Reach for 1000 SIG SAUER Academy with Savage M12 LRP and Leupold Scope VX-3i 6.5-20x50mm by Ed Hale

Posted on July 20, 2016 by Ed Hale

July 19, 2016 I arrived at the Sig Academy and met up with son Jason. Below is the Pro Shop. A beautiful summer day shooting with son Jason is all I could ask for!

An inside look.

We headed to our classroom where Chris Cavellaro our Instructor known as “Cav” gave us an intro as what to expect from the day which started at 8:30 AM and lasted technically till 5 PM but we shot till 6 PM.

Cav went around the room with 5 students in attendance to see where they were from and their expectations of the course.

Five is a very manageable size for the type of shooting we are doing. I was performing Test and Evaluation of the Savage Model 12 Long Range Precision Rifle as well as the Test and Evaluation of Leupold’s newly introduced Scope VX-3i 6.5-20x50mm Custom Dial System. You must select a cartridge for using the Custom Dial System and have a CDS dial made. I chose not to test the CDS feature.

Below is all my gear for the Class “Reach for 1000”.

Our set-up to check zero at 100 yards. Sig gave us shooting blankets to use. Below is top is Jason’s Rifle and my Savage Model 12 Long Range Precision rifle and Leupold VX-3i Scope with a shade attached.

Below is my 100 yard group shooting Hornady Precision Hunter 143 grain (Extremely Low Drag) ELD-X bullets with the first shot called a cold shot 1 1/2 inches high.

hornady ammo Precision Hunter

The rest of the shots grouped a bit less than 1 inch as the barrel begins to warm up. Initially, I was not really comfortable and relaxed because I set my bi-pod lower to see if it made a difference, it didn’t feel comfortable. I reset the bi-pod higher and got my large rear sand bag and was comfortable again. the tight group of three to the left happens when this bull barrel warms a bit. Cold shots are important to understand when you need to make that Precision shot the first time.

Cav shared a shooting technique to look through your scope then close your eyes, relax your head and open them to see if the crosshair moves. If it does, you want to move your body left or right till that crosshair remains on center. Emphasis on relaxed muscles. Secondly, Cav emphasized the focus on the crosshair more than the target. In fact the target may even blur but the crosshair is your focal point in the aiming process. No mention about breathing during the shot sequence was done. I am happy with my breathing sequence.

Emphasis on trigger pull as a steady force rearward till the trigger sear breaks and the rifle fires. All said and done the shooter should not be tense at all and the trigger finger does all the work. My Precision trigger is set at 2 pounds for target shooting, See photo below.

Below is the 200 yard shooting area center. Targets were again paper.

Below we are set up at 300 yards and about to shoot steel targets with white circles so we can see/hear the impact.

Below are my 300 yard shots, Top three inch circle has all five hits in the white while the bottom circle grouping was very tight indeed with all 5 shots three dead center and 2 at 6 o’clock in the white. Whoa! Nice! I said to Cal; “I have read that many precision bullets seem to stabilize at longer ranges.” “Yes they can”, Cal added.

Below is Jason’s 300 yard group.

The three hundred range also is the 750 yard range to the right in the photo below. Look above the scope turret. It looks tiny doesn’t it. Sooo far away that even the targets are difficult to see without a scope which was set to 14x. I should have dialed to 20x but still shot quite fine hitting a 10 inch white square after a few minor adjustments. Cav had a Kestrel wind meter with barometric pressure. Wind was coming from our backs most of the day making wind drift a small concern.

It was here that I discovered that I ran out of elevation adjustment but it was not due to the scope. The 20 MOA picatinny rail was on backwards. Cav had field tools so we unmounted the scope turned the rail 180 degrees, remounted the scope and in 15 minutes and I was back in business for 1000 yards. Hmm, the Leupold 20 MOA rail had no markings on it for direction.

