8000 rds on Bighorn action

[KevinU]

Just hit the 8000rd mark on my Bighorn action, action is smooothy, smooth, smooth!

Picture taken after shooting local Trigger Time match where this years Sniper Cup will be held in very dusty/dirty conditions. One of the many things I like about the Bighorn action is there's enough bolt/body clearance to tolerate dirt/muck yet the floating bolt head is always perfectly aligned. Ran the bolt dry for this match, just a smidget of grease on the back of the lugs.

Chambered in 6x47 by Jon Beanland.

 

[mdmp5]

How many barrels you go through?

 

[afate45]

Very nice. I plan on trying to make it out to this match in the near future. Good call on running the bolt dry. I'm quickly learning that you can't have anything on your bolt if you want to keep the crap out. One of the places I shoot here in CO is absolutely full of loose sand/dust/dirt and anything over 15mph, plan on going home with a sand-filled action. I used to run my bolt guns with a light coat of oil on the bolt body, but not anymore.

One of the guys in my squad at the match down in Raton last month was running a Bighorn and Mark Chanlynn barrel, I think in 7mm SAUM, and he had nothing but good stuff to say about the setup.

I'm also curious how many barrels you've been through.

 

[NICETRY]

Just bought a Bighorn TL2. Look forward to putting it together soon.

 

[high right]

That Is the Ugliest Rifle I have seen in a long time!
Nice shooting by the way!----Cheater.

 

[SAPenguin]

got dust?

Question for you - on the farther targets, especially the 1150 yard target, can you see the spash from the 6mm bullet?

 

[Trevor300wsm]

got dust?

Question for you - on the farther targets, especially the 1150 yard target, can you see the spash from the 6mm bullet?

For me, sometimes you can and sometimes you can't depending on how bad the mirage is. However, most big matches (PRS matches anyway) will have target flashers on them at those distances.

 

[EventHorizon]

Can't go wrong with Big Horn. Josh (Bohem on here) of Patriot Valley Arms has made both of my rifles with them - 6.5CR and a .223.

 

[oinco]

your next 8k rd hit percentage *may* go up if you aren't still using the same brass......just sayin'

 

[steve123]

If I was going to build another MAK tube rifle I'd use that action for sure. It seems to be the one action nobody has ever complained about in one way or another.

Congrats on your Victory Kevin, even though you do use that cheater cartridge! "wink"

Have you annealed your brass yet?

 

[Boltfluter]

"It seems to be the one action nobody has ever complained about in one way or another".

My thoughts exactly. Just ordered my second Bighorn for my son's build. Will post some pics when finished. AJ is a great guy to deal with.

Regards,

Paul

 

[ScottyD]

got dust?

Question for you - on the farther targets, especially the 1150 yard target, can you see the spash from the 6mm bullet?

Kevin and I did a quick rifle swap for some "bonus" shots on that 1150 plate after that match last weekend. It was my first time behind a 6mm. I was surprised to find very little difference between his 105's (3000+fps) and my 140's (2800fps) on target. It felt to me like the sound of the steel ringing, the visible splash, and recoil were all pretty darn similar... I thought the difference would be much more pronounced... (for example: differences in recoil, visible splash, and the ring of the steel are just HUGE and undeniable when comparing my .223 bolt gun to my 6.5cm -not so much the case between the 6mm and 6.5). What were your impressions between the two, Kevin? Please don't hesitate to tell me if you disagree with my impressions. I thought maybe the 6mm had slightly less recoil but it was barely noticeable... To be fair as far as recoil: Kevin's gun is set-up quite a few pounds lighter than mine... As far as spotting splash: Kevin has that nice Premier vs. my SWFA that probably gave his rifle a considerable advantage in the spotting department... I've been thinking more and more about a 6mm so I was really trying to pay attention to the differences between the two while shooting his rifle... Of course, Kevin's rifle shot great, but I came away thinking I'll probably just stick with a 6.5 for the extra barrel life... I kinda wanted to feel a huge difference in recoil to justify the shorter barrel life.... He was dialing about 8mils (I think) to my 10.3 for that 1150yd target so the flatter trajectory of the 6mm is definitely appealing...

