ds1

475 Wildey Mag. Charles Bronson. It was his own handgun he used in Death- Wish 3 film.

I’m to cheap to buy sniper tape. Hardware shop - ask for carpet tape, available in a variety of colours and not overly sticky. It’s textile based.

A cheap and good solution is StrelokPro and a Weatherflow wind meter for I guess less than £100. The Kestrel 5700 Elite and AB software is the benchmark however for around £750. Over the next couple of years I can see this changing as Trijicon have released the Ventus - (measures wind at 6 points out to 500m). As the tech gets cheaper ( atm around $8.5k ) and better it’s got to be the way forward- 3.5km laser with built in ballistics software and wind reading capabilities. https://www.trijicon.com/community/post/trijicon-introduces-revolutionary-new-ventus-wind-mapping-and-range-detecting-handheld-device This is a good video by Richard Utting with some other good options.

Excellent website Andy, ........what is it about retired police officers - Craig’s just got himself a lathe and mill too.

A quick update. Changed the 27” AI barrel for a new 27” AI barrel from the USA. During “break in” tested the Bergers and Hornady Eldm’s again. Both shot excellent. Not sure what is up with the original AI 27” barrel but it won’t shoot Bergers or Eldm’s bit excellent with Scenars. Bore scope shows no abnormal signs. Best load so far with new 27” barrel and 20” barrel is: Hornady 285 Eldm, 92.0 grains RS 76 , Lapua brass, CCI mag primer, 95.5mm COAL.

I think that you have a very valid point though If it was say looking at what competitors use (excluding sponsorship). For example PRS blogs are data driven and you can save a lot of time copying what the best competitors are using. Some things are just supply driven too - would you really want a Brux barrel when Sassen are made in the U.K.?

I have owned an IOR Crusader (sold it to Del). I have also been fortunate to own or at least use and compare many of the top brands except Tangent Theta, Steiner and exotics like Tracking Point. Much is personal preference and how it fits your application. FWIW I tested the IOR out to 800m on paper- tracked fine. I tested it throughout its elevation and windage range on an USO collimator - tracked fine. I compared its depth of field against my Kahles 624i (side by side) - the IOR had more (better depth of field). At the magnification range of the IOR it’s hard to find another scope with that amount of internal elevation. Nightforce ATACR comes close with 100 moa at 35x mag. More elevation and you are into a March Genesis or USO sn9 or Ivy mounts or a Charlie Tarac unit. Glass colour - IOR is brown, Khales is blue - personal preference. IOR has more edge distortion. At the moment I use S&B, NF and Kahles. It will change - It always does. Hate what the pros use argument. It ties you into their decision making process and procurement requirements which will have very little to do with the individual shooter - for example one U.K. police unit went down the process 10 years or so ago - ended up with Sako TRG 22 rifles and Leupold mil dot reticle scopes with moa turrets. At that time AI was in receivership so that would otherwise have been the logical choice. At the time Leupold had a good LE rep. The mildot reticule was still newish tech and the predominantly middle age of the shooters - they were happier with 1/4 moa adjustments as it was more ( feet and inches) than metric crap - not how it works we all know but that was the perception and that fed into training time. So just looking at the kit does not give an insight into why (nor would many LR 308 target shooters choose to use their mandated 165 grain Nosler Accubond ammunition). There are similar stories in Czech LE procurements also.

Thanks for the offer Ewen, I don’t know when I will be in the U.K. There won’t be any BSS show so I hope the NSS show will be on and we will be advertising there. I can’t see the IWA happening either. Many thanks again for the offer.

I have a COAX and RCBS RC. The COAX is excellent. However I confess to having press envy - if I was buying now I would buy the Turban and have done with it. This may or may not mitigate wanting an arbour press for inline bullet seating.

Thank you all for the feedback. Ewen, If I do go the arbor press route it will be the 21ct hydro press. If the IWA is on (not heard anything) then I could get a chance to try before I buy.

