6x47 Lapua for the shorts 300-600yds/m

[Quick]

Gents,

I shot my first club match with my 6x47L at 700yss on Saturday. I got a 60.6 and 59.6 for a 119.12. I love this Lil rifle. This copperhead load works darn well. Couldn't tell if vertical was good coz I was just getting used to it. Rifle likes a hard hold on it.

All in all I'm darn happy

Shaun

[ecomeat]

Well done Quick ! You can deservedly be very proud of a damn fine score .
For what its worth, I took my 6 x 47 Lap to Warwick Qld for an OPM yesterday and got my a##e kicked by really bad wind.
The 60-10 I thought would be a good start at 300 yds turned into a 57-1 !! So i swapped barrels and put my 284 Win on for 500 and 600 yds,
Cameron and Julie McEwan from Dalby are both in the Aussie team for the FCWC in August, and both shoot 284 Shehanes with fine precision, and they both had 58s at the 300........gives an idea of how wild and wooly it was.
SO i have discovered the hard way that there will be some days that i will be better off leaving the 6 x 47 Lap in the safe................not many mind you, but there will be some ! The rest of the time i fully intend to shoot the 6 x 47 from 300 to 5-600. I just have to be a better judge of the wind to know when its time to screw in the 284 barrel.
Tony

[Quick]

Tony,

I was lucky that the conditions were good but will be good to see how it goes in the bad stuff aswell. I'm still planning on getting a 30cal for the long but will see how I go with this 6mm first.

[Dave P]

Shoot that 6mm week in week out. You will soon learn your hold offs and find that others are wondering why you are beating them.
Its a funny thing how you learn the rifle you use most so well.
It also helps you read conditions and after all everyone is wind adjusted its about who reads it best not who cheats the wind (cos nobody beats the breeze in the long run)

[Quick]

Dave,

I plan on shooting it a lot over the next few months and up until the queens we should have quite a decent field at the WARA queens this year for FO.

[AlanF]

... its about who reads it best not who cheats the wind ...

Dave,

Well I guess I'll have to try the 22LR at 1000yds? Seriously, all else being equal, the shooter whose bullets drift less in the wind will get a higher score. However because usually all else isn't equal, then 6mms often finish ahead of 7mms, but rarely in rough conditions at the longs.

Alan

[BRETT B]

Hey Alan , you know i run a 243AI and i have also had a 300WM i used to shoot in F open as well. I have seen what either calibre can group like and was wondering what the 7mm grouping ability was like. We don"t have anyone over here shooting the big 7MMs so can"t compare anything!! Am just curious as to how tight you can get the 7"s to group. If i have the load right i can put 10 into 3/4 inch at 300 of a Bench during testing , My 300 would struggle to get close to that ( maybe 1-1/4 at best) . So with the 7mm being in the middle of the 2 , it would be good to get some real world data on grouping ability for the 7"s !!! Traditionally the bigger cals could never group as tight as the smaller ones but with new technology in bullets and barrels it seems they have leaped forward in accuracy!!

[AlanF]

Hey Alan , you know i run a 243AI and i have also had a 300WM i used to shoot in F open as well. I have seen what either calibre can group like and was wondering what the 7mm grouping ability was like. We don"t have anyone over here shooting the big 7MMs so can"t compare anything!! Am just curious as to how tight you can get the 7"s to group. If i have the load right i can put 10 into 3/4 inch at 300 of a Bench during testing , My 300 would struggle to get close to that ( maybe 1-1/4 at best) . So with the 7mm being in the middle of the 2 , it would be good to get some real world data on grouping ability for the 7"s !!! Traditionally the bigger cals could never group as tight as the smaller ones but with new technology in bullets and barrels it seems they have leaped forward in accuracy!!

Brett,

Glad to hear you're back into shooting. I personally don't do much group testing - normally concentrating on vertical. But from my experience with 6BR, 6 Dasher, 6.5-284 and 7 Shehane, the 7 is very close to as accurate as any of them. For example I did some testing at 125 yards a few weeks ago and shot 4 x 5 shot groups. All groups had vertical of no more than 0.2 MOA.

For some reason I actually prefer the heavier calibres and have never really done well with 6mms, so am probably not the best one to ask
(I use the 7 at all ranges now). There's a number of F-Open 7mm shooters who use 6mms at the shorts - they would probably give you a better assessment.

Alan

[Brad Y]

Brett,

Bob Kinnear is running a 7SAUM- he shoots a wurgabup and should be at yarloop PM and the queens. I myself have plans for a 284S build later in the year but it wont be before the queens. The idea of running a 284S and 180's is going to be for long range uglies only and to keep up the sleeve if tassie gets yucky. I dont need that kind of recoil all the time though and it wont get used much in WA as there isnt much in the way of competition for us. Yet.

My opinion is put a good wind reader behind an accurate 6mm and they will outshoot a bad wind reader with an accurate 7mm- to a point. Bill Hallam and Graham Oates both told me last year at the queens that their standard guns would shoot better scores than the open gun I was using. I will admit, both can read wind so much better than I can, but it was only Bill that beat me. So the grouping ability and wind bucking performance of the 6.5mm had to account for something.

6mm's especially BR and improved versions of in my mind is going to be the ultimate in sheer accuracy. In good conditions of course you would be willing to give up BC and the recoil that comes with it to shoot tiny groups. But looking at how many queens over east have been run with the 6mm's doing very well in short ranges early but falling back at the longs and ultimately being overtaken by 7mm's. In most cases the 7mm's have been up there in the shorts as well. There has to be something in that. Yardages are one thing but a queens badge and grand agg is another. Another thing that sits in my mind is the recent queens in Queensland where Dave Mc only dropped 4 points the entire event with a 7mm if I recall correctly. The grouping ability of that gun at long range must be every bit sufficient as short range to hold the 6 and X ring across the course.

