Help build a F Class rifle

[AKShooter]

Well, had a thread about actions. Going to go ahead and get some parts ordered. I have the chance to do this now. Figure why not

So here is my thoughts. Mainly will be shooting mid range F Class with some 1000 thrown in

Parts. Looking hard at the Bat M action in the 1.53. 308 bolt face. Figure the extra thickness contributes to stiffness?

Barrel. Bartlien or krieger. Figure a 1.25 straight tube and finished at 30 inches. For both looking at the 5R rifling, twist depending on caliber

My current rig is a 260, running 130 bergers at 2870 in a 28 tube.

Trigger a Jewell and stock is of lesser concern right now, somewhat dependent on barreled action weight. So rifle makes weight

Caliber, dang a tough one, really like the 6.5. Was thinking about a 260 ai to get a bit more velocity from straight 260. 6.5x284 looks good

The ai has me fire forming brass and unsure on dies, but better barrel life than the 6.5x284

Any other 6.5s I've overlooked? I'm not looking to pave new roads. Looking for tried and true. I'll start googling match results too.

Open to all thoughts, especially action. With lead times like to order something soon to have the chance of having it shooting next year.

Side note, left handed, figure a left bolt, right eject configuration.

Will be a rifle. Or at least action I plan to have till it passes after I pass so want to make a informed choice

 

[eric32]

6.5x47 lapua is what I would look into

 

[TonyR]

If you want a 6.5, the 6.5X55AI would be an excellent choice.

 

[Alex Wheeler]

I think the M is a great choice. I just did two stocks for a couple .284s. I can not believe how good the 284 can shoot. I shoot a dasher and these 284 will shoot as small. IMO you wont beat the accuracy of a 284. I don't see having a 6.5. I went down that road, I was never happy with the vertical I got. ES sucked and I couldn't fix it, 2 barrels later I went to a dasher and lifes been good. 6 dasher or 284 imo.

 

[Elwood]

Just my take on your build, the only things that I would consider perhaps changing are below.

.284 or 284 Shehane, good barrel life and will compete at all distances in all weather.

I would go for a 32 inch barrel but have it running from 1.250 to 1.000

I think the PR&T lowboy takes some beating as a F open stock.

 

[TonyR]

+1 on Elwood's post.

If you decide on a BAT M, with the M OCTPIC, the recoil lug, scope rail and receiver are machined from a single piece of metal and it weighs a few ounces less than a 1.530 Round M with the scope rail mounted on it. You might hear otherwise; but a BAT M works fine with an 1.250 shank barrel.

 

[Laurie]

100% agree with what Elwood says on all three points.

Don't worry about weight. As an F-Class rifle (ie 'Open' class) you've got 10kg to play with and no bi-pod weight to worry about as in F/TR. (Shoot off a good rest, not a bi-pod if at all possible). You'll likely end up adding weight rather than worrying about saving it.

284 Win offers better external ballistics than 6.5-284 and getting on for double the barrel life, depending on how hot you run your loads with only a small extra recoil penalty.

If you were only shooting mid-range, the 6.5s become more competitive, and the 6.5X47 Lapua is a fine performer also offering reasonable barrel life. However, it's noticeable how many people opt for a smaller 6.5 then end up loading it up to the gills to get a bit extra performance out of 130-142gn bullets.

I've come to the view that 260, 6.5X47L, and 6.5mm H. Creedmoor are great cartridges for 120-130gn bullets, and the 123gn Lapua Scenar is a scarily good performer out to 1K for its weight, but if you really want to play with the big boys at longer ranges using the heavy 6.5s, you need 6.5X55mm, 6.5X55AI, or 6.5-284, in which case you're likely better going up the calibre step anyway and getting a .284, 'straight', or Shehane.

