgia netted me a new 12-42 Nightforce BR at a good price. A call to Ken Farrel got me a heavy duty set of rings. A Shilen trigger was installed about this time too.
About this time my brass came in, Norma due to many recommendations. Let's just say some of the brass was sent back to the Norma production facility as they didn't quite believe what I said about it, that bad. About 200 pieces of 500 were salvable with neck turning which was now making my choice of a .301 neck look worse and worse.
Off to the range for load developement. Now a powder I like is AA3100 which has diplayed fine accuracy at least at shorter ranges in other chamberings. I loaded up some 140 gr SMKs for fireforming a few cases, barrel break in and checking out the rifle. I wasn't sure I hit the target with the second shot as even through the big Nightforce the one hole didn't seem any larger. A third shot made it a little bigger, the wind and my buck fever pulled the fourth one over one diameter and the fifth I wasn't too worried about as I knew at that point I had a shooter.
Developing a match load was a bit more problematic. At 200 yards it shot nearly averything better than 1/2 moa and there are no longer ranges in the area so the chrono became an important tool as an arbiter of loads. Many loads that were phenominally accurate at 100 or 200 did not have an ES/SD good enough for extended range, some that had accuracy and good ES/SD were really too slow. One load showed the best compromise of accuracy, velocity and ES/SD and I decided not to use up any more barrel life. It was 48.5 gr of H4350,varies by the speed of the lot #), a 139 Scenar, a CCI primer and at the time the best of the Norma brass. 2950 fps out of a 26" barrel with no trouble at all.
I went off to the first match having never fired the rifle past 200 yards. This match, the Hardrock is sort of a cut the mustard match. The targets are steel at 600, 800,900 and 1000, a black 1 moa bull for 10 pts, a 2 moa ring for 5 pts, that's it. No sighters during the match, no target pulling, no scorer, no spotter. So never having fired the rifle past 200 yards I dialed up the computed come up from a 200 yard zero to 600 and away I went. I actually scored well, finishing towards the top of all things. Beginners luck, the last match I sort of lost track of the fact it was a 1/8 minute scope not a 1/4 minute scope when I was cranking in elevation. Well, someone had to come in last.
The barrel now has in excess of 1200 rounds down it, I save the tops from the bullet boxes and Scenars come in boxes of 100. The throat is getting a little rough, and it glazes and coppers up a little bit in the first two inches or so. Accuracy may have fallen off slightly I think but I can't be sure because it still shoots better than me at this point. In the hands of an expert I believe it is a match winner no problem. It is by far the most accurate rifle I've ever had.
I finally got in the batch of Lapua. I've ordered more from the same lot #. A lot more.
So what have I learned:
Buy Lapua brass.
Buy your brass before you buy the reamer. Check the average neck thickness and uniformity and then decide what neck diameter you want to go with. The current batch of Lapua would work with a .297" or 298" neck just culling the thick ones out and no neck turning. If you feel you have to neck turn for a smaller neck dimension get the Lapua brass anyhow.
Buy Lapua brass.
Talk to whoever your reamer maker is and send him some dummy rounds. Talk to him again once he gets the dummy rounds and looks at them on his comparator.
Buy Lapua brass.
Stick with one bullet. The 139 Scenar works for me. Other choices such as the 142 SMK are excellent also. If you find something that works, don't burn out a barrel trying everything under the sun.
H4350 works best for me. Tried H4831 and the ES/SD was a little larger. H4350 doesn't give 100% case fill but I learned a long time ago while case fill is nice, it isn't the last word, the results are. The pressures are also well within check. Some of the slower powders such as RL-22 were a little touchy that way.
Lothar Walther makes a fine barrel. I've heard a lot of trash talked about every barrel maker I've ever used and more than a little about L-W. If you get a L-W, make sure to get a match program barrel as they don't really advertise their match barrels, you have to ask. I figure that with 1200 rounds and little if any fall off in accuracy it's as good as anything I've ever heard of. I expect to get 1600-1800 rounds down the barrel.
Nesika makes a first class action and does first class work. And with the 20 moa rail they made and the L-W barrel they mounted, it only took a few clicks of the 1/8 moa Nightforce to center horizontally on the bull from the recticule centered in the scope. That's precision.
The Farrell rings, while heavy are perfectly aligned on the rail.
MbMillan, what can I say, perfect.
Resizing brass. As it turns out a Redding full length sizing die with a +.002 Redding Competition shellholder provides the perfect amount of bump for my chamber, and with the floating carbide expander ball which just kisses the neck the insides of the neck are smooth and the runouts are good. IMO, in this particular rifle this procedure seems to prevent donuts. At any rate I like sizing the enrire length of the neck. If the neck of the die was reamed .001" larger it would be perfect for bullet pull. With the .301" chamber though, the brass is getting worked a bit more than I'd like.
