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Thread: Getting the new rig dialed in…

  1. #1
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    Default Getting the new rig dialed in…

    Ok…not really dialing anything in yet, but I’ll post updates here as I go. Some info and insights might be useful to folks that, like me, have never really set up a rifle for doing more than killing deer at relatively close ranges in the wooded eastern world.

    Got my Christensen Arms Ridgeline FFT in 7mm rem mag and my dead air 8” titanium can from my FFL recently. He put the Leuopold backcountry aluminum rings on and mounted my VX6 HD 3-18-44 and leveled it.

    I took it out to my bud’s range; he is a long range and competition nut. He asked if James (FFL dood) had bored the rings. Me…”did he do what to what?!” So, apparently one needs to bore and true the scope rings to truly end up with a precision, rock-solid and true scope mount. I had no idea. Since that has not happened yet, we began the barrel break-in process recommended by CA.

    I’ve read much debate over the necessity of barrel break in, so let me address this topic. CA’s new guidelines say to shoot eight 3 shot sessions or five 5 shot sessions, cleaning the bore every three shots or five shots respectively until the patch is emerging clean. The first cleaning took ~ 15 patches with each patch used on both sides (~30 pulls). The last cleaning after the last 5 shots took ~5 patches or 10 pulls. The amount of burred metal and imperfections left from the rifling process that is being cleared during the break-in is obviously significant. While it may not make much of a difference (never has with my guns) at 100-250 yards, I can see where following the manufacture’s break in recommendations is likely much more important than most folks think when getting a gun dialed in for tight groups at long distances.

    Anyhoo…I was a little worried about shooting the gun 20-40 times, as its <7lbs with scope had me thinking it would beat me silly. This leads to another point I’ve seen debated. Some say a can does not reduce recoil; some say it reduces recoil some, but not as much as a brake. I can only attest to subjective “felt-recoil,” but I can guarantee that the 8” can on this rifle absolutely reduces the %^#* out of felt recoil…so much so that the argument about brake vs can is irrelevant.

    We shot the gun 20 times yesterday without any hearing protection. I was using Hornady 162 gr superperformance (hot) loads for the break in. The report was mild…as mild or milder than an unsuppressed .22 LR. A very pleasant, non damaging “crack” was all you heard.

    I flinched horribly on shot one, but was squeezing off shots with minimal anticipation of the report for the rest of the session, because the recoil was far, far better than my .270s, and it was on par with a light bullet .243 recoil.

    We shot the last 5 shots thru the chrono with a ~3050 fps average.

    Jeremy is building a DOPE chart based on that data, and I will be going over this weekend to watch him and learn to do this ring-boring procedure. Once that is done, we will start to dial the gun in as we complete the barrel break-in process (50 total rounds with frequent interval cleanings).

    I’ll try to remember to take some pics and video as the process continues.
    Last edited by WhitewaterDuck; 08-04-2022 at 11:30 PM.
    “I can’t wait ‘till I’m grown” is the stupidest @!#* I ever said!

  2. #2
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    You lost me at dood.

  3. #3
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    It's called lapping the rings. Yo buddy just lost credibility..... PS, just because "he is a long range and competition nut" doesn't make him good at it. (just saying)

    "The first cleaning took ~ 15 patches with each patch used on both sides (~30 pulls). The last cleaning after the last 5 shots took ~5 patches or 10 pulls" What are you referring to when you say pulls? Please tell me you're not using a bore snake!!??

    As far as barrel break-in, if you ask 5 different manufactures you'll get 5 different answers.

    Way too much info to try to type through. Give me a shout when you get freed up and we can discuss a lot easier over da phone.

    Mark 864-809-2490

  4. #4
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    You bore sight the optic, you lap the rings and with todays precision millings it’s not as necessary as it once was. 15 patches, both sides? Never mind. Just shoot the gun, the barrel will break in fine.
    Yeah, but do you consider a dog to be a filthy animal? I wouldn't go so far as to call a dog filthy but they're definitely dirty. But, a dog's got personality. Personality goes a long way.


    You might take out a dozen before they drag you from your home and skull fuck you to death. Marsh Chicken 6/21/2013

  5. #5
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    Bartlein recommends break-in. I guess the real question is, why not?

  6. #6
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    Why not break it in? Because ammo is scarce and expensive.

    From all I've read, break in just makes it shoot better sooner. The imperfections will eventually get burnished either way.

    When I recently got a new rifle, I loaded up some heavy, long, 190 grain solid copper bullets. The longer bearing surface of the heavy bullets supposedly speeds up the process. I too was surprised how mild the recoil was on a light rifle shooing with a can. I think getting rid of the muzzle blast helps more than the actual recoil reduction. If you want to really appreciate the can, now that you've shot it many times, take the can off and shoot it. DO NOT try that without muffs, like I did when I first got a suppressor. It's like a big full-body slap. It makes you wonder how you ever got used to shooting without one.

    I haven't really tried to see how well it shoots on paper yet but I can tell it's tightening up. I have been shooting metal plates at 100, 200 and 300 yards. I doubt I'll ever shoot it much farther than that around here, except maybe just goofing off at the range. Mine is a Christensen Arms too.

