Jump to content

1000yd Benchrest


Jay1

Recommended Posts

I've been shooting FTR for the past 2 years and feel like a change so I'm probably going to give 1000yd Benchrest a go.

 

Nobody over here shoots it so its a bit harder to jump in and get a feel for it and what equipment is needed.

 

So a few questions I'd be grateful to have answered:

 

What caliber is most lads shooting?

 

What action should I go for? I know it needs to be smooth as silk so that counts out my RPA...

 

What front rest? Same as F-Open rests?

 

Would F-Open style stocks do or do you need a dedicated Benchrest stock?

 

I'd like to build a "light gun" so any other advise you can offer would be great!!

 

 

 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

At todays 1000yd benchrest competitions held at the Diggle ranges near Oldham, the calibres used range from 6BR, 6.5x47, .308, .284 Win, .284 Shehane on up.

 

Actions vary as well from bog standard factory rifles such as Remington, Savage to the more tastier BAT, Nesika actions (BAT and Nesika are smooth as silk) plus others I haven't heard of. I have used a BAT and found it to be excellent so go for what you can afford.

 

Front rests. Again ranges from the cheap bi-pods to the Seb Max. Most shooters on the line use a SEB co-axial of somekind and are very popular. Farley also do a co-axial rest. Bi-pods are not as popular.

 

Stocks. I use my .284 Win with a Tooley MBR stock which is also used for my F class comps and I find it good for me. Modular stocks are also used to good effect.

 

Check out the Diggle website (Pennine Shooting Sports Association) and on there you will see photos of various benchrest shoots.

 

For Light Gun the all up weight with scope is 17lbs and you shoot 5 shots for group. Above that and your in Heavy Gun and you shoot 10 shots per group.

 

I am sure that some of the best UK benchrest shooters on this site (The Gun Pimp a.k.a Vince Bottomley of the UKBRA) Bruce Lenton and Laurie Holland will give you more information.

 

Good shooting

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Hi Jay

 

Glad you are fancying giving 1000 yard BR a go, it is really good fun.

 

What Les says is correct.

 

A slick action with a decent long range stock is ideal.

 

For BR you don't need to worry about adjustable stocks, but pads etc etc, these just use valuable weight, so don't bother, use the weight for the action, barrel, scope etc. BUT an F Open stock will do just fine if you have one that you like.

 

Make sure it is all nice and stable, unlike F Open there is no restriction on the width of the forend. My daughter shoots a 6BR rifle with an 8 inch wide forend in Light Gun, making for a very stable low recoil platform, this is where the weight saving is useful.

 

For Light Gun 17lbs is the limit and a decent front rest just the same as F Open is what you need, technically you cant shoot BR from a bipod...... We allow it in the UK for a new shooter to have a go, but in a comp you should be shooting from a front rest and back bag using a SINGLE SHOT ACTION.

 

Calibre is varied, I have used 6.5 x 284, 6BR and 7WSM, my personal favourite is 6BR, it will get blown by the wind, but the low recoil with a slick action will allow you to shoot quickly in a good weather window.

 

Some people prefer to go for a larger bullet, it's down to personal preference and your shooting style.

 

Remember you are after the tightest group, doesn't matter where it is on the board.

 

Hope this is of use, anything else, just ask.

 

Cheers

 

Bruce

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Les has given you most of the information. Two venues now actually, Diggle and Gelston in Dumfriesshire. (Mole-e-30 aka Bruce Lenton can advise on the Gelston set-up and contacts.)

 

UKBRA comps at Diggle are on the basis of monthly 'BR weekends' in the summer shot at 100 yards on A Range on Saturdays, 1,000 yards on the main C Range on the Sunday - entrants can pick and choose and don't have to do both, but some come from afar and get accommodation in the area to have a full weekend of BR shooting.

 

2017's weekends are 1/2 April; 29/30 April; 10/11 June; 15/16 July; 12/13 August; 2/3 September.

 

For the rest of the year there is a more or less monthly 600 yrd BR comp which can be Saturday or Sunday depending on PSSA calendar range slots - Bruce has just put a report up on the 4th December.

 

Each 'distance' has its own championship with prizes in the three classes based on class points score - 10 for 1st in class, 9 for 2nd .... etc, best four season results counted on a 'discard basis'. There are small monetary prizes for 1st class place, smallest class groups, and whoever shoots closest to the aiming mark centre irrespective of class. Entry costs £6 and you need to join the UKBRA to get points - not an expensive membership. NON PSSA members (ie visitors to the range) also pay a £15 visitor fee. UKBRA certificates for 1-3 places based on 'group aggs' and smallest groups, also UK records recorded, with a UKBRA points based 'Hall of Fame' for championship win, UK records etc.

 

Three Classes for 600 and 1,000. Factory (more or less out of the box factory rifles, but not those models like the Accuracy Internationals and Victrix Amaments models that use specialist barrelmakers' products - they go into the appropriate weight category LG or HG with the custom rifles). Savage 12s, Rem 700 and Tikka T3 Varmints all seen in various calibres from 6BR to 6.5X55 and 308 Win.

 

Light Gun - up to 17lb weight including scope. Any calibre within Diggle Range certification which in practice means up to 338LM but hardly anybody uses that these days in BR.

 

Heavy Gun - over 17lb weight including scope. Any calibre. Mostly F-Class rifles, but a few purpose built 40lb monsters now appearing in 300 magnum chamberings.

 

Muzzle brakes are allowed in 600/1,000 comps.

