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Shuggy

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Posts posted by Shuggy

  1. I had an old Remington 700 VS, with a burnt out barrel, that was sitting in the cabinet doing nothing, and I had a similar itch for a ‘shorty’ that channelled the look of the DARPA XM-3 sniper rifle. I asked Neil McKillop to work his usual magic and this was the result. The first time out on the range, I think that I was annoying my spotter, as I kept hitting the spotting disc. Calibre is 0.308 and barrel length is 18”. Moderator is an Ase Utra BoreLock SL5i.

    IMG_0263.jpeg

  2. I have had a Tipton Gun Vise for years and they are great. However, chassis style stocks such as my AX308 do not fit well. I have recently bought a ‘pattern makers vice’ to replace the Tipton. These have the advantage of soft jaws, the ability to grip ‘tapers, round or odd shapes’ and the ability to swivel to any orientation. Plus the price is only £148, which I think is very reasonable.

    https://www.axminstertools.com/axminster-trade-vices-pattern-makers-vice-107038?queryID=43682989aa623abd93274522cd48abbd

    IMG_0182.jpeg

  3. This just showed up in my Facebook feed:

    Press release – 31st October 2022 
    The Phoenix Barrel Company Ltd
    We are pleased to announce the formation of a new UK rifle barrel manufacturing company by a group of international target rifle shooters and experienced barrel makers.  With over 150 years of target shooting experience amongst the shareholders and the expertise of highly regarded barrel makers, it is our strong desire to quickly become the leading rifle barrel manufacturer in the UK marketplace.  The company has purchased the machinery and equipment and other assets of the barrel making division of Sassen Engineering Ltd in Birmingham (in liquidation), and is preparing to commence production in early November 2022 to satisfy a healthy and growing order book.  For more information, please contact us on info@phoenixbarrels.com

  4. Another alternative is the Klarig muzzle brake from Germany: https://muendungsbremsen.de/en/borelock-brake.html

    This is compatible with the Ase Utra Borelock system, but is much more compact and neater looking than the Finnish made brakes. However, fair warning, Klarig does not accept credit card payments, insisting on the SEPA bank transfer system. I found this pretty complex and managed to mess it up. However, the quality of the brake itself is top notch, with excellent machining and a Nitride surface finish.

  5. A 32 ft lb CB Long is also safe around habitation. You have to compare apples with apples. One of the joys of a tube magazine rimfire is that it will feed pretty much any length of ammunition.

    I am certainly not dissing FAC airguns. Choice is good and the engineering shown above is amazing. I’m just pointing out that there are other options available.

  6. Aggy, thank you, I think that’s an amazing rifle. However, I must admit that I have never quite ‘got’ FAC air rifles. If one is going to go to the trouble of obtaining an FAC, what advantages does an air rifle confer over a rimfire?

    if you take something like this 22 Henry lever action: this will hold 16 rounds of 22 Short, each delivering about 70 ft lbs. It weighs something like 6 lbs; handles like a magic wand; holds minute-of-bunny head comfortably at 50 yards; is almost silent when fitted with a moderator; and can be picked up for around £700. What am I missing?

    C16449D8-6495-40F5-8C37-ABD9041939DB.jpeg

  7. A hammer forged, chrome-lined barrel, such as you will find on an SA80 will typically last 10-20,000 rounds. A non-chrome lined barrel would probably last a bit less. But there is a big difference between service rifle accuracy standards and civilian ‘match’ accuracy. I am guessing that a stainless 0.223 match barrel would probably give good accuracy for 5-6,000 rounds? Good barrel life is one of the joys of using standard ‘underbore’ cartridges such as 0.223 and 0.308.

  8. I think that I probably contributed to that thread 5 years ago! I think that the one new choice since then would be the A-Tec Marksman. However, I went with the AI design back then and have been very satisfied with it. 

    The AI over brake moderator design is really very good. However, you do need to keep the mating surfaces clean and coated with an appropriate high temperature grease. We had another good thread on that where Baldie shared some useful advice.

  9. My experience is mainly with 308 rather than 223, but I have found that the cheaper factory offerings from the likes of Remington, Federal, PPU and Magtech do not shoot very well. I would be very unsurprised if it is the same in 223. The factory brands that do seem to shoot well are GGG (especially the loads that use the Sierra bullet) and SM Chemnitzer (previously known as MEN). I expect that the likes of Lapua and Norma are also both good, but I have personally never seen any for sale.

    As for your rifle, Baldie has written a number of interesting posts on here about the lack of accuracy that can be expected with AR15s that use bolted-in milsurp barrels with inappropriate chambers and poorly headspaced barrel extensions. If the accuracy is still poor with quality ammo, then that’s the direction that you should probably look next.

  10. It’s a complicated bit of chemistry, but it’s more like decades under normal storage. The good news is that performance drops off before propellant become dangerous. This is the reason why velocity drops off and ES increases in surplus ammunition and the number of ‘click-bangs’ also increases. The ammunition is still safe at this stage, but it’s a sure sign that it needs to be disposed of.

    Personally I would sprinkle it over your roses or cabbages, rather than burying it in bulk.

  11. Nitrocellulose and Nitroglycerin are basically unstable nitrate ester explosives which are made into safe propellants by the use of additives. Over many years they will degrade by generating nitric acid, which in turn further degrades the propellant, a process called ‘thermal decomposition’. This is accelerated by temperature cycling and other environmental exposure. Eventually the reaction can run away, causing fires and explosions. Every year, various arms dumps around the world explode because people failed to pay attention to the basics of explosives storage and surveillance. The critical additive is a stabiliser, which soaks up and neutralises the nitric acid. However, after long enough, it will eventually get used up, at which point the propellant starts to gas and become dangerous.

    For the home reloader, powders stored under normal household temperatures and humidity would take many decades to become unsafe, but it will happen eventually. Best not to take any chances and dispose of them safely.

    On the other hand, black powder remains useable for a long time, as long as it’s kept dry. I believe that TS6 was an American brand made by Curtis and Harvey. As mentioned above, don’t ever be tempted to dispose of black powder by burning, unless it has been thoroughly wetted first.

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