Thank you all, for the informative replies. There seems to be a consensus that as a system it is less than perfect without a way of applying a consistent force. The AMP does this but seems very ‘overkill’. I was hoping that the 21Ct hydro press would be a workable answer. At the moment I use Pops calibrated finger method with a short stem on the COAX. It provides what I think is a decent amount of feel when seating bullets and can do the Goldilocks method of too loose, too tight and just right for batching. Also agree annealing after each firing makes for more consistent bullet seating feel.

Has anyone experience with arbor presses from K&M and / or 21st Century (hydraulic ) for use as bullet seater with pressure gauges. Thinking of buying one with Wilson bullet seating dies. Primarily for 338 Lapua but also 308 win and 224 Valkyrie. Appreciate thoughts on which arbor press, best inline seating dies, best place to buy and possibly other options ( I prefer some feel when seating the bullet so an AMP seater would not be on the cards). Baseline for what I have got at the moment is Forster CoAX press and Redding competition dies. Idea is to have a way to gauge neck tension (not directly measurable) but at least bullet seating pressure can be measured. Ideal would be a strain gauge under the case head on some form of base plate. Years ago a company did this but does not seem to be in production now.

One more POV on this - the PST is a mid-priced scope, hopefully made by LOW. There are about 200 small components in a scope. LOW builds to any specs you want. So no surprise lower price = lower cost components, coatings etc = greater failure rate, so the warranty is very useful at this price point, maybe more so than on expensive scopes where better quality components are used. This always struck me as being one of the best things about the SWFA 20x scope of about 10 years back - cheap but good and reliable because less junk in it with no zoom.

Mark, with the extra info I Would recommend the Tikka Tac A1 with 24” barrel. Have a look for a decent scope s/h or Optics Warehouse - reduced / used section. Delta, Athlon something like that around a 5-25 mag range and decent rings. Harris bipod or Caldwell knock- off if money is tight. Caliber .308 but how many rounds will he be shooting per year? If it’s 100s rather than 1000s I would still go for something like 6.5x47 or 6.5 Creed. More expensive initially but once you have the cases the incentive is there to reload.

Think a couple of Czech lads took a Trabant a good ways around the world. Uaz 469 is a real driving experience- like a tractor without the comfort. They made it all posh and called it a Lada. I like the Vortex HD Razor gen2 a lot. I think the Vipers are crap. Question would be why would you buy a NEW Vortex anything when the warranty is lifetime for the product? You break it - they replace it. Latest SH scope tracking test for your enjoyment. The PST gen 1 & 2 don’t seem to track that well. https://www.snipershide.com/precision-rifle/scope-tracking-test-results-2020/?fbclid=IwAR1NZ-yuxcNr3ApzsuD8AvcObtmgJVgi_ftOVLCjv8iHWYvlj0GFZaRrrFw

To the OP, it depends on what you want from both the round and the rifle - different sorts of target shooting has different criteria. FTR and your choice is limited to 223 or 308. PRS - the games changed to 6mm ( 6ARC, 6 Creed, 6 br, 6 Dasher). Do you need a mag feeder or not? Preferred barrel length ? For me it would be a Kelbly NYX 24” barrel made to mag feed in 6br, it’s about the easiest round to get a combination of excellent accuracy, low recoil , good bc and a supply of quality components and factory ammunition. Not cheapest but about the most accurate round on the planet out to 600m.

Pops, it’s a virus that came from the same place as a Pathogen 4 testing lab ( so it has that and many more viruses - including Ebola ), what a coincidence!!!! Whoda thunk!!!!.The P4 testing lab ( also there is a P3 testing lab) was built with French money and signed off by Barnier when he was Frances forieign minister..... not the same testing restrictions in China as the Europe. There are virologist who have questioned the origins of the virus in many way, from origin to form. Sona Pekova ( Czech ) for one. In fact she must have such a tin foil hat she made a faster test for the virus as well - must be a SD lower than 15 in your book). Why choose to believe in just a single narrative or any one narrative? So how do you get modified RNA without manipulation??? https://www.dimsumdaily.hk/czech-molecular-biologist-dr-sona-pekova-explains-in-layman-terms-that-covid-19-virus-originates-from-a-lab/ Personally students having a beer is a lot less disdainful to me than virtue signalling Margaret Ferrier letting the train take the ‘strain’ and no legal action taken against her...... wasn’t she calling for Cummings head?

