Breaking the 3″ mark (for 10 shots) is big news in the 1K benchrest game. The existing IBS 10-shot, 1000-yard record is 3.044″ set by Joel Pendergraft in 2009, while the NBRSA 10-Shot, 1000-yard record is 4.322″ set by Dave Tooley in 2006. Counting this 100-4X target, Matt also set a new 6-Match Heavy Gun Score Aggregate of 99.000. With Williamsport Match 10 still to shoot, Matt could push the HG Score Agg even higher.
Record Set with 300 WSM and 210-grainers
Matt Kline shot a 300 WSM with 210gr Berger VLD bullets. This confirms the accuracy of the short magnum, which may prove to be the new “go-to” cartridge of choice for those who want to shoot the high-BC, heavy 30-caliber bullets. Matt’s gun featured a BAT action, 30″ Broughton barrel, and a Nightforce 8-32x56mm BR scope. The rifle was smithed by Mark King Rifles.
Matt shared some details of his reloading process with Assist. Editor Jason Baney. This may surprise you. Matt anneals his 300 WSM brass after every firing. The necks are turned to .0135″ wall thickness for a .338″-neck chamber. Interestingly, Matt does not meplat-trim or point his Berger bullets. However, he pre-sorts the bullets very thoroughly, segregating them by .001″ variance in both bearing surface and overall bullet length. You need extremely consistent bullet-to-bullet BCs to shoot record groups like Matt did.
A Texas shooter put together a great video covering the East Texas Championship Benchrest Shootout, held August 20-21 in Huntsville, TX. This match, the first at the new Huntsville Range, was co-sponsored by the Pine Valley Benchrest Shooters Association and S&S Precision Rifles of Argyle, TX. On the Friday before the main match, there was also a 500-yard Egg Shoot.
In the video you can see Don ‘Stick’ Starks of S&S piloting a 6.5×47 Lapua long-range varminter he built on a candy-red Robertson Composites ‘Speedy’ F-Class stock. Stick and other competitors were shooting at large (120mm), medium (90mm), and small (60mm) clay birds at 400 yards. Over the course of the day, competitors fired 50 record rounds at the targets. Each shooter came to the line five times to shoot 10 rounds per stage in seven minutes or less. The ‘top shot’ who nailed the most birds took home $600.00 in cash. There was also a team challenge with a $430.00 winning payout.
Thirty-six competitors attended this fun match with $1300.00 in total prize pay-outs for the top four bird-busters. Jason Leavelle won the $600 first-place prize with an 810 score, while Dr. Darrel Martin earned $400 for his second-place finish, 50 points behind Leavelle. Tymn Combest was third, earning $200, and Arthur McMeans took home $100 for fourth place. Pudge Morris was the Junior Division winner. We congratulate all the money winners — it wasn’t easy. According to Mike Cockcroft, who helped run the match, “it was 100 degrees, the winds were strong, and the mirage heavy.” The only wind indicators are range flags at the targets and a couple of standard benchrest flags out at about 100 yards.
Match Winner Used a 6.5×284
Forum member Joe Duke reports: “Jason Leavelle shot a nice 810 out of 1000 (possible) points. He is the winningest shooter on our circuit (fondly known as the ‘Redneck Circuit’) and is always tough to beat. He shoots a 6.5-284 crafted by Sam Duke. Jason’s rifle is built on a Stainless Steel Viper action and sports a Krieger 8.5-twist barrel. I can’t think of one of our shoots that was won with anything other than a 6.5-284 in the last three or four years.”
Rules were fairly “wide-open” for the Saturday Shoot-Out, so you saw everything on the line from varmint rifles to 40-pounders. Most guns are custom bench rigs weighing 17 to 30 pounds. All shooters competed in the same class with these basic rules:
NO RAIL GUNS OR RETURN TO BATTERY GUNS
40 POUND MAX WEIGHT LIMIT
NO SIGHT OR SCOPE RESTRICTIONS
NO CALIBER OVER .30
NO ONE-PIECE RESTS OR GUN-VISES
NO Shooter-Supplied WIND FLAGS
NO SPOTTING EXCEPT DURING SITE-IN ROUND
NO TANK OR CLAM TYPE MUZZLE BRAKES
You should definitely watch the video. It is extremely well made and there are some seriously nice rifles on display. Plus it sure looks like the new Huntsville facility is a beautiful range (even if the Texas winds did blow in the afternoons). CLICK HERE to download Match Rankings and Scores (PDF File).
