Gunsmithing 308 Win. Medium Tac H. Van. . .

[LRI]

Van, it begins buddy.


Here's a Remmy 700 we tuned up and rechambered. I'd fitted this barrel to it about a year ago and we squashed it back into the H/S stock.

After some slide of hand, bribery, and swindlin, I was able to convince the owner to let us true up the action, set the barrel back, and restock. It'll be interesting to see what the performance increase is. Maybe this'll also serve to validate the whole action truing process that is often debated too. We'll see. . .

Here's the receiver work. Tuning it up in the CNC mill. Helicially bored receiver ring, threads recut to 1.085/16 using a thread milling process, buzz the lugs, face, and pin the bugger for the recoil lug.

Onto the stock work!

Setting up for the filler:

Machining the inlet:

Bedding comes next!

 

[AnschutzNerd]

Re: 308 Win. Medium Tac H. Van. . .

Love these threads.

Wish your shop was a car ride away vs. a UPS box!

 

[varmint slayer]

Re: 308 Win. Medium Tac H. Van. . .

Like that big sumbitch needs to carry a gun! He could squash just about everybody I know like a grape with know problem!

 

[Vantastic]

Re: 308 Win. Medium Tac H. Van. . .

Looken good Chad...

 

[Cascade Precision]

Re: 308 Win. Medium Tac H. Van. . .

Looks like your "Shop Beast" could use some night sights on his sidearm.

 

[LRI]

Re: 308 Win. Medium Tac H. Van. . .

Running your 2ndary inlet now Van.

Looking like by week's end we'll be really close to wrapping this up.

C.

 

[LRI]

Re: 308 Win. Medium Tac H. Van. . .

Van,

Stock machine work is all done. Everything came out perty nice. Really nice actually. Upgraded your ghetto factory floormetal to an all steel unit from PTG.

Tough, your stuck with it now!

Much better piece. The factory remmy is pretty bad being cast pot metal and all.

Little fluff/buff and grinding the new pad and were all set for paint.

C.

 

[Vantastic]

Re: 308 Win. Medium Tac H. Van. . .

well good luck on that paint job, hope it's complicated, difficult, and fights you to the end. (I know, I'm a dick)

 

[LRI]

Re: 308 Win. Medium Tac H. Van. . .

Stock is about 50% now on the paint Harold.

I'm diggin the process. Pretty neat watching this come to life.

Later buddy.

C.

 

[Mike308Bell]

Re: 308 Win. Medium Tac H. Van. . .

Is your paint booth one of those pop up canopy tent things?

 

[Vantastic]

Re: 308 Win. Medium Tac H. Van. . .

well it looks pretty fricken cool. Can't wait to see it all together.

 

[LRI]

Re: 308 Win. Medium Tac H. Van. . .

Harold,

Were all done buddy. Metalwork is in the oven curing. Stock is 100% painted and ready for final assembly.

You can come get her tonight if you like.

Hope you like it, we sure do!

C.

2nd/3rd color:

Completed!

 

[Vantastic]

Re: 308 Win. Medium Tac H. Van. . .

great looking stock Chad. I'll see you in the morning! I'm very pleased!

 

[1snowcat]

Re: 308 Win. Medium Tac H. Van. . .

Looks super cool Chad...

 

[Bernarde]

Re: 308 Win. Medium Tac H. Van. . .

Impressed as usual! You guys do fantastic work

 

[LRI]

Re: 308 Win. Medium Tac H. Van. . .

Off to the tunnel!

Groups to come shortly

C.

 

[LRI]

Re: 308 Win. Medium Tac H. Van. . .

She's a chooter Van.

You have to walk upstairs, 100 yards, and climb down a 15' ladder to retrieve targets. I'm not walking through the snow drifts in street shoes so your just gonna have to take my word for it.

5x hovers right around a 40 caliber hole@100 yards.

Here she is all done. I used my scope (little rule I have) for the testing.

 

[JDB]

Re: 308 Win. Medium Tac H. Van. . .

Your work is truly awesome!!! One day I am sending the parts in for a build!!!

 

[LRI]

Re: 308 Win. Medium Tac H. Van. . .

Thanks!

C.

 

[gunnergirl81]

Re: 308 Win. Medium Tac H. Van. . .

Wait a minute... tunnel? What tunnel? You have a f*#king tunnel!?! Good lord do not let my husband find out about this. He thinks we need a tunnel between the house and the shop.

 

[BigBlue&Goldie]

Re: 308 Win. Medium Tac H. Van. . .

<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: C. Dixon</div><div class="ubbcode-body">

</div></div>

Interesting snow blower you got there!

...............oh, and awesome work as usual!

 

[LRI]

Re: 308 Win. Medium Tac H. Van. . .

Just bought a snow blower actually. Only used it once so far though.

Thanks for the nice comments everyone. This came out perty neat.

 

[SDLAW]

Re: 308 Win. Medium Tac H. Van. . .

<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: C. Dixon</div><div class="ubbcode-body">Off to the tunnel!

