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Took delivery of a new stock for my bolt action

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Well, she's out in Tempe, AZ getting custom made aluminum pillars and a recoil lug made and then it will be bedded. Updated when I get her back, I cannot wait!
Sounds like you are building a seriously accurate rifle. Only trouble I see with that is nothing to blame when I miss.
 

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I haven't been able to blame the rifle since the day I bought it, she was a shooter right out of the box. We'll see if the bedding makes her even better.
 

Fozgate

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My smith just sent me a couple pictures of the completed work, to say I'm excited is an understatement.

Here's a view from the top which showcases the custom recoil lug and the actual bedding.


Here's a view from the bottom, which shows the custom aluminum pillars he made.
 

Fozgate

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Rifle is back from the gun smith, now I'm going to be working on load development. I've only fired factory Prime 130gr ammunition and I'm eager to see what I can achieve with my own hand loads and the Hornady 140gr ELD-M. I'm signing up for a precision rifle class on 3/10 and hope to compete in a few local matches this spring and summer.
 

Glassman

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Rifle is back from the gun smith, now I'm going to be working on load development. I've only fired factory Prime 130gr ammunition and I'm eager to see what I can achieve with my own hand loads and the Hornady 140gr ELD-M. I'm signing up for a precision rifle class on 3/10 and hope to compete in a few local matches this spring and summer.
Nice! OCW man, (done right) it will get you there quickly. I've also found that if I know of a factory load in a given weight projectile, that performs well, I can start by mimicking that velocity range (if numbers are available) to give myself a smaller initial range of charge weights to try.
 
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Rifle is back from the gun smith, now I'm going to be working on load development. I've only fired factory Prime 130gr ammunition and I'm eager to see what I can achieve with my own hand loads and the Hornady 140gr ELD-M. I'm signing up for a precision rifle class on 3/10 and hope to compete in a few local matches this spring and summer.
I would be excited too. I look forward to hearing about your progress. That's a beautiful rifle.
 
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Rifle is back from the gun smith, now I'm going to be working on load development. I've only fired factory Prime 130gr ammunition and I'm eager to see what I can achieve with my own hand loads and the Hornady 140gr ELD-M. I'm signing up for a precision rifle class on 3/10 and hope to compete in a few local matches this spring and summer.
Have you taken it out yet? First thoughts?
 

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@Old Smokey I hit the range on Saturday while it was a balmy 27 degrees out. Shot this quick three round group with factory Prime ammo to warm the barrel up. The Prime ammo is shooting better than ever now that the stock has been properly bedded.


Spent the rest of the time with that particular rifle working on load development. I can't wait to see what I'll be able to get out of this stock barrel with some good hand loads.
 
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@Fozgate Thanks for the update. I figured you couldn't wait much longer to get it out. That's a great 3rd group with factory ammo in a new cold barrel.
I have never tried reloading and at this stage of the game, I likely never will. Thankfully some of the factory loads seem to shoot very well in my cheap Ruger American Predator with a 22" stock barrel. While I do want to try some longer distance target shooting, say out to 5-600 yds. It is my hunting rifle. For that purpose I am well happy. But a nice 6.5 CM like yours makes me slobber.
 

Fozgate

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@Old Smokey I've heard a lot of good things about the Ruger American's in terms of bang for the buck. Mind sharing a few pictures of your rifle?
 
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@Old Smokey I've heard a lot of good things about the Ruger American's in terms of bang for the buck. Mind sharing a few pictures of your rifle?
I will try to get it out and snap a pic. Kind of a busy day, but I will get it done soon. It's a very basic rifle with a crappy plastic stock which I plan on replacing soon with either a Boyd's or Magpul.
 

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@Old Smokey Very nice sir, I actually have a Vortex Crossfire II 4-12x42 on my 10/22 and it's an amazing scope for the extremely reasonable price. Ok, now you gotta show me some groups :)
 
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I haven't shot since mid Nov. but am looking forward to hitting the range. I just got it in Sept or Oct and basically sighted it in and went deer hunting. From that I can honestly say it is a 1 or a little less MOA rifle with Hornady 140g ELD-X. The lighter bullet is about 1 1/2 MOA.
 
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So, are you having some fun at the matches? I would love to hear about them. Watched some on TV but it's almost like watching paint dry. I am sure participating and competing would be a load of fun.
 

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@Old Smokey I'm hooked! I agree, the videos are never shot/edited in a very captivating manner, but the actual competition is loads of fun. Extremely challenging even out to just 600, which is what my local range has available. We typically run 10 different stages, everything from barrels, shooting off of faux roof tops, helicopter simulated shooting, off hand, and no dial stages. It's extremely humbling, but I'm improving my scores each match.

You definitely get an idea very quickly of what gear works and what doesn't. Muzzle brakes and heavier stocks/barrels are must to spot misses and correct on the fly. If you don't have a tactical reticle with MOA/MRAD cross hairs you're in for some trouble. Also, having really good ammo (hand loaded precision tuned for the rifle) with predictable velocities and low standard deviations are a must in order to hit the 1 and 2 moa targets from 200-600.

If there are any local matches going on in your area within driving distance, I highly recommended checking them out. Even if you just help as a spotter your first time, chances are you'll get hooked.

Let me know if you have any other questions.

-Pete
 
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