Gun Pics

[steel_eel]

Nothing special here. RRA Lower, Troy Upper.

[El Cid]

Finally got the tax stamp. Built this one with the Mega Arms monolithic upper and a Noveske 11.5" bbl.

http://i828.photobucket.com/albums/z...Q/SBRSide2.jpg

[Dohhunter]

Some random shots.

1) Recently acquired HK45
2) How best to overkill a German 'sporting' rifle
3) My new bush gun, success for the 2011 season

[badshot]

Originally Posted by El Cid

Finally got the tax stamp. Built this one with the Mega Arms monolithic upper and a Noveske 11.5" bbl.

http://i828.photobucket.com/albums/z...Q/SBRSide2.jpg

Nice, now all we have to do is change the law on select fire weapons so they don't cost as much as a decent sports car.

[Rob_Frey]

Here's my custom Mauser '98 in 6.5 x 55 Ackley Improved.

(This is a test to see if I can get pictures on here.)

[Buffalobob]

As most of the regular forum members know I go down to South Carolina pig hunting twice a year but usually don’t kill anything myself. I decided that this was not a reflection on my hunting skill but most likely just a deficiency in my gun cabinet and that could easily be remedied, So off I went to see Eddie Harren who is a local gunsmith in Maryland and a champion bench rest shooter. Of nominal historical interest is when back some 40+ years ago when I came off the DMZ with the 196 Lt Inf Bde we went to Quang Tri province and relieved the Marines who then went on home as part of the draw down in the closing days of RVN. Eddie was one of those Marines. It pleases me greatly to actually know someone who walked the same trails in the Queson Mtns as I did and to have a rifle built by him.

So what I wanted was a short quick handling rifle for hunting in the cypress swamps and pine thickets of South Carolina. The caliber had to be powerful enough to stop a large hog but have a reasonable amount of recoil so that the light weight of the rifle would not combine to be a miserable shooting experience. From shooting F-class competition I had seen several people shooting a 260 Remington with very good results so I reasoned that with the new Lapua high quality brass and some high sectional density bullets I could get good expansion and penetration without dislocating my shoulder from the recoil. What I had to start with was a Remington Model 7 action (short action). As fortune would have it Eddie had a MacMillian lightweight stock for a short action that he had bought for himself but never made into a rifle. He also had a great reamer in 260 Rem that he had used to build his own antelope hunting rifle. So all we needed was a barrel and Eddie and I decided that getting a barrel in a reasonable time was important and this eliminated quite a few makers. In the end Eddie ordered a Schneider 5P (polygonal) in a 8 twist and #2 contour and finished it at 20 inches. The 8 twist will easily stabilize 140 grain VLD bullet for not only deep penetration but also the rifle can see double duty as a light mountain rifle for long range work. Finished weight was six pounds eight ounces and with base, rings and scope it wound up at 7 pounds fourteen ounces. This is a very nice light weight. Eddie set the Remington trigger at about 2# which is great for me.

For optics I used an EGW 20 MOA cant base and a Leopold VR-6 scope with a variable range of 2X to 12X and a 42 mm objective. The 2X setting will be great for the cypress swamps and 12X will allow for about as much long range work as the 20 inch barrel will allow. It has both a CDS knob and a Boone and Crocket reticle which I may or may not ever use. The 30mm tube provides for a lot of elevation adjustment when matched with the canted rail.

[Buffalobob]

So the first two jobs are to break in the barrel and find the top of the pressure curve for the chamber. I had four good powders for the 260 so I loaded up a series of five rounds with IMR 4350, Varget, RL17 and RL 22 (I wish I had a bottle of RL19) and some Berger 140 grain hybrids. For each powder, each round had a 0.5 grains more powder than the preceding one up to what I thought might be a max load the chamber will tolerate. This would allow me to find max pressure and velocity. I also had the bullets seated to jam so I could later back off the lands if I needed to.
During barrel break in, the rifle was cleaned frequently and it affected how the bullets flew being as I did not completely dry the barrel before firing. Varget is a good example of the barrel being cleaned midway through the string and how it opens up the group. In the other three powders, the first shot is always out of group due to cleaning. Even with the difference in powder charge, I thought RL17 was least sensitive to powder charge and I do not believe I reached max pressure with the loads so I will pursue finding an accurate load with it by gradually increasing the powder charge above where I left off.
I would just note that shooting an eight pound rifle accurately is a hell of a lot more difficult than the 14-18 pound rifles I normally shoot.

There are a few stray bullet holes from when I was getting the scope adjusted so you can ignore them.

[Rob_Frey]

Nice rifle Buffalobob!!!

I use a Rem. 700 SSDM with 24" barrel with Leupold Vari-X III 2.5-8x scope in .260 to hunt deer with here in WI. My load is a Barnes 100 grain X-Bullet with 43 grains of Varget. You will like the .260 Rem., it shoots like a dream. After I clean the gun, I fire a fouling shot before hunting with it again.

[Guymullins]

I have been using this custom Remington 700 in .375 H&H Magnum for all my hunting. The Barnes X bullet in 300g is my preferred load, if I can get it or the Remington soft nose is also good in 300g. Meat damage is minimal and you can take anything from an elephant to a springbuck with it. I have a 4x Tasco scope on it because my shooting isnt really good enough for ranges that a higher magnification would tempt me to try.

[Badger52]

Nice Gemsbok, handsomest of the big antelope in my opinion. For hunting (outside North America) .375 would be my choice if limited to a single caliber/rifle. They 'shove' rather than wallop in a rifle of proper weight.

Thanks for sharing that pic.

[Guymullins]

Originally Posted by Badger52

Nice Gemsbok, handsomest of the big antelope in my opinion. For hunting (outside North America) .375 would be my choice if limited to a single caliber/rifle. They 'shove' rather than wallop in a rifle of proper weight.

Thanks for sharing that pic.

This rifle has the heavy barrel, and counterweights of lead in the butt so it is very heavy and a swine to carry on a day-long walk. But, you can shoot it all day. As you say, a gentle push is all the felt recoil and it tracks like an AA gun. This Gemsbok was galloping full tilt across my front at about 120yds and the single shot tumbled it in its tracks. They seldom get up after the .375 smacks them down.

[CSM-H]

Originally Posted by The Reaper

Sorry, I will pass on that.

Plenty of people have seen mine already.

TR

I'm sorry are we still talking guns???? CSM-H

[Buffalobob]

After the trip to the range, I cleaned the barrel again, disassembled the base and rings and put the optics back together using loctite being as every thing seemed to be OK. I began load development with RL 17 and the 140 Berger Hybrids. Back to the range I went and first I was shooting off a pedestal rest but decided to cut to the chase and use a bipod. At 42 grains of RL 17, I had not gotten any extractor marks on the brass or stiff bolt lift, etc; but groups size had dropped down to 0.32 MOA which is my general level of skill-i.e. I am not able to shoot a rifle much better than that even if the rifle is more accurate.

I am very satisfied that a rifle that shoots 0.32 MOA from a bipod is accurate enough to kill a pig at 30 yards. Eddie did a good job building the rifle

[mark46th]

Nice work- That ought to getterdone...

[NoLuck]

Just got this on friday. Sig Sauer 516 in FDE. EOTech XPS2/3X Magnifier, Surefire 910 grip/light combo.

Pistol is a Sig Sauer 1911 Scorpion .45.