CatsEye

I'm not sure whether this is a thread about the rifle or factor Match grade ammo. I guess it’s actually a little of both. I grew up hunting but never really shot much “precision” rifle. I decided that I wanted to do some of it simply for fun. I didn’t want to spend a lot up front but still have something to get me started. I shoot a lot of pistol but bench rest shooting is new to me. I don’t claim to be a great shot so take that into account. All rifles shoot differently so I have no idea if the results will relate to any other rifles. I found a new Remington 700 SPS Varmint in .308 a few months ago on sale for $500. This is the heavy 26” barrel version with 1:12 twist. I didn’t like the stock but decided I could change it if needed. I mounted a Vortex Viper 6.5-20x50 scope on it. I reload for pistol but not yet for rifle. I plan to get into this part later this year or early next and I know that will help. I decided I would try different “Match” grade ammo on the market to see what shot well in my gun while I was learning to be a better shooter and see if I really enjoyed it enough to move forward. I got some cheap PMC Bronze 147gr. ammo for barrel break in and to just get some rounds through it and get the feel of the rifle. After 40 rounds of PMC it was clear either the ammo sucks or my rifle really hates it with average groups of almost 5 moa. I tried shooting the rifle in the original configuration but was unable to get any of the Match ammo to shoot less than 1.5 moa. I didn’t collect any real data during this time so can’t show the comparison. All I can say is I was feeling pretty disappointed at this point. The original stock had a lot of flex so I decided to try to improve it. I bedded it and filled the forearm with resin so it could be free floated. This helped quite a bit as you can see below. Even though it was shooting better I just really wasn’t comfortable with the feel of the stock. I decided to use my birthday discount at Midway to order a Bell and Carlson Medalist M40 stock. I put it on and immediately loved the improved feel. Ok, enough of the rifle stuff, on to the ammo. I purchased a box of Match grade ammo from each of these manufactures: Winchester, Federal, Norma, Hornady and two from HSM their AMAX and regular match all in 168 gr. For the second round of testing (B&C Stock) I added some cheap Monarch soft point that I already had. I had also read good things about Eagle Eye Precision so got a box if their 175 gr. to try. I didn’t know how it would shoot with my twist rate but thought I would give it a try. Here are the results from the bedded and free floated original stock and the B&C stock. All shots taken at 100 yards and results in inches. (Edit) when I wrote this I forgot about the fact that I zeroed with the Eagle Eye ammo. The last group I shot with it was actually two groups with one click left difference. Would have tightened a little otherwise. Original B&C Winchester 1.375 .938 Three shots with the B&C were .563 with the 4th extending the group to .938. Federal GMM .875 .500 HSM AMAX .938 1.125 Four shots with B&C were .875 with the 5th extending the group to 1.125. HSM Match .563 This ammo shot so well with original stock I shot it all up. Opps. Norma Match 1.00 .500 Hornady Match 1.25 .687 Eagle Eye (3 shot) n/a .415 Eagle Eye (6 shot) n/a .875 Can’t claim I can do better than this over 6 shots. Monarch n/a 3.575 PMC Bronze 4.700 2.560 Overall I think it was evident the new stock helped. I observed good results with all of the Match ammo, it definitely is a great improvement over the cheap stuff. All of the Match ammo shot sub MOA with the Federal and Norma putting up nice groups. The best three shot group came from the Eagle Eye coming in at .415. I have no idea if this test gives anyone other than me any useful information but it was nice to find out what my rifle likes. It was also a big relief to see me and the rifle shooting a half MOA or better with factory ammo. Sorry for the different style targets I wasn't really planning to document it.

Very fun match today and a wonderful day to be on the range. Great to see everyone. Thanks again Terry for designing all the stages.

Looks like the rain will be gone by Saturday so it should be a great day to be on the range. See y'all there.

No reason you can't try several sports. IDPA, USPSA production division, steel challenge and outlaw steel matches can all be shot by all levels of shooters with basic equipment.

GSSF is a great way to get a feel for competition shooting. It's not as exciting as some of the other shooting sports but it is fun. The 3 Glocks I won last year didn't hurt either though.

We will be hosting an IDPA match this coming Saturday. Terry Cheney makes his debut as a stage designer. He put together a match that looks to be fun and challenging. Stages should be posted later today. Hope to see everyone there.

Welcome to TGO.

Welcome to TN and TGO.

Welcome to TGO.

Welcome to TGO.

Welcome to TGO.

Welcome to TGO.

Great to see everyone today. Weather was great and we had a a good turnout. Hope everyone had a good time.

No problem Steve. After the match I'll set it up on bay 1.

The three die set works fine. I've loaded close to 20k through mine with no problems. I only case gauge when going to a major match, other than that I don't worry about it.

Welcome to TGO.

It looks like the weather is going to be great for a February match. Come on out and play.

Glad to have you here and welcome to TGO.

I can bring one for you to use.

We will be hosting an IDPA match this Saturday in Dickson. Stages will be fun and challenging and I'll have them posted later this week. Hope to see you there.

Welcome.

Welcome to TN and TGO.

Love the pictures. Looking forward to the rest of the story.

Good shooting Dan.

I have a Witness Match .45 that shoots great. They are great shooting guns and tough to beat for the price.