First Chassis build for competition

[regnar375]

Ok, I have the bug. Been shooting rifle all my life. Started competing about 6 years ago in F Class. Had a 6.5x47L in a Manners T4A tgst I have shot local Matches with. It shoots well, but I want a chassis rifle, something to play the game.
I will sell my fclass rig to fund this build and will have between 4k and 5k for a barrels action and chassis.

I've spent hours reading the threads, on manufacture websites, blogs and anything else I can find. This is what I am thinking. It's not in stone and open to somments and suggestions if I'm missing something.

Action: impact. I like the idea of being able to order a barrel without sending in the action.

Barrel: bartlein. Just because that is what I have on my other rifles. As there something better?

Trigger: BnA tac sport. Will look at the Trigger tec if the 2 stages comes out in time.

Bottom metal: is there any advantage of one over the other?

Chassis: not sure. I like the looks of the MDT ACC. Is there any others I should look at?

Caliber: I am shooting the 6.5x47 now in the manners rig. My fclass rig is a 6br. I have a ton of 6br brass. I love the 6mm. I was thinking of going with a 6bra in the new rig and keep the 6.5x47L for non prs compitions. Thoughts?

Accessories: anything zip am missing?

 

[Sheldon N]

I think you've got a solid plan. 6BRA is a great cartridge if you've got a ton of 6BR brass around and don't mind fire forming and a bit of barrel break in. A straight 6BR is also a good option and you already know that one.

I like the MDT ACC, get the weight kit too, alternate option is an MPA with the weight kit.

Go with a heavier contour barrel... Heavy palma would be "light", M24 middle ground, MTU/HV on the upper end.

If you are shooting 6BR or 6BRA, a barrel with 26-28" length would be good for a little extra speed. My BRA is 27.5 because that's what fits in my pelican.

You'll need a muzzle brake, I recommend the Area 419 Hellfire. APA Little Bastard or Insite Arms Heathen would be the others on my short list.

Get a bipod with some sort of Arca/RRS rail based clamp so you can move it forward/backward on the chassis. Harris, Atlas, Ckye are most popular.

You don't need bottom metal. That's part of the chassis.

I assume you've got a baseline in optics/scopes/rings knowledge. Lots of good choices out there, but the #1 thing you will want is Mil Reticle, Mil Turrets, FFP scope. Mils are the language of PRS competition.

Bags... keep it simple. Armageddon Gear waxed canvas game changer which you will use for 95% of everything. A larger "pump" pillow for the rare occasions when you need a bigger bag. Second one is not a must have.

Binos of some sort to scout out stages. 10x42 are a good range. Just need to be able to see where targets are.

You'll find everyone has a tripod, don't worry about that for now. Borrow one, see what's out there and whether you need one. Don't get caught up in them as a "must have".

And, if you are serious about competing, which it sounds like you are given 6 years of F-Class and that you are jumping in.... you will want to practice. At the core of it, this game is a positional shooting game. How smoothly and accurately can you shoot off multiple barricade positions. You wont get good without practicing that. Dry fire can be part of it, but you will want live fire too. With a $5k budget you could possibly sneak a cheap 223 barrel into the mix (button rifled shouldered barrel from Keystone Accuracy is a cheap option) and get a 223 bolt for your action. You could burn a lot of 223 practicing on the cheap. Or if you can afford it just shoot through multiple barrels of your match caliber.

Good luck, and have fun!

 

[regnar375]

I think you've got a solid plan. 6BRA is a great cartridge if you've got a ton of 6BR brass around and don't mind fire forming and a bit of barrel break in. A straight 6BR is also a good option and you already know that one.

I like the MDT ACC, get the weight kit too, alternate option is an MPA with the weight kit.

Go with a heavier contour barrel... Heavy palma would be "light", M24 middle ground, MTU/HV on the upper end.

If you are shooting 6BR or 6BRA, a barrel with 26-28" length would be good for a little extra speed. My BRA is 27.5 because that's what fits in my pelican.

