Hey guys,
Brand new member as of this afternoon. I'm 22, a combat infantryman of OEF 13' (was a squad designated marksman), and have re-ignited my love for hitting....things....really far away haha. I'm sure many other vets can relate to the loss of interest in paying out of pocket to shoot for sport post service...but I'll be damned if it doesn't find a way to pull me back in. So here's what I have going on...
By the grace of god and a tremendous friend, I've been awarded the opportunity to utilize his Iron Brigade Armory Chandler Sniper Rifle (known to many marines as the XM-3). The recommended load for this .308 cal 18.5 in 1/10 twist barrel, per Norm Chandler's recommendation is the black hills 175hpbt. I've shot these with tremendous success nearing the 1/2 moa out to 600yds. I would claim further (IBA claims well under 1 moa out to 1000, but my range is steel only on the 1000yd line and the targets are lit up so I can't verify with 100% accuracy what exactly the dispersion is looking like on that e-type. I will say my hit ratio is commendable given my lack of trigger time/wind calling abilities as I'm sure the rifle out shoots my current experience level)
My question is... if I'm seeing tremendous results from the Black Hills, is it REALLY worth it to go through with attempting to develope a load to further maximize this platforms potential? Or should I stick with the "if it ain't broke don't fix it" mentality? I've got plenty of 175 SMK hpbt and varget on hand and utilize RCBS competition dies in my hornady single stage press. Are there better powders that potentially would work better with the shorter barrel? Keep in mind this is my best friends very high dollar rifle and I will not even attempt to push pressure limits to possibly wear the rifle any more than normal. I've been contemplating doing a simple ladder from 42-44gn of varget pushing the 175 (I believe my Lyman manual says 45.2 is the "max"). The barrel is a 18.5 Hart stainless steel 416r 1:10 heavy #7 contour.
http://www.deathfromafar.com/htm/08_iba_weaponsys_chandlerrifle.shtml
Im looking to get back into the PRS matches and have been unable to come across anyone who has even the slightest experience or knowledge on Iron Brigade as a whole. I'm obviously bias but these rifles are AMAZING. I'm curious if any of you guys have experience with Iron Brigade or any other platforms similar to it with a typically unfavorable 18.5 in barrel for the 1000yd line. I'm just utilizing this rifle until I can afford to burn a hole in my wallet and buy my own rig...I'm favoring the .243 and 6.5 creedmoor at the moment
Brand new member as of this afternoon. I'm 22, a combat infantryman of OEF 13' (was a squad designated marksman), and have re-ignited my love for hitting....things....really far away haha. I'm sure many other vets can relate to the loss of interest in paying out of pocket to shoot for sport post service...but I'll be damned if it doesn't find a way to pull me back in. So here's what I have going on...
By the grace of god and a tremendous friend, I've been awarded the opportunity to utilize his Iron Brigade Armory Chandler Sniper Rifle (known to many marines as the XM-3). The recommended load for this .308 cal 18.5 in 1/10 twist barrel, per Norm Chandler's recommendation is the black hills 175hpbt. I've shot these with tremendous success nearing the 1/2 moa out to 600yds. I would claim further (IBA claims well under 1 moa out to 1000, but my range is steel only on the 1000yd line and the targets are lit up so I can't verify with 100% accuracy what exactly the dispersion is looking like on that e-type. I will say my hit ratio is commendable given my lack of trigger time/wind calling abilities as I'm sure the rifle out shoots my current experience level)
My question is... if I'm seeing tremendous results from the Black Hills, is it REALLY worth it to go through with attempting to develope a load to further maximize this platforms potential? Or should I stick with the "if it ain't broke don't fix it" mentality? I've got plenty of 175 SMK hpbt and varget on hand and utilize RCBS competition dies in my hornady single stage press. Are there better powders that potentially would work better with the shorter barrel? Keep in mind this is my best friends very high dollar rifle and I will not even attempt to push pressure limits to possibly wear the rifle any more than normal. I've been contemplating doing a simple ladder from 42-44gn of varget pushing the 175 (I believe my Lyman manual says 45.2 is the "max"). The barrel is a 18.5 Hart stainless steel 416r 1:10 heavy #7 contour.
http://www.deathfromafar.com/htm/08_iba_weaponsys_chandlerrifle.shtml
Im looking to get back into the PRS matches and have been unable to come across anyone who has even the slightest experience or knowledge on Iron Brigade as a whole. I'm obviously bias but these rifles are AMAZING. I'm curious if any of you guys have experience with Iron Brigade or any other platforms similar to it with a typically unfavorable 18.5 in barrel for the 1000yd line. I'm just utilizing this rifle until I can afford to burn a hole in my wallet and buy my own rig...I'm favoring the .243 and 6.5 creedmoor at the moment