Groups to come shortly

C. </div></div>

The Kermit gif gives this a whole new meaning.

 

[biner626]

Re: 308 Win. Medium Tac H. Van. . .

<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: SDLAW</div><div class="ubbcode-body"><div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: C. Dixon</div><div class="ubbcode-body">Off to the tunnel!

Groups to come shortly

C. </div></div>

The Kermit gif gives this a whole new meaning.
</div></div>
+1
LOL

 

[LRI]

Re: 308 Win. Medium Tac H. Van. . .

Harold picked her up this morning. Pretty happy guy.

I think he's off to face the winter and wear this thing out. Prolly be back tomorrow for a new barrel.

C.

 

[Oregonmuley]

Re: 308 Win. Medium Tac H. Van. . .

Excellent post - really fine looking rifle. That paint on the stock is the awesome!! I like it!!

 

[JSTARSZ]

Re: 308 Win. Medium Tac H. Van. . .

Looks like an extremely handy rifle - do you know about how much it weighed with the medium barrel on it?

 

[Vantastic]

Re: 308 Win. Medium Tac H. Van. . .

With the scope,5 rds, and no bi pod. Just a hair under 10lbs. 9.93lbs on the scale.

 

[oinco]

Re: 308 Win. Medium Tac H. Van. . .

really liking this paint scheme.
That is a really nice multi-purpose lead slinger for sure - enjoy Vantastic!

 

[Some Day]

Re: 308 Win. Medium Tac H. Van. . .

You do grate work chad

 

[Vantastic]

Re: 308 Win. Medium Tac H. Van. . .

I thought I should report on how this rifle shoots. First target picture was shot at ~125ish yards, and the second shot roughly at 320-325 yards. Conditions: 46F, humidity 32%, baro 29.99, winds left to right 2-4mph. Wind was mainly behind me, once and while it would swoop left to right. Some info on my nomencature. Lapua-1 means once fired. so Lapua-2 would mean its second time. L.A.O is the mesurmeant at the ogdive(sp).

I have shot 325 rds since Chad finished it. So I spent most my time working on loads and chrono'ing them. Main bullets I have been using are 168gr BTHP, and 175gr SMKs. I do have some 150 FMJs, and plan on 155s as well. The barrel seems to like velocity. While working up my loads I was discouraged at my groups in the 2500-2600fps range. As I worked up into 2600-2660fps the groups got tight. The sweet spot hit around 2680-2710fps with the 175 SMKs just off the lands. So at 44.0 grains of Varget is where I'll stop. I get no pressure signs as of yet, primers still look good, bolt starts to be a little harder to open. I'll discuss further with Chad to see if I should try to get more velocity.

So the first target. This is my best group I shot off bipod with butt bag at ~125 yards. This was the best overall 3 shot group. 17 rds into the center made about a 3/4 inch whole.

This is the target overall at 320 yards. The two X's were just to see where I was on the paper. I made scope adjustments just after those two rounds. I was pretty happy hitting the paper using a print off from Hornady's website. Pretty good cheater to use if you know your bullets velocities. I always seem to read loads better at 300 yards than 100. I just hate all the walking up and down to change out targets. I started out on the bottom right, then to the top right. Next to the top left, and to the center, and finally finished in the bottom left. I tried five loads. I'll go into detail on the sub pictures on what bullets and powders.

Top Right:
This is the only one I took four shots at. It was actually the second load I put on the paper. You can refer to the overal picture to see loads. I wasnt happy with that 3 round dropping like that so I sent one more only to pull it to the right while a 3 mph gust hit. I told myself to live with it and move on.

Top Left:
I thought this was a good group. This load sits right around 2615-2650fps. After firing this load, I thought I would make a .25MOA adjustment up for the next group in the center target.

Bottom Right:
This is the first load I put on paper. This load averages 2500-2540fps. It was the slowest of the loads. Elevation is good if you ask me, I'm not sure if wind played a role in the spread or if it was me.

Bottom Left:
Best of the groups and it finished strong. Fastest of all the loads, around 2680-2710fps. I would say this is a good load to stick with for this round. I guess the faster speed would bring it back down even after the .25MOA adjustment.

Center:
After making the adjustment from the top left. The first round hits above the line. I thought it might being the round is slightly faster than the top left was. The wind was the calmest when I got to this point. No waiting around.

I'll leave you with some photos I've taken.

 

[LRI]

Re: 308 Win. Medium Tac H. Van. . .

Killer,

Not too chabby. In almost all of your plots the elevation looks perty decent. So, your loads are working and your scope isn't developing a parallax issue. The bedding is working too.

All good stuff.

I think your charges are still a little conservative. I may be wrong. If it were me I'd back off the seating depth to give yourself a .02" jump to the lands. Then I'd gas up the Varget to around 44.0 and spike it half a grain at a time till you either see primers flatten out or groups get bigger.

Keep in mind were in winter. Varget is supposed to be pretty dead in terms of temp sensitivity but experience has suggested that it too can be a little fussy. Your loads today shot in the mid 30's to low 40's may turn into dynamite sticks come August. Just be mindful of that so you don't hurt anything.

