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August 26th, 2012
by Robert Whitley
 After Accurate Shooter published the July 31, 2010 Daily Bulletin feature on 6mm BRX Myth-Busting With Bob Crone, further research reveals that there’s more to tell about the BRX, its origins, and its original specifications.
6 BRX Myth-Busters Follow-Up Challenge
I wanted to obtain a print reflecting the true original dimensions of Bob Crone’s 6mm BRX reamer. I hoped to verify the head spacing of the reamer to be .100″ longer than a 6mm BR, and I also wanted to see how Bob’s original print compares to 6mm BRX match reamers currently considered to be the “standard in the industry”.
Recreating the Original 6mm BRX Reamer Print
Clymer Precision was contacted to obtain a print of Bob’s original reamer. Todd Wilms, the current owner of Clymer Precision (and a heck of a nice guy as well) went back in the Clymer archives and pulled the records of the dimensions of Bob Crone’s 6mm BRX reamer. Todd then entered them into Clymer’s current reamer drawing program and has generated a current drawing reflecting the original 6mm BRX reamer. The print (see below) confirms the head space of the 6mm BRX to be .100″ longer than a 6mm BR (i.e. 1.267″ min at a shoulder datum diameter of .350″).
Comments on Bob’s 1996 Clymer Reamer
In many ways, the print dimensions are very close to what is currently recognized as the “standard in the industry” for 6mm BRX reamers, however in other ways there have been some definite changes:
A. Body Diameter: A chamber body diameter of .470″ is still in wide use today with 6mm BRX reamers (that’s measured .200″ forward of the bolt face). The current Lapua 6mm BR brass has a web diameter very close to this diameter and one should be wary of trying to tighten this dimension. If anything, running a little looser (like the .4708″ dimension similar to that used with the 6mm Dasher) would not hurt the performance of the 6mm BRX cartridge a bit.
B. Shoulder Diameter: Bob’s original reamer had a shoulder diameter of .4609″ (the same as a 6mm BR Norma), however many current 6mm BRX reamers now use a .460″ shoulder diameter which helps avoid overworking the brass there if readily available commercial dies are used.
C. Max Chamber Length: Bob’s original print had a “max chamber length” of 1.570″ (the same as a 6mm BR Norma), however many of the current 6mm BRX reamers have shortened this up a little. This is because, when 6mm BR brass is fire-formed into 6mm BRX brass, typically the brass shortens. Indeed, this author’s 6mm BR brass shrinks in OAL from around 1.555″ to around 1.547″ when it is fire-formed to 6mm BRX brass. A max chamber length in the range of 1.560″ – 1.565″ is seen often with 6mm BRX reamers these days.
D. Neck Diameter: While Bob’s reamer has a .262″ neck, this has for the most part given way to either a .269″ (sometimes .268″) turned neck, or a .272″ (sometimes .271″) no-turn neck, with the neck diameter typically selected based on the actual dimensions of the brass to be used.
E. Throat Angle: Bob’s throat angle was one and a half degrees, which seems to be standard and in wide use today with the 6mm BRX.
F. Freebore: Bob’s freebore length was 0.00″ because his smith used a separate throater to set the throat length Bob wanted for specific bullets. These days, a built-in freebore in the range of .104″ – .125″ seems to be very common with 6mm BRX reamers. Freebore in that range is seen by many as a good choice for the readily available 105- to 108-grain 6mm bullets.
6mm BRX — Real World Specs
Here are measurements on Robert Whitley’s 6mm BRX brass, as fire-formed, full-length sized and ready to load in a no-turn chamber.
Base to shoulder = 1.170″
Base to neck/shoulder junction = 1.333″
Overall case length (fired 2x and re-sized 2x) = 1.547″
Shoulder diameter (resized) = .459″
Diameter .200″ forward of base (resized) = .470″
Neck diameter loaded = .269″
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June 23rd, 2012
 A while back, we featured the East Texas Benchrest Shoot-out in Huntsville, TX. That match was co-sponsored by S&S Precision Rifles of Argyle, Texas. In the video below, the folks at S&S put together some tack-drivers for their customers. There are some nice glimpses of bedding work, and barrel finishing. Watch carefully — at the 40-second mark you’ll see a sub-1/4″, 10-shot group that S&S co-owner “Stick” Starks shot at 200 yards with his 6.5×47 Lapua rifle. That’s serious accuracy. Half-way through the video, Stick offers advice for shooters looking for a super-accurate fun gun for club shoots: “If you want to shoot [at] 100 and 200 yards, I’d get me a 6BR or a 30 BR. It would be the most fun gun you ever had… and the barrel will probably last three or four thousand rounds.” If you want a gun to shoot at primarily 500-600 yards, Stick recommends the 6.5×47 Lapua chambering. He told us: “Run it with the Berger 130s and Hodgdon H4350 powder. That H4350 works great with the 130 Bergers.”
