My friend refers to this rifle as the "franken-rifle" due to all the upgrades/tweaks I've made to it over the years. Here's a breakdown of the additional components:
- Williams FP-336 reciever
- Extra long, finger adjustable elevation screw
- Finger adjustable elevation locking knob
- 1/2" x .050" Aperture
- Lyman 17AHB .404 front sight with interchangeable inserts, primarily running the target globe, but swapped for a blade for CASL and hunting
- Limbsaver recoil pad
- Wild West Trigger Happy trigger, nickel coloured
- Safari Ching Sling for supported offhand work
I've settled on Westcastings/HRBC/Topscore 165gr hard-cast coated lead projectiles over 16.2gr of AR2207 for an intermediate 1500fps muzzle velocity; knocks down the rams at 200m and drops medium sized game pretty consistently. Very pleasant to shoot without much heat at all. Minimal leading at these speed.
The rifle has been somewhat accurized by sanding the forend back to loosen the rear barrel band, I then re-coated it with some tung oil for an almost perfect finish. The front barrel band is also kept nice and loose. This gives me a consistent 2moa if I'm doing my part and I can reach out to 300m with this load and sight setup. I have accumulated my own painted markings on the sight ladder for 50m, 100m, 150m, 200m, 250m and 300m (based on actual trajectory). I estimate I've shot about 3000 rounds through her now and she's still grouping nice and consistently!
I'd love to see your "smancy" photos of your pride-and-joy if you're up for it!
In2anity.