Now I won't even get into what this cost me, and it was expensive. For the money I got a rifle that I believe is as accurate as anything out there bar none. How accurate? Well, I printed a best five shot group of .179" at 100 using the 140 gr SMKs when the barrel was fresh, and a few other groups in the high .1s before starting on the 139s. Nope, it will not do that with the 139s and 142s, they are in the .2s if I manage to do my part. And no, I'm not the best shot around. The rifle kind of simplifies things though.
There is a fellow around here that has one of Bill Shehanes fine rifles who usually outshoots me. Means two things, he's got an awfully good rifle and he's an awfully fine shot. I don't feel too put out though, I'm still on the learning curve.
As an aside, I do have two additional Lothar Walther barrels on order, and a new reamer which is set up for a tight no turn neck.
As to the 6.5 X 284 cartridge itself? Well, some folks are taking about the new 7mm 175s in a straight up .284 or even the WSM. I don't see where barrel life would be any better although the ballistics are better based on my program. In the meantime I'll stick with what I've got.
About two years ago I decided to compete in a few 1,000 yard matches and simultaneously decided that none of the rifles in my small collection were suitable. After all, in a new endeavor one would need a new tool. I also decided that it would be the best stuff I could get, no rebuilt factory stuff this time.
After doing a little research I settled on the 6.5 X 284 which combined excellent ballistics and moderate recoil. It also had an excellent reputation for accuracy.
Since I knew I'd be using a heavy profile barrel a stiff receiver was in order. I also wanted a standard length action in order to seat the long VLDs well out of the powder. Nesika Bay offers their L action in several diameters so I ordered up one in 1.47 diameter, solid bottom, RBRP figuring that the extra diameter would make up for any stiffness lost to the additional length. An extra thick pinned recoil lug, matching 20 moa picatinny rail and trigger gaurd were ordered. When the action arrived I was extremely pleased with the fit and finish. Stunned is more like it after dealing with a couple of recalcitrant 700s.
In the meantime I considered all the various barrel makers I had used over the years, with no clear cut winner in terms of accuracy but a few that didn't quite make the grade. Ultimately I settled on a match program barrel from Lothat Walther in a 1-9 twist heavy varmint taper. I already had two standard L-Ws chambered on other rifles and they shot as well as anything I'd ever had previously.
It was time to order a reamer. The decision was made to go with the slightly larger Norma body dimensions as compared to the original Windhester .284. After agonizing over whether to go with a no turn neck or tight neck on the advice of others I went with a standard .301" neck and ordered a reamer from Clymer. When I mic'd the reamer it was right.
Since Lothar Walthers LW-50 steel has a reputation for being a PITA to work with, I contacted the boys up a Nesika and they said they'd chamber and mount the barrel as they were using a lot of L-W barrels at the time and were set up for them. Mike Allen and the guys did a fine job, fast turnaround and a not unreasonable price. It finished at .9" dia at 26"
Still needed a stock. Well, given that I would be shooting off a bipod at some matches I went with a known quantity, a McMillan tactical. Over the years I've had a lot of McMillan stocks and haven't had a single complaint, well maybe one. They are always busy so if you send them something custom you'd better be patient. And at the time it was the first large diameter square tang standard length Mesika they'd been asked to pillar bed in their new A-5 stock with a few additional touches like a 3-way butt plate, thumb wheel cheek piece and a rail in the fore arm. There may be another outfit as good as McMillan, but none better, a perfect build.
Well, time was running a bit short and I needed rings and a scope in a hurry. A quick trip up the road to Gun Country in Georgia netted me a new 12-42 Nightforce BR at a good price. A call to Ken Farrel got me a heavy duty set of rings. A Shilen trigger was installed about this time too.
About this time my brass came in, Norma due to many recommendations. Let's just say some of the brass was sent back to the Norma production facility as they didn't quite believe what I said about it, that bad. About 200 pieces of 500 were salvable with neck turning which was now making my choice of a .301 neck look worse and worse.
Off to the range for load developement. Now a powder I like is AA3100 which has diplayed fine accuracy at least at shorter ranges in other chamberings. I loaded up some 140 gr SMKs for fireforming a few cases, barrel break in and checking out the rifle. I wasn't sure I hit the target with the second shot as even through the big Nightforce the one hole didn't seem any larger. A third shot made it a little bigger, the wind and my buck fever pulled the fourth one over one diameter and the fifth I wasn't too worried about as I knew at that point I had a shooter.