 

Course of fire for all classes at 600 and LG + FS at 1,000 is any reasonable number of marked sighters followed by two by 5-round groups; break while the other half of the relay do the same; gratuitous marked sighter to check wind changes and final two by 5-round groups. Placing is on the 'agg' (actually an average, not an aggregate) averaging the 4 groups' C to C values with class small group prize too.

 

1,000 yard HG is as per LG and FS but four by 10-round groups.

 

Calibres? I've shot HG at 600 and 1,000 with 223 Rem, 6BR, 6.5 Creedmoor, 6.5-284, 7mm-08, 284 Win, 7mm Shehane, and 308 Win over the years (and failed utterly with them all! :) ). You'll find everything from 22BRs to 300 magnums, maybe even the occasional 338LM masochist. Sixes are popular and the unaltered 6mm BR Norma with 105s has put up many winning groups in all three classes, but a number of 6 Dashers are appearing and this my be the wave of the future.

 

For further information on the Diggle comps PM The Gun Pimp (Vince Bottomley) and for Diggle + Gelston Mole_e_30 (Bruce Lenton)

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Another thought Jay. If you're shooting FTR, an easy way in to 600/1,000 BR is to put a front rest bag-riding plate onto your FTR rifle and shoot in HG. Brian Fox / Fox Firearms does a very nice alloy plate that slots into the FTR rifle's and other target rifles' Anschutz accessory rails, and a not so nice but cheaper Delrin version.

 

A problem with many FTR rifles though is that although many modern US actions and the Kiwi Barnards are easily slick enough, they may lack ejectors. If so, you're slowed down by having to manually remove fired cases. (That's my excuse for never shooting fast enough in tricky winds - and when is it never not tricky at Diggle? :) )

 

It gives you a chance to come and see and look around, speak to people and think about what sort of 1,000 yard custom Light Gun would suit. I've had some good results over the years with 308 Win FTR rifles. 600 yards would be a better bet though now that 1,000 yards HG demands 10-round groups - they're a 'bit' (Ha! Ha!) hard on a good-performing 308 barrel's life which you may want for another thousand or two rounds of FTR.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Jay - the main thing is to give it a go. Just come along with what you have a try it - see if you like the format/style of shooting and see if you enjoy the company of the guys and gals who shoot benchrest.

 

If you enjoy yourself, you can look at equipment for the future.

 

If you do want to come over to Diggle, there is plenty of reasonably priced accommodation less than a mile from the range.

 

Our first 1000 yard shoot is Sunday April 2nd 2017 but we have three 600 yd benchrest shoots before then. 600 yard is exactly the same as 1000 yard equipment-wise but the target is closer!

Link to comment
Share on other sites

You're a wealth of information lads - thanks very much!!

 

I'm thinking a visit to one of the matches and a chat will the lads/lassies will be invaluable to my component choice and maybe I'll shoot my FTR rig in the meantime.

 

I love 6mmbr and have a 26in barrel that screws straight on to my FTR action which shoots quite well when I do my bit.

 

Road trip for early April seems the best way forward...

 

I was also thinking of going straight 284, I was already toying with the idea as an F-Open caliber and if I didn't take to Benchrest I could shoot open with it. How do find the accuracy with the 284/180g hybrids??

Link to comment
Share on other sites

We'll look forward to seeing you.

 

I can't comment on 284/180gn Hybrid precision as I'm a poor man and they're a bit rich for me. (Actually, my 284 with a Bartlein prefers Sierras and my 7 Shehane with a Benchmark prefers 180gn Lapua Scenar Ls.) Based on how well GB F-Class League competitors do with the bullet with the SAUM and more commonly WSMs though in 1,000 F matches, it'll do very nicely.

 

The 284 / 180 is a good choice for BR, but can be (and often is) well beaten on the day by some pesky runt of thing like the 6BR or 6.5X47L which has less recoil and can be shot faster and more precisely. If used in LG, a muzzle brake would be a very good idea, in fact pretty well essential, and it'd do no harm in HG.

 

As Vince says, come and see and speak - you'll likely leave with a different and much better set of opinions and options than sitting down doing a theoretical tabletop exercise now and speaking on forums. I shoot my 284 and 7 Shehane rifles in 600/1,000 BR and do OK with them, but that's because they're my F-Class guns and I can double-up on comps. The 284 does OK especially at 600 - I was 2nd in class and overall in the 4th December fixture trying two bullets two groups each - a light recoiling mild 160gn Sierra TMK load and my usual F loading of the 175gn Sierra MK at a modest 2,825 fps.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

You're a wealth of information lads - thanks very much!!

 

I'm thinking a visit to one of the matches and a chat will the lads/lassies will be invaluable to my component choice and maybe I'll shoot my FTR rig in the meantime.

 

I love 6mmbr and have a 26in barrel that screws straight on to my FTR action which shoots quite well when I do my bit.

 

Road trip for early April seems the best way forward...

 

I was also thinking of going straight 284, I was already toying with the idea as an F-Open caliber and if I didn't take to Benchrest I could shoot open with it. How do find the accuracy with the 284/180g hybrids??

I use the .284 with 180gr hybrids at around 2880fps, and find the accuracy in my rifle acceptable and good enough for 1000yds f class / benchrest. But as my action is an old sleeved Remington and feels a little agricultural against say a BAT etc then it could be improved upon with said BAT etc.

 

I think the .284 Win is a good round and there may be better rounds out there in the right hands, but as Vince said, come along and give it a go with whatever you have and you will be made very welcome at Diggle.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Archived

This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.

×
×
  • Create New...

Important Information

By using this site, you agree to our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy