Graham Smith

I'm not exactly sure of the reasoning for wanting this. Is it to make it a bit more of a challenge for matches with limited distances?

Actually, Lapua makes a 123gr boat tail that has a higher BC than the A-Max.

AR15 - it uses its own mags.

Why? Going to build a whole new gun around it?

On my Rem 700, I see no shift in POI with it strapped on.

I have one of the earlier versions and it works extremely well. Some folks that I know have one for all their precision rifle classes so the shooters can verify their muzzle velocities. While I have not tried this, I have been told that you can strap it to a tripod and set the slide of a semi-auto pistol next to it and get a reading. Not sure if that's just BS or if it works.

Sounds like it might be worth a try for a top end I'm working on. Do you know if you can use a MagPul BAD lever or a Troy Ambi-Release with it? ----------- D@mn auto-correct!!!

I guess it depends on how you shoot. On a bipod, my left hand is likely going to be helping to support the butt of my stock. The one advantage I can see to a side charge is that you can work the bolt while keeping your head where it is. But a left side handle still seems awkward to me - in my head. Probably have to try one to see, and the Gibbz is reasonably priced.

Sorry, I don't follow. Did you mean to say that by being on the left side, you can rack it and stay on the scope? It would seem to me you could do that just as easy on the right side, perhaps more so because you could keep your left hand out on the hand guard and not have to support the whole gun from the pistol grip.

Not sure why, but I started looking into side charging uppers and am struck by the fact that some are on the left, some on the right, and a couple on both. Makes me wonder which would work better and why. With the Gibbz, it looks like there is a cover that extends back when the charger is pulled. Is that correct? How far back? Looks like perhaps 6"? Also, Gibbz claims you can pull it back and lock it with one hand. Can't see how that's possible. Anyone try it?

Practice shooting targets in their native environment. IOW, at the distances and appearance they would normally have. If you get used to aiming at a paster, then that's what your eye will be looking for and it ain't gonna be there.

Are you using extended basepads and a magwell? If so then it's possible that your mags are not fully seating. There are also small differences between factory mag releases and aftermarket. All it takes is a fraction of a fraction of an inch difference between the mag and the release being fully engaged and you will have problems.

I know this is just an experiment, but... Given the cost of the nail gun blanks, wouldn't .22 shorts be cheaper?

The only person I have ever talked to who preferred the balance was someone shooting benchrest and trickle charging each load.

It's really up to your section and area but there is nothing inherently wrong with favoring club members over non - up to a point. You can require someone to be a club member to pre-register and require non-members to walk on, or have early registration for members. You can offer a discount price to club members. Etc. But I would have to draw the line at only allowing non-members to shoot a limited number of matches.

Do a search in the forum on SIRT and you will find reviews and comments on this from several people, myself included.

I used H4895 with great success with Sierra 155gr Palma bullets then switched to Hornady 178gr BTHP. It worked OK but I tried Reloader 15 and liked that a lot better.

Many, many more what? I hope you don't mean women! Congratulations, by the way.

Shooting a Grendel at 800 may be a bit of a challenge with wind, but bolt guns get real expensive real fast. I have a second 5.56 upper that never gets used and I'm switching it to a Grendel this winter.

I'm not sure you'll find a lot of people using any AR15 based caliber in practical rifle matches. Of course, practical rifle covers a lot of territory so there are no doubt many competitions I know nothing about.

I'm starting to see people showing up at SniperCentral. This forum has been picking up people for the past year, some of whom left The Hide because of personality clashes. Have a look, you will find it a somewhat more restrained environment.

At the risk of sounding like a complete amateur - which isn't far from the mark... I think a lot of this comes down to what someone actually needs based on the type of shooting that they do. I suppose that if you are someone who shoots a lot of practical rifle matches with unknown distances where time is a factor, then having just one thing that can handle multiple functions is better than having two or three. But I find it really difficult to convince myself that it's a necessity. Since I have done very little of this sort of thing, I may be missing something. Here is what my head and limited experience tells me... If I'm getting ready to shoot in the next 30 min or so, I can get a reading of pressure and temp and punch them into my ballistic calculator. If I know the target distances then I can jot that down onto a card with the drops and wind. Nothing is likely to change enough in the next 90 min to make any real difference in my data. If there are unknown distances involved, then I can take the time to record drops and wind on a more detailed card or I can take my calculator with me to the line and do a quick check there (based on the readings I took before) once I know the distances. Either way, the only thing I really need to do this is pressure and temperature. DA may be convenient but it's not really necessary. And I don't need to do this on the shooting line with the clock ticking. I'd be better off sticking with the 3500 and spending the money on other things.

I wonder if you couldn't buy a side charger upper and sell your existing one for about the same or less than it would cost to modify it. There are also different ways to do this - left side vs right side.

I had a 3500 and upgraded to a 4000 so that I could explore density altitude compared to pressure and temp. For me, at least, I could find no advantage that matched the extra cost*. Still, now that I have it, it's convenient and I would be unlikely to switch back. As for the base 4500, wind direction in a meter is rather extraneous. Wind shifts around and varies between you and your target. You have to read the wind, a meter can only give you a clue as to what it's doing near you. There's not another $150 value in that for me. If I had money to burn then I would like to have the 4500 Applied Ballistics meter to play with. If I were shooting a lot of practical rifle competitions it might still be nice to have but I can't justify the price. ---------------- *Note: I use a ballistics program on an old iPod that can take either DA or Press/Temp for an input. I also have a WhizWheel which is much simpler to use with DA.

Sorry, but that's your fault for using a case feeder. REAL men feed the cases by hand and visually inspect each one as they go. In the snow. 5 miles. Uphill. Both ways.