Ken Kwiat

I was shocked to hear this news. I guess I’ve been too out of the loop. I have many great memories of Ron in so many matches over the years. He was very gifted in his ability at creating a stage strategy that worked best for an individual’s strengths. And his ability to impart his research, knowledge, and approach to our sport was a phenomenal testament to him. Once you trained with Ron, you were forever “under his wing” at any match. My deepest sympathies to his family. RIP, my friend. (BE’s comment on personality types and how well that worked made me LOL. Ron’s laughing too on that one!)

.260 loads in AR: TF told me when I first got my JP LRP in .260 that I'd have a hard time getting 140s and 142s to work. After over a year trying, I had to admit he was correct. Like Tom said earlier, just too high pressure with the bullet length compressing into the powder charge (H4350 which is pretty much the .260 gold std) when loading to mag length. Piercing primers was pretty commonplace. Btw: I started with the 139 gr. Scenars but they seemed to run at higher pressures than the 142gr. SMKs. Another of our top LR shooters had predicted that too based upon profile difference. I was down in the 2550-2600 fps range (22" barrel) and still getting the occasional piercing or blown out primer. My thinking was I wanted to stock one bullet, one powder for bolt gun (AI) and gasser. Oh well. I'm happy with the 123gr. SMKs and when I compare gasser dope sheets to my bolt gun, it's really pretty negligible even out past 650yds. Granted, I'm getting higher velocity from the lighter 123s and the BC is still decent. Because of the higher pressures, I use the CCI MilSpec LR (harder cup) primers (from another LR shooter who knows his stuff, thx Chuck) -- it helps. .260 vs. CM -- take your pick. Virtually identical (per Zak's article and real world experience). Comes down to 'who do you want to buy your brass from and do you want commercially available ammo'? Keep in mind, I'm feeling good when I get 3 reloadings out of .260 brass run in my gas gun (compared to 10+ loads from .260 Lapua in my bolt gun). The rims get beat up on extraction, primer pockets loosen, etc. It's a toss up to me whether to use .243 necked up (my slight preference) or .308 necked down. I neck turn both when I do just to avoid any potential issues. For friends getting into LR that haven't invested (time and money) with all the anal retentive things LR shooters do for reloading, I tell them to go with 6.5CM (plus, you can get ammo from Hornady!). For me, I prefer .260 as I'm there anyway due to brass availability and its use in other platforms. AR15 vs. AR10 platform for LR? Is there really any question?

I wanted the USPSA community to know of this news from Colorado. Harvey Arnold passed away last Friday. I received this note earlier today from one of Harv's friends: With great sadness I want to share that Harv Arnold died on Friday night, August 2 at Boulder Community Hospital. He fell at home, developed pneumonia and had a bleeding perforated ulcer that no one knew about. He was too weak for surgery. His old friend Steve was with him much of the day Friday at the hospital and even when Harv couldn't talk he did know he was dying. He acknowledged that much. The Steve referred to is one of our long time competitors as well, Steve Hulet. I am comforted to know that Steve was there in Harvey's final hours. And thanks to Bill Burkard for providing the below details of arrangements. Celebration of Life: Tuesday, August 20, 2013 at 4:00 PM Ahlberg Funeral Chapel 326 Terry Street Longmont, Colorado Online you can share memories and photos athttp://greenwoodmyersfuneral.com/book-of-memories/1643626/Arnold-Harvey/index.php. Steve Hulet’s wife, Ann, would like to contribute to the memories by putting together a photo collage/slide show for the service and would appreciate if you have any photos you’d like to share if you would forward them by email to Jenn Cetlinski atjcetlinski@huletcpa.com. I know of few others in our sport where USPSA/IPSC meant so much. For 20+ years (to my knowledge), USPSA was a centerpiece of Harvey's life. And, he gave back to our sport and made many friends across the country. I am sure others have more remembrances to share. RIP, Harv.

I find the trick is to lure him with the promise of beer... Of course, that's easier if you're in CO. Or, at least call him 'kjekk mann'. SYS, Sinnsyk

FWIW, I enjoy .38 Super in the 1911s. If you read the history of the cartridge, it goes hand-n-glove with the platform. Sure, not as much as the .45 ACP but not far off. I've always been an Open/Limited shooter but look forward to trying SS with .38 Super (OK, minor but it will make me get more As). It's a really pleasant load to shoot at 135ish PF (I'm sure 9 minor would be comparable). I have a Colt Series 80 that I've been tweaking -- I run SuperComp (Starline and the Armscor RL). By my rationalizing, I can simply change the powder charge on my 1050 that's already set up to load .38 Super. Recently, I got a number of Tripp Research's 10-round mags -- no range experience with them as of yet but they look well made. .45 reloading has always been a pain for me with my reloading room set up. I understand the 9x19 argument with brass cost but I have so much SuperComp brass given my 15 years of competing in Open that it's not a big expense for me. Also the reason why I've never jumped on the 9Major bandwagon.