Below shooters finishing the 750 yard targets

Below is 1000 yard targets with a large 4 foot steel plate with a 10 inch white square in the middle. The same target we shot at 750 yards but repainted. One at a time we made adjustments to hit the 10 inch white square. To the left and right are steel human silhouette tagets which we engaged once we could put rounds in the 10 inch square. But now for the balloon shoot at 1000 yards. There were strings of 8 and 6 inch multi-colored balloons to shoot. I was able to take out three of these balloons at 1000 yards.

Below, Jason and I are taking aim at a 8 inch balloon at 1000 yards. We added 1 minute in windage for bullet spin drift (book says 1.2) I took out three balloons to Jason’s one. Not bad for an old fart, eh with at test Savage Model 12 LRP and a Test Leupold VX-3i 6.5-20x50mm scope and store bought ammo. Not bad at all…and I teased him in good humor too.

In a few days Sig will email a course evaluation. I was elated with the skill and laid back nature of our Instructor Cav. He had a very consistent demeanor all day. At the end of the course we had a debrief and there I gave my grade for Cal who I gave an A+ grade.

I could have used a two gallon thermos of cold water. My Camel bak Hydration back pack worked great but the water got warm faster than I wanted. Could have added more Ice to it. Need lots of cold water when I do this again.

There is a follow-up to this course which goes into detail on Wind doping and Mirage and Calculators for MOA or Mil adjustments.

We all received a Certificate of Completion of the “Reach for 1000 training”.

Ratings for the Model 12 LRP Rifle are easy I give the Rifle an A grade. It never let me down.

The Leupold VX-3i 6.5-20 x50mm was just fantastic and I could see and pop 8 inch balloons at 1000 yards using 20x. The balloons were clear and sharp with great color.

The 20 MOA rail was terrific once we had it pointed in the right direction and the 143 grain Hornady Precision Hunter ELD-X bullets were excellent and Match Grade.

I had a great time learned a lot and recommend the rifle, scope and the training to all my friends.

Good Shooting!

Savage Model 12 LRP 6.5 Creedmoor System Test Products Arriving updated 5/24

Posted on May 24, 2016 by Ed Hale

My heart quickens at the thought of testing each new rifle, scope and accessories here at New Hampshire Rifleman… Like Christmas in the summer. As you are aware if you read articles here at New Hampshire Rifleman, we are going to test the Savage Model 12 Long Range Precision Rifle in 6.5 Creedmoor. I am told that this Rifle can really shoot and sports a 26 inch barrel/w 1-8 twist. It just arrived to my FFL. I drove over just minutes ago and filled out the background check as usual and the rifle is home in my office Wow! We shall see. I used my Lyman Electronic Trigger pull gauge and the Target model accuTrigger weighed in at an average of 2 lbs pull out of the box. The red target trigger is adjustable as low as 6 oz and as high as 2.5 pounds.

I ran a Hornady bullet OAL gauge in the bore to find lands at 2.868 inches w/ my Sierra bullets.

Max SAAMI COL is 2.825 but need one caliber worth of grip to hold bullet which will be closer to 2.80 inches for a safer COL for this bullet.

along with a “New” 2016 Leupold VX-3i/w aggressively redesigned power selector. Shipping to NH Rifleman soon…

a 20 MOA Picatinny rail add-on to reach out there and the famous RX 1200i DNA Laser rangefinder with TBR.

And the test bed Match grade 142 grain bullets from Sierra – The Bulletsmiths®

and

Cartridges with the new Hornady® ELD-X™ Hunting bullets see earlier article. The Sierra bullets and cartridges have arrived but no rifle yet but it is on its way to my FFL dealer here in Plaistow, NH.

I will hand load the Sierra’s, one at a time… details to come.

My AR-15 at Range with Mil. Spec.Trigger by Ed Hale

Posted on March 2, 2016 by Ed Hale

Yesterday, 3/1/2016 was sunny and little wind (0 to 5 mph) at the range in Southern New Hampshire. This article is a continuation of discussion my Colt upper/ Bushmaster mil spec lower AR-15 and its Trigger.

First, let me say that if given this trigger was a permanent one and I could not change it, it does work “ok” if you work to learn it even at 8.5 lbs. Thankfully that is not the case. New Timney triggers are coming and thus we can see what kind of improvement we can get. Should be a fun exercise and we can hopefully learn a lot. Yes there are other manufacturers that also produce triggers but that is for another day.