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June 14th, 2012
Last month, shooting at the Piedmont Gun Club, Chad Jenkins put together a stunning 1.495″ Aggregate at 600 yards. Once certified, that will be a new IBS 4-target Light Gun record. Chad’s smallest group was a 1.033″. Chad’s 1.495″ Agg breaks the existing 1.6068″ record set by Sam Hall in 2011. Chad was shooting a no-turn-neck 6mmBR featuring a BAT action, Krieger barrel, and Shehane ST-1000 fiberglass stock. We had the chance to talk with Chad and learn more about his record-setting rifle, and the methods he uses to achieve superior accuracy. Chad was kind enough to tell us about his equipment and what he does to build very, very accurate ammo. For starters, Chad wanted to “say thanks to Lewis Winkler, James Coffey, Mike Davis, and Larry Isenhour” all of whom provided invaluable help and support over the years.
The Record-Setting Rig
Chad credits much of his success to an “fantastic Krieger barrel that shot great right out of the gate”. It’s a 1:8″ twist, HV contour, finished at 28″ — nothing unusual there. Mike Davis did the chambering, barrel-fitting, and barrel crowning. One reason the gun shoots so well is that Chad’s friend James Coffey did the stock work and bedding, and also added weight to the Shehane ST-1000. Chad says “James really knows what he’s doing”. For optics, Chad uses a Leupold 45X competition scope, with fine cross-hair (FCH). Chad says he can “aim at the ‘X’ at 600 yards more precisely with the cross-hairs than with a target dot.”
$200 Front Rest Good Enough to Set Record
You may be surprised that Chad set his record with an inexpensive Caldwell Fire Control Joystick rest, that sells for about $203.00 on Amazon.com. The Caldwell isn’t fancy, but it did the job. Chad says: “I have a family and a young boy. I don’t have the money to pour into equipment like some other people. I will continue to use my Caldwell, but I have recently modified the base. The record though was set with an unmodified unit, just as it appears in the photo.”
Chad Shoots a “Classic” 6BR Load, But He Jumps his Berger VLDs
Chad gets great accuracy with a pretty “standard” 6mmBR match load: 30.5 grains Varget, CCI 450 primers, Berger 105gr VLDs, in Lapua “Blue Box” brass. (Editor’s Note: That load can be too hot in some guns in summer conditions). Chad loads his ammo with a Redding bushing full-length sizing die with an 0.266″ bushing. Chad says: “That’s a good size for the ‘Blue Box’ Lapua brass (I tried a 0.268″ and I could pull the bullets out with my fingers). I seat my bullets about 0.020″ OFF the lands with a Redding Comp seater die.” The brass that shot the record Agg had about 10-11 firings on it, and Chad has NOT annealed the cases yet. While Chad is a very exacting reloader, he believes in the KISS principle — he doesn’t ream flash holes or uniform primer pockets. While he weighs every load with an RCBS Chargemaster, he normally does not double-check charges with a second balance. Chad tells us: “I just get the Chargemaster to where where it is going consistently and run with it.”
Knowing that gun-handling and barrel maintenance are key elements of accuracy, we asked Chad about his shooting style, rest set-up, and his cleaning regimen:
Shooting style: “I try not to touch the gun, except with my thumb on the back of the triggerguard, and my index finger on the trigger. I use just a slight amount of pressure as the finger pulls the trigger. I don’t have any pressure on my shoulder. The buttplate is just barely touching my shirt.”
Rest position: “I usually let the gun run out to the stop. But there’s not much overhang. It hangs over an inch and a half. That’s where I always shot it. In the rear the ears are pretty much centered on the underside of the buttstock.”
Cleaning: “I use Montana X-Treme with patches and bronze brushes, and I clean every 35-45 rounds. I don’t brush a lot — I kind of go on feel, anywhere from 4-10 strokes. The gun shoots so incredibly well, I want to baby it, so I try not to over-clean.”