Best of luck to you guys this weekend. I looked through the stages and it looks like it's going to be a great match. Charlie's stage designs look absolutely top-notch. I wanted to swing it (was going to try Single Stack for a change) but can't make it work with other commitments. Hopefully, you'll get good conditions out there. Our Zoot (AZSA) Championship match over Labor Day was hot and windy (Fri & Sat at least). This weekend should be much better.

I could write a book about my chrono experiences. I have a PACT (IV x2 timers/computers) and a CED (w/o IR). The CED would always read higher than my PACT and almost led me to going minor at Natls. In my case, the PACT seemed to track with results at major matches. So, for IPSC/3-gun loads, I've been content for years with what I have. Then, I got into Tac LR rifle. In this game, you really spend an inordinate amount of time with load development, dope sheet creation, and validation. While I was struggling with inconsistent results using my PACT (across multiple Density Altitudes), I noticed that just about all the serious rifle shooters were using Oehlers. Primary reason? They have a Proof channel. So, I bit the bullet while Oehler is making them again and have been very pleased with the results. You get instant verification with the proof channel. I'm not saying that a $100 Chrony can't get the job done just that it should be viewed wrt a portion of the budget for LR rifle. If you're just a dabbler in the sport, spend accordingly. If you're already spending $3-6K on a gun + $2-3K on an optic + all the accessories, $575 for the gold standard chrono is part of the kit (imo). Btw: most LR guys these days focus on Density Altitude for dope (so you have one number to factor vs. six+ variables) but that's a far longer discussion that's covered in detail on other LR forums.

I believe the CNC machined toolheads sold by Uniquetek are the Whidden ones. I have about four-five that I use for LR rifle on a 650 (using the screws to attach). I think it has taken some of the play out. In my case I just wanted to be able to use my 650 as a semi-progressive for the LR reloading that I do. Didn't want to free up more bench space for a single stage when I have three perfectly good Dillon progressives. I also did the rotary bearing tweak that was talked about on the Reloading forum within BE. The CNC toolhead plus bearings seemed to have smoothed it out and I get great LR results.

Hey Mark, Your results look promising. I've not considered Ramshot Hunter for .260 as I'm pretty much following the Hide pack with H4350 (with H4831SC and Rel17 in reserve). Lot's of posts over on their reloading forum. But, your SDs look good to me with a few exceptions. Are you using a ChargeMaster or some other way for your powder throws or the dillon measure? As I'm sure you've seen me post on other threads, I've had problems getting .1 gr. accuracy in throws thru the dillon measures (esp. for the extruded powders). Gas: I haven't touched my gas port yet. My sense is I'm a bit more open than I need to be but I was waiting to settle on my load before tweaking. My 42.2gr H4350 with 139 gr. Scenars is still just a touch hot. A few extractor marks seen yesterday at the Pueblo Pdog shoot. I have a little velocity room to spare as I am nominally shooting for 2650 fps with the 139 grs. If possible, I wanted to stay with the heavier bullets so I don't have to stock five different 6.5mm weights between the two guns. My bolt gun vs. gas gun results were pretty dramatic yesterday but I'm really not set up fully on the gas gun yet. Not a fair comparison. SY. K2

K2: Latest responses in Red.

