My BAT 6XC Project

[GermanS1]

Here are a few pictures of my long-term,slow...) BAT actioned 6XC project.

The action is a BAT 3 lug, chrome moly, standard length with the built-in recoil lug. The barrel is a Krieger Heavy Palma contour, fluted, 30" long, chambered by Lester Bruno with my 6XC reamer,0.271" neck). The trigger is a Jewell set at 4 oz. but I may go to an X-treme Shooting Products 2 stage,CG Jackson), I have one on my 40X and really like it. The sight base for the Warner sight was made by our fellow forum member Dennis Selfridge,flatlander) and the front sight was made by Wes Grass in California. The stock will be a laminated walnut/maple with thick laminations, by Alex Sitman - but I expect that to be about a year away. The serial number is a combination of my initials and date of birth just for grins. That BAT recoil lug is about the same as a Winchester Model 70, by the way, not at all too small as someone was speculating the other day on the forum.

 

[jdavis62]

Know that look's real fine.what twist you go with ?????.

 

[GermanS1]

Jon, my other 6XC's are 1:7.5" but this one is a 1:8", I think with the RL17 I'll be able to stabilize 115's but if not, then I'll stick to 105's with it. The barrel was originally going to be a 6BR, so that's why the 1:8" twist, but I'm pretty excited about 6XC lately so I went that way.

 

[Bob3700]

German,

If you try the CG Jackson 2 stage you will like it. I have one on my RPA Quadlite and it is sweet. I too am in the process of putting a bbl on that action. It is a Bartline 8 twist and will be chambered for the 6mm BRX. Gonna try it at 600 and 1K yds.

I assume the BAT in chromoly to help eliminate any galling of bolt lugs?

Nice piece.

Bob

 

[GermanS1]

Bob, I have the CG on a 6BR Rem. 40X and I really like it too. The only issue right now is that the angled front screw on the CG interferes with the front hanger screw on the BAT. I've been talking to Tom Myers,who makes the CG) about how to overcome that.

I got the BAT in chrome moly mostly for looks, I've seen quite a few stainless BATs in use and haven't heard any reports of galling.

 

[Forum Boss]

German,

Nice pix. What camera are you using these days?

FYI for others considering tri-lug BAT as a high power or F-Class action. BAT is now making a long 3-lug with integral recoil lug and,optional) angled picatinny scope rail on top.

Multi-Flat with Rail:

Round with big bolt knob:

 

[GermanS1]

Same old Nikon CoolPix 880 that is now 8 years old! My wife recently got a more modern version but I haven't tried it yet.

 

[rcw3]

German

Is the recoil lug pinned on or attached some other ways? If you did not say it was permanently mounted I would not presume it.

Robert Whitley

 

[GermanS1]

Robert, the recoil lug is an integral part of the action. There is a shallow groove cut into the action that makes it look like a separate, Remington type lug, but that's just cosmetic. The action and recoil lug are made from the same piece of steel with no separation.

 

[JHardy]

German:

Beautiful and well though out -- as always. Keep us all informed on this shooting eye candy.

Jim

 

[sparker]

Nicely done!

German, how close is the bolt fit? Also, how is the bolt lift on the 3 lug. I have a Barnard so curious about the comparisons.

Thanks,

Scott Parker

 

[Mudcat]

Jon, my other 6XC's are 1:7.5" but this one is a 1:8", I think with the RL17 I'll be able to stabilize 115's but if not, then I'll stick to 105's with it. The barrel was originally going to be a 6BR, so that's why the 1:8" twist, but I'm pretty excited about 6XC lately so I went that way.

German:

One fine looking rig! You should have No problem stabilizing 115s with a 1/8 as most of my 6XC bbls are 1/8 and I shoot 115s, both DTACs and Bergers in them all the time and at a lot slower speeds than youre getting with the R17. Mine only run 2900-3000 tops.

