Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Ask The Gunwriters 700NE Project - Custom Build Complete Story - Shooting Video - Long Story

And, tommorrow is here.

It was not a very nice day at the range today. Temperature was 30 degrees - Wind was in my face at 20mph - and it was snowing an inch per hour.

I had to cover the chronograph between strings to keep the light screens clear.

So .... I stayed with AA5744 powder to keep the powder weight down. (powder weight is a factor in gun recoil) Estimated data was obtained from AA last year and I also used some of my earlier measured velocities as a guide to load the following.

I fired 4 shots with each and recorded ave velocity and group size. All were shot at 50 yards.

110g = 1680 ave vel - 2-1/4"
115g = 1780 ave vel - 2-3/8"
120g = 1840 ave vel - 1-1/4"
125g = 1940 ave vel - 1-5/8"

I used the 100yd folding leaf rear sight because yesterday the standing leaf printed low near the bottom edge of the target and I wanted to get the groups up higher for measuring. I'll dial-in the sights as needed once I settle on a load.

Let me start by saying this; I'm the first to admit that I'm not man enough to shoot a lot of these high velocity loads. I'll be saving them for when I'm in imminent danger of being eaten or stomped to death. They really kick the crap out of you.

As I recorded the data for each string, I made note of the increasing recoil level. However, after firing the first 2 brutal shots of the 125g load, the next 2 shots were drastically lower in recoil. I was a bit confued as to why that would be until I noted the low chronograph readings in the 1500fps range. I had accidentally grabbed two of my regulating cartridges from yesterday that were loaded with only 95.5g of powder.

I then fired the last 2 of the 125g load into the same target so it had a 6 shot group instead of only 4. The first 3 targets were great, but the last target tells it all. I think you'll agree.

I'm not sure if any time too soon I'm going to push that last load up by 3 grains just to squeeze out 2000fps. I think 1940fps with 8,360 ft/lbs of energy should do fine for any dinosaur that might be encountered here in Wisconsin. If I do shoot a 2000fps load, (8,880 ft/lbs) I'll post the data here.

All things considered, I'm so very pleased with how this rifle build turned out. I don't think I could have expected more.

A big "Thank You" to Aaron Little. Aaron told me that this was his first 700NE - I'm sure he'll be building more.



update

When I received the rifle back from Aaron on Tuesday April 7th, my daughter took some photos of my shooting. This was when I tested the 1500fps regulation loads that are posted on the previous page with the 3 targets. It was cold, damp, freezing drizzle, and miserable, but I couldn't resist shooing the rifle now that it was finally finished.

For those interested, I'll go through my shooting procedure. A short video at the end shows a 4 shot sequence being fired and the data being recorded. The ugly old man in the red hat is me. Keep in mind I'm shooting the "low velocity" regulation loads.

The set-up is rather simple. I place a stool on top of the shooting bench with spacers and a boat cushion to achieve the correct height for shooting from a standing position. I shoot the rifle supported with my left hand under the gun, resting the back of my hand on the cushion to keep steady. The chronograph is placed 15 feet in front of the muzzle, in-line with the targets at 50 yards.

Binoculars on the bench at the right are used to see the chronograph readings because my old eyes can't focus clearly at 15 feet anymore. The spotting scope on the left is on another stool and used to see the bullet holes on the target. The shot position and sequence with velocity readings are recorded on the note card. I also manually double check the chronograph readings by sequencing through the shots, and I also record the standard deviation. Then I walk down range to measure the groups. I do this procedure between shot strings and wait about 10 minutes for the rifle to cool before shooting the next shot string.