New FO rifle

[Woody_rod]

This is a pic of my new FO rifle in its current configuration. It has a parallel 1.25" x 30" barrel in 260 INCH chambering. Weighs 8,4 kilos without the bipod (barrel alone weighs 4,6 kilos). Shows a 75mm flat under the forend to show this accessory from BDG here in Western Australia (where the stock is made). It is rather front heavy, so will be interesting to shoot this thing. (edited to show a better picture)



A note about the BDG stock: it usually comes with a black unitised butt that screws to the main frame. This one I have modified to use a flat plate, that rides in a bag better and is a lot lighter than the original by about 500 grams. This was done to allow for the heavy barrel.

The chambering is for this round, developed by Laurie Ingram and Robert Chombart. Note the bullet is pointed, only just spotted that.



The idea behind the short neck and taller body (which are coincidental) in this 260 cartridge, is to simply gain more space in the case. Capacity is somewhat more than the 6,5x47L and closer to the 284. The body and shoulder angles etc are retained, but the chamber reamer is a custom to get the short neck, there is no leade, which is gained by a separate throating reamer.

Cases are formed from 308 Lapua units, necked down to .264 and fire formed to get the new shape. I have not shot this rifle yet, as I only chambered it this morning, but I know Laurie Ingram did a lot of work with it. Laurie was a bloke that did not follow tradition, which I can really relate to.

Bullets to be used are 123 and 139 grain Lapua Scenars (cost and availability are the main feature) and they work well. Powder at this point looks like ADI 2209 or 2213sc (as per the 6,5 x 55 or 6,5 x 284). Primers, as per another thread on this site, probably CCI BR2's. Hoping for around 2850-2900 fps performance with the 139 grainers, and more with the 123's.

The German 88mm round from WW2 shows the benefits of the short neck.

[Mark Hamersley]

Nice one Rod

Look forward to following the progress of "Goldmember". Action colour is great, nice to see something different - could you do that to the scope base and rings as well?.


best regards


Mark

[Cookie]

Looks gd m8.
i have to agree mark gold rings and scope rail would look gd.

also sounds like u have a name for it lol "Goldmember"

[Woody_rod]

Nice one Rod

Look forward to following the progress of "Goldmember". Action colour is great, nice to see something different - could you do that to the scope base and rings as well?.

best regards

Mark

Mark, thanks for the mostly kind words

The rail and rings could be done yes, the question is: do I want to? Am arranging the dies etc now, so hope to have it running in a few weeks - tuned and ready for the Long Range Championships in December.

[Woody_rod]

Ok, here is some news on the progress of "Goldmember" in terms of performance:

I shot some fire forming loads today with the following specs: -

Case: New 308 Lapua necked down to .264 (@.100" neck length)
Primer: CCI BR2
Powder: ADI 2209 @ 48 grains (the case will easily take 52 of 2209)
Bullet: Lapua Scenar 139 grain
Jump: about 0.100" jam (to make sure the case fire formed properly)

A reminder on the rifle specs:

CG INCH action in GOLD Titanium Nitride
CG UNI trigger, set to single stage at around 400 grams
Pac Nor 6,5mm 8 twist 5 groove barrel, parallel 1,25 inch profile
BDG stock with woody_rod inspired butt section in GOLD
Weaver T24 scope with fine CH and 1/8 MOA dot
Warne QR rings
Custom scope rail

Taking the chrono readings as they came to me: (in FPS)

3042
3034
3041
3043
3046
3049
3042
3050
3042
3041

Even if I am inclined to disbelieve the fps in total, the ES and SD are nothing but extraordinary!! This same chrono was giving 2990 fps for my TR in 308, which is right on the money in terms of MV. My 308 really cracks at 1000 yards, so it should not be too far from the truth. Either way, it shows more MV than my 308 with 155 bullets.

I look forward to the next encounter with the 6,5 x 47's, 6,5 x 55's and 6,5 x 284's that are around the place. Mark Hammersley and crew, take note.... And just to make you feel better Mark, I shot an 8,5mm group yesterday during fire forming at 100m using DIFFERENT powder loads in each round. That is a cloverleaf...can't wait to use the bench at 1000 yards at Wurgabup to really test this thing out.

In rememberance of Laurie Ingram, my barrel is engraved with his name. I think he was really onto something with this chambering.

[Mark Hamersley]

G'day Rod

Goldmember has certainly risen to the occasion Great performance on paper and I expect we might have a few tussles on the range in the near future. I was going to offer you some tips on setting up your 6.5 but I reckon I'll be asking you now!

Nice touch about Laurie too BTW.


best regards


Mark

[Woody_rod]

Thanks Mark, much appreciated. Your initial help was actually more valuable than you may think. I am basing my initial assumptions of load sizes etc on the 6,5 x 55 as they are quite similar in capacity.

I now have 100 cases fire formed. So far been running the bullets into the lands, which it likes a lot. I don't intend to continue this though, due to me using this rifle at Swanbourne, with possibility of unload commands etc. I will just do the powder and jump testing this coming few days and see what transpires.

The rifle seems to like more rather than less powder, so I will start at the upper end of where I was today (48 grains of 2209). I can fit a LOT more than that in the case if needed The primers with the Scenar bullets look like the ones in my TR - look like new ones, only with the firing pin dent. The pressure seems very low at this stage, with extraction being very easy. I think the taper of the 308 parent case helps this a lot. I think the 223 AI I have been playing with is harder to extract than the 260 INCH.