Sorry for the delayed response. Was busy shooting a sniper match yesterday. My responses in LIFO order. From Southpaw: In addition to buying toolheads direct from Whidden, one can purchase the Whidden toolheads from UniqueTek which can include their toolhead clamp kit for a secure fit. I have not researched the clamp kit but it looks interesting. K2: I love the Whidden toolheads for the 650. The clamping ones bought thru UniqueTek is all I use for LR reloading on my 650. In addition, another tweak to my 650 that I made was the one I found on BE's forum, i.e., the rotary bearings that smooth out the shellplate rotation. A worthwhile one. Let me know if you can't find it and I'll try to track down the link. From Graham: If you were shooting Palma rifles, I would agree, but for anything else, the difference between the Lapua and Sierra (2156) 155's is negligible. K2: Agreed, although I don't compete in Palma or F-Class -- may shoot one match this year. My strong bias is for the LR Tac matches that we have out here in the West. The terrain we shoot over and some matches you get some field challenges and exercise to boot (carrying all your LR crap through miles of trails). I'm generally a Sierra shooter and would have gotten around to the 155 gr. Palma bullets if I would have stuck with .308. I use their 142 gr. 6.5mm exclusively for my bolt gun. Love 'em. From Graham: I think you will find that trying to load .308 for a bolt action on a progressive press is an exercise in futility. You really need to be using a single stage or turret where you have tighter controls and tolerances and can make frequent checks and tweaks. IF you do decide to load on a progressive, know that Varget is notoriously difficult to meter. If your gun likes 175,s then try the Sierra 175's over IMR4096. Better yet, find some of the new Hornady 178's, these things have a BC of .530 - that's even better than the Lapua 155's. Early reports on these say they are killers K2: I differ on the progressive vs. single stage. With the Whidden toolheads and rotary bearing tweak on my 650, there's no precision difference from any single stage I've used. I'm essentially using my 650 as a 3-4 stage, it moves production along a bit. I know many top LR Tac shooters that are using 550s,650s,etc. IMO, use what you have. Varget: I think I said the same thing in my response. My experience with Varget through a Dillon powder measure is what resulted in me going with the RCBS ChargeMaster. And I tried pretty hard to make it work. Some have or are willing to live with some powder throw variation. I can live with .1 gr. variation as I can usually get my SDs 15 fps or lower which is my rule of thumb. Latest .260 H4350 loads are in the SD 8 fps range. Good enough for my game. I've gotten .2" 100 yds groups out of my AIAW and well under .5 MOA groups at farther distances when I do my part. This is more than adequate for the LR Tac game. Heavy vs. light: agreed, if you gun likes the heavies specifically there are good high bc options out there. As I said, many of the LR Tac gurus like the 155 gr. (SMK or Scenar) over Varget. I had good success with it. My guess is that Southpaw is reading the other great LR forums like SnipersHide and SniperCentral(?). What I find key on those forums is separating the wheat from the chaff. What I like about BE is that some of us can be filters of that. Although I'm an aspiring LR Tac shooter (doing OK so far), I have definitely been in the IPSC/USPSA game of competitive shooting and diminishing returns for a long time. Heck, there were years where I was shooting 70K rounds/year -- started to feel more like a job to me than my hobby. 3gun and LR Tac are great new areas to explore. From Southpaw: Thanks again for this advice. I plan on cutting my teeth on the 308 for the reasons you've mentioned. I am not opposed to trying different bullet weights. I'm just going to start with the 175s due to how well they shot out of my barrel with the 11.2 twist rate. that, plus all of my scope adjustments i have in my data book are tied to that bullet weight and velocty from the Federal GMM. Your help is extremely appreciated!!! K2: Glad to do it. That's what I've always loved about the shooting sports. I can't begin to tell how much I've learned from some great teachers (espcially in the USPSA community). And, in CO/NM/WY, there's quite a bit of cross over folks to the LR games. Dope & Load Development: I spend an inordinate amount of time on it. Try to do most of that during the slower Winter months. I spend alot of time on the JBM ballistics sites, running different dope solutions and printing them out. Indispensable tools for this: a reliable chrono and a Kestrel. I used a PACT MkIV for years but have recently going to an Oehler 35P. I really wanted the proof channel that the Oehler provides. But, all of these odds and ends add up in a hurry. My advice is to go a step at a time otherwise it is prohibitively expensive. Another thought: if you haven't read Zak Smith's primer articles (and others) on LR Tac, I highly recommend them. Zak is a very good writer and puts the kind of detailed research that his technical background supports. And, he and his partners at ThunderBeast make some killer suppressors! Zak's Site I'll respond to the specific loading/tool questions in separate post.

After about 100 rounds through my .260 AR, a couple of learnings: Load: I seem to be settling into 42.2 gr. of H4350 and achieving just under 2700 fps (keep in mind, at altitude and during the CO winter although latest chrono'ng it was pretty warm). I worked down from 42.6 gr. that was pushing it a bit with the 139 gr. Scenars. When I run dope sheets comparing 2650 to 2750 fps it's pretty minimal gains and I'm sure my brass life would suffer. Some of my primer pockets are marginally loose after the higher pressure throws. Don't want that. So far, I'm using Win .243 resized to .260. Yea, I neck turn. I can't bring myself to devote some of my nice Lapua brass for the gas gun that likes to beat brass up. Brass Deflector: especially with my higher pressure loads, I was getting a serious chink from the brass deflector. On my JP, it's even a plastic/delrin one. Got a SnipersHide trick of putting a little piece of velco fuzzy side over it. Seems to have worked. Chrono: Got tired of struggling with my PACT chrono for rifle. Oehler just arrived.

