I bought a 26 inch SS Shilen barrel from Northland Shooters Supply recently, heavy varmint wt. 8 twist and had it threaded for a Harrells Tuner/Brake. The Smith also turned a thread protector from some stainless he had and timed the Tuner so the markings were at the 12:00 position when installed.
Previous to taking the new barrel to him I'd screwed it on the action, head spaced it correctly and placed masking tape and an index mark on the muzzle end to indicate the 12:00 position for his reference.
Yesterday was the first chance to try it out because of heavy wind blowing over the last week. Typical spring here in Central Texas! With a front approaching I figured there'd be several hours just before the front arrived that the wind would lay down, so I arrived at the public range just as it opened. And so did everyone else!
ALL the 100, 200 and 300 yd benches filled quickly but I did get one of the 100 yds benches to start out. Had to bore sight the scope anyway so glad not to be stuck on a 200 or 300 bench trying to do that.
I'd loaded up some freshly annealed, twice shot Lapua brass with CCI 450 primers, 30.0 gr of Varget and a 105 gr Hornaday HPBT at +.005 into the new, never shot lands. I'll remeasure after break in and get a more reliable number. Previous best load with this bullet was .005 off and 30.3 Varget.
With the scope bore sighted, and the tuner at the midway mark, the first round landed at 6 o'clock low by 7 moa. Made the adjustment and next round went into the 10 ring at 9 o'clock.
The next 5 shots were stacked straight up and down 5 moa apart.
One full turn of the tuner and the groups went horizontal. Then I tried a half turn in the same direction and groups were back to vertical but much less, about 1 moa. So I began changing the tuner, always in the same direction by 3 clicks at a time watched the two shot groups go from vertical to horizontal, and then to a tightened up group of 1/2 moa, but still not really good. Of course, this barrel only had 30 rounds down the tube so far, so I'm not expecting miracles.
Now down to small adjustments of one or two clicks to get a better group and suddenly I see a wall of dust coming my way, followed immediately by rain. Front arrival!
The wind is now blowing 20+ and swirling. No hope of learning anything so time to pack it in until next time.
In summation, the tuner/brake reduced the recoil noticeably and was highly effective in changing barrel harmonics.
I am considering removing the tuner/brake and developing the load as I normally would and then re-install for a final tune. I don't intend to use this gun in competition, so I'm not bound by any rules in that regard. I'm just shooting for fun and my own education.
What do you guys think my next step should be? Remove the tuner/brake and develop the load?
Or leave it on the barrel and find the sweet spot, log it, then try another bullet? I also have some 105 A-max.
I also intend to use the tuner out to 300 yds, when I can get a calm enough day to go through the set up. Might also be able to talk the range owner into letting me use wind flags. That'll help too.
As always, your input and experience is greatly appreciated.
Previous to taking the new barrel to him I'd screwed it on the action, head spaced it correctly and placed masking tape and an index mark on the muzzle end to indicate the 12:00 position for his reference.
Yesterday was the first chance to try it out because of heavy wind blowing over the last week. Typical spring here in Central Texas! With a front approaching I figured there'd be several hours just before the front arrived that the wind would lay down, so I arrived at the public range just as it opened. And so did everyone else!
ALL the 100, 200 and 300 yd benches filled quickly but I did get one of the 100 yds benches to start out. Had to bore sight the scope anyway so glad not to be stuck on a 200 or 300 bench trying to do that.
I'd loaded up some freshly annealed, twice shot Lapua brass with CCI 450 primers, 30.0 gr of Varget and a 105 gr Hornaday HPBT at +.005 into the new, never shot lands. I'll remeasure after break in and get a more reliable number. Previous best load with this bullet was .005 off and 30.3 Varget.
With the scope bore sighted, and the tuner at the midway mark, the first round landed at 6 o'clock low by 7 moa. Made the adjustment and next round went into the 10 ring at 9 o'clock.
The next 5 shots were stacked straight up and down 5 moa apart.
One full turn of the tuner and the groups went horizontal. Then I tried a half turn in the same direction and groups were back to vertical but much less, about 1 moa. So I began changing the tuner, always in the same direction by 3 clicks at a time watched the two shot groups go from vertical to horizontal, and then to a tightened up group of 1/2 moa, but still not really good. Of course, this barrel only had 30 rounds down the tube so far, so I'm not expecting miracles.
Now down to small adjustments of one or two clicks to get a better group and suddenly I see a wall of dust coming my way, followed immediately by rain. Front arrival!
The wind is now blowing 20+ and swirling. No hope of learning anything so time to pack it in until next time.
In summation, the tuner/brake reduced the recoil noticeably and was highly effective in changing barrel harmonics.
I am considering removing the tuner/brake and developing the load as I normally would and then re-install for a final tune. I don't intend to use this gun in competition, so I'm not bound by any rules in that regard. I'm just shooting for fun and my own education.
What do you guys think my next step should be? Remove the tuner/brake and develop the load?
Or leave it on the barrel and find the sweet spot, log it, then try another bullet? I also have some 105 A-max.
I also intend to use the tuner out to 300 yds, when I can get a calm enough day to go through the set up. Might also be able to talk the range owner into letting me use wind flags. That'll help too.
As always, your input and experience is greatly appreciated.