[IanP]

Congratulations on joining FO with such a very nicely appointed gun. It will be interesting to hear how your choice of caliber performs. I personally use the pointed Lapua Scenars in 139gr in my 6.5x47L and they are deadly accurate.

A couple of things for you to consider:

1. The thin front plate may prove to be a problem! The problem arises when using this plate on a sandbag that may slightly overlap over the top of the plate. This can prohibit the rifle from lifting cleanly from the rest. If the rifle when lifted vertically from the rest even slightly raises the front rest, then the front rest is included in the weight of the rifle. (Rule 20.1.1.1)

With an FO rifle its easily remedied with a thicker plate or the plate being bent up into a U section. FS is a different kettle of fish as you are stuck with a 10mm plate.

2. The front heavy rifle balance could easily be changed by moving the plate further forward. Most dedicated FO stocks have long fore stocks to counter the long barrel weight imbalance. The stock you have adapted to FO I'm guessing is basically a dedicated TR stock. Just like you adapted the rear end of the stock, I think if you used the same innovative know how you posses to the fore stock it will be world beater.

Just my opinion and thoughts for your consideration on what is already a great stock!

Cheers,

Ian

[johnk]

Ian,

I don't know if the rule has been tested but as it reads, it doesn't necessarily define the depth of the fixture, just the thickness of the medium.

20.2.1.1 ...A flat plate not exceeding 76.2mm in width and 10mm in thickness may be fixed to the underside of the rifle’s fore-end.

Maybe it needs testing; maybe it needs consigning to history when one would appear to be able to have a rifle with vertical sides of any depth as long as they were homoigeneous with the rest of the stock.

20.2.1.1 The stock may be of any material, and be shaped so as to be comfortable to the shooter with a maximum width of 76.2mm (3 inches).

[AlanF]

20.2.1.1 ...A flat plate not exceeding 76.2mm in width and 10mm in thickness may be fixed to the underside of the rifle’s fore-end.

Maybe it needs testing; maybe it needs consigning to history...

I vote for the latter, but without the maybe.

Alan

[Barry Davies]

I agree with John.
1" high sides on a plate does not constitute " thickness" as such.
If somebody wants to test out the rule with sides on the plate say 1" high, no better place than Bendigo next Queens!!!
Barry

[Paul Janzso]

The problem that Ian was trying to broach is, when that rifle is used in a "front rest" it is highly likely that it will end up being clamped into the front rest.
Raven tested a few standard F Class rifles at a recent OPM that had plates fixed in the same manner, results were , when the rifle was picked straight up, the rest came with it.
As for the rifle, the anodising looks good, good scope, interesting chambering and the stock in my opinion is just an TR stock adapted to compete in F Class Open.

Paul

[AlanF]

I agree with John.
1" high sides on a plate does not constitute " thickness" as such.
If somebody wants to test out the rule with sides on the plate say 1" high, no better place than Bendigo next Queens!!!
Barry

Barry,

If the word "flat" wasn't there I'd tend to agree. What you're describing is "channel". However, I think the ideal person to test it at Bendigo would be your good self . To avoid any bad feelings, you could protest against yourself .

Alan

[Barry Davies]

Alan,
"Flat " means just that with respect to the shape--ie not curved or V shaped or any other shape--- simply "flat". " Flat " still does'nt mean no sides.
Actually, when I use a pedestal rest, I use a plate with 1" high sides and have yet to be protested against
Barry

[Woody_rod]

The problem that Ian was trying to broach is, when that rifle is used in a "front rest" it is highly likely that it will end up being clamped into the front rest.
Raven tested a few standard F Class rifles at a recent OPM that had plates fixed in the same manner, results were , when the rifle was picked straight up, the rest came with it.
As for the rifle, the anodising looks good, good scope, interesting chambering and the stock in my opinion is just an TR stock adapted to compete in F Class Open.

Paul

Interesting stuff.

On the front plate: I use it as it is supplied by Mark at BDG for use in a rest. Things are not always as they seem. I use the BDG stock on their behalf as a promotion. Apart from the rear butt thing I made myself, the rest is as supplied by BDG.

I certainly understand and know about the ruling with the front rest being picked up by the rifle. It is something I see quite often, and have not yet made any real noise about, being a new F Class guy and all that. Don't want to make a tool of myself just yet. The thicker plate would make it easier, but the stock is designed to be used for FS, not so much FO.

The stock is just a TR unit with a plate, no argument there. In an ideal world, I would use a custom FO stock, but I don't have one, so the decisions is simple enough.

One thing I did not mention is the scope rings. I have been through 3 sets now, and have ended up with Warne QR rings - the same as we use on all our other scoped rifles. The other "cheaper" ones I was using in an attempt to try them to see how they would go. My vote is to just use Warne's and be done with it!! We use QR rings so we can take the scope off easily (obviously), but so the rifle can be thrown into a bag or whatever, without bending the scope. My wife uses a NF and Warne rings, and as yet has never had a zero issue.

On the loads used. I have retested the loads again, this time with all fire formed brass. It incidentally likes the fire forming load the best - straight 48 grains of 2209. I can use more than 50 grains, but think it is already doing the job from a MV point of view to be used at 1000 yards. I am seeing just over 3000fps on my chrono still.