I agree with JJ on this point. OK, I'm a hard core Giraud guy so I happen to get the chamfering done as that's what the Giraud does. (Why not the Dillon trimmer for me? -- reasons stated in the other poll/thread on the topic). What that means in my case I don't have to bell at all and the inside (ID) chamfer results in easy bullet placement. Do I think my pretty ID/OD chamfers make a bit of difference wrt accuracy (in .223)? No, I don't. In fact, considering it's through an AR with a Wylde or 5.56 chamber it's kinduv funny. Accurate enough for 3-gun? Sure, sub MOA. If you want intense varmint or BR level accuracy, you'd probably be chambered in straight .223 with a longer barrel...a whole differnt topic though. Hannu's the guy to talk to about that stuff. Above my pay grade.

One other thought: I started LR with .308 as it is a great starting point. As I discovered in the LR Tactical game, there's a reason why the .308 shooters are often separated into a handicapped group relative to the 6mm, 6.5mm, & 7mm guys. But again, it's a great place to start. Components readily available, your gun is already chambered for it, lot's of data available, a gold standard to be sure. However, I checked with many experienced LR Tac guys on .308 loads. The Lapua 155gr. loads over Varget was the clear winner recommended to me. My results confirmed those recommendations. It's a sweet combo that I think optimizes a bit higher velocity with a high-BC bullet, i.e., your traj curve is somewhat flatter compared to the heavier, high-BC bullets.

I spent time with the V8 prototype at last year's Shot. Disclaimer: I am a very biased PR consumer, have their 3-15x Gen2 XR and 5-25x Gen2 XR for LR guns (AR10 in .260 and AIAW in .260 respectively). They are phenomenal scopes, imo. The glass is superb and their reticle designs are where they made their name. I think the PR 1.1-8x will be a niche winner overall but it runs the risk of being too high end for the intended market. For 3-gun segment: how many folks will put a $2600 scope on a say $1500-$2000 AR? Btw: in PR's current mkt segment, it's not unusual in the LR game to have your optic cost more than the rifle. 3-gun Application: It depends on what kind of 3-gun matches you shoot. With the distances that we shoot regularly out West, it will be nice to have the 6-8x range with mil references. If you're not shooting past 300 yds, probably not worth the money. Pros: Especially nice featues (SFP Dot below 3x, FFP, CQB mil-based 3-8x) if you are accustomed to using elevation/windage holds like we do in LR comps. Having the simple reddot in the SFP at the lower mags is a great concept. Note: the new S&B 1-8x ShortDot is very similiar feature-wise. PR's tubes are built like tanks. Tactile feel of turrets, zero-stop setting, etc. are well designed and executed. Specs: 12.44" length 26 oz. 3.54" eye relief 105.3' FOV (@100yds) Cons: It will be expensive especially considering the price point of what most folks consider for a 3-gun AR scope ($2600). Heavier and longer than what most folks use today. Release Date? I think the current word is June/July '11 if I remember correctly. Another opinion: I love the feature set and understand how it drives that price point, i.e., I don't believe they are "value pricing" the V8 -- those feature are expensive to design and manufacture with high quality. Sum, for folks needing the magnification and that are already considering the S&B (similiarly priced) or the Swaro or USOs, it will be worth a look.

Since that article, Terry is now recommending the straight .260 instead of the AI version. Here's the one he built for me. Beautiful rifle. Interesting that Terry switched over. I was torn between the 6.5CM and .260 -- finally decided I wanted multiple sources of brass even if I had to neck up/down and neck turn to get there. Gives me something to do on cold winter days. The fact that Lapua is listening to their market and producing .260 brass soon speaks to the popularity. I would have been happy with either as it strikes me as splitting hairs. I now have a bolt gun and an AR10 in .260. 6.5mm guns are popping up all over the place...

