The Rifles & Cartridges
No doubt about it, the desire to own one of the worlds most accurate rifles is what attracts a lot of shooters to benchrest.
Benchrest is the Formula 1 of shooting-sports and our rifles are built with just one thing in mind - ultimate accuracy!
You cannot buy a benchrest rifle 'off the shelf'. A benchrest rifle is not a mass-produced product - it is the result of impeccable engineering and gunsmithing and respresents absolute perfection in rifle craftsmanship.
So how do we aquire a benchrest rifle? There are two options - new or secondhand.
The secondhand route is tempting as the cost will of course be less and providing you can find one for sale it will be the quickest way into the sport. Unfortunately, there are few secondhand benchrest riles available in the UK though it is possible to aquire one from the USA. A good starting point would be Bob White's 'Shooters Corner'. Bob is one of the top American benchrest shooters and he has a vast stock of rifles and other benchrest related equipment. You will need a friendly UK dealer to actually do the importing and whatever price you agree for the rifle in dollars, you can convert that directly to pounds sterling by the time you get your hands on it! Import-duty, VAT postage, insurance, export-license, UK delivery charges and maybe a 'bung' to your local dealer will all have to be paid.
If you choose to buy new you will pay more but you will get exactly what you want. The downside - apart from the cost - is time. Currently, any of the top UK gunsmiths will require around 12 months to build you a benchrest rifle. This is not because it takes that long to do the work but all the components must be obtained from the USA and most items will be on at least a three-month delivery time.
There are only a handful of benchrest-quality gunsmiths in the UK and another option would be to buy a new rifle from the USA. There are lots of top-quality gunsmiths to choose from and you should not need to wait very long. The ultimate cost will be similar to what you will pay for a new rifle here in the UK.
Let's look in more detail at just what goes into a 100/200 yard benchrest rifle.
Benchrest rifles are built to comply with the various categories within the discipline, which usually involves a weight-limit. In this article, we will not consider the heavier ‘rail’ guns but rather the ‘Light’ category rifles that still bear a passing resemblance a sporting-rifle, both in weight and appearance and are used by most competitors.
The parameters
A Light Class (or Light Varmint) rifle will have an all-up weight of 10.5 lbs. including scope. The barrel must be cut from a 28 inch blank which tapers from 1.25 inches at the breech to 0.9 in. at the muzzle. The minimum barrel length is 18 inches and the underside of the butt cannot be flatter than a line drawn from the muzzle of an (imaginary) 18 inch barrel to a drop-point on the butt-plate four-inches below the bore-axis.
In other words, the underside of the butt cannot be flat - or parallel - to the bench-top. This keeps the stock looking something like a conventional rifle-stock, though the fore-end can be completely flat on the underside but not wider than three-inches.
Here’s how that 10.5lb. weight-limit might be made up:
Action 2 lbs.
Barrel 5 lbs.
Scope 1 lb.
Stock 1.5 lbs
Sundries 1 lb. (Trigger, trigger-guard, rings, bases, screws, butt-plate)
These suggested weights may vary a little but you will of course try and put as much weight into the barrel as possible - bearing in mind that the rifle must exhibit the correct balance if it is to ‘ride’ the bags properly.
Let me explain further. When the rifle is set in the shooting position resting on the front and rear bags there will be a 75% - 25% weight distribution, so only about 2.5 lbs will be pushing down on the rear bag. When you pull the trigger and the rifle recoils, it attempts to jump off the rear bag, so we need as much weight as possible on the rear end. Each additional ounce we can transfer to the
back-end will improve the handling and thus the ‘shootability’ of the rifle. It won’t be more accurate but it will be easier to shoot accurately.
One inch of our stubby stainless-steel barrel weighs about 3.5 ounces so we could lop our 21 inches down to 18 inches and slap it on the butt in the form of a useful half-pound of lead. This would definitely make the rifle handle better but the trade-off will be lost muzzle-velocity, meaning that our tiny 68 grain flat-base bullet - with its abysmal BC - would be more susceptible to the wind. Would it really make that much difference, you may ask. Don’t forget, benchrest matches are won and lost by thousandths of an inch, so velocity is critical.
Let’s examine each individual component in turn.
The action.
More bench-guns have been built on the Stolle action than any other. Ralph Stolle (now deceased) was the first gunsmith to perfect the aluminium action - a massive breakthrough in benchrest equipment. I’m not saying it is the best action but owning to the vast number of Stolles out there, it will always figure prominently in any results table.
Having said that, the Stolle is a fabulous action and you can’t go wrong if you choose it for the basis of your benchrest (or sporting) rifle. The action is massive – at 8.5 inches long, yet it weighs only 32 ounces, thanks to its aluminium body. To ensure durability however, the critical points such as the tenon-threads and locking-lugs are stainless-steel. There is also a stainless-steel rubbing-pin in the rear of the action where the bolt cams open.
