Beggs Develops Radical Rigs in West Texas Tunnel

Gene Beggs operates his own 100-yard indoor tunnel and rifle testing facility just outside of Odessa, Texas. Gene provides instruction and “tunnel time” for serious benchresters looking to improve their skills and optimize the accuracy of their rifles. Along with teaching the fine points of short-range benchrest, Gene has been developing two radical new rifles, one chambered in 220 Beggs, a slightly modified 220 Russian, and a second chambered in 6mm Beggs, a necked-up version of the 220 Russian that retains the original body taper and shoulder angle.

Both rifles share a skeleton design which uses the Stiller Cobra or Python action as a central load-bearing member. Remarkably, there is no conventional fore-arm at all. Gene has bolted, directly to the barrel, a 3″-wide bag-riding aluminum sled. The sled was not designed as a mid-barrel tuner, but it might have some beneficial effects in that regard. However, the tuning functions are handled by two concentric rings threaded to the muzzle. Gene believes that with minor rotations of his front tuning rings, he can dial the gun into tune and the tune can be easily adjusted as conditions warrant.

Do Mr. Beggs’ guns shoot? Absolutely. We had the chance, a month ago, to visit Gene in Odessa. We shot both the 220 Beggs-chambered rifle, and its 6mm Beggs-chambered cousin. Both rifles are nearly identical, though the Heavy Varmint-weight 220 has a longer, 27″ barrel compared to 22″ for the Light Varmint 6mm.

In the tunnel, the 220 HV, with a no-turn-neck 220 Beggs chamber, produced three-shot groups in the low ones and zeros right out of the gate, even before the tuner was optimized. With a barrel with over 1000 rounds through it, after firing 40 rounds without cleaning, Gene produced a tiny 5-shot group in the low ones. The first shot was slightly high (a common occurence in the tunnel according to Beggs). The last 4 shots, rounds 42-45 since the barrel had been cleaned, went into 0.084″. This rig, though radical in the extreme, certainly appears fully competitive with more conventional BR rigs, and it tracked superbly, with no hopping or rocking on the bags.

220 Beggs — Simple, Accurate, Efficient
We were also very impressed with the 220 Beggs cartridge. It’s basically a plain 220 Russian with a sharper radius at the neck-shoulder junction. Gene has commissioned a 220 Beggs reamer with matching seating and full-length sizing dies. The little cartridge achieves 3600+ fps with a 52gr bullet, pushed by Benchmark powder. From what we could tell during our short visit, the 220 Beggs is easy to load for, and performs exceptionally well with either turned (.250″) or no-turn necks. The recoil was noticeably less than a 6mm PPC, making the gun a joy to shoot. This round, we felt, could also be an outstanding varmint cartridge. The velocity is there, and we don’t think any other 22-caliber varmint cartridge is going to beat it for inherent accuracy.

Gene notes: “The .250 turned neck is probably the best choice and I have custom carbide neck bushings available for that diameter. I also have a new shipment of custom Hornady dies. Freebore? Anywhere from .035 to .045 is fine. I prefer flatbase bullets of 52 grains. Hodgdon’s Benchmark has become my favorite powder for the 220 Beggs. A case full gives around 3550 to 3600 fps with no signs of excessive pressure. The little sucker is a hoot to shoot and is competitive with anything out there on the 100/200 yard line.”

As for the 6mm version, Gene told us: “The 6mm version of the cartridge performs best with Hodgdon’s H4198 Extreme, but the 220 has proven it will shoot well with just about anything you put in it including N133, H322, Benchmark, 8208, Norma 200 etc. It is the most trouble-free, user friendly cartridge I have ever worked with and will compete heads-up with anything. It’s also very easy on the shoulder.”

How to Learn More
Gene sells components (reamers, dies etc.) for the 220 and 6mm Beggs, and also offers training/testing sessions in his West Texas Tunnel on an appointment basis. For more information, or to schedule a session, email genebeggs [at] cableone.net.