When you burn that can of powder up, maybe try a lb or two of Vihtavuori N540/N550. Both are double base powders and are pretty (really) good at ignoring the thermometer.

100 yard groups are fine, but your really not learning much. If a gun just piles them up at 100 a guy thinks "cool" and goes on with life. 300 is the absolute minimum distance for a 308/168-180 grain setup. I know I test everything at 100. I do it because its not practical for me to shoot that distance around here. Plus the tunnel gives the illusion of being cool and that we really know what were doing.

The Buffalo Chip Shooting Complex just sucks. Benches are wood and not attached to anything. If someone cuddles a fart while standing behind you as you shoot the scope will jump a minute of angle. Winds are always full value and if SD does anything right, its the wind. Typical to see 30+mph breezes here. Especially in the winter.

Just something to think about:

Back in the 1960's Middelton Tompkins (just think of him as GOD, ALLAH, and Buddah all wrapped up into one when it comes to gun stuff) did some testing with the Air Force and the AMU. It was found that the 308 Winchester with a 168grain target bullet was the most accurate combination at 300 meters. (back then they still had 300meter 3 position as an Olympic Event)

You might consider this in the future. Just sayin. . .

Overall not bad. Just make sure your applying fundamentals and watching your scope and not the target. Sight alignment still applies with optics too.

Last. I know you like that trigger but I'd like to fiddle with it a bit. We personally thought it sucked. Next time you get a break come see us and we'll dicker with it and see if we can't get you a bit smaller.

Keep at it, that rifle has a lot more to give. Your shooting groups at 300 that guys are replicating at 600 in the same configuration.

C.

 

[Vantastic]

Re: 308 Win. Medium Tac H. Van. . .

I'm trying to find the pics of the previous barrel and stock combo at 300 yards. My records indicate 3.183 inches at 300 yards. That was the stock remmy barrel and HS crapishion stock.

When we put on the Lilja barrel it made it a little better.
The best 300 yard grp I had just with that barrel upgrade was 2.131 inches. I'm trying to dig up an old hard-drive to see if I can find it. I'm really good at keep all my data. So I thought...

Though I think 1.2 inches at 320 yards is alright. Then again I have no idea what good is.

 

[Dusty]

Re: 308 Win. Medium Tac H. Van. . .

What chamber reamer did you use on this one?

 

[LRI]

Re: 308 Win. Medium Tac H. Van. . .

Just a 308Win set up for 175G bulletz.

Nutin special about it.

 

[command450]

Re: 308 Win. Medium Tac H. Van. . .

awesome...... kick ass info here

 

[Vantastic]

Re: 308 Win. Medium Tac H. Van. . .

SO I thought I would report on this rifle after a little over 6 months of owning it. I hope my information will contribute to the web-site and the gunsmith who put it together. I have used the rifle every month, it has seen very cold snow, rain, hot and humid weather. So after a few months of owning this I have currently ran 1020 rounds down it. It took about 300 to figure out a good load. So to hit 1000 rds, I figured it would be good to do it at 500 yards to see how it was (and I)doing.

This was the third group of the day, I really wasn't fighting to much wind. 1-4mph at 12 o'clock to 3 o'clock. The first two were the far left and far right. So after I shot one in the center I wanted to see where the next would hit. Well it hit center again.

At this point, I told my self. Clean target five shots and lets see. Well after I took the third shot and saw them close together. I didn't want to phuck it up, so I left it for braggin rights. Though, I regret not making it my true five I told my self. But for 500 yards I was truly pleased.

I'll finish with some pics of the rifle, I rarely clean it. The group above was round 385-388 since I had last cleaned it. It has rust on the crown, on the bolt hammer, but I didn't get the rifle to be a beauty queen. I hope these pics show how well things are holding up. My loads aren't anything crazy either. 175SMK, 44.1gr Varget, 210M, Lapua brass @ 2.018in. I think I am like .030 off the lands as well.

 

[Vantastic]

Re: 308 Win. Medium Tac H. Van. . .

oh ya like i said, rust on the hammer too,

 

[LRI]

Re: 308 Win. Medium Tac H. Van. . .

<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: Vantastic</div><div class="ubbcode-body">oh ya like i said, rust on the hammer too,

</div></div>

Cocking piece Van, cocking piece. . .

Just so y'all know, this monkey drove an hour to show us this group on Friday.

Nice job buddy.

C.

 

[Hntelk]

Re: 308 Win. Medium Tac H. Van. . .

Nice read...love the follow up. At 500 yds with that 3 shot group you managed...lol, I would have drove over to Chad's as well!

 

[Vantastic]

Re: 308 Win. Medium Tac H. Van. . .

You know how you get excited when you get a good group. Well I showed him one of my first at 320yards. Chad was like, "Thats what guys do at 600 yards, nice try mexicant."

So 6 months later I get to show him this.

 

[Hntelk]

Re: 308 Win. Medium Tac H. Van. . .

Nothing like bursting the ol' bubble...lol....I always seem to sleep better when shooting good groups!!