Hail the Rail — Unrivaled Precision for Accuracy Junkies
You’ve heard of “Adrenalin Junkies”? Well many readers of this website could rightly be called “Accuracy Junkies”. And for true accuracy junkies nothing can beat the “rush” you get with a rail gun. These heavy Unlimited rigs are the most accurate benchtop shooting machines ever created. Campaigned by ace competitors in the 100/200-yard benchrest game, rail guns are capable of delivering the ultimate in rifle accuracy — multiple groups in the zeros one after another.
RAIL GUNS GALORE — Video shows many current Rail Guns (Ocock Rail at 0:35 Mark):
Ultimate Benchrest Accuracy
How accurate can rail guns be? Hall-of-Fame shooter (and skilled gunsmith) Gary Ocock recently shot a terrific five-target Agg this past weekend in a match at Visalia, California. The range-measured Agg (average group size of all five targets) is an amazing 0.1088″, with four “zero” groups out of five. Though it won’t be submitted for a new record, this Agg is still a stunning demonstration of the accuracy these big rigs can deliver. The current NBRSA Unlimited 5-target, 100-yard Agg record is 0.1242 by Jerry Lahr. Congrats to Gary for a fine performance. The cartridge was a 6 PPC loaded with Gary’s own custom-made boat-tail bullets. The rifle is a modified Jay Young Rail, fitted with a 1:13.5″-twist Krieger barrel.
Gary’s rail gun features a round hole in the barrel block and a Delrin sleeve placed between block and barrel. The rail gun also has been modified to save weight for bench rotations. The lead photo (at top) is from an earlier match when Gary’s rail had a BAT action. Currently Gary is running a Marsh Saguaro action, shown in the photo below.
NOTE: Gary does not aim through two scopes at the same time, in binocular fashion. However, he does have a twin mount option so he can periodically check one scope against another, to ensure the scopes are holding point of aim. Gary tells us he normally just runs one scope. But at this match he wanted to ensure that his primary scope (the black Bausch & Lomb on left) was performing 100%. So he would cross-check it from time to time using the silver Weaver (on right). Gary notes that, unlike many rail gun shooters, he looks through his scope before each shot, and sometimes makes a very minor aiming correction using the rail controls. His scopes are boosted to very high power (55X), so even when the shots are falling in a tiny “bug-hole” cluster he can see if the last shot edged a bit left or right. He then adjusts aim accordingly.
Story and photos by Boyd Allen. We welcome reader submissions.Similar Posts:
- Ocock busts NBRSA Rail-Gun Records — 0.1129 200-yard Agg
- Sunday Gunday: Ocock Railgun May Be Most Accurate Gun Ever
- Sunday GunDay: Railgun May Be the Most Accurate Gun on Earth
- Gary Ocock Shoots Amazing 0.0840 Aggregate with Railgun
- The Most Incredible Accuracy in History — But It’s Not a Record
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Tags: Gary Ocock, NBRSA, Rail Gun, Unlimited
The binocular scope setup is interesting. Something I haven’t seen before. Does he have them collimated or for some other purpose?
They are not used as a binocular. The purpose is to check one scope against another,throughout a match, after both are set to the same point of aim. Gary is constantly experimenting and testing, even during important matches.
I noticed a lot of small aggs in that group of shooters. Must be some real fine competators in visalia. Thanks for sharing boyd. Lee