New Load and Bedded Action (With Pictures)
Posted: Mon May 12, 2008 7:02 pm
Hey Folks,
Just an update on how things are going with the new Savage LRPV chambered in 204. I included one picture below, but you can read my full write up and see more pictures in the "Pics of your 204's" thread here (in the middle of the page) http://www.rugerhunting.com/forum/viewt ... &start=105. I have to say, as I did in the other thread, that the aluminum bedding block in the HS Precision stock was atrocious. It was real rough, and the action was resting on four little points on each corner, it had LOTS of play both forward & back, and side to side. I was not happy with it at all. Because it is aluminum, and the action is stainless, you can wiggle the action in the block and make dark grey marks where contact was being made between the two to see where it was touching. I followed a GREAT article written by Richard Franklin of Richard Custom Rifles titled "Stress Free Pillar Bedding", that may be found here http://www.6mmbr.com/pillarbedding.html. I adapted it for the savage because the pillars in the LRPV are integrated into the bedding block. All went really great, and I got a very tight and precise fit. It also increased the amount of clearance between barrel and stock (amount of free floating). The one problem I did have, was that my three actions screws were a bit too short for my liking. This is because the Devcon 10110 took up space between the receiver and the block, and now the receiver sits slightly higher than it did before. I say this for others thinking about doing a bedding job, so you can order a set of LRPV action screws BEFORE you bed it. It's not a big problem, Sharp Shooter Supply has a set of three. It's ok the way it is, but I'd like more thread holding.
I include two target with six groups on each. These targets were rendered with an amazing program called OnTarget, which accurately determines group sizes. You can find the program FOR FREE here http://www.ontargetshooting.com/download.html. The first one is 5 shot groups with factory Hornady 32gr's in a factory gun. I bought 320 rounds of Hornady (all the same lot number) for brass. The average of the first 6 groups is 1.071", so basically I was averaging an MOA of an inch with a factory gun and factory ammo. Not too bad really... for five shot groups off a bipod. I knew for sure I could do much better.
The second target also has 6 groups, this time only three shot groups. The average for the 6 groups is 0.431". With one nice 0.273" and a couple of low 0.3's. Notice the amount of vertical, it is very limited. This is something to look for when developing a load. I had some nice groups with different powder measurments, but they had more vertical. Don't get too excited by small groups with vertical. There is definitely lots of human error going on in my shooting, I'm struggling with this bipod. If you look at the first target you'll see my range notes for the bipod. I was trying with the PodPaws and without, preloading the legs by slight forward pressure and not, all kinds of variables. In the second target, there is only one sight adjustment, right after the first group (top left). All the other variations in POI is due to me trying different holds. It turns out that a variation of a free-recoil method works best (believe it or not, even with a bipod), I guess due to the weight of the rifle (15.5lbs) and the extremly light recoil.
Anyway... enough of me rambling! I'll finish by saying that I know I can still do better. Right now I'm at 2.282" OAL, which was improvement over the book's 2.25". I'm going to try and stretch it out past 2.3", and play with neck tension. I refuse to shoot this rifle from a rest just to shoot tighter groups, because in the gopher field I shoot off this bipod, so I'm sticking to it.
Just an update on how things are going with the new Savage LRPV chambered in 204. I included one picture below, but you can read my full write up and see more pictures in the "Pics of your 204's" thread here (in the middle of the page) http://www.rugerhunting.com/forum/viewt ... &start=105. I have to say, as I did in the other thread, that the aluminum bedding block in the HS Precision stock was atrocious. It was real rough, and the action was resting on four little points on each corner, it had LOTS of play both forward & back, and side to side. I was not happy with it at all. Because it is aluminum, and the action is stainless, you can wiggle the action in the block and make dark grey marks where contact was being made between the two to see where it was touching. I followed a GREAT article written by Richard Franklin of Richard Custom Rifles titled "Stress Free Pillar Bedding", that may be found here http://www.6mmbr.com/pillarbedding.html. I adapted it for the savage because the pillars in the LRPV are integrated into the bedding block. All went really great, and I got a very tight and precise fit. It also increased the amount of clearance between barrel and stock (amount of free floating). The one problem I did have, was that my three actions screws were a bit too short for my liking. This is because the Devcon 10110 took up space between the receiver and the block, and now the receiver sits slightly higher than it did before. I say this for others thinking about doing a bedding job, so you can order a set of LRPV action screws BEFORE you bed it. It's not a big problem, Sharp Shooter Supply has a set of three. It's ok the way it is, but I'd like more thread holding.
I include two target with six groups on each. These targets were rendered with an amazing program called OnTarget, which accurately determines group sizes. You can find the program FOR FREE here http://www.ontargetshooting.com/download.html. The first one is 5 shot groups with factory Hornady 32gr's in a factory gun. I bought 320 rounds of Hornady (all the same lot number) for brass. The average of the first 6 groups is 1.071", so basically I was averaging an MOA of an inch with a factory gun and factory ammo. Not too bad really... for five shot groups off a bipod. I knew for sure I could do much better.
The second target also has 6 groups, this time only three shot groups. The average for the 6 groups is 0.431". With one nice 0.273" and a couple of low 0.3's. Notice the amount of vertical, it is very limited. This is something to look for when developing a load. I had some nice groups with different powder measurments, but they had more vertical. Don't get too excited by small groups with vertical. There is definitely lots of human error going on in my shooting, I'm struggling with this bipod. If you look at the first target you'll see my range notes for the bipod. I was trying with the PodPaws and without, preloading the legs by slight forward pressure and not, all kinds of variables. In the second target, there is only one sight adjustment, right after the first group (top left). All the other variations in POI is due to me trying different holds. It turns out that a variation of a free-recoil method works best (believe it or not, even with a bipod), I guess due to the weight of the rifle (15.5lbs) and the extremly light recoil.
Anyway... enough of me rambling! I'll finish by saying that I know I can still do better. Right now I'm at 2.282" OAL, which was improvement over the book's 2.25". I'm going to try and stretch it out past 2.3", and play with neck tension. I refuse to shoot this rifle from a rest just to shoot tighter groups, because in the gopher field I shoot off this bipod, so I'm sticking to it.