Possibly. I have no data other than my antedoctal experience of being a frequent SnipersHide poster/reader and my experience with LR tactical competition. I can't remember seeing anyone use a Horus reticle (in competition) in the past two years (small sample size admitted). Do you have data to support the recent scope contract suppliers (to sniper units) are being supplied/retrofitted with Horus reticles? Are the Leupys? What % of total? This site is focused on competitive shooting sports -- that's my experience base and opinion angle. The original question came from the competitive LR angle, not mil/LEO. And, I openly subscribe to the philosophy of "get the best glass you can afford". Siphoning off that much of what the gent had to spend on a "licensed" reticle given what's available in the market, is not what I would recommend. It's his money and he spent it as a free man should -- sounds like it's working for him.

A good number of us shoot 6.5mm variants with the .260 Rem, 6.5 Creedmore, and 6.5x47 Lapua being what you hear the most about today. Maybe what you're referring to is also called the .260 AI? There are literally many wildcats out there in just about every caliber/diameter. From a google search about Terry Cross: "Pushing 139 Lapuas, the .260 AI (an Ackleyized 6.5mm-08) delivers 6.5-284 ballistics in a more efficient, magazine-friendly cartridge." In fact, the "which 6.5mm should I get?" issue has been debated here, extensively on SnipersHide, and other sites. The question I would have for you is "why would you stray that far outside of the norm?". Unless you have some penchant for "going it alone", you'll be on an island. 6.5mm rifles are very popular -- lot's of solid data and many match wins. I vote for .260 as necking up .243 brass doesn't bother me (although now that Lapua will be producing .260 brass, my neck turning kit will probably have a rest). Slight differences between the three dominant variants. Zak Smith wrote a solid article on it so you can decide what'll work best for you... http://demigodllc.com/articles/6.5-shootout-260-6.5x47-6.5-creedmoor/ But, what's not clear about your post(s), is the rifle already ordered/built?

Hey Jim, Wow, 750 yds with .223 under the clock? Bet that was fun... As I was "trying 3 gun" after years of pistol-only competition as of a couple of years ago, I can definitely relate. The thing that bugged me the most was the typical 3 gun optics with stadia lines that never matched my loads. So I'd have to remember the "use the 500 yd stadia for my 440 yd hits", etc. And, I was using a 3.5x TA11 which for my aging eyes, wasn't cutting it at RockyMtn distances (350-600 yds). Then, I jumped into the LR scene with both feet. FirstFocalPlane Reticles, MilReticles/MilTurrets behind quality glass and Gen2 reticles (dots or hashes) completely revolutionized my thinking. This is combined with considerable load and dope sheet development. Now, I run a FFP, 1.25-6x USO with a mil-based reticle (USO's C2) for 3 gun (with JPoint for CQ stuff since I'm an Open shooter). And, I'll probably entertain the S&B ShortDot 1-8x or Premier 1-8x when they're available. BUT, my LR experience changed the way I approach 3 gun. Like you, I have a dope sheet(s) for my loads for the DensityAltitude(s) where I'll be shooting. All done as part of match prep. Granted, there's seldom time to dial between targets on a 3 gun stage. But I do find that dialing (pre stage) to some intermediate distance and then doing subtle (e.g., .2-.5 mil adjustment via the reticle) works pretty well. The Horus would be overkill for this application. Within the LR community, there is a very clear "std recipe" developing around the mil/mil (or MOA/MOA), FFP (so you don't have different dope for different mag factors), Gen2 reticles, and good quality glass. That's the only real point of my prior post. My experience is with the newer high quality designs, the appeal of a Horus reticle has diminished. Different tools for different apps: you are a braver soul than I am. I definitely use much different platforms for the different games. I can't imagine using a AR-15 for LR precision work. I think of AR-15s as long pistols Now, AIAWs or Rem700 or Savages or AR-10s in a good 6.5mm/6mm caliber -- yee ha. That's a rifle!