You'll need a muzzle brake, I recommend the Area 419 Hellfire. APA Little Bastard or Insite Arms Heathen would be the others on my short list.

Get a bipod with some sort of Arca/RRS rail based clamp so you can move it forward/backward on the chassis. Harris, Atlas, Ckye are most popular.

You don't need bottom metal. That's part of the chassis.

I assume you've got a baseline in optics/scopes/rings knowledge. Lots of good choices out there, but the #1 thing you will want is Mil Reticle, Mil Turrets, FFP scope. Mils are the language of PRS competition.

Bags... keep it simple. Armageddon Gear waxed canvas game changer which you will use for 95% of everything. A larger "pump" pillow for the rare occasions when you need a bigger bag. Second one is not a must have.

Binos of some sort to scout out stages. 10x42 are a good range. Just need to be able to see where targets are.

You'll find everyone has a tripod, don't worry about that for now. Borrow one, see what's out there and whether you need one. Don't get caught up in them as a "must have".

And, if you are serious about competing, which it sounds like you are given 6 years of F-Class and that you are jumping in.... you will want to practice. At the core of it, this game is a positional shooting game. How smoothly and accurately can you shoot off multiple barricade positions. You wont get good without practicing that. Dry fire can be part of it, but you will want live fire too. With a $5k budget you could possibly sneak a cheap 223 barrel into the mix (button rifled shouldered barrel from Keystone Accuracy is a cheap option) and get a 223 bolt for your action. You could burn a lot of 223 practicing on the cheap. Or if you can afford it just shoot through multiple barrels of your match caliber.

Good luck, and have fun!

Yes all set on the optics. Running a razor gen 2 with a tango 6 as an extra. Although I may sell both if I like the nee zero optics when they hit.

I was thinking of switching to the bra so I could run the heavier pills. Did you fire form? I k ow there is a guy who will do it on a press for a reasonable cost. But with enough brass I could buy an extra barrel to fire form and practice.

Binos are a good call. I find myself wanting them

I run 4 bags, a pump pillow, a game changer, a udder and a Saracen. I have a pig tripod and pig saddle.

I am still working on a practice routine. I shot 22 matches all winter and that helped. I may continue with a lot of that as my regular rang only has 150 and I'm limited on how I can shoot.

I like the idea of a 223 trainer.

 

[Sheldon N]

I was thinking of switching to the bra so I could run the heavier pills. Did you fire form? I k ow there is a guy who will do it on a press for a reasonable cost. But with enough brass I could buy an extra barrel to fire form and practice.

I fire formed. 400 pieces of brass should get you through a season or two of matches. A good strategy is to get 2 barrels chambered identically, fire form 200 pieces in each then they are both broken in and ready to shoot matches.

If you just want to start with one barrel you could also shoot the fire form loads in club matches. They are stupid accurate. 29.8 Varget behind a 105 bullet, jammed into lands + crush fit on the brass.

For final match loads I shoot 105's Hybrids with my BRA, 30.4 to 30.6 of H4895. Not sure I'd go up to the 110/115 class of bullet with the smaller case.

 

[regnar375]

Ya, two barrels woukd be good. Not sure what the bra is like but I'm getting 15+ reloads on my bra brass.

I know som guys running the 115 in the DC. The 115 shots freaking lights out in bench rest and f class. It shot a 1.068 5 shot group at 1k. Not sure how that translates to this sport.

 

[Sheldon N]

Ya, two barrels woukd be good. Not sure what the bra is like but I'm getting 15+ reloads on my bra brass.

I know som guys running the 115 in the DC. The 115 shots freaking lights out in bench rest and f class. It shot a 1.068 5 shot group at 1k. Not sure how that translates to this sport.

I think that 1.068" group was shot with the 6BRA and 103gr Vapor Trails. 115 DTAC is pretty popular in PRS though, lots of guys running it and I'm running it in my Dasher.

With PRS you want reliability in rain/mud/dust so better to stay away from high pressure loads. If you run conservative loads the brass does last a long time. 15 reloads should be no problem if you don't trash primer pockets and are annealing.