Placing your loaded ammo up high, next to your rifle’s loading port, can help you shoot faster, without disturbing your position behind the rifle. Many top 600-yard shooters, such as Sam Hall and Mike Davis, have fabricated their own high-mount cartridge caddies to place 10 or more rounds right next to their loading ports. With such a set-up, and a bit of practice, ace benchresters can fire 10 rounds in as little as 30 seconds.
If you’re handy with tools, you can build your own cartridge caddy from a block of delrin or wood, and a flexible mounting arm. But it does take time, and you may end up going through two or three prototypes before you get it “just right”.
Now there’s a “store-bought” solution. Creedmoor Sports offers the new Eller Straight Line Speed Feed Cartridge Holder. The Eller caddy has a large base that will support it on the bench. The flexible black stalk allows you to set the height and angle of the ammo block to your choosing. You can arrange your ammo horizontally, vertically, or something in-between. This unit can benefit any bench competitor, and we’ve even see this type of unit adapted by F-classers for “Belly Benchrest”. The Eller Cartridge Holder costs $94.95 and comes in two sizes: Small (6mm to 6.5×284), and Large (6.5×284 to magnum). Order item #E1002SM from Creedmoor Sports.
You can purchase a Teflon stock tape kit from Sinclair Int’l for $14.95. This has four 5″x5″ segments, enough for two rifles. But if you have a large collection of rifles, you’ll save big bucks by buying directly from a bulk tape supplier. C.S. Hyde Company, CSHyde.com, (800) 461-4161, sells 6″-wide, flexible Teflon-coated and UHMW tapes that work great, with either rubber, silicone, or acrylic adhesives. The price works out to about $1 per rifle.
MiKe Ratigan recommends the “Skived” (blade sliced) PTFE Teflon .005″ tape with silicone adhesive, item 15-5S. This is very low-friction and highly conformable, so it bends easily around your stock contours. You’ll need to call for custom 5″ or 6″ widths, and expect to pay about $40 for a 5-yard-long (180″) roll.
A less expensive option is the UHMW (ultra-high molecular weight) Polyethylene Tape with High Stick Acrylic Adhesive, item 19-5A. C.S. Hyde explains: “UHMW Polyethylene provides a nonstick, low-friction surface similar to PTFE tape but with much higher abrasion and puncture resistance. It is ideal for anywhere high-pressure sliding contact occurs.” The price is just $32.34, for a 6″-wide by 5 yard-long roll, enough for 36 rifles! Compare that to spending $12.50 for four 5″x5″ pieces. On Benchrest.com, AbinTX reported that C.S. Hyde “sent [him] samples of various thickness to try out before ordering. They will price a roll for you depending on how wide and how long you want. It’s not very expensive and you can tailor the amount to your needs.”
John Hoover of Accuracy One Shooting Supplies is the 2010 Williamsport World Open Two-gun Overall Champion. Shooting a 6.5×284 in both Light Gun (LG) and Heavy Gun (HG) classes, John shot consistently, placing 3rd in Light Gun class, and 6th in Heavy Gun to win the overall Two-Gun with 34 rank points. It was a solid win. The next closest shooter was Paul Chackan with 59 rank points.
Hoover’s Reloading Tips
We interviewed John after his World Open victory, and he shared his World Open-winning load, and some of the reloading secrets that allow him to craft ultra-accurate long range ammo. For his 6.5x284s, John loaded was Sierra 142gr MatchKings pushed by 48.0 grains of Hodgdon H4350, in “white box” Winchester .284 brass. Both rifles used exactly the same load. John revealed: “I have 9 match rifles, and they all shoot 48.00 grains of H4350.” John pointed his 142gr SMKs, using his own Accuracy One bullet-pointing tool: “I don’t shoot anything that isn’t pointed. All the loads we shoot use pointed bullets. I find that bullet pointing, combined with meplat trimming, reduces vertical dispersion at 1000 yards.”