2008 Eastern CMP Games and Creedmoor Cup Results Posted

Over the past two weekends, concluding on May 11th, hundreds of shooters participated in the 2008 Eastern CMP Games and Creedmoor Cup at Camp Butner, NC. Some 398 shooters took part in the CMP Games on the first weekend. That makes the Games one of the most popular shooting events of any kind hosted in North America. Importantly, at a time when match attendance is shrinking for many other disciplines, CMP Games participant numbers were up dramatically since last year’s inaugural event. This reflects the growing interest in traditional, military-style firearms.

CLICK HERE for Complete Match Results

SFC Singley Wins Creedmoor Overall
The CMP has posted complete CMP Games and Creedmoor Cup Results online. The Creedmoor Cup Overall Champion was SFC Grant Singley, with a 790-31X score. A service rifle shooter with the U.S. Army Marksmanship Unit (USAMU), SFC Singley was the Military Marksmanship Association (MMA) Soldier of the Year in 2007 and 1996. Taking second in Service Rifle was Singley’s USAMU team-mate Tyrell Cooper, with a 787-26X. First in Match Rifle Class was Troy Lawton, who posted a 787-25X.

CMP Games Popular
Warm Carolina spring temperatures, light winds and only one brief spell of rain created ideal shooting condition. As a result there were 12 Garand-Springfield-Vintage Military Rifle scores in the 280s. Sean Leighton (287-5X) won the Eastern Games Garand Match, while Robert Churchill (281-5X) won the 1903 Springfield Match. Churchill was also High Senior among Springfield shooters.

The best score of the CMP Games was a 288-6X fired by CWO2 Peter Burns, USMC, in the Vintage Military Rifle Match. Burns is now the OIC of the Marine Corps Rifle Team, but he competed in the Camp Butner As-Issued Military Rifle Matches to “just shoot for fun.” He fired a Swiss Schmidt-Rubin M1911 rifle in 7.5mm Swiss caliber. The Schmidt-Rubin has a barrel-mounted open rear sight. Burns’ winning performance demonstrates that peep (aperture) sights are not essential to shoot great scores. Burns also placed sixth in the Garand Match, third in the Springfield Match, and first overall in the As-Issued M1 Garand EIC Match.

6-6.5×47 Varminter with Trick Mount for Rangefinder and Spotting Scope

Forum member Scott S. (Sunbuilder) has built a sweet long-range varminter based on the 6.5×47 Lapua cartridge necked down to 6mm and then improved to 40 degrees, with slightly less body taper. Scott tells us that “improving the case adds about 2.0 grains to the case capacity”. This allows Scott to run the 103-108gr bullets at well over 3100 fps, with no pressure issues. Scott calls his Improved case a “Long Dasher”, a name suggested by Dave Kiff of Pacific Tool & Gauge.

A Better Mount for the Spotter and Rangefinder
Scott designed and fabricated a very slick set-up to hold his Zeiss spotting scope and Leica CRF RangeFinder. He’s built a combo bracket that holds both units rock steady, with a parallel line of sight (same axis and elevation). Smart. Very smart. Scott explains: “I built a mount to connect my rangefinder to my spotting scope. The mount can be adjusted, so the spotting scope and rangefinder are both centered on the same object. The only way I have found to get repeatable long-range readings is to make them from a stable base.” Scott, we think you’ve got a winner here with your innovative and clever design.

6-6.5×47 Improved Works Well with Many Powders
Scott’s 6-6.5×47 Lapua Improved varmint rifle features a Stiller Diamondback action, Lilja 30″ 8-twist barrel, Richard Franklin stock, and a NightForce 8-32×56 NXS. Scott has had excellent success–his two longest groundhog hits were at 778 and 810 yards. Scott has tested many powders with his 6-6.5×47 wildcat: “I tried several powders (H4350, N160, N560, H4831sc), and primers (CCI 450, BR4, Rem 7 1/2, Fed 205Ms). I got better velocity with H4350, but my barrel likes the N160. I did find a [high-speed] node with H4350. The increased velocity potential of this cartridge is partially due to the slightly increased case capacity. The load I am shooting now is 40.5gr N160, Berger 105gr Match BT, .010″ jam, CCI BR4, .002″ neck tension at 3115 fps. This has an ES under 15 fps, and it will group under 2″ at 500 yards if conditions hold. This ‘Long Dasher’ (6-6.5×47) seems to have a lot of potential (and that’s an understatement).”

