Water-Cooled Wondergun Set 1000-Yard IBS Record
We like “outside of the box” thinking. And in the world of competitive shooting, it doesn’t get more unconventional than this. But this radical liquid-cooled benchrest rig wasn’t just a crazy experiment — it actually delivered the goods. This IBS Heavy Gun, built by Joel Pendergraft, produced a superb 10-shot, 3.044″ group that stood as an International Benchrest Shooters (IBS) 1000-Yard Heavy Gun record for seven years, not being broken until 2016*.
Using this water-cooled 300 Ackley Improved, Joel shot the record-breaking group in April 2009 at Hawks Ridge, NC. This monster features a 12-twist, 4-groove Krieger barrel inside a water-filled sleeve (like on a liquid-cooled machine gun). Joel shot BIB 187gr flat-based bullets in Norma brass, pushed by a “generous amount” of Alliant Reloder 25 and Federal 210M primers.
This 3.044″ 10-shot group was a remarkable accomplishment, breaking one of the longest-standing, 1000-yard World Records.
Pendergraft was modest after his notable achievement: “What makes this so very special is to be able to celebrate the accomplishment with all of my shooting friends[.] A good friend once said that records are shot when preparation and opportunity meet. I feel blessed to have personally had the opportunity. The preparation we can individually work on and achieve but the opportunity only comes to a few. Those of you that compete in long range competition will know what I mean.”
*On July 24, 2016, Michael Gaizauskas shot a 2.871″ ten-shot group that bettered Pendergraft’s record by 0.171″ (less than a quarter inch). Michael’s group was also all in the 10 ring, for a perfect 100 score. CLICK HERE for IBS Long-Range Records
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Tags: 1000 yard shooting, Hawks Ridge, IBS, IBS Heavy Gun, Joel Pendergraft, Michael Gaizauskas
Excellent!
This deserves an expanded story with much more detail.
The current record – http://internationalbenchrest.com/records/long_range/1000.php
Awesome. This 10-shot group is smaller than the standard .30-06 cartridge.
That record was achieved using flat-base bullets!
This rifle stands as a piece of history, and as an example of engineering red herrings, something that set a sector of the 1000 yard community on fire and started endless internet arguments on “accuracy”.
A number of guys have tried to build “better” sleeved guns using different oils as filler and playing with he tension of the barrel within the sleeve. Hasn’t worked.
There has also been a big battle over FB versus BT supporters for long range. That has been popcorn worthy at times.
Where we end up is at a point where conditions, the shooter, and the equipment all come toggery for one brief moment of perfection. And that moment becomes history.
“That record was achieved using flat-base bullets!”
The only real value of boat-tails is when the bullet goes trans-sonic / subsonic. From that point on, the boat-tail exhibits less “drag”’ than a flat-based bullet
Whilst still supersonic, the “tail” of any jacketed (or lathe-turned) bullet has almost zero drag effect.
What is affected is gyroscopic stability and the effect of that on “precession” and thus, on group size. The more concentrically the jacket is drawn, the more concentrically the core is inserted and the more concentrically the jacket is formed over the core, the smaller the precession “wobbles” will be for a given barrel / load combination.
The additional step(s) used to form the boat-tail introduce minute alterations to the mechanical concentricity of the bullet. Thus, boat-tails have a well-founded reputation for greater precession at the muzzle and for “settling-down” further down-range than flat-based bullets. Somewhere on the intertubes are some words of wisdom on this topic from some bloke called Gale McMillan.
Shot from a “super-magnum”, the bullet may well still be supersonic at 1000 yards and thus not in the “wobbly” trans /sub-sonic region; boat-tailed or not.
Also, as a bullet exits the muzzle, the many tons per square inch gas pressure behind it exits with considerable violence. Everybody seems to be aware of the importance of precisely-cut muzzle crowns, but the effect of the escaping muzzle blast endures for several nano-seconds longer on a boat-tail than on a flat base.
All that notwithstanding: DAMN FINE SHOOTING!!