    MPR308.jpg

  7. #7
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    The suppressor will definitely reduce recall. Not as much as a brake, but very close. And a whole heck of a lot funner to shoot.

  8. #8
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    Even more fun to hear the bullet hit deer

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    That's quite a nice set up, PB.

  10. #10
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    Lapping...boring...Y'all musta missed where I said "do what to what?" Before now, I would pick up a hand-me-down gun, go make sure it was 2# high at 100, and shoot deer with it. My longest shot before moving out here was about 315, and I can say that there was likely a lot of luck involved despite me drilling it thru the lungs. He probably said Lap the rings. Hell, I can't remember, because I didn't know what he was talking about. All I know is that the first time I shot his rifle, I drilled a medicine ball sized rock at ~850. Next time I shot it I drilled a speed goat at 480. Next time I shot it I smacked an 8' gong at 400 with a stiff left to right wind, and the next and last time I shot it I killed a 178" 12 pt at 360 while my heart was about to blow a gasket. So, I trust the dood to help me get that joker right. During my reporting of this process, keep in mind that 99.99% of the terminology screw ups and other general screw ups regarding long range shooting and rifles are due to my serious lack of rifle/all things rifle knowledge.
    “I can’t wait ‘till I’m grown” is the stupidest @!#* I ever said!

  11. #11
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    I'd leave those mounts alone if it's shooting that good.

    Saltydog already said it. Most of today's mounts and rings are pretty damn precise right off the shelf. Lapping was more important back in the days of drilling and tapping receivers for gun-specific bases, etc. With newer rings that clamp onto Picatinny bases, there's not much to lap

  12. #12
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    Rifles are “rigs”?

    I guess that makes sense. I heard some dumbass tell some guy that he “runs” such and such ammo through his “rig”. I used rig here to be dood vernacular compliant.

  13. #13
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    I know some folks in Sparkle City that run R 10’s thru their dove rigs.

  14. #14
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    Rad. Where can I get some of those R 10’s, “my dood”?

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    Dood....DOOOD! The rifle is the rifle; the rifle, suppressor, scope, and bipod is the RIG.

    PB. The rifle that was shooting that good was Jeremy's CA 7mm mag that I used for the antelope in 2019 because I didn't have a gun set up to shoot past 300ish. He strongly recommended back then for me to buy a long range RIG, telling me that this terrain would make me regret it if I didn't. I didn't listen, and I when I realized I needed to set up 350+ from that big 12 to kill him, he was nice enough to let me borrow that gun again. He didn't even tell me "I told you so;" He didn't have to...just gave me a wry grin and told me to go kill him.

    And yes its dood, not dude. There is a difference. A dude is a dude on a dude ranch. Anyone else you want to call dood is a dood, dood.
    “I can’t wait ‘till I’m grown” is the stupidest @!#* I ever said!

  16. #16
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    Quote Originally Posted by Tater View Post
    I know some folks in Sparkle City that run R 10’s thru their dove rigs.

    What are R-10s?
    “I can’t wait ‘till I’m grown” is the stupidest @!#* I ever said!

  17. #17
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    Dude, if you have to ask…..

  18. #18
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    omg

  19. #19
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    CWPINST is offline 168 grains of assistance from a distance
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    When you break in a barrel, you are not breaking in the barrel as much as you are breaking in the throat. The reamer cuts perpendicular to the lands and as such there is a minute amount of material/tailings/burrs left that the firing smooths out. I also suspect the multiple heating and cooling cycles works out residual stress in the barrel to calm it down and makes groups more repeatable, but that is just a theory of mine. Who knows?

    Don’t completely depend on some dope chart generated from a program. Shoot your rifle with your load at varying distances and make your own chart. The distance between the centerline of your scope and your bore can make a significant difference as can the cant of the rifle. Make sure the scope is in square with the bore. I think they made a sticky of this when I posted it a number of years ago.
    If it ain\'t accurate at long distance, then the fact that it is flat shooting is meaningless.

  20. #20
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    Quote Originally Posted by Palmetto Bug View Post
    Why not break it in? Because ammo is scarce and expensive.

    From all I've read, break in just makes it shoot better sooner. The imperfections will eventually get burnished either way.

    When I recently got a new rifle, I loaded up some heavy, long, 190 grain solid copper bullets. The longer bearing surface of the heavy bullets supposedly speeds up the process. I too was surprised how mild the recoil was on a light rifle shooing with a can. I think getting rid of the muzzle blast helps more than the actual recoil reduction. If you want to really appreciate the can, now that you've shot it many times, take the can off and shoot it. DO NOT try that without muffs, like I did when I first got a suppressor. It's like a big full-body slap. It makes you wonder how you ever got used to shooting without one.

    I haven't really tried to see how well it shoots on paper yet but I can tell it's tightening up. I have been shooting metal plates at 100, 200 and 300 yards. I doubt I'll ever shoot it much farther than that around here, except maybe just goofing off at the range. Mine is a Christensen Arms too.

    MPR308.jpg
    20 rounds for break-in isn't a whole lot.

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