Pops and Catch, it’s about controlling the peaks - eventually a virus will adapt so as not to kill the host (not in the interest of the virus)......not sure if that applies to a man made virus though. However killing granny for a beer just suggest to me a whole set of emotions that don’t help. I don’t mean that disrespectfully. I asked my daughter about how she was dealing with the deaths - she said that she works 12 hour shifts, it should be 2 per week but often now 4 shifts, this means sometimes she can see a patient during one shift and then not again. There are two possibilities, the patient has died or the patient has been moved to a non ICU unit. She told me she stopped asking what had happened after a couple of weeks. It’s not about caring or not, it’s about dealing and functioning with difficult situations. Sometimes she likes to have a coffee with a few friends to help her unwind - that is now not possible during our lockdown. I don’t see how it helps. To add any real response that helps I am all for but possibly cynically I see some of the responses as being just virtue signaling by the Government’s ( Czech or U.K.).

It’s basically the same plan, or lack there of across Europe. The Czech lockdowns looks pretty much the same. Without being captain hindsight it didn’t take much to predict a winter surge ( happens every year with normal flu). Governments everywhere have had at least 6 months to prepare more hospital beds and ventilators. I am in disagreement however with my daughter (student doctor working with Covid patients in ICU) over he benefit of a lockdown. She thinks it helps, I don’t because when it ends for economic reasons - probably before before Christmas - you don’t need an IQ of more than 4 predict to a surge of cases in mid January and a strain on medical services. My argument is more to avoid surges, give more protection to the elderly and high risk groups - isolation, testing, free meals on wheels services. But keep the economy open. My daughter says she has seen 35-45 year old fit males dying with elderly patients too, so she has a different view.

Catch, AI spec the twist in the 27” barrel as 1:9.33”.When Krieger made the 20” tube up I specked the same twist 1:9.33”. Even if they made it 1:9.5” it would not be a significant difference. After Christmas the 27” barrel is going to be replaced with a Brux. It will be chambered with the same reamer as the 20” barrel. Interesting to see what that likes to be fed - I am guessing the 285 Eldm’s will do much better. RS 80, the bbt Pmax software only shows about an 84% burn with 285 Eldm’s- using a measured case capacity of 101.1 grains H2O. To get a reasonable velocity you end up using 99 grains of powder. It’s good that it works much better for you with 300 grain bullets.

Note on why 95.5mm COAL. It’s a practical max mag length in AMMC mags without function issues. Bullets are still not touching the lands and the bullet bearing surface is above the neck / shoulder junction (donut) area for 250 grain bullets. The Eldm’s are well down in the case. This avoids potential inconsistent neck tension issues with subsequent firing of the cases at least for the 250 grain pills.