The Stolle action offers a massive flat bedding area
The underside of the action is completely flat, forming a massive bedding area. The sides of the action are parallel and this makes the bedding-process a cynch.
The tenon-threads are also substantial.
The fit of bolt-to-action is very close and the fluting on the bolt is not just for decoration. Apart from saving a few precious grams of weight, it also provides a receptacle for any minute particles of detritus which could otherwise jam-up the action.
More weight is saved by having a built-in scope-rail and the matching Kelbly scope-rings are the lightest (and nicest) in the business.
Other actions are available – I like the all stainless-steel BAT. It is a jewel of engineering perfection but the bedding-area is far less than the Stolle.
The barrel.
We have already ascertained that the barrel is massive and its short length – usually around 21 inches - means that it is very stiff and will better resist distortion due to heat build-up. But, with only perhaps 7 to 10 shots fired at a sitting, the barrel hardly gets warm.
Look at the size of the tenon compared to the 700 Remington - see pic. The advantages are obvious but, in addition, it means that benchrest barrels are just ‘nipped-up’ rather than subjected to enormous torque applied when installing a factory barrel.
Top, a barrel-tenon threaded for Stolle action. Bottom, the Remington tenon.
If we examine the other end, we will find a beautiful razor-sharp crown rather than the vague effort on a factory rifle. This is not meant to be a criticism of factory rifles – many of them shoot amazingly well despite the shortcomings imposed by cost constraints and mass-production methods.
The sharp eleven-degree crown (right) compared to a stock Remington crown.
The stock
Wood is still a viable material for a benchrest rifle stock as it is light and stiff but you will see few on the circuit. Fibreglass has taken over, for it is so much more stable in the various temperature and humidity conditions that a benchrest shooter may encounter.
The most popular benchrest stock is the McMillan but of late, this traditional design, based on a sporting-rifle stock, has given way to more radical designs which exploit the rules to the maximum. Look at the picture. The heel/grip has completely disappeared, the underside of the butt is flat rather than rounded to ‘track’ better and the fore-end is a couple of inches longer. This extra length throws a few more valuable ounces on the back-end to improve the handling.
The old McMillan design (bottom) is still viable however and Annie Elliott of
The trigger
Arnold Jewel’s legendary trigger is used by 99% of benchrest shooters, though the innovative Kelbly family (who manufacture the Stolle action) have recently introduced their own trigger and it promises to be even better. Most competitors shoot with a 2oz. trigger. Ever tried one? It’s an amazing experience – it also teaches great trigger-control! Did I say 2 ounce? Some competitors use a half ounce trigger – now that’s light!
The Jewel trigger (right) has always been the benchresters' favourite but all that could change with the introduction of the Kelbly trigger (left).
The scope
The fabulous Leupold 36BR is used by the majority of competitors. It is the lightest 36 power scope made at just under a pound. The 36X Weaver is an ounce heavier and now that Leupold have ceased production of their 36BR, it’s making a revival. I have both and I can’t tell the difference – but the scales can!
The 36BR Leupold is used by 90% of competitors - though it is no longer in production. Note also, the light-weight Kelbly rings.
Although Leupold have stopped making the 36BR, they have introduced a replacement. The new model comes with a 30mm tube, side-focus and is offered in three magnifications – 36X, 40X and 45X. It’s a fabulous scope but it’s a few ounces heavier than its predecessor, so where do you recover the weight? An inch off the barrel maybe?
When it comes to reticles, most competitors will use an ultra-fine crosshair with a one-eighth MOA dot in the centre. This is a great reticle for shooting a rested rifle on a white target. Anything else – forget it! Don’t forget, we are attempting to get all shots down the same hole so you must be able to clearly see that first shot-hole and ‘quarter’ it with your reticle.
Assembly
So, we’ve pretty well dissected a benchrest rifle, now we’ll put it back together.
Our match-grade barrel will be threaded and chambered to the highest possible standard using a ‘match’ chamber-reamer with a tight or fitted-neck. How would the rifle shoot if we did everything except the tight-neck? Damn good - but ‘damn good’ isn’t good enough.
Once the barrel is mated to the action, we need to bed it in the stock. Very few factory-rifles are properly bedded. Some manufacturers (like Remington) will partly get around the bedding problem by using a moulded-in aluminium bedding block.
Even benchrest stocks are not guaranteed to be absolutely ‘true’ right out of the mould so your gunsmith will first tackle this problem. He will then bed the barrelled-action into the stock, leaving the whole barrel completely free-floating. The bedding-material will be a high-quality two-pack epoxy repair product like Devcon or Marine-tex.