Hoover’s Secret Ingredient? RWS Primers
Hoover lit his loads with RWS primers — the “Holy Grail” of rifle primers. Where did John get these superior German-made RWS primers, which are virtually unobtainable in the USA these days? John explained: “I bought those primers a long time ago, as a stocking dealer. I had about 100,000 at one time before they quit importing them, I kept a fair amount for us to use. I’m down to about 8000. When they’re gone I’ll have to change to something else.”
Hoover Now Anneals Brass “Early and Often”
Recently Hoover has changed his brass annealing procedure; he now anneals his Winchester brass earlier and more frequently: “I anneal more often now. I used to shoot my cases five to six times before annealing. Now before I shoot a case the very first time, I anneal it. That has help keep the ES and SD down. I anneal before I shoot the first time, and then every third firing. I use the Ken Light annealing machine.”
Ace Smiths Built Hoover’s Winning Rifles
John’s heavy gun was chambered by Al Warner of Warner Tools, while the light gun was chambered by 8-time National High Power Champion Carl Bernosky. Both light and heavy guns had Bartlein 1:8.5″ twist 5R barrels. All the stock work was done by Alex Sitman of Master Class Stocks. John credited these smiths: “I had good equipment from top to bottom, I had good smithing help from Alan, Carl, and Alex, who all did excellent work. When you’re walking to the firing line you get peace of mind from having the best equipment.”
READ MORE: To learn more about John Hoover’s successful 6.5-284s, read this Gun of the Week article.
Shooting a 6.5×284 with Sierra 142gr Matchkings, John Hoover won the Two-Gun Overall Championship at the 2010 Williamsport World Open this past weekend. Hoover, whose tack-driving 6.5-284s have been featured on this website, operates Accuracy One Shooting Supplies in Tyrone, Pennsylvania. John shot consistently, placing 3rd overall in Light Gun class, and 6th in Heavy Gun to win the overall Two-Gun with 34 rank points. Paul Chackan finished second in the Two-Gun with 59 rank points, and Matthew Kline was close behind with 60 rank points. Our own Assistant Editor Jason Baney finished 5th in the Two-Gun Overall.
Jon Ammerman shot brilliantly to win the Light Gun division, finishing first in Group (7.161″ Agg), and third in Score (95.00 Agg). Runner-Up in Light Gun was Mike Bonchack. Interestingly, according to the equipment list, both Ammerman and Bonchack ran a mid-sized 6mm cartridge in Light Gun. Jon shot a 6XC while Mike shot a 6×47 Lapua. Both rifles were smithed by Sid Goodling.
In Heavy Gun Class, Ken Brucklacher piloted his big 300 Weatherby to victory, winning the combined Group and Score Award with 9 rank points. Ray Lowman (11 points) finished second, and Stan Taylor (15 points) finished third in HG. Ray nailed a superb 3.062″ ten-shot Heavy Gun group on Sunday’s Heavy Gun Relay 1. That was the smallest group ever shot at Williamsport in 1000-yard competition, and it was just .018″ bigger than Joel Pendergraft’s 3.044″ all-time IBS HG record. Way to go Ray! Other notable performers included:
Heavy Gun & Light Gun Jr. Champion — Jimmy Kuchinski
Ladies Heavy Gun Champion — Amanda Good
Ladies Light Gun Champion — Susan Slade
Match Report from Jason Baney:
We had beautiful weather this year. It poured rain Friday night, but the humidity disappeared by early morning on Saturday. We had 30% relative humidity on Saturday — Pennsylvania is rarely that low. We had sun pretty much all day on Sat and Sunday, with highs of 91° each day. Winds were sometimes difficult …as usual.