6BRs Dominate Mifflin Groundhog Shoot

Pennsylvania’s Mifflin Country Sportsmen’s Assoc. held one of its triple-yardage Groundhog Shoots on May 10, and the results just came in. This is a very popular match with targets at 200, 300, and 500 yards. It’s a score match, so small groups are nice, but they better be centered. We were interested in the match results because it shows the rifles that folks are using, and what’s winning, in both factory class and “Custom Limited” classes. (At Mifflin, Custom Limiteds are typical 600-yard benchrest Light Guns–full customs weighing 16.5 lbs or less.)

In Custom Limited Class, 8 of the top 10 places were taken by 6BRs, with one 22 BR, and one 6 PPC. That’s a pretty emphatic demonstration of both the popularity and the accuracy of the 6BR cartridge. Rod Morton and Steven Kotecki tied for first with 143 points apiece. Rod was named the winner, based on “X-Count”, as Rod had 7 “Xs” compared to 6 “Xs” for Steven. Now that’s a close match. Joe Pellegrene was just one point shy, to finish third with 142 points.

In the factory class, Jesse Hall, a Junior, had highest score, 125-1x, shooting a .223 Rem. Next highest factory shooter was Bill Slattery with 119-3X, also shooting a .223. The .223 Rem was the most popular chambering in factory class.

Can the .223s shoot with the 6BR? Looking at the scores, the .223s were pretty competitive at 200 yards, and even 300, but at 500 yards, most of the better .223 shooters were scoring high 20s, while the top 6BR shooters in Custom Limited class were in the mid-40s. (Junior Nick Sinkus did, however nail a 40 at 500 yards with his factory .223 Rem — great shooting by the youngster.)

CLICK HERE for Mifflin 2008 Schedule of Events.

NEW Sinclair F-Class Bipod–Advanced Engineering, $165.00 Price

Sinclair Int’l has just released an all-new, super-wide bipod system for F-Class, Tactical, and Varmint shooters. The new bipod costs $165.00 in silver or black anodized finish.

Sinclair’s previous F-Class bipod was popular but shooters wanted a wider “wheelbase” and the ability to work with 3″-wide forearms. Sinclair’s new unit offers these features and much more. The new bipod is lower, lighter (36 oz.), and easier to mount than the previous model. The new unit attaches via a captured pin system that works fast and can’t get lost. After engaging the pin, two adjusting knobs then clamp the fore-arm onto a felt-lined bracket for a secure fit. The bipod will accomodate up to 3″-wide fore-ends (and even 3 3/8″ without canting adjustment).

Adjusts for Height and Cant Angle
The new Sinclair Bipod features a large rotating lever that allows you to adjust rifle cant angle easily. Vertical height adjusts from 5.5″ to 10.25″, and the leg heights are independently adjustable — an important feature when shooting on uneven ground.

The folks at Sinclair did their homework. This is a completely redesigned system that offers an easily-adjustable, highly stable platform in the field. Considering the engineering, and the quality of materials involved, the $165.00 price seems more than reasonable. The new Sinclair Bipod appears to be a serious rival to the Canadian “Ski” Bipod (shown below), at less than half the price.

Got Wood? Check Out Northwest Timber

Richard Franklin sold his stock-making business to Greg West, but Richard is still making stunning, one-off custom rifles using laminated fancy woods such as Crotch Claro Walnut, Turkish Walnut, Curly Maple, Bloodwood, and burls of various types. One of Richard’s favorite sources for fancy woods is Northwest Timber, based in Oregon. NW Timber has one of the largest collections of highly-figured Claro Walnut and fancy Maple blanks in the country, including many “book-matched” sets that are ideal for a three-layer laminated stock. The two, mirror-image, book-matched pieces form the outer layers, with a central spine of contrasting wood.

When shopping for fancy wood for a laminated stock application, be sure to consider the length and thickness required. For a tri-laminated benchrest stock with a 3″ forearm, you’ll need a block at least 2.5″ wide and 32″ to 35″ long (depending on overall stock length). After sawing that will give you two 1 1/8″-wide slabs, so that a contrasting 3/4″-wide section of wood can be placed in the middle. Thinner blocks of fancy wood can be used in a 5-layer laminate. If you can’t find a block at least 32″ long, a contrasting end cap could be placed on the fore-end. However, Richard prefers to work with blanks that are long enough for the whole stock.