So I went to the range today and shot 3 brands of 55 grain Full Metal Jacket FMJ ammo with cannelure crimp at 50 yards to see what grouped best with 5 shot groups.

What I found was groups tighter than expected and occasional fliers which can be attributed to 1) the trigger 2) the shooter, 3) the ammo itself, 4) new rifle.

The trigger pull experience on this rifle can be understood to be heavy and have slack. I found that I could pull up slack and find the barrier wall where the hammer is located. It helped me group better than I expected by pulling to the wall first and then a final squeeze.

I chose 50 yards to begin this grouping exercise because I could clearly see the “x” in the bullseye and focus on it. What I found was that each brand grouped well with this trigger with occasional flyers due perhaps to a combination of things including the trigger, shooter unfamiliarity etc. I am satisfied with this exercise of capability with each brand of ammo with ARMSCOR USA shooting the best 5 shot group with one flyer. It is about groups not where they hit the target bullseye you see. We can always adjust the scope! My goal is to do this kind of grouping at 100 yards not 50 yards with a better trigger like the drop in Timney’s that I will test. Note the “X” Ring circle is 1 inch across for your reference. Triggers are coming! The take away here is that the Colt barrel is excellent and, I believe, capable of better groups than we see here under ideal conditions.

Why get a modern day carbine like the AR-15?

Posted on January 26, 2016 by Ed Hale

Because you want one, AND the right to bear arms is guaranteed under the Second Amendment! The only reason to get today’s civilian version of the AR-15 is that you desire to own and shoot one. I am first and foremost a hunter who shoots targets too. And to protect my family and home.

It was and still is the political left that wants to take guns away along with your second amendment rights.

We must endeavor to stay up to par with the marksmanship and shooting skills of our military. Civilian Marksmanship and Hunters are the prime contributors to our military during wartime. The finest of the worlds snipers cut their shooting teeth in the deer woods.

Even though the AR-15 civilian version is simply a semi-auto like many guns of the post WW II era, it is very accurate, little recoil and shoots with a 20 or 30 round magazine. It evens up the disparity of military vs civilian rifles significantly. The AR-15 in some barrels allow bullets in the 75 to 80 grain class thus the deer hunter can use it effectively too. Reloading the .223 Remington is a must for deer and predator hunters so that you can optimize bullet performance on game and keep shot cost down.

I am no expert on this rifle per se as it requires study to master its value. I have found, however a nice nested group of articles for you to read by Scott Powers of Sniper Country. Enjoy!

Guns when not in use are securely locked in safe place and away from any unauthorized use.

http://www.snipercountry.com/Articles/AR15_part1.asp

Winter doldrums? Buying ammo and accessories for my Colt .223/5.56mm Carbine! by Ed Hale

Posted on January 20, 2016 by Ed Hale

Brrr it’s cold out. Stuck inside? Now is the time to stock up for your shooting needs for Coyote and Target. I have been researching best ammo prices for my new .223/5.56 Colt LE 6940 carbine upper with chrome lined barrel seen below. I have an inexpensive Tasco Red/ Green Aim Point on it with 3 moa dot. Cost $37 dollars last year and sat in my safe but will eventually get a better Red/ Green dot or at least try others like the EOTech holographic at a cost of $400-$500 dollars but we shall see there are so many out there. We need to be penny wise and not pound foolish.

Rifle accuracy is amazing but no target data to show yet. I will switch to a scope for longer range testing this summer.

Ed's Colt Carbine

I am pleased that I was able to find decent bargains on bulk 55 grain ammo for my 1/7 twist barrel. At some point I will likely reload the .223 brass and play with heavier bullets for velocity and penetration on game. Since this rifle has few accessories, I purchased a 2 point sling and picatinny sling attachments and a picatinny adapter for a Harris Bipod forward lug. Also got a bore snake for barrel care just for the .223. Notice the forward hand grip that drops at a 45 degrees on the forward rail. This is so the shooter has a good grip for muzzle control.

