THE HANDLOADING BENCH 6mm NORMA BENCH REST (Part 6)
going to be inherently inferior to a more expensive custom BR job – the slack firing-pin fit leads to primer cratering and ultimately piercing with the small diameter primers used in the 6BR cartridge. You won’t see my 6BR loads produce MVs that match those quoted in many Internet sources, partly because some of these people are using combinations that produce near proof-load pressures that I won’t consider but also because their actions don’t pierce the primer cup once chamber pressures get past 55,000 psi.
Sinclair front-rest with an ‘All-Purpose’ top fitted and a bench rest top sitting against it (bottom right) with a 3” Protektor bag.
I have a very nice rifle here that is always going to outperform me but it wouldn’t make sense to go down this route now, not for F Class anyway – there are many choices of pick-n-mix competition rifles available from Fox Firearms, Osprey Rifles and others that are available more quickly and cheaply, require less work and do F Class and similar jobs as well. Also, while still very competitive at shorter ranges in the discipline, 6BR has disappeared from GBFCA National League rounds and most long range matches as a 7mm SAUM or WSM is always going to give better scores in all but very stable conditions.
Finally, the other lesson to draw from this saga is to beware of over-barrelling the rifle. The Remington’s next barrel has a ‘Heavy Palma’ profile and I wouldn’t
The Remington VS in its early 6mm Norma BR form with Burris 6024X scope and the H-S Precision stock – too much barrel on too little stock.
going spare that he’d sell if I was interested. As with the stock, this was a purchase decision that has worked out very well even if financially painful at the time.
Yet again, there were no quick and easy - and certainly no cheap - gunsmithing solutions to anything but Pete did his usual top quality job. The inletting, bedding and finishing were done superbly and the rifle looks and shoots very well. There is one remaining downside from starting with a factory Remington action though – ignoring the fact that it’s always
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go heavier than that even with the Shehane stock. I’d choose a still thinner tube for the original H-S Precision VS stock. It’s not just the stock, the 700 magazine action with its thin side-rails and short tenon-thread section cannot support as much barrel weight as a more heavily built and rigid single-shot custom design.
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