View Chad Jenkins’ Four (4) Targets
Common Sense Tips for New Shooters
Chad offered some advice for shooters starting out in the 600-Yard Benchrest game:
Reloading — I don’t claim to be an expert. But I will say that consistency is all-important. I learned this first from my friend Lewis Winkler (who passed away), and then James Coffey. Lewis always told me that the main thing is that you must be consistent in everything — when you’re sizing, when you’re weighing, when you’re seating bullets. You can’t be deviating and expect your loads to shoot.
Mental Game — I don’t go to a match to beat anybody, or to compete against anyone in particular. I shoot the best I can shoot and let the chips fall where they may. Even in practice, I basically compete against myself and I try to do the same thing in a match.
Focus (when to have it and when to relax) — I do try to stay focused when I’m shooting. But I also try to get away from the pressure between relays. A lot of the guys spend 15-20 minutes looking at everybody’s targets. I just look at my own targets and go back and sit down and relax. I don’t try to overthink things. When I was a teenager I was a successful competitive golfer. And in those days, I didn’t think about it … I just stepped up to the ball and hit it. I think, with some competitive activities, “thinking too much” can probably mess you up more than it helps.
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June 9th, 2012
You don’t hear much about PacNor barrels in long-range competition, but FORUM member Wes J (aka P1ZombieKiller), proved that they can shoot “lights-out” in a rig assembled by a talented gunsmith. Wes tells us: “Since I restocked my 6BR more than a year ago, I have not had a chance to shoot it much since I have been playing the 100-200 game. Well, last week I decided to take it out and do some playing at 500 yards. I have to give some serious props to my buddy (and fellow FORUM member) ‘PREACHER’ who did the chambering and barrel work for me. He can certainly make a gun shoot good. The barrel is a PacNor 1:8″ twist. My load was 105gr Berger VLDs pushed by 29.6 grains of Varget.” The five-round, 500-yard group shot by Wes J with his 6BR, measured just 1.240″, as measured by OnTarget software. Now that’s one accurate rig!
This Editor knows something about the potential of a PacNor barrel. I have a 3-groove stainless PacNor SuperMatch on my trusty Savage-actioned 6BR. This barrel shoots quarter-MOA or better in calm conditions, and it cleans up super-easy. The interior finish is so good, I’ve never had to brush the bore or use abrasives, and after 750 rounds it shoots as well as ever. I attribute the easy cleaning to the fact the lands in a PacNor 3-groove are wide and flat, so they are gentle on bullet jackets. I think accuracy is helped by the fact that PacNors run on the tight side (0.236 land dimension) with a good amount of choke. That works well with the 105gr Lapua Scenars and 103gr Spencers I like to shoot. You can read more about my rifle, nick-named the “Poor Man’s Hammer”, in this Feature Article from our archives. In its last outing the Poor Mans’ Hammer put 3 shots in under 0.200″ (measured center to center) at TWO Hundred yards. If you get a good one, PacNor three-grooves can definitely shoot.
 Target Measurement with OnTarget Software
We used OnTarget software to measure the 5-shot group in the target above. This easy to use software is very repeatable, once you get a feel for plotting the shots. The basic version 1.10 of OnTarget is FREE, while there’s a modest $11.99 registration fee for version 2.10. In addition to group size (in inches), OnTarget plots distance to aiming point, and the software automatically calculates the group’s vertical height, horizontal dispersion, average to center (ATC), and group size in MOA.
You can run a measurement on a scanned target or a photo of a target. You’ll need some known reference to set the scale correctly. The target above had a one-inch grid so it was easy to set the scale. Once you’ve set the scale and selected bullet diameter and target distance, you simply position the small circles over each bullet hole and the OnTarget software calculates everything automatically, displaying the data in a data box superimposed over the target image. To learn more about OnTarget Software, read AccurateShooter.com’s OnTarget Product Review. This article covers all the basics as well as some advanced “power user” tips.
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May 13th, 2012
 The regular, monthly 600-yard benchrest match at the Piedmont Gun Club in Rutherfordton, NC rivals a National event in terms of the quality of the shooters and the rifles. And just yesterday, a pending new IBS 600-yard, four-target Light Gun Group Aggregate Record was shot. Chad Jenkins put together a stunning 1.495″ Aggregate shooting a Light Gun with Shehane Tracker stock and Krieger barrel. Chad’s smallest group was a 1.033″. The caliber was a ‘Plain Jane’ 6mmBR. Chad’s 1.495″ Agg breaks the existing 1.6068″ record set by Sam Hall in 2011.