Wanted to update this after a lot of load testing. It turned out to be a tail of two barrels. Both rifles are AXMCs one with a 20” after market barrel - Krieger and with tight chamber - it’s a pain but shoots everything well. The other is a 27” original AI barrel and very fussy. Two powders RS 80 and RS 76. I found RS 80 too slow. Did not try it with 250 grain bullets at all and no cigar with 285 grain Eldm’s. RS 76, I started off with different powder charges with 250 grain bullets Lapua Scenars and 250 grain Berger OTMs. Tried from 96.0 grain to 99.0 grain in one grain increments at 95.5mm COAL at 15c. Soon settled on 96.0 grains. Slight minting at 99.0 grains but no hard extraction etc. At 96.0 grains a healthy 50k psi pressure prediction. Hornady 285 Eldm’s - I really wanted this bullet to work- it did in the 20” barrel but not the 27”. Again 95.5mm COAL ( max practical mag length) with RS 76 from 92.0 grains to 96.0 grains. Again settled on 92.0 grains. With 20” barrel loads were giving an ES of 4 m/s ( Autotrickler now ordered). 3 shot groups at 50m - max length of my range. 285 Hornady Eldm's 20” barrel, ave 798 m/s @ 15c. 92.0 grains RS 76 250 Berger OTM Hybrid: 20” barrel, ave 838 m/s @ 15c. 96.0 grains RS 76 I did several more groups over 2 days - the results with the 20” barrel were repeatable. The 27” did not like any combination of load or seating depth for Bergers or Eldm’s. However loves Lapua Scenars- tested with a 91.2mm COAL and 95.5mm COAL both shot well with lowish ES 5 m/s. Only paradox being that the longer COAL was 5 m/s faster than the short COAL. It was not touching the lands. Tested on 3 consecutive days pictures from today: Lapua 250 grain Scenars 27” barrel ave 880 m/s and 885 m/s . 91.2mm and 95.5mm COAL @ 10c. 96.0 grains RS 76. The longer COAL also felt softer to shoot. 250 grain Berger OTM Hybrid, 27” barrel, ave 873 m/s @10c. 92.8 mm and 95.5mm, COAL, 96.0 grains RS76. Crap 285 Hornady Eldm’s 28” barrel ave 836 m/s @10c 93.3mm COAL. 92.0 grains RS 76. Crap. The usual disclaimers about these loads being safe in these rifles apply. I worked up to the max I tested checking for pressure signs and using the bbt P Max software. Trying to keep pressure to around a predicted 50k psi. Velocity measurements were from a Labradar. Reloading practices are good- all ammunition loaded at the same time - once fired lem cleaned Lapua brass, annealed, body sized, neck bushing sized ( Redding comp dies ), brushed case necks, trimmed necks, powder charging done on a charge master lite, head space checked, concentricity checked, OAL checked. Biggest difference to me so far is obviously the chambers ( maybe throats) and how I think they handle secant vs tangent ogives ( speculation). Obviously need to test the Lapua’s at longer ranges but no point in testing anything else in the 27” tube. The 27” AXMC is my mates rifle, I have the 20” AXMC but it is good to use the same bullets when we shoot together so I’m stuck with Lapua also - it’s just the bc sucks compared to the Eldm’s. Still really surprised at the difference between the Scenars and Bergers.

This was not my AX - I just got a few rounds through it. For me and from what I saw it worked ok with 5 rounds in the mag. More rounds in the mag may create issues. I don’t know if the mags had been modified.

Andy, yes, no, maybe - I had one on my 20” AXMC but went back to the AX bipod. My mate has one on his 27” AXMC so I get to shoot both side by side still. I think the Fortmeier a very good compromise between a smaller bipod and an f class bipod if you are not competing. I get the pendulum principle. It’s not as good for f class due to the extra stability you can get from something like a Rempel ( had one of those to). For tactical comp stuff - for me it is bulky especially for unsupported sitting or standing shooting ( really needs to be detached from the rifle) and slow to deploy compared to my AX bipod. Also I need my bipod mounted further back to reach it from prone. The Fortmeier is much more stable though than my AI bipod. For something like the U.K. PRL matches I think it would be excellent if you like the recoil impulse. I prefer the AI type with a bit of pre-load the rifle tracks back flatter compared to the Fortmeier which is a bit more bouncy. This is with 338lm at targets under 600m at reasonable mag you are not going to hold the target anyway after recoil. This could be different with a 6mm round with less recoil happening - I noticed this last week shooting an AX in 6br - felt like 22lr. The bipod was an AccuTac at 100m on 25x mag the rifle did not move off target.

Reticules are somewhat personal- head and shoulders above the rest for me in the pm2 is the LRR ( Long Range Reticule) the clue is in the name. The 0.02 mil centre dot is a big advantage to me. I have this reticule in a 5-45x56 pm2.