Centre fire rifle

[Jeff]

One of the clubs out here have started building a 200 yard range for centre fire ,what wold be a good set up for bench rest shooting at that distance, will only be used for target shooting

[SCJ429]

Stolle Panda chambered in 6PPC.

[SCJ429]

Or you could get a factory rifle chambered in 222 and shoot some flat based bullets from Berger.

[TassieTiger]

If 200m was max distance that was going to be shot, if this was your first step into target / centre fires, if you were paper punching only, if a budget was to be considered - I’d argue a 223 in a heavy barrel with a 1:9 twist rate or faster, with a Leupold vx3 or better (maybe a 6.5-20 locked on 20) shooting 60gn projectiles would do quite nicely...
If wind is likely to be a factor then perhaps something heavier, but even so, a 223 with light recoil is pretty happy out passed 200m...

[bladeracer]

One of the clubs out here have started building a 200 yard range for centre fire ,what wold be a good set up for bench rest shooting at that distance, will only be used for target shooting

Benchrest is one of those disciplines that generally use a rifle custom built for the purpose - is there a class that uses conventional rifles?

[bladeracer]

If 200m was max distance that was going to be shot, if this was your first step into target / centre fires, if you were paper punching only, if a budget was to be considered - I’d argue a 223 in a heavy barrel with a 1:9 twist rate or faster, with a Leupold vx3 or better (maybe a 6.5-20 locked on 20) shooting 60gn projectiles would do quite nicely...
If wind is likely to be a factor then perhaps something heavier, but even so, a 223 with light recoil is pretty happy out passed 200m...

.223 can do 1000yd comps, but I would go tighter than 9"-twist, 7" would be good, especially in a 30" barrel.

[TassieTiger]

Fair point for sure BR - he did say target rifle only so 30 inches def the go...I’d want to leave a window for a little hunting potential and run 22-24 inches but that’s just me.
I’d def be eating reloads over factory and if a 1:7 then projectiles in the high 70gns would perform better than 60’s.
Out of left field, I jumped on used gns a few hours ago and saw some very nicely priced Leupold scopes gone up In the last day or so...

[SCJ429]

You want to run as little twist as possible, 1:14 is a good choice and use 40 to 55 grain bullets for a 22 or 60 to 70 grain bullets in a 6mm.

[bladeracer]

Fair point for sure BR - he did say target rifle only so 30 inches def the go...I’d want to leave a window for a little hunting potential and run 22-24 inches but that’s just me.
I’d def be eating reloads over factory and if a 1:7 then projectiles in the high 70gns would perform better than 60’s.
Out of left field, I jumped on used gns a few hours ago and saw some very nicely priced Leupold scopes gone up In the last day or so...

I was thinking more the 90gn+ region. At 200yds, BC would be irrelevant to most of us, but when you're trying to make a single hole in paper it might be all important.

[bladeracer]

You want to run as little twist as possible, 1:14 is a good choice and use 40 to 55 grain bullets for a 22 or 60 to 70 grain bullets in a 6mm.

55gn bullets for Benchrest competition?

[SCJ429]

I have not seen a 22 PPC shooter run a pill any heavier. You need to keep the bullet short so you can keep the RPM low.

The barrel lenght is usually just over 20 inches. No long barrels for short range benchrest.

[duncan61]

6mm BR

[Apollo]

A 200 Yard Target Range will probably be setup for 100 & 200 Yard Competition. For Group a 6mm PPC, for Score a 30BR built on any of the Custom Actions, Stocks with probably a 3" Forend and weight for which class of competition. A competitive setup in the benchrest world would probably need to have an accuracy nearly down to 0.1 MOA at worse 0.25MOA.

Is also a good distance to try 200 Yard Rimfire Fly and hone those wind reading skills.

[TassieTiger]

How do you measure .1 Moa lol...getting to the point where a .17 will have advantages based on projectile width lol

[duncan61]

Yes there is Blade.The last time I shot the range I learned that because all the classes were getting complex there is now field rifle which my unmodified Remington Sendero is and F/class for unlimited stuff up to rail guns.If half your fore end is cut out to sit on a adjustable tripod and you have a custom barrel and all the fruit it is F/class.

[Apollo]

How do you measure .1 Moa lol...getting to the point where a .17 will have advantages based on projectile width lol

Pretty easy to measure with the correct approved tools for benchrest scoring. A .17 would probably be one of the worst calibres to use, projectile width has nothing to do with it. For benchrest score it is very hard to beat the accuracy from a 30 calibre BR (30BR) using the likes of a 115gr FB Target Bullet and hit the tiny dot in the target center every time (best edge scoring).

Great calibre 30BR for practise since barrel wear is near zero.

[Jeff]

If 200m was max distance that was going to be shot, if this was your first step into target / centre fires, if you were paper punching only, if a budget was to be considered - I’d argue a 223 in a heavy barrel with a 1:9 twist rate or faster, with a Leupold vx3 or better (maybe a 6.5-20 locked on 20) shooting 60gn projectiles would do quite nicely...
If wind is likely to be a factor then perhaps something heavier, but even so, a 223 with light recoil is pretty happy out passed 200m...