Remington Model 870 Express Tactical Magpul

Posted on August 12, 2015 by Ed Hale

A quick note for home defense folks. There is buzz in the air over shotgun home defense.

I met a young woman at the range pumping 12 gauge holes in a 6 inch bullseye at 25 yards with the Remington Model 870™Express® Tactical Magpul®. In fact she was having a good time and no issues with recoil or a stock that did not fit her. This is a woman that loves her shotgun! Bad guys beware!

http://www.remington.com/products/firearms/tactical/shotguns/model-870-express-tactical-magpul.aspx

NRA has this piece below on shotgun home defense. Check it out!

http://www.nrafamily.org/articles/2015/8/3/choosing-a-home-defense-shotgun/?utm_source=newsletter&utm_medium=insider&utm_campaign=0815

Savage 11/111 Long Range Hunter Rifle and Leupold VX-6 Scope and Nosler Bullets Out of the Box (Part 1) By Ed Hale

Posted on August 7, 2015 by Ed Hale

I chose this 7mm Remington Magnum caliber to test because of the availability of ammo and brass for reloading and its outstanding accuracy record at any hunting distance. I chose the rifle because it has so much versatility with the built in cheek rest and muzzle brake. Due to the popularity of this rifle, it took my friends at Savage some time to obtain one for me to test for NH Rifleman publication. We will be testing this rifle with the Leupold VX-6 3-18 44mm CDS Illuminated Boone and Crockett system and with Nosler E-Tip Expandable solid gilding copper bullets in 140 and 150 grains.

Hunters can spend many thousands of dollars on a fine hunting rifle and never equal the engineered quality of this Rifle at this price point MSRP of $1136. Yes it is not cheap but for what is in this rifle it is truly amazing if it can shoot as well as they say. Read on…

For the Techies like me…The rifle is for right handed shooters with a barrel rate of twist of 9.5 thus for 140 grains to 175 grains bullets are stable. Stability is calculated at http://www.jbmballistics.com/cgi-bin/jbmstab-5.1.cgi where bullets are very stable above a factor of 1.5.

THE RIFLE

The rifle weighs in at 8.65 pounds without scope. Barrel Length is 26 inches and includes a 2 inch muzzle brake that can be turned on and off by a simple twist. Ammo capacity is three rounds and the cartridge is based on the large .375 Holland & Holland Magnum and necked down to 7.2mm or .284 inches. I think of this rifle as a 24 inch barrel with a 2 inch muzzle brake. So what is so engineered? I liked the Savage videos below to share with our readers all the details. The adjustable cheek rest needs an allen wrench to change the height.

Stock – The AccuStock is engineered to seat the floating barrel firmly in a metal housing. A video presentation makes this clear. http://savagearms.com/accuracy/accustock/

Trigger – Next is the innovative and Adjustable AccuTrigger which allows low trigger weights and with Safety primary. The trigger on this rifle is set just under 3 pounds at 2 pounds 15 ounces and breaks crisply. Video http://savagearms.com/accuracy/accutrigger

Barrels are button rifled with a floating bolt head and head-space control and video clips are seen here. http://savagearms.com/accuracy

Recoil Pad and Muzzle Brake

The rifle has a state of the art recoil pad and absorbs lots of felt recoil. But the best option is the Muzzle Brake. Savage added a 2 inch Muzzle Brake that can be turned on or off, adding more or less to velocity and recoil absorption (Pictured below with the brake activated. See the background through the center holes)

THE SCOPE

The Leupold Scope is the VX-6 3-18 44mm CDS Illuminated with Boon and Crockett Reticle. We will set the scope on 10x for 100 yards with no Illumination. The body of this scope is too short for the existing mounts on the rifle so a set of high rings and a longer forward mount was purchased from Weaver to move the rings closer together.

THE BULLET

See the You Tube videos of Nosler bullets and E-Tips on the internet.

On one video the bullet began expand on impact of ballistic gel and at 5 to 6 inches and beyond it creates a maximum wound channel of 4 inches for an ethical kill and maintained more than 95% of bullet weight throughout and mushroomed perfectly.

