Bored in Iraq...

WallNutt

Private
Full Member
Minuteman
Apr 25, 2013
79
0
North Carolina
Another new member here, although admittedly Ive been lurking for some time now. Im currently doing Explosive Detection Dog work in Iraq for the the US DOS as a contractor. My background is in Law Enforcement, mostly K9 for about 12 years and the last couple in contracting. A friend got me interested in the LR game while in the department several years ago. Spent some money on a rifle and a MK4 to get started. Had another longtime friend mentor me in learning to reload and the obsession took hold. Recently set up a 1K yd range and invested in a new NF NXS. Had the boys at Gunwerks/G7 build me a turret for a custom load and away I went. Having never had a place to shoot at anything over +-400 yards, you can imagine the feeling when I rang my first gong at 1000!!! And I thought Turkey hunting was addictive. Now decided to upgrade my barrel/stock with a local smith friend on my LTR and thinking of jumping in on the group buy with Chad Dixon for the Rem 700 Tactical I picked up to build. Great site by the way, I have spent many hours on it over here and have just scratched the surface.
 
What the hell else is a contractor supposed to do while waiting for all hell to break loose!?!? Welcome to the Hide, now open your wallet and get ready to burn that big money!

Got some friends over your way in the same field too. Good guys...
 
thinking of jumping in on the group buy with Chad Dixon for the Rem 700 Tactical I picked up to build. Great site by the way, I have spent many hours on it over here and have just scratched the surface.
Another bad addiction to get into is the custom rifle build. Once you shoot a fully customized rifle it is hard to go back to just stock. But, once you enter into that world you better get your pocket book to open freely. I deployed many times to Iraq and Afghanistan and the one thing I did every time before deploying is start a custom build and get it by the time I returned. That way I didn't have to sit at home and wait I was marking time in the combat zone. Everyone around me during the deployments were looking for that cool car or motorcycle to get with their combat pay; I just looked at custom rifles.

Stay safe! As we all know Iraq is far from being over and in fact it is just getting worse by the week. Lots of car bombs going off!
 
Man you said a mouthful. Thats exactly what I did, dropped the rifle off for action truing and a new tube just prior to leaving and should have it to pick up when I get back in July. New stock on the way to him for it too!! But now I see this GB with Dixon and Im tempted to start a second project. Really want a 6.5 CM and have the build rifle just laying around begging to be liberated. Was reading the thread about the 6.5 SAUM , if barrel life is what they say it is- Im jones'n for one. Did not see that reamer listed for the GB though.
Another bad addiction to get into is the custom rifle build. Once you shoot a fully customized rifle it is hard to go back to just stock. But, once you enter into that world you better get your pocket book to open freely. I deployed many times to Iraq and Afghanistan and the one thing I did every time before deploying is start a custom build and get it by the time I returned. That way I didn't have to sit at home and wait I was marking time in the combat zone. Everyone around me during the deployments were looking for that cool car or motorcycle to get with their combat pay; I just looked at custom rifles.

Stay safe! As we all know Iraq is far from being over and in fact it is just getting worse by the week. Lots of car bombs going off!
 
I am not sure about the 6.5SAUM but I do shoot a 6.5mm Creedmoor. I have 308's, 223's and the 6.5mm Creedmoor. By far the most fun is the Creedmoor. It is low recoil but relatively flat shooting and can shoot out to 1400 yards. It should get to around 2-2.5k of barrel life out of it. I use my 308's and 223 bolts for short range under 600-800yards but bring out the Creedmoor for the long range work. It is just a lot of fun to shoot. But, as you are deployed, start buying ammo when you can because it will take some time to get a good stock.
 
Im on my 5th creedmoor barrel now and they are averaging around 2300 rounds with a moderate load. You will love the Creedmoor!

Got a 6.5 saum reamer on order and hope to be playing with that round in the very near future. I know the barrel life claims come from a respected source but im still very skeptical. I watched a friends 7saum start to fade at 1600+ rounds, I would put the over under on the 6.5saums life at 1100 unless your loading them low to near 65creedmoor specs.
 
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