0.022″ Group — Possible New Unlimited 100-Yard NBRSA Record

Just how accurate can a modern 6 PPC benchrest rifle be? Would you believe five shots in 0.022″? That’s the size of the group shot by Rich Graham this past weekend in Visalia, CA. Rich was shooting his 6 PPC 10.5-lb LV bag gun in the Unlimited Class. Below is a photo of Rich with his target — yes there are five shots in that one hole (as confirmed by moving backers used in the match). This five-shot group could be a potential new NBRSA 100-yard record, if the 0.022″ measurement is confirmed. The current 5-100 NBRSA Unlimited record is 0.049″ shot by Gary Ocock in 2009. For reference, the 5-100 NBRSA Heavy Varmint Record is 0.027″ by Ralph Landon in 1975.

The Record-Setting Gun
Though Rich shot his small group in the Unlimited Class, his rifle is a typical 10.5-lb, short-range benchrest bag gun. Smithed by Gary Ocock, the rifle features a BAT action (we believe), Bruno Edge stock, Krieger Barrel, and March scope. The load was 27.8 grains of Hodgdon H322 with 65gr Flatbase bullets made on a Nielson die, in Lapua brass. We are told that Rich shot this potential world record with ammo pre-loaded before the match.

We think Rich’s target will definitely come in under the current 0.049″ Unlimited Class record. Using our On-Target plotting software, we measured Rich’s group at 0.029″. However, keep in mind that we were working from a photo, and the camera lens can distort dimensions a bit. Accordingly, the original 0.022″ measurement by the match scorers is probably more reliable, but this helps illustrate how small Rich’s group really is.