To get back on topic: I'd definitely love to own a bighorn action someday!

 

[high right]

If I was offered for free my choice of ANY action, it would
be a Bighorn. As good as it gets.

 

[KevinU]

Kevin and I did a quick rifle swap for some "bonus" shots on that 1150 plate after that match last weekend. It was my first time behind a 6mm. I was surprised to find very little difference between his 105's (3000+fps) and my 140's (2800fps) on target. It felt to me like the sound of the steel ringing, the visible splash, and recoil were all pretty darn similar... I thought the difference would be much more pronounced... (for example: differences in recoil, visible splash, and the ring of the steel are just HUGE and undeniable when comparing my .223 bolt gun to my 6.5cm -not so much the case between the 6mm and 6.5). What were your impressions between the two, Kevin? Please don't hesitate to tell me if you disagree with my impressions. I thought maybe the 6mm had slightly less recoil but it was barely noticeable... To be fair as far as recoil: Kevin's gun is set-up quite a few pounds lighter than mine... As far as spotting splash: Kevin has that nice Premier vs. my SWFA that probably gave his rifle a considerable advantage in the spotting department... I've been thinking more and more about a 6mm so I was really trying to pay attention to the differences between the two while shooting his rifle... Of course, Kevin's rifle shot great, but I came away thinking I'll probably just stick with a 6.5 for the extra barrel life... I kinda wanted to feel a huge difference in recoil to justify the shorter barrel life.... He was dialing about 8mils (I think) to my 10.3 for that 1150yd target so the flatter trajectory of the 6mm is definitely appealing...

To get back on topic: I'd definitely love to own a bighorn action someday!

ScottyD, that was fun shooting each others rifles getting on that the 1150 target! It's cool we were able to do that while waiting on everyone to finish the match. I could not perceive a difference between our rifles on target, splash, ring..... had no trouble seeing impacts with just mild mirage. I didn't feel much difference between our rifles in recoil. Our rifles are different, mine weighing 4lbs? less than yours, mine with a Surefire brake yours with a APA Little Bastard. I've shot other rifles with the LB brake, believe it's easily the more efficient brake of the two. On my 5th barrel on this action, all 6MM's, 2nd 6x47.

Steve123, I didn't win the match, risking inflating Alpine 338's head further, gotta give him props for the win. I was the 1st loser. He was shooting a big wind cheater, 300WM/208 Amax's @ 2900. It's almost comical holding a 6x47 round next to his 300WM.

 

[high right]

You dogs were all shooting big guns compared to mine.

 

[steve123]

Oh okay, you had mentioned winning a steel match recently on another thread and thought this was the one. Anyway it's looked at you are shooting excellent! The 8000 rounds down range are paying dividends now.

Once in a while I'd break out my 30-375R for our steel match. 230's with a .743BC at 2925 fps are pretty awesome and hard to compete against for sure. Sure rocks the steel!

Ctressler here on the Hide shoots a 6.5 Creed/140's and a 6 creed/105's. I'm shooting a 6x47L/105's and a 6.5 SAUM/140's. We go practice together and compare our rifles and ballistics, etc. Comparing recoil is difficult between the 6.5's and 6's because of the weight difference and different MB's. His 6.5C was lighter than my 6x47L by 3-4lbs as well but his had less felt recoil because he had a more efficient MB than I do. Recently he had a heavier barrel in 6.5C with a different brand muzzle brake put on. Now there is more recoil in that rifle than before because the MB is less efficient. My 6.5 SAUM was purposely made real heavy, 24lbs with scope, it has a huge SSG MB on it with another hole drilled into the top, it's felt recoil is lighter than his 6.5C with new barrel and MB, muzzle rise is minimal too.

After doing a bunch of spotting at our local long range match and comparing the dust signature of the various calibers I can definitely say 6.5 is easier to see. The difference in dust signature or splash between my 6.5S and my 6x47 is even more apparent.

 

[earthquake]

I'd definitely love to own a bighorn action someday!

+1

I've checked out Kevin's and just played with several more at Trigger Time today. Very nice action...wish I'd have waited for one when I did my build last year!

