craigyboy Posted November 3, 2007 Report Share Posted November 3, 2007 Just thought I would let everyone know how I am getting on with my tac20. I got it back from Neil Mckillop (dasherman) this week after a rebarrel with a pac-nor and a full bedding job. I went for a 3 groove 1-11 twist pac-nor cut to 26 inches chambered in tac20 with a .233 neck and 0.020 freebore as recommended by Dave Kiff at PTG. I got out on Thursday with it for a sight in and run in session. I shot 10 shots shoot 1 and clean and moved onto shoot 3 and clean after that. I noticed after about 5 cleranings that the pac-nor was very easy to clean 5 patches of 50bmg and 5 dry patches were enough to take out the minimal cooper fouling. For running in I loaded up 45 cases with 25.5g of H322 and a 32g v-max seated 5 thou off the lands. It is hard to access accuracy when your only shooting one shot at a time from a clean barrel but it was looking good, the 3 shot run in groups were all under 1/2 moa so definatley a good start. My cleaning station in the back of the van (I love those little MTM craddles, best craddle I have tried yet) My little shooting setup After ential running in I still wanted to take it easy on the barrel so was cleaning every 5 shots, this gave me the chance to shoot some 3 shots groups on a fouled and warm barrel. I was working in half grain steps starting at 25.5 to 26.5 g, the targets are in that order. not as tight as the other but 2 were down one hole, I think that wild left oen may be down to the goon on the trigger, still a good group. Its early days yet but as you can see she is gonna be a bit of a bug holer, the harder I pushed them the groups opened up a bit, 25.5g gave me 3870 fps repspectable enough, 26g is giving 3930 fps and 26.5g was giving me 4010 fps, I would be happy enough to run them slow with 25.5g if they contiunue to shoot like that. I shot these from 120 metres and they are 3 shot groups. The only thing thats bugging me is velocity variations running in the mid 30's. It doesnt show up at close range but it will start to show after 300 metres and my plans for next summer are a 500 metre rabbit and maybe a 400 metre crow so velcoity variations will need to be tight for that sort of fun. Also primers are cratering lightly but its definatley not pressure, even light loads are doing it, I have some cci primers to try out next week. Heres a pic of the loading station, it looks cluttered but everything is right at my finger tips, I can just sit down there for a couple of hours and tinker until my hearts content. I was using Laupa tac20 brass, primer pockets reamed, flash holes deburred, neck turned, weight sorted, every charge weighed to the last grain, its all worthwhile its just boring work at the time. The Smith I am very happy with Neils work on my rifle, he was very easy worked with and was very patient with me, even when I was aggonising over silly little things like weather to bed the first inch of the barrel etc, he kept me on the right tracks and his work is first class, his waiting times were very resonable compared to most other smiths and as you can see from the targets he builds an accurate rifle, I wouldnt hesitate to reccommend him and I will be going back to him as I kinda like rifles that shoot in the .1's. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
baldie Posted November 3, 2007 Report Share Posted November 3, 2007 Great post craig, and the targets are a testament to a good smith, and a good quality barrel, it looks like that is gonna be a cracker buddy. Though for the life of me, i cant understand why you started with 32 grain bullets, when you,ve just had a 1 in 11" twister put on get it fed some 40,s mate! I,ve always used remmy 7 1/2s in the .204, but i would say cci br4,s would be just as good? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
craigyboy Posted November 3, 2007 Author Report Share Posted November 3, 2007 Thanks baldie, The only reason I satrted with 32's is I bought a mountain of them, the last time my local go theme in I took all of them over 600 of them so I need to use them, I have 2 boxes of 40's to try out, they are what I really want to use. I have always used remi 7 1/2 as well, but I am gonna give the cci's a try in the name of something different. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest northernchris Posted November 3, 2007 Report Share Posted November 3, 2007 Looks dam good Craigboy Will be interesting to see how it does on the foxs.What other weights of bullets can you run with that setup? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