Sam Hall reports: “Congratulations goes out to Chad Jenkins today at Piedmont Gun Range, Rutherfordton, NC. Chad shot a 1.495″ four-target aggregate in LG this morning! The old record (1.6068″) was shot by yours truly last July. That is some kind of great shooting! Chad has been shooting great and kicking our tails for two years now. You will probabbly be hearing more from him. What I know is: he was shooting 105gr Berger VLDs (with Varget and CCI Primers) in a standard 6BR, with BAT action, ST-1000 stock, and 1:8″-twist Krieger barrel. I think it is safe to say it is a ‘hummer’!”
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March 16th, 2012
The Hickory Groundhog and Egg Shoot, the richest varmint shoot East of the Mississippi, is just three weeks away. The hugely popular Hickory Shoot will be held this year on Saturday, April 7, 2012. The basic entry fee is just $25.00 per gun. That’s cheap for a chance to win a bundle of cash, plus valuable prizes such as Shehane stocks and Nightforce optics.
Anatomy of a Hickory-Winning Rig — Brady’s Record-Setting 6BR
If you wonder what kind of rifle can win the big money at the Hickory Shoot, have a look at Terry Brady’s 42-lb 6BR. In 2010, Terry Brady won the Custom Class in the Hickory Shoot, setting an all-time record with a 99 score*. Terry was shooting a straight 6mmBR with 105gr Berger VLD bullets. His rifle looks “normal”, but it was actually purpose-built for Groundhog shoots, which have no weight limit in Custom Class. The fiberglass Shehane Tracker stock was stuffed with lead shot from stem to stern, so that the gun weighs nearly 42 pounds with optics. The Hickory winner, smithed by Mike Davis of Zionville, NC, featured a BAT DS action with a straight-contour, gain-twist Krieger barrel. The twist rate starts at 1:8.7″ and increases to 1:8.3″ at the muzzle. Terry was shooting a relatively moderate load of 30.5 grains Varget with Danzac-coated bullets. This load absolutely hammered, but Terry thinks the gun might shoot even better if the load was “hotted up a little.”
Minimal Recoil and Insane Accuracy at 500 yards
In the picture above you see the Hickory winner fitted with a 5″-wide front plate. This was crafted from aluminum by Gordy Gritters, and Terry said “it only adds a few ounces” to the gun. Mike Davis installed threaded anchors in the fore-end so the plate can be removed for events where forearm width is restricted to 3″. The plate is symmetrical, adding 1″ extra width on either side of the Shehane Tracker stock. Gordy can also craft a 5″ plate that offsets the rifle to one side or the other. Terry hasn’t experimented with an offset front bag-rider, but he thinks it might work well with a heavier-recoiling caliber. Terry actually shot most of the Hickory match without the front plate so he could use his regular 3″-wide front bag. Even with the plate removed, Terry’s Hickory-winning 6BR barely moves on the bags during recoil, according to Terry: “You just pull the trigger and with a little push you’re right back on target.” With this gun, Terry, his son Chris, Chris’s girlfriend Jessica, and Terry’s friend Ben Yarborough nailed an egg at 500 yards four times in a row. That’s impressive accuracy.
*The Hickory employs “worst-edge” scoring, meaning if you cut a scoring line you get the next lower score. One of Terry’s shots was right on the edge of the white and another was centered right between white and black at 3 o’clock. Accordingly he only received 27 points for each of the 300 and 500-yard stages. Under “best-edge” scoring, Terry would have scored even higher.
CLICK HERE for 2012 Hickory Groundhog & Egg Shoot Info Sheet (PDF)
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February 9th, 2012
Forum member Skeeter has a 6mm Dasher falling block varmint rifle. The Dasher case is based on the 6mm BR Norma cartridge with the shoulder blown forward about 0.100″ and out to 40°. This gives the Dasher roughly 3.5 grains added capacity compared to the standard 6BR.
