IF....you built the ultimate F TR

[rmist]

So...this has been talked about a lot in the past. But a few years has past and new equipment has come out along with components.

So...Now what would your ultimate F TR rifle build consist of??
Please explain your choices. If it helps any...personally I'm going to use Lapua Palma brass and Berger 185gr Juggernaut bullets. What's your thoughts/ideas ??

Thanks again

 

[ShootDots]

So...this has been talked about a lot in the past. But a few years has past and new equipment has come out along with components.

So...Now what would your ultimate F TR rifle build consist of??
Please explain your choices. If it helps any...personally I'm going to use Lapua Palma brass and Berger 185gr Juggernaut bullets. What's your thoughts/ideas ??

Thanks again

My suggestion is to talk to Johnny Ingram (JohnnyI) on this forum. He is one of the best F-T/R shooters >> period! He is the current Texas State L/R Champion. He will give you the particulars of the kind of rifle it takes to win with the components necessary to accomplish that task..

 

[Dgd6mm]

With what ShootDots said, I would be interested in his build. If I was building a new one it would probably be built around the 200gr. Berger Hybrid.

 

[rmist]

Reason for 185's..I already have them....along with the brass.

Sent Johnny a PM.

 

[calgarycanada]

If the info Johnny gives you is not top secret 8), do you mind sharing his ideas? It'll help us noobs

 

[XTR]

Pick an action, any action, I have a Defiance Rebel, a Panda, and a Remington 700, and at 1000 yards, hell at 600 yards, I can't tell the difference in the three on the target shooting off of a bipod. Now the Rebel and the Panda look hella lot nicer, and if you were shooting BR they might be tighter than the R700, but in F-TR its self gratification. Jim Crofts won two national titles with a Savage. The action is probably the least important part of the system.

Find a stock that works for you. They are very subjective. I just had one custom made (see the show us your F-TR rifle thread) Hardwood, if you pick the right wood, saves you a pound over laminates that you can put into the barrel.

These days I'd probably go with a NF 55 comp scope. (I have 1 Comp, 2 NXS and a BR) It is darker than a 42NXS when it's on 55, but at the same power it's about the same, and it's lighter by about 6oz.

Aluminum rail and NF Ti rings, they are light

With a barrel, 30 to 32 inches pick your poison, as much contour as you can make weight with.

Reamer, if you are going with the 185s I'd get either the 2013FTR or the 2013 USFTR reamers from PT&G, they a 168 and 170 FB respectively. They are built specifically for the 185 Jugg.

Bipod, Duplin or Seb. The cool kids like the Phoenix, but it's a pound heavier than the other two.


This stuff is not rocket science. Here is the deal, if you are shooting in the 180s with what ever you are shooting, that means you are missing the 10 ring over ½ of the time, if your rifle/load is a ¾ minute system then maybe you would gain back 2 points if you could get it to under ½ MOA, unless you are getting high 8s which calls into question a whole lot of stuff you can't buy and so nobody wants to talk about it (position, rear bag). Even if you were shooting perfect waterline you would still be dropping 14 points to missed wind calls.

Not that I'm the best F-TR shooter out there, I'm not, but someday I'm going to give a new shooter my backup (Panda) and let him shoot my ammo side by side with me in a relay and compare it with his other scores just to make this point.

 

[rmist]

Currently I shoot a R223 with 80.5 gr Berger FB bullets in a trued R700 with a30" Brux 7 twist. Stock is a R700 VLS stock with a Anschutz rail and Duplin bipod, NXS 12x42 scope. I have a 15x55 on a BR rifle that's going to have a new home one day. I have a option to use a .168 fb reamer made for the185's. I like the Low boy stocks... but haven't seen any in person to get behind.

I realize that equipment doesn't make the shooter any better... using it does. Looking for something better to fit me. Then I don't have the aches and pains of a wrong stock
A example of one of my issues

 

[XTR]

Reason for 185's..I already have them....along with the brass.

When you say you have them, is that you have 3 or 4 thousand or you have "some"? If you don't have enough to wear out a barrel (3500 or so) be open to other options, though the 185 is a great bullet. Probably one the best designs ever.

I am shooting over 600 rounds for record + sighters in the 4 week period starting Saturday the 28th (two days ago)

 

[Scott Harris]

So...this has been talked about a lot in the past. But a few years has past and new equipment has come out along with components.

So...Now what would your ultimate F TR rifle build consist of??
Please explain your choices. If it helps any...personally I'm going to use Lapua Palma brass and Berger 185gr Juggernaut bullets. What's your thoughts/ideas ??

Thanks again

Defiance Deviant, .062 firing pin, remington bolt nose
Bix n' Andy or CG 22 trigger
32" modified hvy palma(6.75lbs), 10-twist
March 3-24x42FFP w/ 1/4MOA clicks
PRT Lowboy w/ whidden bedding block, masterclass cheek/buttstock hardware, anschutz rail, limbsaver pad
Duplin bipod & edgewood extra short rear bag
185 LRBTs or 200 Hybrids....they are equal in my book, each having pros & cons.

That's my rifle and would not change a thing....well I do kinda like Greg Taylor's "bird poo" camo ;D

 

[Dos XX]

So...this has been talked about a lot in the past. But a few years has past and new equipment has come out along with components.

So...Now what would your ultimate F TR rifle build consist of??
Please explain your choices. If it helps any...personally I'm going to use Lapua Palma brass and Berger 185gr Juggernaut bullets. What's your thoughts/ideas ??

Thanks again

Defiance Deviant, .062 firing pin, remington bolt nose
Bix n' Andy or CG 22 trigger
32" modified hvy palma(6.75lbs), 10-twist
March 3-24x42FFP w/ 1/4MOA clicks
PRT Lowboy w/ whidden bedding block, masterclass cheek/buttstock hardware, anschutz rail, limbsaver pad
Duplin bipod & edgewood extra short rear bag
185 LRBTs or 200 Hybrids....they are equal in my book, each having pros & cons.

That's my rifle and would not change a thing....well I do kinda like Greg Taylor's "bird poo" camo ;D

Scott,
What is a modified heavy palma? Is that 6.75 lbs chambered? I am looking for a 32" barrel that will weigh close to but not over 7 lbs, so I can't handle an MTU.

 

[Scott Harris]

I increase the hvy palma "neck" diameter from 1.0 to 1.1". This makes the barrel thicker all along its length. Finished weight at 32" is 6.75lb

 

[ShootDots]

I know that some of the guys at Bayou Rifles are getting barrels that would normally be way too heavy to make weight. Barrels like Krieger #17 HV or a Bartlein where the barrel goes 1.25" for 6" and tapers to 1" at 32-34".. They can do this by having the barrels "Spirally Fluted" to remove the necessary steel to make weight and still retain the lion's share of rigidity. That is something to really consider in making the weight in F-T/R..

 

[Dos XX]

I increase the hvy palma "neck" diameter from 1.0 to 1.1". This makes the barrel thicker all along its length. Finished weight at 32" is 6.75lb

Thanks. Great idea. I could probably add a 1/2 inch to the cylinder and get my other 4 oz.

 

[KT]

I think I would copy everything that Jim Crofts uses. He seems to shoot pretty decent!

KT