We had a new 1000-yard Williamsport record in Heavy Gun, Ray Lowman’s 10-shot 3.062″. Though .018″ larger than Joel Pendergraft’s IBS Record, Lowman’s 3.062″ is still the smallest 10-shot 1K group ever shot at Williamsport. (My buddy Scott Leitner shot a 4.3″ — the second smallest HG group of the weekend.) Here are details of Ray Lowman’s 80-lb HG rig: .308 Norma Magnum, Nesika action, Benchmark barrel. For his load, Ray used Reloder 22 and Federal 210M primers, behind Knight 200gr bullets. Ray pointed his bullets until nearly closed, then he trimmed the meplats. Ray’s gun was smithed by his son Shannon Lowman. The 32″ barrel now has 1500 rounds through it and has been set back twice before (it started life at 36″).
I shot the third smallest group of the weekend, but blew it the first day in LG with a 14″ group…went vertical. Shooting my 6BR in LG, I was at the top of my powder window expecting 70 degrees (as predicted by the weather service), not 90 degrees. Oh well, I shot decent in HG, using Mark King’s HG the relay after him each day — this is the same Dasher-chambered gun Mark won with last year.
As this is being written, the final relays are going to the firing line at the 2010 Williamsport World Open, one of the most prestigious long-range benchrest matches in the country. Many of the nation’s best 1000-yard shooters, including our Asst. Editor Jason Baney, are competing for a wealth of prizes donated by dozens of sponsors.
Held Saturday July 10th and Sunday July 11th, at the Original Pennsylvania 1000-Yard Benchrest Club, the World Open is a four-target Aggregate match consisting of two separate, two-target Aggs for in the Light Gun and Heavy Gun classes. Competitors can shoot either or both classes, both days. There will be prizes for the Overall Two-Gun Champion, plus the 2-day Group and Score Agg winners in each class. In addition there will be separate awards for Top Junior Shooter, Top Female Shooter, plus small group and high score in each match.
Complete World Open results should be posted on the Williamsport website, late Sunday or early Monday, after all targets are scored, and the scores are tabulated. We hope to post names of the big winners later today, if we can get hold of Jason after the event wraps up.
We recently tested some interesting “club benchrest” rifles created by MT Guns. Recognizing the demand for highly accurate “club-level” smallbore BR guns, Mac Tilton and his crew at MT Guns have started producing two new types of affordable rimfire benchrest rifles. One line of rifles employs Anschütz actions refitted with modern SS barrels and benchrest stocks. As its second line of rimfire BR guns, MT Guns is offering highly-modified BSA Martinis, tricked out with bag-riders and premium barrels fitted with tuners. With the hot-rod Anschütz running about $2000.00 and the modified BSA costing about $1500.00, these guns should provide an affordable alternative for club-level rimfire benchrest shooters. Plus you won’t have to wait months or years to get a “big-name” smith to build you a rifle.
Anschütz Modified for Serious Accuracy
For Anschütz fans, MT Guns has fitted high grade Benchmark barrels to the legendary Model 54-type action. These re-barreled Anschütz actions are placed in Don Stith laminated benchrest stocks. With a modern low-profile, wide-forearm stock, MT Gun’s Anschütz BR guns track beautifully. So far, MT Guns has created two of these Anschütz-based bench guns, both built from model 19XX donor rifles — which also provided superb 5018 triggers. Barrels on both guns are Benchmark — one a 2-groove, the other a 3-groove. In the Stith stocks, complete with aluminum butt plates and weighted tuners, both rifles tip the scales at about 10 pounds. Price for the Anschütz bench guns is $1995.00 with unfinished Stith stock. A fitted Hoehn barrel tuner adds $200 to the price, while a Picatinny rail is a $125.00 option.
BSA Martini — Classic Design with 21st Century Upgrades
If you want to get noticed at your club’s next smallbore rimfire match, then a modified BSA Martini may be the gun for you. These rifles, originally built for prone target shooting, earned a well-deserved reputation for accuracy. MT Guns has done some basic modifications allowing the unique BSA Martinis to be surprisingly competitive in the benchrest game. The factory barrels were “retired” in favor of a 2-groove or 3-groove reverse taper Benchmark barrel — the type of tube that has won big matches and set records. To improve the rifle’s “bench manners” MT Guns fits a custom-made low-friction polymer sled in the front. Fitted with this 3″-wide bag-rider, the gun is extremely stable. An optional Hoehn tuner allows you to tune barrel harmonics for maximum accuracy.
