He has wrote that he bought the BDL Varmint Special and put it straight to work...no barrel break-in or special treatment, just shot it. A lot...there was a pic with him, the rifle and a "wall" of coyote pelts.
Sometime later he wrote that he built the Shilen as the perfect coyote gun, but you guessed it, he could always shoot the BDL better.
He eventually shot the barrel out of the Varmint Special and I "think" he had it re-barreled in 22-250, then later re-barreled again when he was experimenting with big cased, tight twisted .22s and .24s.
very interesting info--it's just really tough to beat those old rem 700's. the rifle that Ross used--according to the picture in the article--had a two piece standard dovetail front/windage rear mount system--something often decried in this day and age (and without a doubt there are much better mount systems to use to be sure, especially when it comes to a hunting rig), yet guys like him, and Mawhinney--managed quite well with their rem 700 and standard mounts on deck (Mawhinneys had a one piece standard base/ring system).
i've always been a believer in the concept that "simplicity lies at the heart of the most complex", and there are many lessons to be learned therein...
one of the centerfire rifles i had built back in the mid 1970's would outshoot (on a bench--not out in the field), anything i'd ever had--or have now--and yet i never did anything to the barrel but "shoot and clean", (which is why i really enjoyed the essential truth within big sticks barrel break in video). that particular rifle would perform best with the pills well back from the lands...
in the early 80's i bought an L579 sako in 220 swift--especially for yotes--a great rifle and very accurate, but try as i would, i never could shoot it out in the field--on demand--like i could an old rem 700. in part i believe it is the very high comb and cast off stock, along with its balance, which never seemed to work for me in as perfect an arrangement as the "vanilla" rem 700.
along with Ross, i think a lot of us have found that--search as we may--the "ordinary" rem 700 is tough to top.