Above is a book-matched set from Northwest Timber in Crotch Claro Walnut. Note how there are two matching pieces, top and bottom.

This above photo shows how spectacular Quilted Maple can look when stained and finished with contrasting highlights. A popular material for fine musical instruments, Quilted Maple can look just as good on a gunstock (below).

For more information, contact:

Northwest Timber
3229 Jefferson-Scio Drive
Jefferson, OR 97352
(541) 327-1000

Rare Vintage BR Rifle for Sale

Eight years into the 21st century, it’s easy for us to assume that our “latest and greatest” gun stock designs truly represent the cutting edge of technology and innovation. We forget that some of the founding fathers of benchrest devised some pretty interesting designs decades ago.

An intriguing piece of Benchrest history came up for sale on Gunbroker.com recently. This 25-lb “unlimited” benchrest rifle, chambered in .222 Remington, showcases many features that were ahead of their time. The action says “Al Weber of Lodi, Calif”, but it’s not clear whether Al built the unusual wood stock, or whether that was the brainchild of someone else. The action looks like it might be an early custom action. Perhaps our readers know more….

Forum member Dan Conzo notes: “View page 17 of the Ultimate in Rifle Precision (1958), by Whelen. Ralph Pride, a barrel-maker and competitor, is using a rifle that is a twin of this rifle. Pride also wrote highly of the Weber action. The round bottom action has heavy lugs, a wall thickness greater than any conventional action at that time, and an integral recoil lug, It has three guard screws (1/4 ” socket head type), and the one-piece trigger guard extends past the front guard screw. The top of action is what they called a strong back with the port held to a minimum and it has the squared off rear tang. This action seems to have spawned the older Hart actions and even the more modern actions by other makers of today.”

In the front is a metal sled with twin Delrin rails for improved tracking. Front rails have been used on 1K Heavy Guns for quite some time, but when rails like this were added to the underside of F-Class rifles that innovation was considered fairly radical.

In the rear is another tracking rail. Interestingly, the rear rail is a wide, “Twin Keel” or “catamaran” design. Presumably this twin keel design enhances stability while reducing friction. That’s a design we’ve just started to see on short-range BR rifles, and it has been hailed as “highly innovative”.

We wanted to showcase this Vintage BR rifle, to give credit to the early innovators. Our current high-tech stocks and actions borrow from many of their design ideas.

CLICK HERE to View Gun Auction

6BR vs. 223 Rem and .308 Win — Recoil Comparison

Many visitors to the site ask us, “I’ve got a .223 and .308. What will a 6BR give me that I’m not getting already?” Well first you will probably get consistently smaller groups than your current .223 or .308 rifle. Even with a Rem 700 or Savage action, a 6BR with a premium barrel and a high-quality chambering job should deliver 5-shot groups in the high twos to mid-threes, provided you do your job. Compared to a .223, the 6BR offers a much better selection of high-BC projectiles, and will deliver considerably more power on the target. Compared to the .308 shooting 168gr MatchKings, a 6BR shooting 105-107gr bullets offers better ballistics all the way out to 1000 yards. Plus the 6BR is just easier to shoot than a .308. Recoil is less than half of the .308 cartridge. Both the .308 and 6BR chamberings offer good barrel life, but the 6BR uses 50% less powder, saving you money. Here’s how the 6BR stacks up vs. a number of popular calibers:

Angle Cosine Indicator Aids Hunters

Unlike benchrest shooters, hunters need to be able to make shots with significant up-angles or down-angles. That whitetail buck may be poised on a ridgetop above you, or in a valley below. When making an angled shot, the hunter faces a complex ballistic solution. This is because the angle of the shot alters the effective ballistic distance to the target. Whether you shoot up-angle or down-angle, you must adjust your elevation “clicks” as if you are shooting a shorter distance. See the diagram below. The drop of your bullet is a function of gravity, which remains constant. When you shoot at a steep angle, the actual bullet travel over the ground will be less than the sloped distance to your target.

