Barrel or Shooter

[StephenPerry]

Kaferhaus & Moderator
Forget my last crap Post the guy has nothing to offer this Thread. I like both your statements. I was always a powder volume guy in regards to powders until our San Gabriel BR School last April when Lawrence gave his group discussion on powder loading. I believe humidity can afffect the weight of powder and needs to adjusted for. Moderator has checked his powder weights in different humidities and adjusted to catch up to maintian the same load. Admirable but in short range BR, there are several nodes that powders will perform to their optimum. To gain the edge on the target you must know those nodes and realize when you get vertical shots you are in between thoes nodes. You must play catch up on your load or yesterday's winning gun becomes a wall hanger in 24 hours. Almost like riding a bike where you select gears for maximum performance. My feeling for CF barrel tuners try to do what load adjustments do better.
Sorry guys this is a good Thread we don't need to defend our honors here. Do at the range on the target. Happy T day.
Stephen Perry

 

[M700]

Stephen - Back to the original question - Barrel or Shooter - I know darned good and well it's the shooter that really matters...

How do I know? Heck, I bought a great Model 70 LR match rifle from a terrific, record setting shooter. Darned thing hasn't shot the same since I got it! Now that's humbling... Still run into guys who see my highpower rifle, and say something like "Man, I've shot against that rifle for twenty years."

To which I can only reply - "Well, it won't be giving you as much trouble today." I'm just not the shooter the original owner was and is... Be sort of like buying a personal rifle from David Tubb and wondering why I can't win all the matches I enter.

Yup. Shooter, not barrel. At least in highpower where technique is far more important than the equipment.

Oh yeah - the other side of the coin - back when I first started shooting "tactical" matches I had only a low budget Remington .308 that I bought used for $400, brought home some top trophies and actually won a match with it - against much more sophisticated equipment... Just a stock little Remmy 700 VS...

Yup - shooter, not barrel. Good equipment is great - and needed, but the shooter makes it happen. I can see that in BR, equipment, everything to do with the rifle, the load and the scope, would be extremely important...

Regards, Guy

 

[StephenPerry]

Guy
You know you are right. Seems though when get a great gun and a great shooter then it becomes an equipment battle. Now a guy like David who I think I met at Ben Avery, plus I have a tape on him, have what I call near perfect shooter control technique and reading conditions are their game. Guys like Tubbs rely on keeping their equipment Match ready all the time. As in BR you only get so many times if at all to practice before a Match. I saw Gary Ocock at a Visalia shoot 18 groups in the 1's at Visalia one afternoon preparing for a weekends shoot. He only shot 18 groups several different powders and powder loads. He sold that gun at that the end of the Shoot. Gary has no special gun he wins with all of them. Saw Gary take off a new barrel off his gun and throw it in the trash at Phoenix years back.
So in guys like Tubbs and Ocock it is the shooter but the barrel must do it's part as well.
Stephen Perry

 

[StephenPerry]

Guy
Give me an example of what caliber is your Model 70 and what were the suggested loadings that the previous good shooter gave you. Do you feel you got the whole gun or were the sights and trigger swapped out. You might go back and read my BR cleaning thread. I would spend a week cleaning the barrel if it were mine. Be careful that you use a rod guide and good cleanyng rods. Throw the whole enchilada into cleaning the barrel it could have some hidden accuracy if not at least you know you have done everything you can for the barrel. Make new brass get Lapua if they make it for your caliber or a ton of Remington or Winchester brass. Spin the case bodies and sort them into lots. You have a nice gun now spend the time.
Shooting technique is where it's at when you rifle is ready to go. Have fun.
Stephen Perry

 

[M700]

Oh yeah - I got a great old Model 70 built by Jim Cloward. Came with match sights, a Medesha two-stage trigger, and a couple of match barrels, all in .308 Win so it qualifies as a Palma rifle as well as a match rifle. I managed to shoot out one of the 30" Kriegers, and put a second one on it last year. It shoots great - and I'm doing okay with it in matches, but am simply not the shooter the previous owner was and is...

For the past couple of years I've been shooting 155 grain Nosler competition bullets loaded over 46.5 grains of Varget. Generally use Winchester cases, although I have also used Lapua cases. Federal match primers. Getting 2980 fps from the load, with very good accuracy - it's my wind reading that costs me points on the 600 yard slow-fire stage... I often miss the wind let-off.

Regards, Guy