I did, however, get my hands on 4 bottles of R17 yesterday, so guess who is going to be testing it next weekend....

John

 

[GermanS1]

Jim, thanks - unfortunately, you know how stocks can take time, so it'll be a while!

Scott, the bolt fit is actually quite close, more so than on a Quadlite or a Barnard. Bolt lift is very smooth, lighter than a Barnard I once had, I would attribute this to BAT's use of a roller on the cocking cam. See pictures here: http://www.precisionshooting.com/psm_2006_07_frame.html

John, Thanks for the good news! I only have 3 lb. of Reloder 17 myself. Of course, by the time this is in a stock, RL17 should be a lot easier to come by and we should all have a better idea of its long-run performance, erosion, etc. I've only shot RL17 in one match with the 6XC, but it was good with a 600-39X at 500 yards. I had a 600-37X yesterday with a 6BR,RL15 Berger 105) in similar conditions at 500, but at 1000 the extra velocity of the 6XC is far more important and that, of course, is the intended use for this BAT.

 

[rcw3]

German

I never owned a BAT action and there are a lot of them in use by benchrest shooters so I assume someone is doing something right there. The roller used on the cocking piece seems like it makes it easy to lift the bolt handle but the extra complexity of having that on the cocking piece makes me question how durable that is and whether there is regular maintenance that needs to be done to the roller in view of the shock and vibration that it sustains every time you pull the tigger and the hammer falls. Maybe it's a non issue. Do you have any info on that?

Robert Whitley

 

[GermanS1]

Robert, my only thought on that is that the Gilkes-Ross action uses the same system; I have three of those and have fired about 8,000 rounds through one of them, 4,000 in another and under 1,000 in the third one, no problems of any sort. Obviously I haven't shot the BAT yet, but I haven't heard of any problems with the roller from the Benchrest shooters in this area who use them a lot,and with heavy round counts).

 

[Asa_Yam]

The roller used on the cocking piece seems like it makes it easy to lift the bolt handle but the extra complexity of having that on the cocking piece makes me question how durable that is and whether there is regular maintenance that needs to be done to the roller in view of the shock and vibration that it sustains every time you pull the tigger and the hammer falls.

Robert,

Every RPA rifle has a roller on the cocking cam. They don't fail if properly lubricated.

Every M14 has a roller on the cocking arm,abuts the op-rod). Keem 'em greased, and they rarely fail either.

 

[flatlander]

German,
No more green stocks?!? - I'm looking forward to seeing the thick laminate stock when you get it back from Alex. I imagine it'll look almost retro - like the maple/walnut stocks that were popular back in the '60s. That'll be quite a contrast to the 1/16" laminates we're all used to seeing today.

My most recent stock purchase is a Shehane Tracker in Bill's obeche wood Indian Paint pattern. The laminate layers in obeche are only .025" thick - quite a contrast to what your new stock will look like.

Whatever - I'm sure you're really going to enjoy shooting the new BAT 3L when it's finished. I sure like mine - bolt lift effort is very reasonable and quite easy in prone. I ordered the ejector & integral lug on the action I used to build my 6x47L on, and couldn't be happier with the rifle.

 

[GermanS1]

Dennis, those thick laminate stocks of the '60's were a definite inspiration. I especially like the Freeland free-rifle stocks and came very close to having one duplicated for this project, but I couldn't find a left-hand one to duplicate. I spoke to Carl Joos and he said there were no patterns, Freeland made each one from the blank.

This recent stock by Doan Trevor http://veteransrifle2.blogspot.com/ was another source of inspiration. I also considered the Obeche you went with! The Shehane ads with that type of wood, and the PS cover a few years ago were a strong tug in that direction.

Decisions, decisions.... well, I'm reasonable set on this idea now; of course waiting to have the idea made into reality is a fairly trying process itself.

 

[GermanS1]

Here's a picture of Dennis' stock which he just emailed over. That's going to be fantastic when it's finished!