Last year, Skeeter needed to form 300 cases for varmint holiday. Skeeter decided to fire-form his brass without bullets. This method avoids barrel wear* and saves on components. There are various ways to do this, but Skeeter chose a method using pistol/shotgun powder, some tissue to hold the powder in place, Cream of Wheat filled to within an 1/8″ of top of the neck, and a “plug” of tissue paper to hold it all in place. Shown below are cases filled with a pistol/shotgun powder charge topped with Cream of Wheat and then a tissue paper plug.
To ensure the case headspaced firmly in his Dasher chamber, Skeeter created a “false shoulder” where the new neck-shoulder junction would be after fire-forming. After chamfering his case mouths, Skeeter necked up all his cases with a 0.257″ mandrel (one caliber oversized). Then he used a bushing neck-sizing die to bring the top half of the neck back down to 0.267″ to fit his 0.269″ chamber. The photo below shows how the false shoulder is created.
After creating the false shoulder, Skeeter chambered the cases in his rifle to ensure he could close the bolt and that he had a good “crush fit” on the false shoulder, ensuring proper headspace. All went well.
The next step was determining the optimal load of pistol powder. Among a variety of powders available, Skeeter chose Hodgdon Titewad as it is relatively inexpensive and burns clean. The goal was to find just the right amount of Titewad that would blow the shoulder forward sufficiently. Skeeter wanted to minimize the amount of powder used and work at a pressure that was safe for his falling block action.
Working incrementally, Skeeter started at 5.0 grains of Titewad, working up in 0.5 grain increments. As you can see, the 5.0 grain charge blew the shoulder forward, but left it a hemispherical shape. At about 7.0 grains of Titewad, the edge of the shoulder and case body was shaping up. Skeeter decided that 8.5 grains of Titewad was the “sweet spot”. He tried higher charges, but the shoulder didn’t really form up any better. It will take another firing or two, with a normal match load of rifle powder and a bullet seated, to really sharpen up the shoulders. Be sure to click on the “View Larger Image” link to get a good view of the cases.
The process proved to be a success. Skeeter now has hundreds of fire-formed Dasher cases and he hasn’t had to put one bullet through his nice, new match-grade barrel. The “bulletless” Cream of Wheat method allowed him to fire-form in a tight-necked barrel without neck-turning the brass first. The only step now remaining is to turn the newly Dasher-length necks down about .0025″ to fit his 0.269″ chamber. (To have no-turn necks he would need an 0.271″ or 0.272″ chamber).
Skeeter didn’t lose a single case: “As for the fire-forming loads, I had zero split cases and no signs of pressure in 325 cases fire-formed. Nor did I have any misfires or any that disbursed COW into the action of the firearm. So the COW method really worked out great for me and saved me a lot of money in powder and bullets.” To learn more about Skeeter’s fire-forming process, read this Dasher Fire-Forming Forum Thread.
*Skeeter did have a fire-forming barrel, but it was reamed with a .269 chamber like his 10-twist Krieger “good” barrel. If he fire-formed with bullets, he would have to turn all 300 necks to .267″ BEFORE fire-forming so that loaded rounds would fit in the chamber. Judging just how far to turn is problematic. There’s no need to turn the lower part of the neck that will eventually become shoulder–but how far down the neck to turn is the issue. By fire-forming without bullets now he only has to turn about half the original neck length, and he knows exactly how far to go.
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January 3rd, 2012
 Target Shooter Magazine has released its web-based January 2012 Issue. The FREE January Issue features handy reloading guides (written by Laurie Holland) for two very popular cartridges: 6mmBR Norma, and .308 Winchester. If you shoot either of these chamberings, you should read these latest installments of Laurie Holland’s Handloading Bench series. For the January issue, Laurie also authored Sorting a Savage Part 1 which covers the Savage-actioned .223 Rem that Laurie shot in the European F-Class Championship. Savage shooters will find useful tuning tips.
Gear and Optics Reviews
Other good articles in January’s Target Shooter Magazine include a comprehensive review of the Lyman DPS 1200 III powder dispenser, and an excellent article about riflescopes by Gwyn Roberts. Gwyn explains the many choices in reticle design, and he discusses the pros and cons of adjustable front objectives vs. side-focus scopes.
If you haven’t sampled Target Shooter Magazine yet, you should. The hardware photography is high quality and there is something for everyone — from Benchresters to Tactical shooters. You can view the 92-page December issue for FREE at www.targetshooter.co.uk. Target shooter also has an iPad/iPhone friendly version that can be downloaded.