I suppose WA isnt in that sort of place yet, we may well be a few years behind in selecting best performing FO cals, maybe being so far away from the rest of aus and not having much in the way of serious competition we dont want to take that step and start an arms race for the best wind bucking calibre. We all have a bit of fun with the smaller cals and go home happy. The yanks took the point when they got beaten at the FCWC by 7mm's as they were using 6.5's so I guess it will sooner or later come about that we are all throwing 7mm pills at competitions and having fun with 6's and 6.5's in the meantime.

Cheers

Brad

PS- Shaun is going to be very competitive now with his 6x47, we will have to sneakily steal some of his rounds before a shoot and tip half the powder out.

[Dave P]

... its about who reads it best not who cheats the wind ...

Dave,

Well I guess I'll have to try the 22LR at 1000yds? Seriously, all else being equal, the shooter whose bullets drift less in the wind will get a higher score. However because usually all else isn't equal, then 6mms often finish ahead of 7mms, but rarely in rough conditions at the longs.
Alan

Alan,
I would back a good shooter with a 6mm over an average shooter with a 7mm all week long. The fact is that the wind hurts us all or we would be using 30 cals shooting 240 Hybrids as fast as possible ie Rum's and Yogi's etc.
There is no ultimate round yet and probably never will be at the longs, too much wind in the way you see.
You cant win a match with a calibre you have to win it by reading conditions. A 6mm is easier to shoot, rides better on the bags and is probably the most pinpoint accurate (arguable I agree).
As such over time a 6mm will win more than it looses based on calibre and wind in the hands of a good wind reader.
I have shot them all 6,6.5,7 & 30 and would take a 6mm as a one gun to shoot them all rifle.

[Steve N]

I had been using Boretech Eliminator and basically "chemically cleaning" until I had it totally clean, but when my gunsmith demo'd his Sweets cleaning method on my new 284 Win barrel, I have stuck with it, because it just works so easily and totally......which I can see every time with the borescope.
I do use a bronze brush, every time that I clean.

Ecomeat,
Can you please explain the method that your gunsmith demo'd with Sweets.
I am always interested in an easier way to get a barrel clean.
Steve.

[ecomeat]

I had been using Boretech Eliminator and basically "chemically cleaning" until I had it totally clean, but when my gunsmith demo'd his Sweets cleaning method on my new 284 Win barrel, I have stuck with it, because it just works so easily and totally......which I can see every time with the borescope.
I do use a bronze brush, every time that I clean.

Ecomeat,
Can you please explain the method that your gunsmith demo'd with Sweets.
I am always interested in an easier way to get a barrel clean.
Steve.

Steve, happy to oblige:
Run two or three wet patches through, saturated with Sweets.
Give it a good quick scrub , up and back 8 or 10 times, with a decent Nylon brush, saturated with Sweets (these new Iosso blue nylon ones are great for this...very firm)
Wait 5 minutes.
Then scrub it once "up and back" for each shot fired, with a good quality Bronze Brush, saturated with Sweets.\
I normally reapply excess Sweets at about the 15 full strokes mark.
Wash the Sweets out with 2 or 3 patches soaked in Shellite or Metho.
Dry it with a couple of dry patches.
Clean and dry the chamber
Shoot it !

Phil is a Benchrester, and reckons with bulk buying bronze brushes for $20 or so for a dozen, that he normally throws the bronze brush away at the end of a full days Benchrest shooting and doesnt even bother washing them for re-use. I am a bit more of a tight a#se and wash my brushes out in Shellite and get 4-6 uses before they start to feel "worn".
This process works just as well in my 6 x 47 Lap pushing Berger 105grs at approx 3000 fps, as it does with the 284 Win using 180 Berger VLDs at 2820
9 times out of 10, this will leave my barrels perfectly clean (ie 100%) but on the occasional time that it doesnt.......ie leaves a bit of copper near the muzzle, i just use Boretch Eliminator as per the instructions, and leave it wet overnight. The next morning it is always squeaky clean.
And then personally, I use Froglube and leave it in the barrel till i am ready to shoot next, as a sort of conditioner.

[Steve N]

Thanks Ecomeat,
Good to hear of a method that is actually proved by borescope to work.
Steve

[BRETT B]

Even though i am a BIG 6mm Fan it is good to see people having success with the 7MM"s!! considering not that long ago they were considered by many as a useless calibre and not accurate!!! I went through a similar thing years ago with people telling me a 243AI won"t group and a 22-250 could not have a chance of winning Queens!!! I am sticking with my 243AI as i believe this calibre combo can hold its own against most at the longs ( even the 7mm"s) and group as good as the BR"S at the shorts!! This is the beauty of F Open !! having the ability to use any bullet,calibre,powder combo to obtain an edge and beat the other guys with the bigger guns or the tight grouping smaller tack drives with what you got It reminds me of drag racing, Run what YA Brung!!! I don:t think there is any 1 perfect cal for F Open but i do believe the Person who works the hardest and practices a lot will win the most !!!

Brad , Bill has said the same thing to me that his standard 308 will outshoot my 243AI.

Wind reading is the most important thing at the end of the day and after so many years off the mound i am struggling to string 2 good ranges together. I hope with a few more months of practice i can get back to my best before the Queens cos Shaun looks very comfortable behind his new Rig!!!

[Quick]

Jeez, I've only shot two ranges with it so far. Wait till we are how I do at 900 next time in at swanbourne. I'm pretty sure it will be a tight contest at the queens and I hope to place, just gotta see how this load holds up at 900 and 1000yds