 

[ScottyD]

After doing a bunch of spotting at our local long range match and comparing the dust signature of the various calibers I can definitely say 6.5 is easier to see. The difference in dust signature or splash between my 6.5S and my 6x47 is even more apparent.

Thanks for the good info Steve. Have you been shooting the 6.5 SAUM at matches? Does it feel like cheating? haha! But seriously, I'd love to know what you think of the SAUM so far. Pros vs any cons so far? I assumed there'd be a ton of recoil, but it sounds like you've got that covered with your build! Less recoil than a 6.5cm!?! Really!?!

 

[KevinU]

Steve, what brake is Ctressler using on his lighter 6.5CM?

ScottyD, we need to take a road trip and shoot Steve's monthly match! See what they're up to, learn something from them....

 

[ScottyD]

Steve, what brake is Ctressler using on his lighter 6.5CM?

ScottyD, we need to take a road trip and shoot Steve's monthly match! See what they're up to, learn something from them....

I'm all for it! I used to go down to Flagstaff once in a while where Steve123 would consistently serve us up an ass-whoopin' in the air rifle field target matches. Tons of fun! I'd love to shoot a long range match with those guys ...But I think its about a 12 hour drive for us....

 

[steve123]

Thanks for the good info Steve. Have you been shooting the 6.5 SAUM at matches? Does it feel like cheating? haha! But seriously, I'd love to know what you think of the SAUM so far. Pros vs any cons so far? I assumed there'd be a ton of recoil, but it sounds like you've got that covered with your build! Less recoil than a 6.5cm!?! Really!?!

Hey there Scott,

Yes sometimes it does feel like cheating! I'm trying to talk Bobby Corcorran into getting a long range rifle, you met him, he shoots FT with us at AOA. I shouldn't have used the 6.5 SAUM to show him what it's like because he never misses with it, lol. I've used it at a few of the AZPRC matches, I got the high score in March and hit the 951Y steel all 4 shots and the 1080Y both shots which was pretty cool.

The main con is it's more expensive to shoot. People think x47L brass is expensive! Not compared to what I paid for hard to come by Norma SAUM brass. Also 60 grains of powder a pop as well. Then the extra expense for 6.5 bullets compared to 6mm. The only other thing that can be considered inconvenient is no 10 round mags.

Pro's are good barrel life if loaded down to 52-55,000 psi and superior ballistics at that speed. My original load was 3225 fps with 140's but a few bullets didn't make it to the target or make a splash in the dirt so I went down to the next lower node, 3125 fps.

 

[steve123]

Steve, what brake is Ctressler using on his lighter 6.5CM?

ScottyD, we need to take a road trip and shoot Steve's monthly match! See what they're up to, learn something from them....

He was using a Scorehigh brake on his first barrel which worked excellent. I think, not 100% sure, he used a AAC on the second with the heavier barrel. It was one of those brakes meant to be used with a suppressor.


Yep, that's a long drive! The SRM is 9 hours from us and I find hard to make the effort for the drive even though it's probably my favorite steel match. If you guys end up wanting to come out let me know. Maybe I could talk Brad into making a 2 day match with ELR thrown in or at least do something a little extra.

 

[SAPenguin]

Question for you guys with bighorns (you got the gears turning in my head)... I am aware that one can order the action with a "AW magazine cut". Can you name a chassis system that will accept AW mags? Kevin, yours is single stack if I remember correctly?

 

[bohem]

Very nice. I'm in the midst of putting the 4th 6.5mm barrel on my first Bighorn, it has a touch over 13,000 live rounds and probably double that in dry fire on it.

 

[KevinU]

Question for you guys with bighorns (you got the gears turning in my head)... I am aware that one can order the action with a "AW magazine cut". Can you name a chassis system that will accept AW mags? Kevin, yours is single stack if I remember correctly?

Action is cut for AW mags. Any stock/bottom metal that accepts AICS mags will also accept AW mags.

 

[SAPenguin]

Action is cut for AW mags. Any stock/bottom metal that accepts AICS mags will also accept AW mags.

Thank you Kevin!

Oh Lordy, this thread is gonna cost me money...

 

[high right]

Money well spent!