These sophisticated materials are way over-strength for our application but their one great feature is that they don’t shrink. Most shooters opt for a glue-in - in other words, no screws – the action is permanently glued in to the stock. And I do mean ‘permanently’. You can opt for a semi glue-in, which allows removal using moderate heat. The trigger is of course accessible without removing the action, so it’s unlikely that you will ever want to take the action out of the stock. Don’t forget, screws will weigh a couple of valuable ounces!
Epilogue
If you lay out your ‘hard-earned’ on a 6PPC benchrest rifle, what can you expect from it? If you take it to an indoor range – like a tunnel range and you have done your bit with reloading and your rest/bag set-up is as it should be, your rifle, once ‘tuned’ will shoot tiny little groups all day long – what we call ‘ones’. In other words five shots which measure less than two-tenths of an inch centre to centre. Further more, it will never throw a shot – provided you keep the barrel pristine and that means no more than 25 rounds without a thorough cleaning.
Five shots like this is what benchrest shooters call a 'one'.
If you take your rifle to an outdoor range on the day of a benchrest match, you will be amazed to see the range covered in small wind-flags of various configuration. These flags enable us to shoot outdoors like you would expect to do in a tunnel. Without wind-indicators, our benchrest rifles would still be accurate but our results on the target would tell a different story. Believe me, you can’t shoot one-hole groups without wind-flags!
The high cost and sheer difficulty in obtaining a reasonably-priced benchrest rifle in the UK, prompted the UKBRA to introduce the Factory Sporter class. This is an 'entry level' class for absolutely standard out-of-the-box factory rifles and is the way that many competitors start off in benchrest.
Rifles such as the Remington PSS (chambered in .223 for 100 yards or .308 for 600/1000 yards) make good FS class rifles with which you can experience and learn the art of benchrest shooting. Although heavy-barrelled rifles like the PSS are preferred, almost any centrefire rifle is suitable and if you already have a rifle, I would strongly advise you to come along and shoot what you have before spending any money.
If you are serious about the Factory Sporter Class, there are certain permitted modifications. The barrel can be re-crowned but it must not be shortened by more than one inch. The trigger may be 'tuned' and lightened (not a job for the amateur, I must stress) and the action may be 'blue-printed' and re-bedded. I must emphasise however that the barrel must not be re-chambered and no non-factory parts can be fitted. The factory stock must be retained but you may use an 'accuracy asset' on the fore-end to aid stability on the front bag.
Cartridges
Let's have a look at the cartridges in the photograph - from the left:
The 22PPC This is the cartridge that put an end to the search for the ultimate BR round. When Dr. Lou Palmisano 'discovered' the 220 Russian cartridge and his gunsmith buddy, Ferris Pindell 'improved' it and proceded to blow the doors off everyone at the Super Shoot, things would never be the same again. Benchrest competition had always been the stomping ground of the wildcatters and innovators but the 22PPC - soon to be necked-up to the 6mmPPC - put a stop to all that and this cartridge has reigned supreme ever since. If you are contemplating a 100/200 yard benchrest rifle, don't even think about any other chambering. Having said that, a few shooters use a shortened version of the 22PPC, which has won the aforementioned Super Shoot twice in the last six years. Making the cases is more involved and the novice should stick with the 6PPC but I'm trying a 22 PPC Short for this season. Even the 'straight' 220 Russian is a viable cartridge - thanks to Lapua's superb brass.
The 6PPC This is the preferred version of the PPC cartridge and 99.9% of benchrest competitors use this cartridge. Unless you have inherited 10,000 224 match bullets, stick with the 6mm. The favoured bullets are flat-base in the 66 - 68 grain range from the small American bullet-makers like bart, Fowler, Watson, Berger etc. Vihtavuori 133 powder is the most popular propellant though some prefer Hodgdon's H322. I've used a 6PPC for about 10 years now and it is just the most accurate cartridge out to 300 yards.
The 6BR Rem. This must be the most efficient cartridge on the planet. The case is very close to the 6PPC but with a bit more capacity. It has been used in 100/200 yard benchrest but rarely now - the 6PPC's 220 Russian 'donor' brass is simply superior. Amazingly, the 6BR is a reasonable 1000 yard cartridge and in its improved 'Dasher' form holds one of the NBRSA's 1000 yard benchrest records. The Dasher has a 40 degree shoulder and more powder-capacity at the expense of a shorter neck. It can also be necked-down to 224 and I'm currently experimenting with this round for 300 yard benchrest. But the BR case has recently had a revival at 100/200 yards - by necking it up to 30 cal. It is claimed that the 30BR will out-shoot the 6PPC in 'Hunter' benchrest - now that 1 in 18 twist barrels are available and benchrest-quality bullets weighing around 115 grains.