Speaking of which, readers may be asking “How accurate can this BSA Frankengun really be?” Amazingly accurate. Watch the slide show below. In the last frame you’ll see two very impressive 5-shot groups shot by the BSA Martini Int’l Mark III at 50 yards. The ammo was Lapua X-Act.
In the video below, Bruce Duncan of MT Guns explains the distinctive mechanical design of the lever-activated, tilting-block BSA Martini. Bruce also discusses the history of the BSA Martini marque, reviewing the many BSA Martini models produced in the last century. The BSA Martini International MK III is perhaps the most desirable in the long evolution of target Martinis built by BSA from the Great War era to the early 80s. These MK IIIs, dating from the 1960s, feature Benchmark 28 3/4″ reverse-taper barrels, Hoehn barrel tuners, and special bolt-on Picatinny rails fabricated by MT Guns. Bruce noted: “The MT Guns bag rider attaches to the rifle’s fore-end rail. During testing, we noted that the fore-and-aft position of the bag rider on the rail affected the rifle’s tune.” For more info, visit MTGuns.com or call the shop at (805) 720-7720.
On June 12, 2010, at the Piedmont Range in Rutherfordton, NC, Sam Hall, shooting a 6mm Dasher, set TWO new pending IBS 600-yard world records with a stunning 0.686″ five-shot group. The group was centered up in the Ten Ring for 50 points with two doubles! This group should give Sam both the single target IBS Light Gun small group record AND the Light Gun score record. Sam’s 0.686″ beats Paul Wagoner’s 0.711″ previous small-group record set in 2008 with a 6 BRX. Larry Isenhour previously held the IBS score record with a 50-3X (0.944″) group shot in August, 2007, also with a 6 BRX. NOTE: Sam had only one X, but the official tie-breaker for the score record is group size, not X-count. Therefore, if approved, Sam’s 0.686″ group establishes both new group size and score records. (We wish the IBS had some other official recognition for high X-count.)
Record-Setting Chambering, Load, and Hardware
Sam was shooting a 6mm Dasher with 32.0 grains of Norma 203B powder, Berger 105gr VLD bullets (unpointed), CCI 450 primers and Lapua brass, neck turned to 0.266″ for a 0.268″-necked chamber. Regarding the choice of powder, Sam says Reloder 15 gives the same accuracy and speed as 203B but he “just happed to have 8 pounds of [203B] and decided to use it in this rifle.” Interestingly, Sam was jumping his 105s about forty thousandths. That’s right, .040″ OFF the lands. The record gun has a BAT MB action, Shehane Tracker stock, and Krieger 29″, .237″ bore, 1:8″ twist HV barrel.
Here is Sam’s report from Piedmont:
Shooting the Record — Conditions and Strategy
The afternoon was slightly overcast with mild mirage. Winds were running left to right at approximately 5 mph. During the afternoon I noticed the wind would stay in one direction for several minutes then would make a complete reversal. On my record round I had made four (4) shots when I noticed the wind picking up in intensity slightly from left to right. I knew this because I saw my wind flag Daisy wheels start spinning faster. For the fifth shot I held left one inch from my previous four shots and let it fly. I was shooting the string as fast as I could and stay smooth. I was expecting a reversal because the wind has stayed constant for too long — it was about time for a reversal.
Evidently holding off was smart — otherwise the group might have been a 1.686″! This year I have been concentrating on learning more on wind and mirage reading. This game is getting more competitive every year. I figure the only way I can stay ahead is to work on my wind reading. If you don’t read the wind, you are eventually going to get bit.
About my Light Gun
I was shooting a BAT 1.550″ round, dual-port MB action with non-fluted bolt. The stock is a Shehane fiberglass ST-1000, pillar-bedded by Tom Meredith. Tom epoxied lead shot in the butt to bring it up to 16.94 lbs. with a Leupold 40x competition scope. The barrel is a 29″, 8-twist, .237″, HV contour Krieger with a Vais muzzle brake. This barrel, purchased three years ago from Brunos, came off the Terry Leonard-stocked rifle that earned me a lot of Shooter of the Year (SOY) points in 2009. It has about 700 rounds on it. It started life as a 6BR, but my reamer had gotten dull and left a rough chamber. So I gave the barrel to Mike Davis and told him this was a perfect excuse for me to try a 6mm Dasher. The barrel is now chambered as a 6mm Dasher with a .268″ neck with .124 freebore, the same as my Maxi-Tracker 6 Dasher.