Many 6.5X47L owners will disagree with me and you keep seeing posts on this forum about the high MVs they get from 140s with powder X or Y. They likely do, but their barrels end up shot out rather quickly too, and if you run a cartridge at near proof load pressures 100% of the time, there's always the risk of a component lot change, really high temperatures during the match, minor handloading variation ... or whatever ... seeing you retire with primers blowing (or worse!).

 

[nosualc]

> Mainly will be shooting mid range F Class with some 1000 thrown in

If you're gonna do mostly mid range a 6BR, BRX, or Dasher is hard to beat, with the latter two having a little more butt for 1k. The 6BRs are really easy to shoot very well, and really easy to load for.

If you were asking about mostly 1k, and a little mid-range I'd say a 284 or a Shehane. They've got plenty of butt for 1k, but are a bit overkill for 600 on all but the windiest days.

A 6.5 is in between, and it'd be hard to beat a 6.5x47L.

-nosualc

 

[expiper]

AK,,,its always a delima and compromise....I like/use/shoot Kelbly actions...the F-class is just rite for what your wanting...available in all port configurations,,,,20moa rail integral....many stocks available..(Kelbly; 1000M is a good un...) ....bbls can be interchanged with any other Kelbly action and gunsmithed without your rifle being shiped and away for months at a time....call Kelblys and check on delivery time...your cal choice is a matter of personal prefference...and component availability...Lapua makes really good 6.5mm bullets...(but no 7mm???--it doesnt make sense with all the various 7mm's in Europe ??)Roger

 

[Joe C]

Ak,

As a new F-Open shooter myself I've been reading your threads with interest. Check out the ones under my user name if you would like to see what I've been doing. But be forewarned, I'm a M70 action guy. LOL!

Personally, I wouldn't rule out the Rock Creek barrels. I'm shooting a 32" 6mm 1-7.7 Heavy Palma on my open gun in .240NMC and just shot a 10 shot group at 600 that went 2.159". Also, if you want a sweet stock call Carl Bernosky. Just tell him you want a stock like he built for me. It is the bee's knees in my opinion. It is long, wide, low and has the but stock set up for proper face alignment.

Caliber, well, as aforementioned, I went with a 6mm wildcat and it works very well. I'm working on a .260ai right now for those days when I want to shoot something different. I have a .260 already but the ai looks like it holds promise.

Best of luck and happy shooting!

 

[AKShooter]

Well, I'll throw another wrench in here. Looking at shooting schedules and such. Whats the ultimate mid range caliber?? Out 600 in moderate to downright windy conditions.

The reason I'm asking is I'm not opposed to a switch barrel rifle. I can have the 284 or similar for the 1, maybe 2 shoots for the year.

That said, what action lends inself the best to a switch barrel rifle? Right now still thinking bat, but I know the Kelbys are talked about quite a bit when it comes to switch barrels.

Action was almost a done deal, called bat this afternoon with card in hand, but then found out its monday through thursday for answering calls

 

[effendude]

If it were me, just starting out, I would build a 6mmBR to start with. It is the perfect mid-range caliber. Learn how to reload, by that I mean really reload the best ammo possible, and have fun for a season. After your first season with the 6mmBR, you can decide if you need (or want) to play with the improved versions. As for the 1K game, a 6mmBR will do it, but the improved calibers would be better. The bigger calibers stand out at 1K, but if you only plan to shoot that farf a couple times, focus on the 6mmBR for the first year. Then get a second barrel in .284 or 284 Shehane (my favorite) and spin that on for 1K or REALLY WINDY days at 600.

I started F-class a long time ago with my .223 OTC space gun, then went to a bolt .308, then all of the Savage F-open rifles, then back to another OTC bolt gun fot F-TR. I honestly would have been thousands of dollars ahead of where I am now if I would have just started with a quality custom rifle and shot it. I lived and learned. I now have 2 Barnards, both in switch bolt/barrel configs chambered in 223/308 and a second in 284 Shehane along with most of the older rifles I don't shoot. I am building a BAT 6mmBRX fro my wife as she shot out her 22-243 last year.

