Help me build a duel purpose F open rifle

[diego-ted]

I have been shooting F-open for about 2 years. Last year I had built and shot a 6.5X47 Lapua with a 30”1-8 Krieger heavy Palma tube on a Tikka action in KRG chassis. I shoot 130gr Berger VLDs. The rifle performs well in matches from 300 to 600 yards but is affected by wind drift more than I like at 1000 yards. The Burger VLDs are good but at .50 cents a round, they are expensive to shoot and sometimes hard to come by.

From my research it is hard to find one caliber that will handle both short and long range shooting equally well. Thus I was thinking of building a rifle with switch barrel capabilities.
I would like to build a duel purpose rifle that fulfills the following requirements.

1. Switch barrel capability that I can do myself without much fuss.
2. One barrel for 600 yards and under
3. One barrel for 1000 yards.
4. Both barrels have good usage life.
5. Both calibers have good inexpensive components for reloading.

I know I am asking for a miracle but want to see what you guys come up with. I figure I would start with a Savage target action since it affords the ability for me to change barrels with ease. I think I would like to shoot the Amax bullets for each caliber. I do not have the years behind me to win matches in F-class open, I just want to build something that I can practice with as much as I like, that will handle the 300-1000 requirments that will not break the bank.

Thanks for your thoughts, advice and input in advance.
Diego.

 

[Defusion]

Why would something that works well for 1000y not work as well for the shorter ranges? I can see the other way around, but if you find a caliber that you like at 1000y, why not use it for shorter range as well (you could use cheaper components, and less powder for shorter ranges, but no need to use different calibers IMHO).

 

[wadebrown]

I would chamber the LR barrel up in a straight 284 or a 285 Shehane and when the barrel on the 6.5L goes south ~2000 rounds put a 6 BR, BRX or Dasher for mid-range F-class. The cartridges built off of the 6BR case or so inherently accurate they are very hard to beat in the mid-range game, unless the wind is really rocking in that case spin your LR barrel on shoot.

Bothe barrels give pretty good barrel life, but remember barrels are consumables when you are competing especially in F-class given the rate and volume of fire.

 

[gstaylorg]

Ted, my friend, I'm going to offer an alternative approach. Maybe not what you asked for, but one that I think might accomplish your goal(s) very nicely.

Get yourself one of these:

Savage 12 F/TR

and some of these:

Applied Ballistics 175 gr Tactical Load

This is not all that different from the setup I've been using with some success at 300, 600, and 1000 yd, as you know. Although the matches you and I shoot here in SD generally don't distinguish between F-T/R and F-Open, sooner or later you'll probably shoot in one somewhere that does. There is no reason you can't have one rifle that shoots well at any/all of these ranges, and I would much rather compete against another shooter with a .223 or .308 than against one with an F-Open gun in a Star Wars front rest and some zippy flat shooting load. As we both know, those guys will skin you every time (LOL). A good .308 setup will give you barrel life, ease of reloading, and should perform well at any range if set up and loaded properly. Sure, you won't have the nearly wind-bucking ability of a .284 (or something similar), but neither will the other F-T/R competitors. At that point, it's up to the nut behind the rifle, which is exactly where you want to be IMO.

 

[supratt96]

Take a look at this... http://www.lprgunsmith.com/lpr_f_rifle.htm

I had Larry build me a Savage F-class starting with a factory Savage model 12 F-class rifle chambered in 6BR. He bedded the action, trued the bolt and reamed me a second barrel (Kreiger 28", MTU profile) in .284 Winchester that can be swapped out with a 1" box wrench in about 3 minutes.

I use the 6BR for midrange comps and the .284 for the long stuff or when the wind is up. The factory 6BR barrel is just as accurate as the Kreiger and a real pleasure to shoot. The .284 has a pretty good kick to it, even in an 18 lb rifle. It's manageable, but I would be lieing if I said I wasn't pretty fatigued after 66 rounds with it.

Works really well and didn't cost a fortune either.

 

[diego-ted]

Although the matches you and I shoot here in SD generally don't distinguish between F-T/R and F-Open, sooner or later you'll probably shoot in one somewhere that does. There is no reason you can't have one rifle that shoots well at any/all of these ranges, and I would much rather compete against another shooter with a .223 or .308 than against one with an F-Open gun in a Star Wars front rest and some zippy flat shooting load. As we both know, those guys will skin you every time (LOL). .

Well Greg after looking at the results from day one of the state Palma champinionships, I NOW see the wisdom of this thinking! This will give me a lot to consider moving forward! I am going to finish this season with the 6.5x47, I think this will help the most with my wind reading skills, then make a decision on the new stick.

thx as always.

Diego