BULLET GROUP TESTS (OUT OF THE BOX) SUB MOA August 7, 2015

Bullets were reloaded according to SAAMI spec’s and Nosler Manual Powder and Load recommendations for each bullet. IMR 4831 powder was chosen because it was available and had a starting load that was already proven to be accurate.

140 grain 100 yard Test at a MV of 2950 fps with 62 grains of IMR 4831 with the Muzzle Brake turned off ( Recoil was very acceptable with 140 grain bullets)

DATA and Photo’s

Group 1 = 1.06 inches

Group 2 = 0.812 inches

Group 3 = 0.687 inches

Average = .853 inches

JBM Ballistics Table for Drop, Velocity, Energy and Max Point Blank Range MPBR for a 6 inch target. Max Point Blank Range is 293 yards when sighted for 250 yard zero. If the wind was 10 mph the shot would be limited to 220 yards without any correction. The maximum height of bullet flight is at 3 inches high at 141 yards.

I was thrilled with the rifle, scope and bullet set up as this combination shot sub minute of angle right out of the Box! WOW!!!

Why the Ruger M77 Hawkeye Predator in 6.5 Creedmoor?

Posted on May 27, 2015 by Ed Hale

This was a cartridge that could have been a kin to the .308 Winchester parent cartridge but wasn’t. Hornady produced this original cartridge in 2007 and has grown steadily ever since in both the target world and the hunting world. Just between the .243 and .270 there was room to create a cartridge who’s mild recoil is similar to the .243 Winchester but shoots bullets 100 grains to 140 grains from Prairie Dogs to Elk. The .243 is not an Elk cartridge and the .270 has not been a favorite of Bench Rest Target shooters for pure accuracy. In order to make this 6.5 special required making its own Cartridge which is a bit smaller and shorter than the .308 Winchester but unwittingly a great big game cartridge.

The Ruger M77 Hawkeye Predator does justice to this Cartridge in many ways. The laminate stock is as strong and precision cut as if made from a pure synthetic material. The stainless steel barrel that is hammer forged is the finest barrel for the price. And the Ruger controlled feed action ensures a very high degree of reliable feed. The trigger is a fully adjustable 2 stage target trigger and comes in the 2 pound class making it a fine long range target or predator rifle. It is recommended that adjustments are made by a qualified gunsmith.

The 6.5 Creedmoor round is said to be great on barrel life so for those who shoot large quantities of ammo are in for a treat. Go to my first article far below to begin reading this in the correct sequence.

Reloading 6.5 Creedmoor Cartridge – Initial Observations

Posted on May 23, 2015 by Ed Hale

The first thing I discovered is that new Brass for the Creedmoor does not appear to be abundant. In fact I found Hornady brass to be the one of the only available new brass in stock. Nosler Brass was out of stock. If you have read my previous articles on the 6.5 Creedmoor you will see that the Hornady brass is soft, thus making it difficult to reload. Lots of case prep to bevel the inside of the case neck without creating a sharp flair edge is difficult indeed. Pressing on with the only new brass in town, I have succeeded in reloading it more than twice. The brass is stiffer as it becomes harder with use and better for pressing the bullet into the neck.

Of great interest should be Cartridge Overall Length (COL) ; The Max SAAMI Over All Cartridge Length is specified as 2.825.

I am shooting 120 grain Sierra Pro-Hunter heads as I am a hunter first and a target shooter second. I originally set the COL for this head with case at 2.53 inches and later discovered that I could push the head out as far as a COL of 2.70 and still have enough of the bullet seated. Groups of the 2.53 COL show excellent results as groups are 1 inch or less. Yesterday I shot several rounds set at a COL of 2.70 and the result deteriorated with fliers in the 2 inch group area. One would think that groups would improve as the bullet is closer to the rifling. Not so in this case, perhaps because the case had very little of the bullet in it. I perceive that the 120 grain is still a small bullet for the 6.5 and that heavier and larger bullets will make better use of the max COL.

Bullets are readily available from most all manufacturers, key bullets like the Nosler AccuBond are available as are several Berger Hunting Bullets, et al. The reloader must experiment with COL to see what works best and provides best groups.

