So the big day arrived.... out here at Clarksville... and for those familiar with the area... the home of both 5th Group and Jack Hinson... more on that later...
Not able to get on base today... bummer. But went up to an NRA range in Land between the Lakes. Great public range. Empty... except for that one moron who has to come pick brass and then hangs out behind us blabbering on endlessly... for the love of all things holy... go away. But he did, eventually.
Conditions were.... light wind quartering out of the 2-O'Clock but very light. And we were in a big horseshoe berm. Hazy. Thunder brewing to our West. A lot of mirage and churn visible in the scope. But since this was just a first few shots....
Started with 10 rounds of factory, soft point Federal Ammo. Came free with the dies I bought. WalMart stuff, probably. Used it to go from bore sight to 'close' to the dots. It grouped like... WalMart ammo. Then ran a dozen patches with solvent up the bore (these were the first 10 shots)... and a couple of dry patches. And we were ready for the good stuff.' This is handload 220 grain HPBTM. Not a heavy load. But it's to fireform the brass... so again, not expecting great things. I picked this powder charge at random (well, out of a book... but no testing at all.) And brass is FL resized. Next time, it will be neck sized only.
Recoil on the rifle is not only manageable, but it's downright light. None of the 'ferocity' one expects from a .300 WM hunting rifle. Not as tame as the .308 Sako. But really, not a kicker at all. Scope is... everything a 30 year old scope with fine reticle is... which is tough to use. And it's in 1/4 MOA.... and I've been shooting Mil's for 15 years now... so just took some thinking to go back to MOA. Not hard, though. Easier than the other way around.
So I took a go on the bench.... Also not my favorite. Bipod too tall for bench. I had to engineer my scope cover and sock bag to support the rear worth a damn. But got a good weld.
Let go my first 5-shot 100 yard group.... This is it!
This rifle shoots! And this is with no messing with loads.... a 'testing' and fireforming load only. And that's about a 1/2" group with the one on the left being the cold bore shot after cleaning. Shot a couple more 5 shot groups... and they were about like this!
Moved out to 200... and group size is about the same MOA... with a called flyer, about 1.5 inches. Without the called flyer, the group's about 1 inch. I shot a few flyers... I just don't like shooting from bench. And this one was all wonky.... seat too low, bipod too high. I should have gotten down on my mat. Next time.
In addition my buddy-since-we-were-teenagers from 5th Grp. MSGT "Bull" (ret) took a go. Loved it... and talked about the ones they inventoried over the years... (a few of you know Bull, I am sure)
And then.... we were done! A great time was had by all.... but wait....
As we were driving into the Land Between the Lakes.... I saw a small sign on a building and all I could read as we drove by in Bull's truck was "Jack Hinson." Lightbulb went off... The Land Between the Lakes.... USED to be the Land Between the Rivers. During the Civil War. And, indeed, Cadiz and Dover... were where Jack Hinson, the Civil War sniper notched the tang of his custom-made sniper rifle more than 35 times... terrorizing the Union forces on the rivers and on the trails.
A big of Google-Fu to find the marker. And some fast photography by the roadside. And Bull and I have a couple of awesome pictures!
The range we were using was just 2 miles from the Historical Marker placed here for Jack Hinson. And in the heart of the country stalked by one of the most successful snipers ever! The book "One Man's War" which, I think, Maggot told me about, is a magnificent read. And it was written by a Marine Corps officer who stumbled on this marker... and was so interested by it that he researched and wrote one of the best books ever-written about early snipercraft. IMHO, a must-read for SH members.
Anyway, can't think of a more worthy place, time (or company) to break in the Mk 13. It's on the way home now in my back seat..... ready to start ringing steel back at Schloss Nitrocellulose. And, boy, does it shoot!!!!
Cheers,
Sirhr