My $.02 is that Horus reticles are passe from the LR competitive shooting perspective. Before FFP, Mil/Mil high quality glass scopes with the current generation of reticles (Gen2 XRs, Gen2 MilDots, P4Fine,...) were pervasive, the Horus concept was gaining popularity out of necessity. Today, I don't see the benefit or actual usage in LR Tactical competitions. Hoser: name a competitor using a Horus at RatonSportingRifle or SteelSafari or ???. Matt Burkett was a Horus supporter awhile back; not sure what he's using now but I'm willing to bet he moved on as well. And, you can quote antecdotal stories of what military field operators are using all day -- different application under different field conditions. I question how much the Horus reticles are being deployed? Is that why the USMC awarded PR a big contract or S&B's continuing run? My advice would be to spend that hard earned cash getting a quality FFP, Mil/Mil (or MOA/MOA if you must) with a current generation reticle with demarks for holdover and windage. That way you have the choice of dialing or holding over (most everyone dials for elevation, holds for wind). Sure, if you don't have tactical turrets with repeatable capabilities, you're forced to use the reticle to do it all. That's not the case today. For tons more background on this, go lurk on SnipersHide and you'll see 50x more posts, interest, chatter about S&B, Zeiss/Hensoldt, PremierReticles, USO, Nightforce, Vortex nominally using Gen2 versions of reticles, not Horus (although you can certainly get them still). Remember, any reticle with the whisper of Horus in it and you're paying the licensing/royalty fees. If that's how you want to spend your money, have at it.

For Mark and Joe (and maybe one or two others out there): Here's what I've found out thus far (repeated from my post on the Hide): A 'nice day' update to gas gun .260 loads development: A 50+ degree day in the mtns of CO (Clear Creek for you CO folk). DensityAlt: 9420' and no wind -- rare. Sum: the 42.6gr H4350 load is too hot in this gun. With the increase in DA over prior sessions, I was getting 2700 fps (good SDs, one at 6.0 for a 6-shot string, some SD teens) which is what I was after. BUT, too many pressure signs (very flat primers, some flow, some ex marks, one pierced primer). A different experience from my bolt gun for sure. So, I'm backing it off .2-.3 gr. and going for 2650 fps or so. When I look at the dope table difference between 2650 and 2700 fps it really isn't a big deal. As I run 2825+ fps with my 26" bolt gun, that difference seems significant. Groups were decent, .5" at 100 yds. 42.3 - 42.4 gr. H4350 with 139 gr. Scenars will hopefully be the landing point. Platform: JP LRP in .260, 22", 1:8", Pmags, Premier 3-15 Gen2 XR, Spuhr mount Load: Lapua Scenar 139gr., 42.6gr H4350 (too hot), Win .243 necked up, turned, CCI BR2, new brass so this is FireForm OAL: max Pmag length (2.805") Will see how it shoots out to 600 yds soon if the weather holds. These gas guns really beat up your LR brass. I hope I get 4-5 reloads -- that's why I'm using Win and not Lapua, btw.

I'm sure others will chime in too. I think you're being too broad when saying "recoil reduction". In a DI gas gun, there's a few things going on affecting a shooter's perception of recoil. The muzzle flip, the rearward recoil impulse, and the forward bolt slam. I can't speak from the BR perspective of it. But, from a 3 gun and LR tactical perspective here's my take. A good compensator (analyzed to death elsewhere on this forum) works on the muzzle flip portion, i.e., allowing staying on target, quicker follow up shots. My experience shooting suppressed is that they are damn good compensators. That's a primary reason so many of us shoot suppressed for LR Tac -- staying on target at distance, calling misses/hits better. I remember Don Bednorz telling me a story of having a "double" during practice with the JP tank comp at distance. Better than snake eyes. Rearward recoil impulse & forward bolt slam: this is where the lightened carrier, buffer, etc. come into play. I personally like JP's combination in this respect (combined with an adjustable gas block for fine tuning). I've even tried the extreme of going with a fully Ti carrier but couldn't get it to run reliably in my AR. Others on this forum have and have some incredibly soft shooting ARs. The "heavy buffer, spring, & carrier" guys are probably absorbing more of the rearward impulse. But, I'm betting they're also feeling more bolt slam as all that mass is traveling forward to strip/chamber the next round. I tend to be more sensitive to the bolt slam than the rearward impulse (especially for .223!) as the slam is often what pushes me off target for the follow up shot. When I get a perceived impulse that feels similar to my .22 upper shooting suppressed, that's when I call it good enough. OK, I'm exaggerating a bit. That's where I think the 3 gunners are optimizing for what matters in our sport, fast, aimed follow up shots.

Yea, a couple of the ones that were announced last year that haven't made it into production yet, e.g., Premier 1-8x, S&B 1-8x, S&B 3-20x, etc.

Good point. If the LR matches were more like 3 Gun matches where you need a hit regardless of how many shots to get it, we'd all be considering gas guns. Re-reading the original question was more for Mil/LEO application than competition though. In that case I believe the answer is the bolt guns still dominate as the primary sniper platform but it is changing, i.e., many more gas guns are being brought into service. When will it be 50/50? Awhile.