Thanks

[Jeff]

One of the clubs out here have started building a 200 yard range for centre fire ,what wold be a good set up for bench rest shooting at that distance, will only be used for target shooting

Benchrest is one of those disciplines that generally use a rifle custom built for the purpose - is there a class that uses conventional rifles?

Yes mate there will be

[bladeracer]

Yes there is Blade.The last time I shot the range I learned that because all the classes were getting complex there is now field rifle which my unmodified Remington Sendero is and F/class for unlimited stuff up to rail guns.If half your fore end is cut out to sit on a adjustable tripod and you have a custom barrel and all the fruit it is F/class.

Yes, I realised just after posting the question, I actually attended a Rimfire match earlier this year for a look. The regulars were using custom contraptions that only had a single purpose, definitely not my thing. The guy I went with though was using his stock LA101.

[bladeracer]

One of the clubs out here have started building a 200 yard range for centre fire ,what wold be a good set up for bench rest shooting at that distance, will only be used for target shooting

Benchrest is one of those disciplines that generally use a rifle custom built for the purpose - is there a class that uses conventional rifles?

Yes mate there will be

And is that where your interest lies then, a stock hunting rifle?

[duncan61]

A local processor that I delivered to switched to 6mm BR and swore by it.This guy sold his first Kangaroo for pounds and shillings so he had been in the industry for a while they had a piece of plastic 100mm pipe on an angle hooked up by belt to a electric motor and when I inquired about it it was for moly coating the projectile to save on cleaning and better friction.If this bloke and his son went that way I can safely assume it is a good chambering for accuracy

[SCJ429]

The 6mm BR is an exceptional case and can make a great hunting rifle.

Moly coating has had its day and you don't see it much anymore.

[Apollo]

The 6mm BR is an exceptional case and can make a great hunting rifle.

Moly coating has had its day and you don't see it much anymore.

Can't disagree on the first statement. I have a Sako S491 chambered for 6mmBR and two different twist rate barrels for 22BR. All are extremely accurate. It is a brilliant rifle for longer range varminting.

However, the second statement I'll have to disagree. I Moly Coat bullets and I know well over a couple of dozen more people who use molly bullets. It is for it's intended reason to prolong the number of rounds fired in a day before cleaning is required to maintain accuracy.

[duncan61]

They moly coated as they used to go a long way for a week to get 5 tonne of roos and wished to not have to clean as often.My .222 will do a night of 30-40 shots and I can get away with doing it again but 3rd night I have to clean as the POI goes all over the place.I have not had this problem with the Howa .243

[Sergeant Hartman]

For 100-200 look at replies from SJC and Apollo.

If you are need evidence Google 200y record holders... mostly all top people are using 6ppc... but it's very finicky to get itb right and can change a lot depending on conditions The 30br barrel as Apollo said will last 5/6-10k rounds and still be accurate enough to place comps.

I got a friend who had a 6br running 12 twist and he reckons it doesn't stabilise well enough at 100/200, my 6br (1 in 8 twist) shoots very well (0.25-.35 moa) from 100 to 500m but isn't really a benchrest rifle. It is like shooting a 22lr though and heck a lot of fun..i keep joking it needs a muzzle break (not)

Going back to the 6ppc considering both 6br are very similar looking cartridges i do wonder why the 6ppc behavior is so different to 6br

[Bill]

6.5 Grendel easy on the shoulder, cheap to feed

[SCJ429]

6.5 Grendel easy on the shoulder, cheap to feed

You cannot easily buy factory ammo for a 6mm BR and not at all for the PPC so I assume you mean hand loads. I don't see the Grendel being any cheaper to load for, all things being equal.

[sungazer]

There are some good things about the Grendal but in 6.5 it is not competitive with most of the other cartridges when it comes to competitions.

[Apollo]

A bit of a story on the 6mmPPC. https://www.accurateshooter.com/cartrid ... es/6mmppc/

Just remember that the 6mmBR and 6mmPPC being compared are designed around the 100/200 yard accuracy even though they do well at 300. They use Slow Twist Rate barrels ideal for the mid 60's grain flat base bullets used and chamber designs using very little if any freebore. From my own experience I cannot match the accuracy if I switch to a fast twist barrel say my 1:8 twist but it is also chambered quite differently with a lot of freebore to suit the much longer 105gr VLD bullets and shoot at short range.

Starting with Lapua 220 Russian cases with neck expanded to 6mm I shoot these in an old worn out barrel to fire-form these being the same chamber as my match barrel. Even though it's an extremely worn barrel it still shoots better than 0.5 MOA so I use the rounds for varminting setup on a portable bench out in the paddock. Takes me a little time but the fire-forming eventually happens and I've made use of an old barrel and exterminated a few varmints in the process...Roo's, Rabbits and Fox's. It's not all that loud a cartridge either and quite often at 2-300 yards the critters turn to look the opposite direction so another on goes down with a very bad headache...if there is any head remaining to ache.

[Bill]

There are some good things about the Grendal but in 6.5 it is not competitive with most of the other cartridges when it comes to competitions.

Consider this is only a bush 100/200 comp the Grendel at first glance sounds silly but then you realize its basically a 6 PPC necked up.

Lapua make brass and some nice 107s, leaves the 6's behind if Silhouette work out to 600 is required ,

some good high BC 130-142gr proj can be utilized. Just thinking outside the box here