Beware of the Man With One Gun

After first applying in March for a position in a shooting challenge, I was finally, in October, able to attend. (Cryptic I know, but it has to be like that right now.) With less than a week to liftoff/takeoff, I had to make some decisions.

What barrel and cartridge will propel me to my doom? The 6.5 Creedmoor that’s been hitting little bitty bits of steel far far away all summer? The 30" Made in Texas 6mmBR4EVR pin point 105 propeller that creates a magnetic force between bullet and target? Or, Douglas, the 30" 6mmBR barrel that crushed diamonds a few weeks ago?

Douglas won the coin toss. This time the Bergers would be pushed by Varget instead of the 6.5 Staball. As it is said on 6mmBR.com - If 30 grains of Varget with a 105 lit by a 450 doesn’t shoot, it’s not the fault of the gun. Not that the Staball didn’t shoot, but Varget produces results like . . . Varget, and that’s what this operation calls for.

Some might call it old school, and some might be right. I drop with a Harrel dropper, then trickle till the lines meet up. With a bucket-load of patience a guy can make some fairly akrit ammo.

What is not seen here are the dies that are used to make straight ammo. It starts with a Micron Precision resize bushing die holding a .265 Micron bushing. For no neck turn Lapua brass it seems to have the right neck tension for loading 6mm Berger 105 Hybrids. After primers and powder I use a Micron Precision Arbor Seating Die to seat the bullets.

No longer do I roll loaded cases across the kitchen table scrutinizing the bullet tips looking for wobble. This combination of equipment and components produces the straightest ammo I’ve ever shot.

Setting these precious seeds in new Lapua brass with ten thumbs is another persnickety practice. Guys like David Preston and his Gray Ops automated reloading machine customers don’t have to deal with this anymore. But I can still verbally encourage each and every one of them that they have a very special job to do - that only they can!

Saturday was a blustery day in the Red River Valley of the north. Those gusts rocked me around as I was pointing Douglas down the trail. It made me wonder if I should just go prone, protected by the Jeep. But that would mean unrolling the mat and nailing it to the dirt so it didn’t blow away, or laying in the dirt on a day I didn’t feel like dirt - so I stood, pressed against the mud caked fender of the Jeep . . . coating myself in weeks old dirt instead of the fresh stuff lying there beside the Jeep.

“Beware Of The Man With One Gun” In this case - One Impact Precision receiver. One Gen III Razor. One MDT Elite Chassis. One very old Bixn Andy TacSport Pro. One Gray Ops 12 round BR magazine. One Demigod muzzle brake. One single pull CKYE Pod Bipod.

The scope’s turrets are not on “0”, but it is the zero for this Douglas barrel. It’s actually about a tenth off, to the right. But I know that . . .

If I’m shooting a PRS match I’ll zero it to “0”, but if there’s a chance the job only requires a few rounds at a static distance, just leave it there for the zero, add 2.5 and adjust for conditions.

After zeroing, the Garmin was switched onto a new session. Ten 105s flew down range at an average muzzle velocity of 2863.4 FPS. Session 57 was considered a successful exercise of the RCBS balance beam scale Scotch taped to the surface of my desk.

Why Scotch taped? When I started using this desk as a reloading platform/bench, a Sharpie was employed to outline where the scale should sit so it wouldn’t move all over and get out of balance/zero. Then, between sessions, it would get slid off to the side, dragged back into battery, and the elevation wheel would turn, changing the zero.

The solution to this was to zero the scale and tape it in place if multiple sessions were to occur in a short period of time. It also keeps ham handed folks from bumping the bugger outta place involuntarily - that’s the hope, anyway. It’s been working okay for a while.

This morning I went and measured the diamond beside this one. It was 0.40", and these are 6mm holes - 12 of them. There’re a couple holes I wished weren’t there, but with the wind buffeting me about, being in a standing position grinding myself into the side of the Jeep, this ain’t bad.

The metal claw feet of the single pull CKYE Pod were exchanged for LEOFOTO rubber feet, so there wasn’t as much bouncing off the metal hood as there was a while ago. Once the bipod is actually stuck in the Texas dirt it might be a little more stable, too.

Was Saturday’s work worth it? So far. But it also reinforced the fact that I’ve got a trip to take, a reasonable performance to make, and disgrace to avoid . . .