But how do you determine the flat-line or “gravity-corrected distance”? There’s a simple tool that will do the job: the patented Angle Cosine Indicator (ACI) invented by U.S. Army Veteran Ward Brien.

When you aim your rifle at an angle, the ACI shows the cosine value of your intended shot by means of a highly visible index mark. You simply multiply the true, sloped distance to your target by the cosine value (as a percentage), to get the corrected, flat line distance to target, i.e. the bottom leg of the triangle. Then set your scope’s elevation accordingly. For example, if you range the line of sight distance to your target at 400 yards, and the ACI shows a cosine value of 0.87 (for 30 degrees), then your flat-line “gravity-corrected distance” is 400 x 0.87 = 348 yards. Dial your elevation for 350 yards (from your come-up table) and you’re good to go.

This simple multiplication method works well for typical 100-300 yard hunting distances, but it’s not perfect. For longer-range shots, out to 1000 yards, some other factors come into play. The most accurate method for long ranges is to input the cosine number into ballistic software, such as Exbal Ballistic Targeting Software, that runs on a PDA or Palm Pilot. The software takes into account the fact that, during an angled shot, the bullet must still travel the full distance to target, and will have a longer time of flight than when covering the flat line distance. At very long ranges there can be as much as eight (8) MOA difference between the simple multiplication method and the solution generated by the ballistic software.

The Angle Cosine Indicator costs $109.95 from Sniper Tools. The ACI is made from aircraft grade aluminum, anodized flat black. Angles are laser-engraved onto the body in five (5) degree increments. The lens is water-resistant, shatter-proof, and shock-proof. Completely mechanical, there are no batteries or electronics to fail. For more info, visit SniperTools.com, or call (818) 359-0512.

MidwayUSA Starts Shooting Sports Foundation–Potterfields Donate $500K+

Larry and Brenda Potterfield of MidwayUSA recently established the MidwayUSA Foundation, a not-for-profit public foundation designed to provide financial support for education and training in the areas of shooting, hunting, firearms safety and outdoor skills.

The Potterfields donated over half a million dollars as the first donation to the Foundation. “New shooters are the lifeblood of our industry,” said Larry Potterfield, President of MidwayUSA, a catalog and internet retailer of shooting and hunting products. “Bringing new shooters into the sport is critical to the future of the shooting sports.”

To this end, the Foundation’s first endowment is the Scholastic Shooting Trust (SST) Fund. Via the SST fund, an alumnus (or other interested party), can make a donation to a particular high school or college program. That donation will be used to support the designated school’s existing shooting program or to help launch a shooting program.

“Here is how the program works,” continued Potterfield. “I just used the Foundation Website to make a donation for the University of Missouri’s Shooting Team. A portion of the donation will be contributed to the Shooting Team, with the remainder left as endowment principal. Every year in perpetuity, the Shooting Team will receive earnings from the principal to use for the team’s operating expenses.” Contributions to the SST Fund can be made through the Fund’s website at www.ScholasticShootingTrust.org.

Terry Gets His Gun — Savage 6BR

Savage Arms has provided one of its new 6mmBR F-Class Rifles for testing and evaluation by this website. Record-holder Terry Brady will be our triggerman for the test. Terry got his rifle this weekend and should put the first rounds thorugh the barrel this morning. Here are Terry’s initial observations:

▪ The gun is a Right Bolt, Right Port. We thought it might be Right Bolt, Left Port, but apparently that is only offered (for now) in the Long-range Precision Varminter model.

▪ The stock is very stable and balances well on the bags.

▪ It looks like the neck is a .272″ and the twist, according to Savage, is 1:8″. Freebore is about 0.100″, just right for the 103-108gr bullets.

▪ The trigger was set at 13 ounces.

▪ Terry borescoped the barrel yesterday. He observed: “There’s some roughness in there compared to a custom barrel, but I’ve seen a lot worse. Overall it’s not bad. This might be a good choice to shoot a coated bullet to cut down on fouling.”

▪ This particular gun came with test targets showing 100-yard groups in the high-twos to mid-threes using Lapua 105gr factory ammo. Savage provided test targets at our request–don’t expect that with guns sold at retail.