Developing a match load was a bit more problematic. At 200 yards it shot nearly averything better than 1/2 moa and there are no longer ranges in the area so the chrono became an important tool as an arbiter of loads. Many loads that were phenominally accurate at 100 or 200 did not have an ES/SD good enough for extended range, some that had accuracy and good ES/SD were really too slow. One load showed the best compromise of accuracy, velocity and ES/SD and I decided not to use up any more barrel life. It was 48.5 gr of H4350,varies by the speed of the lot #), a 139 Scenar, a CCI primer and at the time the best of the Norma brass. 2950 fps out of a 26" barrel with no trouble at all.
I went off to the first match having never fired the rifle past 200 yards. This match, the Hardrock is sort of a cut the mustard match. The targets are steel at 600, 800,900 and 1000, a black 1 moa bull for 10 pts, a 2 moa ring for 5 pts, that's it. No sighters during the match, no target pulling, no scorer, no spotter. So never having fired the rifle past 200 yards I dialed up the computed come up from a 200 yard zero to 600 and away I went. I actually scored well, finishing towards the top of all things. Beginners luck, the last match I sort of lost track of the fact it was a 1/8 minute scope not a 1/4 minute scope when I was cranking in elevation. Well, someone had to come in last.
The barrel now has in excess of 1200 rounds down it, I save the tops from the bullet boxes and Scenars come in boxes of 100. The throat is getting a little rough, and it glazes and coppers up a little bit in the first two inches or so. Accuracy may have fallen off slightly I think but I can't be sure because it still shoots better than me at this point. In the hands of an expert I believe it is a match winner no problem. It is by far the most accurate rifle I've ever had.
I finally got in the batch of Lapua. I've ordered more from the same lot #. A lot more.
So what have I learned:
Buy Lapua brass.
Buy your brass before you buy the reamer. Check the average neck thickness and uniformity and then decide what neck diameter you want to go with. The current batch of Lapua would work with a .297" or 298" neck just culling the thick ones out and no neck turning. If you feel you have to neck turn for a smaller neck dimension get the Lapua brass anyhow.
Buy Lapua brass.
Talk to whoever your reamer maker is and send him some dummy rounds. Talk to him again once he gets the dummy rounds and looks at them on his comparator.
Buy Lapua brass.
Stick with one bullet. The 139 Scenar works for me. Other choices such as the 142 SMK are excellent also. If you find something that works, don't burn out a barrel trying everything under the sun.
H4350 works best for me. Tried H4831 and the ES/SD was a little larger. H4350 doesn't give 100% case fill but I learned a long time ago while case fill is nice, it isn't the last word, the results are. The pressures are also well within check. Some of the slower powders such as RL-22 were a little touchy that way.
Lothar Walther makes a fine barrel. I've heard a lot of trash talked about every barrel maker I've ever used and more than a little about L-W. If you get a L-W, make sure to get a match program barrel as they don't really advertise their match barrels, you have to ask. I figure that with 1200 rounds and little if any fall off in accuracy it's as good as anything I've ever heard of. I expect to get 1600-1800 rounds down the barrel.
Nesika makes a first class action and does first class work. And with the 20 moa rail they made and the L-W barrel they mounted, it only took a few clicks of the 1/8 moa Nightforce to center horizontally on the bull from the recticule centered in the scope. That's precision.
The Farrell rings, while heavy are perfectly aligned on the rail.
MbMillan, what can I say, perfect.
Resizing brass. As it turns out a Redding full length sizing die with a +.002 Redding Competition shellholder provides the perfect amount of bump for my chamber, and with the floating carbide expander ball which just kisses the neck the insides of the neck are smooth and the runouts are good. IMO, in this particular rifle this procedure seems to prevent donuts. At any rate I like sizing the enrire length of the neck. If the neck of the die was reamed .001" larger it would be perfect for bullet pull. With the .301" chamber though, the brass is getting worked a bit more than I'd like.
Now I won't even get into what this cost me, and it was expensive. For the money I got a rifle that I believe is as accurate as anything out there bar none. How accurate? Well, I printed a best five shot group of .179" at 100 using the 140 gr SMKs when the barrel was fresh, and a few other groups in the high .1s before starting on the 139s. Nope, it will not do that with the 139s and 142s, they are in the .2s if I manage to do my part. And no, I'm not the best shot around. The rifle kind of simplifies things though.
There is a fellow around here that has one of Bill Shehanes fine rifles who usually outshoots me. Means two things, he's got an awfully good rifle and he's an awfully fine shot. I don't feel too put out though, I'm still on the learning curve.
As an aside, I do have two additional Lothar Walther barrels on order, and a new reamer which is set up for a tight no turn neck.
As to the 6.5 X 284 cartridge itself? Well, some folks are taking about the new 7mm 175s in a straight up .284 or even the WSM. I don't see where barrel life would be any better although the ballistics are better based on my program. In the meantime I'll stick with what I've got.