Load Details — Yes I Was Jumping Berger VLDs a Country Mile
Last year, I could not get the Berger 105 VLDs to shoot like I wanted in this barrel, so I used Berger 108 BTs, jumped .015″. After last season, I tried the 105 VLDs again. I think they have a slight advantage in the wind compared to the 108s. But again the 105s would not shoot well at 600 jammed in the rifling as I normally do. I noticed this barrel was shooting better off the rifling. I kept backing the bullets off the rifling. I found a sweet spot 40 thousandths off the rifling. The gun was shooting 1 to 1.5 inch groups pretty consistently at 600 yards at my home range. The day I shot the record was the first time I had shot this load and rifle in competition. I believe it is a keeper! — Sam Hall
Here is late-breaking news from the Firearms Industry Super Shoot at the Kelbly’s Range in North Lawrence, Ohio. Canadian George Carter has won the 2010 overall two-gun Super Shoot Championship. Together with his lovely wife Vera, the Carters also won the husband and wife event, and Vera placed first in the woman’s 13.5-lb (Heavy Varmint) competition. We are told that Gene Bukys placed second overall by a very narrow margin, and it has been reported that Bart Sauter (of Bart’s Bullets), finished third. According to Bill Gammon, who took the photos below, the match was well-attended, with shooters from many different countries including: Australia, Austria, Belgium, Canada, Finland, France, Germany, Holland, Indonesia, Italy, Luxembourg, New Zealand, Norway, Sweden, UK, and the USA.
Kudos to the Carters, and congratulations to all who participated in this year’s Super Shoot. View more photos on the Benchrest in Canada Forum.
COMPLETE RESULTS of 2010 Super Shoot
Attached below are the complete results of the 2010 Super Shoot in various file formats. The summaries provide event by event rankings for the top shooters. The comprehensive files list all match results (and aggs), shooter by shooter, in alphabetical order. Sorry, no equipment lists are available yet.
1. GEORGE CARTER 0.2233
2. GENE BUKYS 0.2243
3. BART SAUTER 0.2295
4. BOB SCARBROUGH, JR. 0.2296
5. TIM HUMPHREYS 0.2328
6. JEFF SUMMERS 0.2348
7. DALE BOOP 0.2377
8. DAVE BRUNO 0.2413
9. STEVE THEYE 0.2439
10. DAVID KERR 0.2443
11. LEE HACHIGIAN 0.2452
12. BILL SYMON 0.2468
13. DWIGHT SCOTT 0.2521
14. KEN HOTTENSTEIN 0.2525
15. PAT HURLEY 0.2526
16. TONY BOYER 0.2540
17. HARLEY BAKER 0.2593
18. JACK NEARY 0.2601
19. LARRY COSTA 0.2616
20. JEFF GAIDOS 0.2621
In the 10.5-lb (LV) class the Grand Agg Top Five were: 1. Steve Theye 0.2161; 2. Gene Bukys 0.2225; 3. Bob Scarbrough, JR. 0.2267; 4. Andy Shifflet 0.2283; 5. Larry Costa 0.2289. Bart Sauter had the low 100-yard LV Agg at 0.1874, while Steve Theye had the best 200-yard LV Agg at 0.1964. Small Group was shot by Eddie Harris, an 0.077 at 100 yards.
For the 13.5-lb (HV) class, the Grand Agg Top Five were: 1. George Carter 0.2176; 2. Bart Sauter 0.2242; 3. Gene Bukys 0.2261; 4. Dave Bruno 0.2315; 5. Tim Humphreys 0.2322 Smiley Hensley won the 100-yard HV Agg, with an 0.1774, while Jim Carmichael had the best HV 200-yard Agg, an 0.2161. Small Group was an 0.087 shot by Bob Hammack at 100 yards.