The Making Of A Great Varmint Rifl e Ritchie R. Moorhead
he search for a great varmint rifle is something that every rifle- man continues on an almost daily basis. Finding that rifle is no simple matter as it requires the combination of many factors, most of which take part after the rifle is obtained. The shooter may elect to buy a good factory varmint rifle for the base of operations. The bargain shooter may elect to use a common action. A take-off barrel left over from a serious gun project may be employed with a used factory stock. A high-end manufacturer may be tapped for the basic component. The last option is a custom -made rifle utilizing a custom ac- tion, a big-name barrel, a specialized stock and a fancy trigger. Once the big decision has been made the work begins. What will evolve from such a major project? Once the rifle has been purchased it is time to look at the stock and bedding. Some shooters leave this work to a gun- smith while others tackle this major job on their own. If your skills urge you to try bedding you can gather information from this magazine or any other place where you can trust what you learn. This is not intended to outline all the options as your recipe may vary from others. Proceed with caution and care. Pillars in the bedding are an option. They are necessary in wood stocks and fiberglass with a soft foam fill. For solid fiberglass stocks they may or may not enhance accuracy. You pick it! The trigger of your dream rifle must be given great consideration. Factory trig- gers can be adjusted to acceptable limits. Expensive replacement triggers have much to offer if funds allow. Weight of pull should be less than a pound for best results. Engagement should be very crisp. Be careful not to take matters too far and lighten this to the point where the gun will fire when the bolt is closed. That is surpris- ing, unsafe and dangerous to anyone on the range with you. Keep the trigger as light as feasible with safety as the primary factor. Many a fair shooting rifle has been turned into a great shooter by careful ad- justment of the trigger. Trigger control is one big step toward rifle control. Scope bases and rings require some attention from the shooter. There are many choices. I won plenty of IBS benchrest matches, and set a few records, with
T
Weaver bases and rings. I could have used anything on the market at that time but chose to stay with the proven component. There are one-piece mounts that cost the price of a good barrel if you choose to go that way. You have options in all direc- tions. All will get the job done.
Scopes offer a wide variety with a wide confusion factor. I usually have a Leupold scope on my target and varmint rifles. Other brands also serve me very well. I have a friend who has a Tasco scope on one rifle. His second rifle carries a Sim- mons and his third one uses a scope from Cabela’s. These scopes meet his budget re- quirements, satisfy his accuracy demands, and serve him very well on the range and in the field. The key, as I see it, is evaluation and testing. If it works, use it! A primary concern with the scope is related to diminished accuracy. If your rifle suddenly stops shooting well with no ap- parent reason the scope may be the culprit. Track that suspicion down by immediately replacing the scope with another of known quality. If the problem goes away it is the scope. Either get it repaired or get another one, quickly.
Once the physical elements of the rifle are in order it is time to advance to am- munition. Many shooters are completely happy with factory ammunition and shoot tons of varmints with it. If your budget al- lows for the purchase of factory loads it is a solid option, for modern factory rounds are exceptional to those of just ten years ago. If you prefer shooting to reloading, this certainly is a valid selection for you. For those who choose to reload it is an avenue that offers excellent accuracy, economy and a pleasant way to spend time relative to shooting. The reloader gets more bang for the buck when dollars are compared to factory ammunition costs. Each shooter will make that choice relative to time and financial conditions. A reloader can match bullets, pow- der, primer, cases and technique to provide an excellent result for the rifle in question. Individual control certainly applies here for a shooter who feels the need for that kind of control. I have been reloading since 1957 and cannot remember a recent purchase of any ammunition other than 22s and shotgun shells. I do not forsee the
purchase of any in the near future. I just happen to enjoy reloading.
Now that the equipment issue has been addressed it is time to examine the role of the shooter in all this. A great shooting rifle will be useless in the hands of a shooter with less-than-excellent skills. On the other hand, a great shooter can do marvelous things with just a “good” rifle. I remember a benchrest match when a famous position shooter of International status visited and was invited to shoot. The man who loaned this very talented marks- man a rifle told us he gave the man his second-best rifle because he did not expect him to do well. When the weekend was over the famed rifleman had broken an IBS record by a good margin. I never thought the owner of the rifle was mister-smarty- pants. He certainly proved it that day. The building of a sub-MOA rifle re- quires one more element. It is the building of a sub-MOA shooter. Herein lies the chal- lenge. Shooting skills often are perceived as greater than actuality. Bringing the two together takes time and effort for a happy conclusion. MOA used to be a rarely achieved feat. When I was a young man, in the ’60s, MOA was elusive and rifles of that capa- bility were few and far between. I once remarked that more MOA groups were fired with the typewriters of gun writers than were shot on the range. Now we have many manufacturers that are capable of building rifles that achieve that accuracy level on a regular basis. My, how times have changed!
In the teaching of basic rifle marks- manship the NRA emphasizes five things. Position, sight picture, breathing, trigger squeeze and follow through are the keys to good shooting. They definitely apply to position shooting but most shooters think they have no role at the varmint shooting bench. They do and we will take a look at how that can improve the marksmanship of any varmint hunter. Shooting from a bench is indeed a “position” and the basics certainly apply. Position relates to how you place the bench and how you align the rifle on the sandbag rest. Without much thought we set our bench in a direction toward the center of our anticipated shooting zone.
www.varminthunter.org Page 175
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