By the way, my buddy Nosualc's opinions are spot on. He shot a national record at 500 laying next to me last Sept, 4 times back to back. He shot a 200-18X at 600 last Monday testing out his new 6mmBRX barrel. He has 3 barrels for the BRX now and is building a Shehane for 1K. Even he started out with a non-wildcat cartridge though.

Gain some experience, have fun and then experiment if you want. There are some multi-flat BATactions for sale on the forum right now. Very tempting if I didn't have about 6 projects going already.
Good Luck,
Scott

 

[abishai]

Take a good hard look at the 6 XC . I am running the 115 DTACs (uncoated) over 3000 comfortably. Just shot a 150 14X at pracice ( 300 yards, 10 mph shifting winds). The 6BR bassed rounds are more accurate - sub .2s instead of .25s - ladie freakin da, The X ring is still 1/2 moa . Good barrel life, cheap(er) bullets , Wicked accuracy, low recoil. Also check out the mcmillian tooley MBR stocks .
For refrence, my stick is :
Action - Defiance rebel ...... fun to look at, short lead time, Smoooooothe
Barel - bartlien 1-7.7 , 237, 30", 1 1/4" straight pipe, Loooong lead times , but can I get a haleluja!
stock - McMilian Tooley MBR, very stable, reasonable price
Glass - NF 12-42 BR
21 pounds of wonderful

 

[AKShooter]

All great stuff guys. Okay. One last bump. As I mentioned, I'm left handed. So shooting prone I'm torn. Left bolt and load has my shooting and stock hand doing all the work. Right hand action would have my right hand sharing the work

Was thinking about left bolt. Right load. But now I'm taking both hands off the gun. For prone I'm thinking I could run a bit faster as a left hander using my right to operate bolt and load??

 

[nosualc]

> For prone I'm thinking I could run a bit faster as a left hander using my right to operate bolt and load??

For F-Class you need to wait for your target to be scored. 5-7 seconds a shot minimum. I don't know that any speed advantage offered by bolt/port orientation is going to be realized. Might be a case of hurry up and wait.

IMO, you'd be better off with a quality action that allows you to open/close it smoothly (eg - a BAT) without upsetting your rig than worry about port/bolt orientation.

For F-Open, I'd say stay with what you're comfortable with. Might be a different story for F-TR.

-nosualc

 

[Jayman_10x]

To me it's a no brainer - 260 Rem. Don't overthink this one. Lapua makes brass for it (or use Rem, Norma, Nosler) and why screw around fireforming procuring special Redding dies? Too much work for me, as I have to work for a living and try to minimize prep time and maximize range time. Readily available components, easy to load for, amply supply of great bullets, to me it's a no brainer. 260 Rem all the way!

 

[AKShooter]

Well, I spent hours looking online at ballistics, match results, etc

I think I have it down to either a 6mm or the 6.5. I was looking at the 7mm a bit. And shoot with / against a few of them. But think one of the 6's will do what I'm asking. So really just need to decide on Caliber. I'll have to order a krieger if I go that route. If I decide on the bartlien than I can get one in stock

For the 6's (listed by preference )
6 dasher - yes fire forming and brass work but boy do these end up on the top of the heap a lot. Barrel life seems low though too
6x47 Lapua.

6.5's
260 ai or straight 260. Really do not see many of these listed in results
6.5x47. Sim

Thoughts ?

 

[Joe C]

.240NMC. Great barrel life, easy to form brass, very accurate (at least mine is proving to be).

 

[FroggyOne2]

The 240NMC is a great round. If I were to go back to a 6mm, it would be it.

 

[Bowhunter4]

I would suggest going to your local range and see if anyone would let you shoot their gun or just to see what they are shooting. I am with most, love the keleby's action "f-class panda". just received mine with left bolt and right load. looks and pro-forms?? well haven't been to any matches yet but locally shoots really good. I shoot a 7mm shehane 32" barrel straight tapper down to 1". save weight on parts so you can balance rifle.