craigyboy Posted November 3, 2007 Author Report Share Posted November 3, 2007 Hi chris, I can go upto 40g bullets, I have some 50's but dont think the 1-11 will shoot them, from previous experience the 32g bullets pollaxed foxes and turned them into bags of jelly with no exits, the tac20 certainly looks promising, I am out foxing tonight If I stay awake lone enough so hoepfully I will get a shot or 2. By the way chris brilliant shot on that crow, thats a screamer, one youll not forget, I assume your 6.5 55 is a tack driver then. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest northernchris Posted November 3, 2007 Report Share Posted November 3, 2007 Both are factory sticks wearing NSX's and A-Tecs.I shot the crow with the Steyr .22-250 and the other is a Sauer 202 yep they both shoot VERY well for factory boomsticks oh and i was useing FACTORY Hornady 55gr V-Max in the Steyr Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ronin Posted November 3, 2007 Report Share Posted November 3, 2007 Fantastic groups Craigy well done, any plans for dare I say "proper" (larger) calibres? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
craigyboy Posted November 3, 2007 Author Report Share Posted November 3, 2007 Yeah andy, next up is a 600 metre gun for the MOD ranges that are only 5 miles from my house also for deer and messing at long range crows and rabbits, i will probably wait until after christmas to start it, but I am thinking of a 6.5 X47 SM pac-nor with the right throat and twist to shoot 100g bullets at a fair old speed, I had been thinking of a 6.5 X 284 but it may be a bit much for my needs it seems more a 1000 yard sort of round.Not sure on the action yet but Neil is getting a look at some lawton actions soon and is going to let me know what he thinks of them, I will probably go for a hunter/varmint shenane tracker stock in the same shade that vince bottomolys 22 dasher had, absolutley beautiful, being a chippy I love a good piece of wood. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ronin Posted November 4, 2007 Report Share Posted November 4, 2007 Good choices the Stiller Predator, Tac pro and Surgeon are worth a look, especially the Surgeon as it has integral recoil lug and 20 MOA picatinny built into the action increasing rigidity. 6.5x47 and 284 are very similar performance wise - me id look at either shooting 123 / 139 / 140's better ballistic properties than the 100 grainers. If you want to shoot 100's get a 6mm. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
6mmBR Posted November 4, 2007 Report Share Posted November 4, 2007 Looking good, some super groups. Looking forward to seeing how she performs in the field. Cheers Dave Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
craigyboy Posted November 4, 2007 Author Report Share Posted November 4, 2007 Thanks Dave, i went lamping last night but my lightforce lamp wasnt having any of it, kept turning off, turns out there was a bit of shrink wrap over the lead that had 2 wee tabs soldered to the wires on each side, the wires decided to break, I will have to fix it up and see how it goes this week I havent shot a fox in ages. Andy I have to admit I really like the look of the Stiller actions, I think most of the actions are real good so I doubt I will go too far wrong whatever I choose. At heart I am still a slightly speed obsessed varminter which is why I want to shoot 100 grain bullets, do you think the 6 X 47 would perform well out to 600 metres? Or would the 6.5 x 47 still have a big advantage? No one over here has a 6/6.5 X47 that I know of so its hard to see what one is like in real time performance. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
6mmBR Posted November 4, 2007 Report Share Posted November 4, 2007 Craig if you like speed, I have a 6.5x47 Lapua with 95gn V max I get 3400fps over the chrono. My target load is a more sedate 2855 fps with 120 Bergers. Cheers Dave Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
craigyboy Posted November 4, 2007 Author Report Share Posted November 4, 2007 Thanks Dave, Thats a good speed for a 95g bullet the big plus is that its v-max, I dont know what it is about v-max bullets but I like using them, what twist is yours dave? Did you specfi a throat length or is the standard fine, didnt knwo you had one Dave or else I would have picked your brains sooner, I suppose accuracy is nothing short of excellent with it. That 95g v-max would look great on a crow! What is yours built on Dave? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
6mmBR Posted November 4, 2007 Report Share Posted November 4, 2007 Hi Craig my 6.5x47 Lapua is built on an old Rem 700 of mine. It was rebarrelled by Border barrels and I had fitted a 26" 1in 8.5 twist Archer barrel. They used a Pacific Tool and Guage reamer with the short throat set up fot .125 freebore not the longer .160 freebore. That load with the 95 Vmax is hot and you don't get a lot of bunny left at the end, it also puts foxes down hard. My match load is with 120 Bergers and it shoots very well out to 1000yds. This load has an ES and SD in single figures. I think the small flash hole on the Lapua brass helps. Cheers Dave Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