On powders, my only experience is with Hodgdon Hornady Superformance at this time and I like it very much because it is a smaller kernel and meters well with less variation than larger kernels. Nosler folks suggest powders such as Varget, W760, IMR 4007 SSC, Big Game, H4350, RL17 and Hunter.among others.

Since the Creedmoor Cartridge is new, older reloading manuals do not have it. Nosler does provide load data at http://www.nosler.com/nosler-load-data/65-creedmoor/ and SAAMI specifications. Hornady has the 6.5 listed at http://www.hornady.com/store/6.5-Creedmoor but no data for reloading. Check out the scrapbook of game animals taken. It includes a record Gemsbok. © 2015

Ruger M77 Hawkeye Predator 6.5 Creedmoor & Product Tests – Day One

Posted on May 12, 2015 by Ed Hale

Ruger® M77® Hawkeye® Predator 6.5 Creedmoor & Product Tests – Day One

Day One – I did not waste a moment when I picked up this rifle from my FFL friends at State Line Guns Ammo and Archery in Plaistow today. Yes, I am like a big kid in a candy store when it comes to new rifles and scopes and I am sure most all of your rifleman out there are just the same. Upon receiving the rifle, I inspected it and all was as it should be visually a beautiful rifle with the laminate stock. I mounted the brand new Leupold VX-6 3 -18 x 44mm CDS Scope to test too.(Above Photo by Author). The combination looks stunning! Future Testing includes the use of Hornady Brass, CCI Primers, Hodgdon Hornady Superformance Powder and Sierra bullets a combination that I believe will work supremely well.

I inspected the bore but it was a dull shine so I swabbed the bore with Butches bore bright. It is a good idea to clean the bore of a new rifle so you have a pristine starting point. Test shots are taken at the factory as was very likely in this case.

(Photo by Author)

The swab on the right was a first pass. Finding this, I ran a brush just once and then swabbed again with the patch to the left. I ran more till the bore was clean. Having owned several Ruger’s, I placed the bolt in the rifle and it worked smoothly. I did read the manual to see if there was anything new and found there were video’s which could be viewed on line for use and dis-assembly plus the lock they provide for safety and a pair of 20mm Ruger scope rings. Luckily I had a pair of 30mm rings for the Leupold VX-6 to attach to the Ruger scope platform.

I used a Wheeler Fat Wrench to torque the mounting and scope ring screws. (Photo by Author)

Next is to load the new Hornady cartridge cases, I could not get any Nosler cases as they were out of stock but the Hornady Cases look terrific. (Photo below by Author)

The brass necks and shoulder have been annealed (softened) for reloading. Now off to the reloading bench. I have found that the necks of this new brass need to be really hand chamfered quite a bit on the inside edge so that the flat base bullet does not distress the case neck angle. I ruined a few cases and bullet heads in the learning process but all is well. It took some time and trial and error to determine the cartridge length to the rifling inside the barrel (approx.2.53 to 2.6 inches by my reckoning seems a good COL for the 120 grain bullet based on later tests). Once known you should seat the bullet a bit deeper, so as not to contact the rifling. Good reloading manuals will help with this distance away from the lands and it varies from bullet to bullet and brand to brand. I used CCI 200 large rifle primers.

My research indicates that Hodgdon Hornady Superformance Powder is one of the best powders for my Sierra 120 grain Pro Hunter bullet for the 6.5 Creedmoor. Also Alliant’s Reloader 17 has been cited for excellence with the Creedmoor too.

Inspection of several fired rounds indicate that I am good to load up some ammo for another day. The recoil was pleasingly mild and the trigger seemed perfect. I will measure the trigger pull next with an electronic trigger pull gage along with other attributes.

I loaded less than a recommended load by a grain and a half, shot the round and examined the primer and cartridge. All looked normal so I shot the recommended load and it looked normal as well. Great! Now to load up some rounds for bullet speed by chronograph and accuracy with the new scope for this load and bullet. End of Day One. Much more to come… © 2015

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