Reed

Great thread to read so many thanks to all. I never knew Ray Chapman (didn't even get into pistol shooting until long after his retirement) but I did get over to Columbia for the occasional match thereafter and always found the bumper sticker on the office door quite amusing: Will Rogers Never Met Ray Chapman I always wished I could have known him........

No kidding on ammo. Just looked at Natchez as they can sort on what is in stock.....only thing in stock for 22 rimfire? #12 lead bird shot.

I have a 338/416 Rigby that is very similar to these options. The slippery slope theory got me into this chambering. I was living in North Dakota at the time, fairly new to rifle shooting, and after getting a nice deer rifle at an old gunsmith's I was in the process of getting some dog guns. These ultimately became my primary dog guns, a 22/6mm and a 6mm/06. Along the way he had one of these 338/416's come back and gave me a deal I couldn't pass up. It is fun to tinker with but I'll give some history in random thought fashion as I'm babysitting two young boys on 3rd day of stomach flu recovery. This particular rifle went out unported and on a very lightweight stock, weighed maybe 10 pounds. I guess it was just too much for the guy who ordered it. When it came back I had it restocked and it weighed about 13 pounds then. I left the barrel untouched, a nice Hart match grade. Did all the case reforming and neck turning and proceeded to fire those rounds into the ground just to get forming completed. They really look wonky at first.... After maybe 20 rounds the 6/48 thread bases came out of the action so I had them converted to 8/40. Did some more serious shooting then but good Lord did this thing rattle the teeth. Next mod was to get it ported and this helped dramatically. Next trip out to the dogs it was far easier to shoot even though it still packed a wallop. It is mainly a curiousity for me still and honestly for dogs I enjoy my other rifles much more. I've toyed with scoping it in a fashion where I could use it for a long range hunting rig. That's just a bit of history to say that I agree with the statements above about 338 Lapua. Best brass bar none. I'm such a big fan of their brass that if I were to build from scratch again I would consider only a chambering that would use Lapua cases. No prep needed and will withstand pressure/use better than anything else. Beyond that I would say weight is important. If the rifle's light then you need to be recoil tolerant. If not then no problem. Lastly, make sure it is scoped well and that the scope is well anchored. With quality cases/loads and quality sighting you've eliminated many problems in long range shooting. Sorry if this seemed scattered.....

Thanks for the replies guys. It appears I may be very lucky to have an active range FAR closer than what I'm used to. Now just need to find time to go.

I never did the “introduction” when I registered well over a year ago. Long time lurker, really have enjoyed the information found at this site. At the time of my registration I was moving to southern Louisiana and have already relocated away from there to Ankeny, Iowa (near Des Moines). That’s after 14 years in St. Louis where I became a fairly active shooter while belonging to the Benchrest Club in Wright City, MO. Never did bench comp but did get into pistol comp (IDPA mostly) and was working toward getting into 3-gun at the time I moved away. My shooting has been curbed, even in St. Louis, with arrival of two boys. I’m hoping my time away from shooting will decrease as the boys get older and I’m very hopeful they will find interest in the shooting sports and/or hunting. Between the tiny boys getting bigger every day and our crazy political climate I’ve found myself thinking of firearms and 3-gun more and more all the time. Gearing up in this day and age is a challenge. I never could decide between Tac-Optics, Open, Heavy Metal and it seems I’m about halfway prepared in any one of them. Might have to truly adopt the “bring what you have” mindset. Beyond that I’m quite happy to be closer to prairie dog country as I really enjoy that type of precision shooting and probably the biggest benefit of this move is closer proximity to quality bird hunting for my 4 ½ year old GSP. Can’t wait to hunt over him considerably more than I have been able to the last couple of years. Anyway, I’m just barely settled into my new house but I’m very happy to have all my “toys” with me as most never made it to Louisiana (long story). With that I need to figure out the lay of the land here. Sometimes you don’t know what you have until it is gone and despite the 2-hour round trip from home I really miss the Benchrest Club as well as the other locations in the STL area such as Arnold’s club. Does anybody have any guidance on shooting/comp shooting in the Des Moines area? Sure would like to find a long-range rifle opportunity similar to what I had at Benchrest and equally much would like to find some pistol or even 3-gun competition opportunities as well. I suspect I’ll post a bit more as I try to come back up-to-speed on a variety of topics after what seems to be a lengthy absence. Thanks, Reed

I've done classes with Len and always felt safe/never felt unsafe. Don't know where this rep came from but to me "he's the sh_t".....

Tuffpak's are popular with the African hunting crowd. Pack in soft items around the rifles and, for the most part, don't look to be obvious rifle cases. http://www.nalpak.com/Tuffpak Can't help much more as I'm a driver when it comes to shooting.....

Former shooter, current father, I write this as I attempt to fix a broken plastic piece of c plastic toy....sorry if disjointed. My past LR shooting is prairie dog hunting. I have a range of options to choose from from 223 in AR's out to a 338/416 Rigby. Some common denominators to success: must have quality glass, must have quality reloading technique, must shoot a LOT, and must know how to estimate distance and wind. There's a big difference between doing a bunch of shooting in a common area to then calibrate yourself to distance vs. hitting first shot or even first few shots. I think that is an important distinction at these distances. Anybody can walk it in with multiple shots. Enough generalities, my only experience relative to your original question is with the 338/416 Rigby. Honestly I got a good deal on that rifle otherwise I'd have probably chosen a bit differently. Case prep includes forming dies and neck turning which is a pita compared to the prospect of using quality Lapua brass out of the box with minimal prep. I'm not brave enough to push the envelope with this case and its additional volume. That said it is a good option for somebody that brave. I would echo those suggesting something in the 7mm to 308 range and the suggestion to make a choice and shoot a lot is the best. By the way, of my available rifles the one I'd use for LR like that would likely be my 22/6mm. Good luck!

Long time lurker. Used to be in St. Louis, shot at benchrest mostly. Competed in pistol there but about 2.5 years ago had baby boy #1 and pretty much had to stop competition. At the time I had hoped to get started in 3-gun but never really did. Also do my annual PD trip and the required testing for long-range rifle. Just moved to the New Orleans area for a new job. I'm still getting settled house-wise, etc. My co-workers should have me in good shape fishing wise but I haven't really run across any shooters to speak of beyond the general hunters. I've found some info via bayoushooter and also lagator so there's some club info there to maybe get started on pistols for a variety of competition types. A few questions remain: how's the 3-gun scene in the area as well as what is the long-range scene, any 1000-yard ranges available? Something more than close-range? Thanks much for an awesome site. Been reading for years, never had much to add..... Reed

Long-time lurker...... I had a similar instance. I had been on a hunting trip to KS and shortly thereafter traveled to Brazil. When I got here I was stunned and somewhat sickened to find a 7.62 x 39 round that had made it through security. I had it along to KS for testing of a new rifle and put just a few rounds in my suitcase. I try very hard these days to give a thorough look to all luggage before airline travel. Another similar experience was when I was meeting a friend in Vegas and was taking a weight kit for a Browning Medalist pistol to him. This is nothing beyond threaded and dovetailed metal, certainly not a firearm. I was very upfront with them as to what it was and ended up having to check it. What a pain as I had not wanted to check anything. It made it but I couldn't help wondering if it would have been no problem had I told them it was surgical equipment???