Preparing For The 500 Yard Club Member Paul Schmelzer
is mostly stalking, sitting, and glassing. I carry a folding seat over my shoulder, a Stoney Point Polecat tripod (which I can use sitting on the ground, off a seat, or standing), my binocular, and a rangefi nder. This method allows versa- tility. Many times when stalking with my tripod fully extended, I make shots off the top, and sitting shots 200-plus yards are quite common. But a 500-yard shot would not be reliable as I am not able to hold steady enough. I am not a professional shooter, but, I do enjoy varmint hunting and 500-yard shots are quite doable for the average hunter. Therefore, the fi rst step I took to prepare for the 500 Yard Club was acquiring a portable bench. I researched different benches and thought the less expensive ones would not be sturdy enough but the sturdier ones were too expensive. So, in early spring 2009 I built two por- table benches from scrap materials left over from various projects. One feature I incorporated into the benches was ad- justable legs. This has been very useful. Step Two was the purchase of a
M
suitable gun for shooting long distance. I have had good success with a Model 25 Savage in .223. With proper reloads and a capable shooter, the gun is able to shoot groups in the ⅜ " to ½ " range but the heavier calibers I believe would perform better not only with bullet drop but also with wind defl ection. Because of my hunting style, I do not like the 28" 10-pounders. My ideal weight is an 8-pound wood laminate rifl e with a me- dium to heavy barrel, light enough for me to carry and heavy enough to shoot and stabilize for longer shots. I searched the various factory offerings but I could not fi nd any manufacturer meeting my requirements. In 2009, Thompson/Cen- ter introduced the Precision Hunter, the exact model I was looking for. In August 2009, T/C offered a rebate program so I immediately ordered one of these rifl es in .243. I received the gun in late August, too late for our varmint season but plenty of time to prepare for the next year. I have had excellent success with my .223 using Lapua cases, 52-gr.
y hunting style here in southeastern Pennsylvania
Berger bullets, the Redding competition neck bushing die with Wilson bushings, and the RCBS competition seating die. I wanted to stay with what has worked for me in the past. That fall, I began the next step
in the preparation: I ordered my dies, components, scope, and rings. Previ- ous articles in The VARMINT HUNTER Magazine® have been very helpful in equipment selection. One that deserves particular mention is Buz Chamblee’s article in July 2009 on the Thompson/ Center Icon and on the Burris Signature rings. I mounted a 6.5-20x50 LRT Le- upold using the Signature rings, which enabled me to center the scope using supplied plastic inserts. I did have to slightly machine the inserts to make windage and elevation adjustments. The inserts supplied with the 30mm rings come with 10 MOA inserts for front and back rings. I needed additional adjust- ment to center the scope, so I ran them on a 1" fi ne stationary belt sander. This allowed me to sight the scope using only a few internal adjustments. Next, I carefully prepared all my
cases — trimmed, deburred, cleaned the fl ash hole, checked for uniform primer pockets, sorted for neck wall thickness, turned necks slightly, and sorted by weight. Out of 100 cases, 54 had no variation in neck wall thickness, 40 were under 0.001" in variation, and six were over 0.001". This gave me three lots as the weight of all 100 was within 6 grains. Lot No. 1 for long-range work, Lot No. 2 for short-range use, and Lot No. 3 for pressure testing. I ordered a box of 69- gr. Berger LDHP bullets and received their load data. (Berger Bullets was very helpful through my loading process.) These bullets are long tipped, and con- sequently the closest I could seat them is 0.075" off the lands. Thinking that would not do, I ordered a box of Berger 88-gr. LDHP. They seated about 80% into the neck while touching the lands. Next, I did a simple primer test
shoot with Federal match, CCI mag, and WLR – fi ve-shot groups to see which primer matched powder, case, and bul- let. The WLR consistently performed better within all powders – RL19, RL22,
Paul Schmelzer's 509 Yard Shot.
From left to right, author’s working guns: .243 Thompson-Center ICON with 6.5-20x50 Leupold VX-III target scope (added barrel resonator during load development). Ruger .22 Magnum with 3-9x Leupold VX-II LRD scope; took a lot of work to make it shoot; longest one-shot kill at 180 yards, sitting on ground, shooting off tripod. Savage .223 with 4.5-14x Leupold VX-III, with Varmint Hunter’s reticle. It’s a good shooter but bolt opens very easily, must recycle bolt when carried before taking shot. H&R 12 ga. slug gun with 3-9x Leupold VX-II LRD scope; Hornady SST slugs work great.
www.varminthunter.org Page 153
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36 |
Page 37 |
Page 38 |
Page 39 |
Page 40 |
Page 41 |
Page 42 |
Page 43 |
Page 44 |
Page 45 |
Page 46 |
Page 47 |
Page 48 |
Page 49 |
Page 50 |
Page 51 |
Page 52 |
Page 53 |
Page 54 |
Page 55 |
Page 56 |
Page 57 |
Page 58 |
Page 59 |
Page 60 |
Page 61 |
Page 62 |
Page 63 |
Page 64 |
Page 65 |
Page 66 |
Page 67 |
Page 68 |
Page 69 |
Page 70 |
Page 71 |
Page 72 |
Page 73 |
Page 74 |
Page 75 |
Page 76 |
Page 77 |
Page 78 |
Page 79 |
Page 80 |
Page 81 |
Page 82 |
Page 83 |
Page 84 |
Page 85 |
Page 86 |
Page 87 |
Page 88 |
Page 89 |
Page 90 |
Page 91 |
Page 92 |
Page 93 |
Page 94 |
Page 95 |
Page 96 |
Page 97 |
Page 98 |
Page 99 |
Page 100 |
Page 101 |
Page 102 |
Page 103 |
Page 104 |
Page 105 |
Page 106 |
Page 107 |
Page 108 |
Page 109 |
Page 110 |
Page 111 |
Page 112 |
Page 113 |
Page 114 |
Page 115 |
Page 116 |
Page 117 |
Page 118 |
Page 119 |
Page 120 |
Page 121 |
Page 122 |
Page 123 |
Page 124 |
Page 125 |
Page 126 |
Page 127 |
Page 128 |
Page 129 |
Page 130 |
Page 131 |
Page 132 |
Page 133 |
Page 134 |
Page 135 |
Page 136 |
Page 137 |
Page 138 |
Page 139 |
Page 140 |
Page 141 |
Page 142 |
Page 143 |
Page 144 |
Page 145 |
Page 146 |
Page 147 |
Page 148 |
Page 149 |
Page 150 |
Page 151 |
Page 152 |
Page 153 |
Page 154 |
Page 155 |
Page 156 |
Page 157 |
Page 158 |
Page 159 |
Page 160 |
Page 161 |
Page 162 |
Page 163 |
Page 164 |
Page 165 |
Page 166 |
Page 167 |
Page 168 |
Page 169 |
Page 170 |
Page 171 |
Page 172 |
Page 173 |
Page 174 |
Page 175 |
Page 176 |
Page 177 |
Page 178 |
Page 179 |
Page 180 |
Page 181 |
Page 182 |
Page 183 |
Page 184 |
Page 185 |
Page 186 |
Page 187 |
Page 188 |
Page 189 |
Page 190 |
Page 191 |
Page 192 |
Page 193 |
Page 194 |
Page 195 |
Page 196 |
Page 197 |
Page 198 |
Page 199 |
Page 200 |
Page 201 |
Page 202 |
Page 203 |
Page 204 |
Page 205 |
Page 206 |
Page 207 |
Page 208 |
Page 209 |
Page 210 |
Page 211 |
Page 212