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December 9th, 2011
Eric Stecker of Berger Bullets was kind enough to supply some of Berger’s 80gr 6mm Varmint bullets for testing. These were formerly called the Berger MEF, but now the box says “Varmint — Match Grade” (part #24321). Our initial testing, in a standard 6BR with 1:8″-twist, 3-groove PacNor barrel demonstrated that “Match-grade” was no boast. These things shoot! At 100 yards, the first two shots went into the same hole. A nice 5-shot group formed up under 0.2″. And to keep things interesting, this was with a varmint-style stock and only one wind-flag about 30 yards out. By comparison, the best we could do with Hornady 75gr V-Maxs in this gun were groups in the mid-fives (half-MOA+).
Reader ShCal of San Luis Obispo has also tested the 6mm Berger 80s and also got great results, shooting under 0.5″ at 200 yards.
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June 7th, 2011
Dispelling Some 6mm BRX Myths, by Robert Whitley
I recently had an interesting and fact-filled conversation with Bob Crone (the inventor of the 6mm BRX) about his BRX. Bob actually called me because he was concerned that there are a lot of myths and about his 6mm BRX and he wanted to “set the record straight” on a few things. Here’s my summary of some topics we discussed:
Myth One: Bob made his 6mm BRX chamber by running a 6mm BR reamer in too deep.
Truth: There is no truth to Myth One. Bob said he specifically designed the BRX reamer and had it made with the head space he specified and a neck length appropriate for his newly designed 6mm BRX wildcat cartridge.
Myth Two: In the course of making up his 6mm BRX, Bob had a version with a .120″ longer head space than a 6mm BR Norma.
 Truth: Bob was clear that his original design for the 6mm BRX always had a .100″ longer head space than a 6mm BR and that he never deviated from that. Right after Bob started working with his 6mm BRX, Bill Shehane came forward with a 6mm BRX version he made up that had a .120″ longer head space, and thus the confusion started. In truth, the original 6mm BRX always was (and still is) a chambering with a head space .100″ longer than a 6mm BR Norma.
Myth Three: The BRX was originally set up for 105-107gr bullets.
Truth: Bob said he set up his original reamer with a zero freebore and he has his gunsmith use a throater to throat whatever chamber was being made to where he wanted a particular bullet to touch the lands. Bob said he originally started with a 1:10″ twist barrel and shot a bunch of the 95gr VLDs and also 87gr bullets. Later he used an 8.5″ twist barrel for the heavier bullets.
Myth Four: The original BRX was set up also for use with Remington BR Brass.
Truth: Bob said he always used Lapua brass. He originally was an avid reader of Precision Shooting magazine and saw that the .262″ neck-turn neck was working real well with the 6 PPC and 6mm BR bench rest shooters and he decided to try to go with something that was already working well for 6mm shooters. He says his original reamer had a .262″ neck, but he also has a .272″ “no-neck-turn” version that he used on some of his rifles. He said the Lapua brass was so good and consistent, that for some rifles he just “didn’t want to mess with it” so he went with the “no-neck-turn” .272″ neck too.
 Myth Five: The “false shoulder” method was used to make brass.
Truth: Bob said he never used the “false shoulder” method to make 6mm BRX brass, he just loaded 6mm BR brass with a bullet well into the lands of the BRX chamber and fire-formed brass that way. He noted that the accuracy with some of the fire-forming rounds was “outrageous” (i.e. outrageously good that is), so much so, they were shot in matches sometimes.
Myth Six: The 6mm BRX has a blown-out or straightened out body.
Truth: Bob said he kept the basic body taper of the 6mm BR cartridge. He wanted the cartridge to be an easy and inexpensive (but high performance) 6mm wildcat, and the original design was (and still is) set up to use readily available 6mm BR dies (up off the shell holder about .100″ from the normal position).
Author’s note: It was a most enjoyable experience to talk to Bob Crone. He is not only still passionate about his 6mm BRX, but he has a commanding knowledge of it as well.
Reamer Print provided by AR-X Enterprises LLC, www.6mmAR.com.
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April 13th, 2011
The 2011 Hickory Groundhog and Egg Shoot at Vale, NC was a big success. Some 177 shooters vied for over $7,000 worth of prizes. The main course of fire was challenging, with three sets of paper groundhog targets at 100, 300, and 500 yards, and NO Sighters. Shooters can also compete in an Egg Shoot for cash and other prizes. For the primary three-yardage Groundhog match, there are two rifle classes: Custom Division and Factory Division. The match, one of the most popular varmint competitions in the country, is sponsored by Bulls-Eye Sporting Goods (Larry Willis, owner). The event is held every year on the first Saturday in April.