The 6XC This is one of the newest wildcats around and US shooters are currently experimenting with it at 1000 yards. American highpower shooter, David Tubb was the inventor and he uses it with his own 115 grain bullet. Although not strictly a benchrest cartridge, it is typical of the 'new' smaller cartridges which BR shooters are beginning to favour.
The 6x47 Swiss Match This cartridge-case is very similar to the Tubbs 6XC. The brass is made by Ruag and is of excellent quality. It has yet to prove itself at 1000 yards, though in theory it should have the edge on the 6BR Remington owing to its extra case-capacity. My own Swiss Match is performing exceedingly well but only RUAG make brass and it is difficult to obtain though with the inroduction of Lapua's 6.5x47 it is be possible to form cases from this brass.
6.5x47 Lapua This is one of the most exciting new cartridges to be introduced in recent years. It has quickly established itself as a great 600 yard BR round. Lapua's excellent brass and a range of match bullets from 100 to 140 grains makes this a very versatile round.
6x47 Lapua The wildcatters were not slow to neck down the 6.5x47 Lapua to make a case very close to the Swiss Match and the 6XC. Factory dies are already available and the 6x47 will work all the way out to 1000 yards.
The 6-284 Five years ago, no one would have seriously considered a 6mm cartridge for 1000 yard benchrest but when Bill Shehane set a new Light Gun world record, the world sat up and took notice. The cartridge is a necked-down version of the old 284 Winchester hunting round and is grossly over-bore and thus a real barrel-burner - I ran one for a couple of seasons but the barrel was completely shot-out after 1200 rounds! I'm currently building another but the case is slightly shorter and the neck longer.
6.5-284 The 6-284 could never use its full case-capacity and the 6.5 became the preferred option, especially when first Norma and then Lapua offered us a decent case. Prior to that, we were stuck with Winchester. Their brass is not the best for long-range accuracy work. Even with the 6.5, barrel-life is not much more than 2000 rounds and some shooters are now looking at the 'straight' 284 (7mm) particularly for F Class.
6.5x55 Improved Here's one occasion when we Brits beat the Americans to it. The 6.5 chambering was almost unknown in the USA though it has always been popular in the UK and Europe. When Steve Dunn captured the UK record with his 6.5x55 Imp. it certainly opened a few eyes - and chambered a few barrels! Capacity-wise, it's just a bit less than the 6.5-284 but this is irrelevant as the 6.5-284 doesn't use all its capacity. With its 40 degree shoulder, the 6.5x55 is in my opinion, a better case but unfortunately dies are not commercially available, so most shooters stick with the 6.5-284. Les Holgate won the 2005 UKBRA 1000 yard Championship with a 6.5x55 Imp. Factory dies have always been the problem but now RCBS are listing 6.5x55 AI dies.
7mm & 30 cal. BooBoo When we think of long-range shooting, it's tempting to think - big magnum. Problem is, touching-off a hundred grains of powder can set up accuracy-destroying vibrations in a 17lb. Light Gun. Having said that, we could maybe use a little more than that offered by the 6.5-284. The search was on for a cartridge-case of good quality with a capacity of around 60-70 grains and no belt. An old European hunting round, the RWS 8x68 provided the answer; necked-down to 7mm and 'improved', it is just about the ultimate 1000 yard Light Gun cartridge.
338 Lapua Magnum Although I do not know of any Light Guns chambered for this round, it has proved effective in the hands of a few Factory Sporter shooters. Its massive bullets certainly buck the wind and it has proved itself by recently shooting a 5.5 inch group from a factory Sako TRG in the hands of Mike Weatherhead. The round shown in the photograph is actually necked-down to 30 cal. and would probably make a good Heavy Gun BR cartridge. Dennis Groom also used a 30-338 to win the 2007 GB F Class League.
7mmWSM & 300WSM The new 'short' magnums could be the way forward and my own 7mm30WSM currently holds the 1000 yard UK Light Gun record at 2.67 inches for five shots. The case displays all the right features - short, fat powder column, ideal capacity, longish neck, 30 degree shoulder, no belt and quality Norma brass is available. Don't expect more than 1000 rounds from the barrel though!
Your own wildcat? Maybe you have an idea for your own cartridge. Here are a few rules you would be wise to adhere to:
1. Short, fat powder columns appear to offer a more consistent powder 'burn' than long, thin ones.
2. A steep shoulder angle of 30 to 40 degrees appears to work best.
3. A longish case-neck is desirable - not just to hold the bullet firmly in alignment but also to keep the 'turbulence-point' within the case-neck. The turbulence point is the point where the shoulder-angles would intersect if extended. Most accurate cartridges exhibit this characteristic and it is reckoned to help with barrel-life.
4. Finally, you won't load an accurate round unless you have good quality brass. Brass must be concentric in thickness through-out. Stick to European brass like Lapua, RWS, Ruag or Norma.