6mmBR Posted November 4, 2007 Report Share Posted November 4, 2007 Sorry Craig have a look at this link it is a mine of information. http://www.6mmhot.com/ Cheers Dave Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pnse Posted November 4, 2007 Report Share Posted November 4, 2007 hello Craig,I've just ordered a 6-6.5x47 lapua improved reamer with 90thou freebore set up for the 87grn vmax,this should work with bullets up-to about 105grns your more than welcome to borrow the reamer if you fancy something a bit different than a straight 6-6.5x47 lapua.here's a pic of what the round will look like Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
craigyboy Posted November 4, 2007 Author Report Share Posted November 4, 2007 thanks pnse, I will keep that in mind. Cheers. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
varminter Posted November 4, 2007 Report Share Posted November 4, 2007 Hi buddy Good going on the tac 20 - she sure looks a shooter buddy!!! I shall look forward to seeing how she performs on varmints in the future!!! Enjoy my friend.................... All the best..................... RAY................................. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vermincinerator Posted November 4, 2007 Report Share Posted November 4, 2007 Thats a sweet looking shooter you got there craigy, i've got a soft spot for Coopers as you know. Superb accuracy my friend, looking forward to seeing how it performs on those varmints as well. Ian. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alycidon Posted November 5, 2007 Report Share Posted November 5, 2007 Hi chris, I can go upto 40g bullets, I have some 50's but dont think the 1-11 will shoot them, from previous experience the 32g bullets pollaxed foxes and turned them into bags of jelly with no exits, the tac20 certainly looks promising, I am out foxing tonight If I stay awake lone enough so hoepfully I will get a shot or 2. By the way chris brilliant shot on that crow, thats a screamer, one youll not forget, I assume your 6.5 55 is a tack driver then. Hi Craig, Well she certainly performs, you have a really nice looking bit of kit as well. Neil has done you well and deserves recognition for that. What velocity are you getting?. Some of the boys in the states are putting 50s through a 1 in 11 but I am unsure how successfull they are. The optimum twist for 50 gr is 1 in 9. Chris's 6.5 x 55 put two out of three within half an inch or so at over 400 yards, the third shot he pulled. That is indeed a shooter alright. A Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
craigyboy Posted November 6, 2007 Author Report Share Posted November 6, 2007 Hi Geoff, Neil has done a top class job, its great to know your rifle can shoot well, I just need to shoot it well. So far i have reached 4020 fps with the 32g v-max, they could probably go to 4100 if I pushed them harder, I am using H322, not the fastest powder in this cal, if I could get V133 or even 10x I could get to 4200 fps, though I am not that bothered as long as she shoots in the .1's ill be happy Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest northernchris Posted November 7, 2007 Report Share Posted November 7, 2007 Craigy Have you been out after charlie yet and got it blooded? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
craigyboy Posted November 7, 2007 Author Report Share Posted November 7, 2007 supposed to be going tonight Chris but its absolutley chucking it down at the minute, hopefully it eases off though, I will have to wait and see. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
skany Posted November 7, 2007 Report Share Posted November 7, 2007 Yeah andy, next up is a 600 metre gun for the MOD ranges that are only 5 miles from my house also for deer and messing at long range crows and rabbits, i will probably wait until after christmas to start it, but I am thinking of a 6.5 X47 SM pac-nor with the right throat and twist to shoot 100g bullets at a fair old speed, I had been thinking of a 6.5 X 284 but it may be a bit much for my needs it seems more a 1000 yard sort of round.Not sure on the action yet but Neil is getting a look at some lawton actions soon and is going to let me know what he thinks of them, I will probably go for a hunter/varmint shenane tracker stock in the same shade that vince bottomolys 22 dasher had, absolutley beautiful, being a chippy I love a good piece of wood. I hope he likes the look of the lawtons as one of em is mine:-) And i aint seen it yet and im not likely to untill its got a shilen barrel hanging out the end of it! Bits cant come quick enough now :-( Great shooter u have there Andy Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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