This year’s “Top Shot” at the Hickory was Randy Chappell. Shooting a 6 BRDX (we were told), Randy scored 90 points to win the Custom Division. Randy took home a new Nightforce NXS scope plus $300.00. Runner-up Robbie Roberts steered his 6BR to second place in Custom, earning him a Sightron Scope and $150.00 in cash. Finishing third in Custom Division was past Hickory winner Chris Brady, Terry Brady’s son. Chris, who also shot a 6BR, took home a Shehane Tracker stock and $50.00.
| CUSTOM Division |
1st Place, 90 points
Randy Chappell |
2nd Place, 82 points
Robby Roberts |
3rd Place, 80 points
Chris Brady |
| FACTORY Division |
1st Place, 72 points
Greg Davis |
2nd Place, 59 points
Jeff Godfrey |
3rd Place, 59 points
Jason Elmosre |
Rock River AR Wins Factory Division
There were some surprises this year in the Factory Division. While many folks expected a Savage 6BR or 6.5-284 to win, that wasn’t in the cards. This year a semi-auto ‘Black Rifle’ outshot all the factory bolt guns. Greg Davis scored 72 points with his .223 Rem Rock River AR15 to win the Factory division by a comfortable margin. The next best Factory shooters, Jeff Godfrey and Jason Elmore, both had identical 59-point totals. Godfrey was awarded second place over Elmore on a tie-breaker.
 Challenging Conditions on the Range
Conditions at the Hickory were pretty tough this year. Sam Hall, a past Hickory winner and IBS Shooter of the year explained: “It was difficult this year, with 20+ mph, gusty winds in the afternoon. This is a ‘no sighters’ match and I was having trouble with my cold bore zero. I wasn’t the only one.”
The 6 BRDX — The Best BR Improved Yet?
Shooting his new 6 BRDX, Sam finished eighth in Custom Division, with 73 points. Sam likes the 6 BRDX chambering, which is a 6BR Improved with a 40° shoulder, but with a longer neck than a BRX or Dasher. “I’m real happy with the BRDX… I think it is as accurate as a BRX or Dasher, but the brass is much easier to form. Randy Chappell told me the same thing. I think it has enough case capacity to hit the velocities we want. The BRDX was shooting ‘lights out’ earlier this year, but I think maybe my tune wasn’t right for the conditions at the Hickory.”
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November 13th, 2010
Jonathan Ocab, a High Power shooter from California, had gunsmith Doan Trevor install a Sako-style extractor in the Rem 700 bolt in Ocab’s 6mmBR Eliseo R5 tubegun. Jonathan produced an excellent video showing how the Sako extractor improves the ejection of the short, fat 6mmBR cartridges in his rifle. Jonathan’s video demonstrates 6mmBR case ejection with an unmodified Rem 700 factory bolt versus a factory bolt fitted with a Sako-style extractor.
Johnathan explains: “Note how even when slowly operating the bolt, the bolt with the Sako extractor easily ‘kicks’ out the brass on ejection with minimal chance of operator error resulting in a failure to extract. While the unmodified bolt has issues ejecting brass on slow operation, it will eject if the operator pulls the bolt back quickly (fast and with some force).
While a Sako-style extractor isn’t an absolute necessity, this video shows the definite improvement this modification provides. For short cartridges like the 6mmBR, this is very useful. This modification is highly recommended for competition shooters, especially High Power competitors who seek improved function in rapid-fire stages. This modification is fairly inexpensive and any competent gunsmith should be able to perform the work (usually under $100 with parts and labor).”
EDITOR’s NOTE: In his video, Jonathan deliberately worked the unmodified Remington bolt slowly to show how the standard Rem extractor can struggle with short fat cases like the 6mmBR. In fact, when you work a standard, unmodified bolt more quickly, the extraction can be much more positive. Cycling the bolt with more “snap” provides more energy to eject the cases. We have run an R5 Tubegun chambered in 6mmBR with an unmodified Rem 700 bolt (no SAKO extractor), and the extraction was reliable, provided the bolt was worked quickly.
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