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My F-TR Rig is done! pic heavy

chefcam864

Sergeant
Full Member
Minuteman
Feb 2, 2013
392
0
42
Spartanburg, SC
Actually, it's been done since December, but life happened and I am just now getting around to posting pics. The rifle started life as a Remy SPS Varmint, and was bought with the intention of trying F-TR. Well, after shooting last year I decided I really like F-TR, so I went ahead with the build. Some of this stuff, like the stock, bolt, and scope, I did last spring when I still had the factory bbl. My builder just trued the action and bedded it, opened the scope base holes up, chambered, threaded, crowned, and installed the Lilja bbl. His machining is truly a work of art. He's a very talented builder and shooter.

The specs are as follows:

Jewell trigger @ 12oz
MCM adj. A5
Spiral fluted bolt (LRI group buy last year. $45, cant beat it!)
PTG tactical bolt knob (installed by me and a buddy fooling around on a mill. That's why it doesn't look perfect.)
PTG Nesika bolt shroud
28" Lilja 1:10" NBRSA Heavy Varmint profile (1.250"-.920") Chambered in .308 Win with neck of .339" and throat for 185 Berger LRBT
Tubb oversized recoil lug
Ken Farrell rings
TPS 20moa base with 8-40 screws
Sightron 8-32x56 w/LRMOA reticle (works very well for holding over)
Mystic Precision Mpod (very impressed!)
Action blueprinted, bedded and barreled by a very talented rifle builder/machinist who shall remain nameless. (His builds have many national records and a world championship)

I have about 300 rounds down the pipe so far, and it shoots quite well.The average of five 5 shot groups with H-4895 & 185LRBT was .53". I think it will do better than that when I get a chance to really tune the load I shot a personal best (189-5x, 188-2x) at 1k in very tough(very windy & cold) conditions at Butner in January. I'm very pleased with that, as it was only my 2nd time at that distance and my 1st time at Butner. I was shooting HBN coated 185's over H-4895.

This rifle was built on a fairly tight budget which is why it has not been refinished yet. I gunkoted the bolt when it got back from LRI just to keep it from rusting. I think it will end up with an oversized PTG bolt, but I really wanted to shoot Butner in December (was cancelled and moved to Jan.) and there was no time to get one in (no money either). I'll get around to refinishing the action when I have the bolt replaced.
Sorry for the quality of the pics. My camera also happens to be my phone...




Plate for Mpod is installed with pillars and stainless hardware. It keeps the feet perpendicular to the ground far better than the built in Anschutz rail. this thing tracks very, very well.






Fluted Remy bolt w/Nesika bolt shroud and Tubb speedlock firing pin and spring







 
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The best 3 shot, 100 yard group I've ever shot: 0.034" CtoC




You can see where I boogered the bolt knob install. Without a jig, I couldn't get it perfectly centered, so I tried (tried being the operative word) to blend it in. It bothers me, but nobody else has ever noticed it.

 
Nice rig, but I would suggest changing the name of your post before you get flamed by guys thinking it is a "TR" as in tacticalrifles.net it's a sore subject around here.

Good shooting
 
Nice rig, but I would suggest changing the name of your post before you get flamed by guys thinking it is a "TR" as in tacticalrifles.net it's a sore subject around here.

Good shooting
I thought about that after I saw it. I've been reading all of the Tactical Rifles stuff, and those guys are unbelievable. It's amazing they're even still in business. I feel so bad for the guys that got burned by those ass clowns. No one deserves that...
 
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Nice rig, but I would suggest changing the name of your post before you get flamed by guys thinking it is a "TR" as in tacticalrifles.net it's a sore subject around here.

Good shooting

If someone sees "F-TR" on here and thinks it has something to do with tacticalrifles.net, they should probably order a rifle from them.
 
I agree wholeheartedly with Jackcrow73. Good shooting, I'd like to try the 185s some time.
 
If someone sees "F-TR" on here and thinks it has something to do with tacticalrifles.net, they should probably order a rifle from them.

He made the edit after I brought it up, it originally said "TR". He added the F- in front. When I read the title "My TR Rig is done! pic heavy" first thought was another Rooney troll.
 
I agree wholeheartedly with Jackcrow73. Good shooting, I'd like to try the 185s some time.

The 185's are great. They're easy to tune as they're not too fussy about seating depth, and they have a really good BC (.560). Bullets.com usually has them in stock. Give them a try. I will say that they did not shoot so great out of my factory 12" twist bbl.
 
I didn't see the original post before it was edited. I'll check the 185s out, I'll be shooting them out of a 1/10 twist Bartlein.
 
I didn't see the original post before it was edited. I'll check the 185s out, I'll be shooting them out of a 1/10 twist Bartlein.

No worries. I originally left the "F" out of F-TR all through the post. I didn't realize what it looked like until someone pointed it out to me. I put a little tag under the reason for editing. It used to say "My TR rig is done." It sure looked like I was talking about tactical rifles.net.

I think you'll like what you see from the 185's out of your 10" twist Bartlein. There really isn't another bullet that offers comparable ballistics in that weight class. FWIW, the 185 "Tactical" is the exact same bullet as the "juggernaut." You can usually find one or the other.
 
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Just got back from some quick load testing with Hornady 178 BTHP and IMR 4064, and it is looking nice. I've been looking for these bullets for a year to no avail until last month. $31/box, .530 G1 (.505 as measured by Litz), and good accuracy. I couldnt get comfortable today, so these groups aren't all that great, but they do show promise. It should make an economical Mid Range load. They leave too much on the table at 1k, compared to the 185 Berger.

 
How is the bipod working for you? It's the first time I've heard of Mystic and it looks interesting.
 
The load was
HBN coated 185 LRBT (.015" jam)
42.0 H-4895
Lapua Palma (neck turned to .014")
Runs about 2,690 fps.
That was indeed a typo. It's not .034" it's actually .240" CtoC using On Target software. The paper is torn around the group. If you blow it up, you can see the holes in the backer. It's a tight little group. I was looking at several groups on that same target, and one of the others measured .340". If you're familiar with On Target you know how that could happen:)Sorry for the mix up. It is still the best group I have ever shot. I wasn't confused about that part. I think my 2nd best was around .290" If I'd shot a thirty four thousandths of an inch group with a .308, I would feel "special."

Thanks to everyone for the compliments! I know she's in need of some Cerakote, but I'm still awful proud of her.
 
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How is the bipod working for you? It's the first time I've heard of Mystic and it looks interesting.

Let me preface this by saying the Mpod is the only F-class bipod I have experience with. That said, I cannot say enough good things about it. It's light (13oz) rigid, very stable, and tracks incredibly well. It's also one of the least expensive bipods on the market, which is a plus. It is very easy to get set up and leveled, especially compared to a Harris. Jerry, the owner of Mystic Precision, is a nice guy to deal with to boot. The 2013 F-TR world championship was won with an Mpod if that tells you anything.
 
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