00bullitt Posted December 19, 2011 Share Posted December 19, 2011 I brought a box of parts to the guys at Accurate Ordnance about two months ago and they built me one helluva boomstick. Accurate Ordnance is a new shop in Georgia comprised of a group of guys whom are well known in the bolt gun biz who ventured out to open their own shop. The rifle is composed of a Surgeon Action with a 24" Bartlein barrel(1/7.7 #4 Bull contour) chambered in .243 Winchester and bolted in an Accuracy International AX chassis system. I think Mark has the seeds to grow those things. I saw more AX chassis within 10 feet of one another than I've seen on the whole internet. They have some cool one off stuff down there that they are working on. No lack of uber cool projects down there for sure. The guys at Accurate Ordnance modified the action to feed from the doublestack AX AW magazines. They inlet the chassis for proper clearance of the Jewell trigger(16oz), inlet the stock for the bolt handle clearance and shortened and modified the bolt knob to my liking, modified the cocking piece for a super smooth bolt lift. Coated the action in OD Green Cerakote. Dave also throated the barrel to shoot the longer VLD bullets as that is what I intend to shoot out of it. The suppressor you see is actually the first suppressor I ever purchased back in 2003. It is a Johns Guns .223 can that has an aperture that allows me to shoot the slightly larger 6mm projectile through it without issue. The can is a little heavy for its size at 22 ounces but it is full inconel and will handle the pressure of the 243 without issue. And.....it suppressed the .243 very well actually. Much better than it did the .223. As a .223 can, it sucks! But it works rather well for the 6mm on a bolt gun. I've literally had this can sitting in the safe since I bought it since I was so unsatisfied with its performance. I'm glad to finally get some decent use from it. I think it only ever had 120 rounds of .223 put through it before being tossed in the back of the safe. Optic is the Nightforce 3.5-15x50F1(front focal plane) with NP-RF1(moa) reticle mounted in 1.265" tall NF UltraLite rings with the addition of the rear level cap and ADI mount. So a quick update. I've been able to run some ladder tests in the past few weeks and the results are astounding. Just about every load I have put through it has shot 1/2 MOA or better. Its proving to be a flat out shooter. The following group was shot at 350 yards and that is a 3" dot. Shot #1 was me. My Jewell trigger is a little lighter than I am used to at 16 ounces. So sometimes when I go to touch and prep, its sometimes like....OOPS.....just sent it. This next group is a ladder test with a powder that my boss recommended and gave to me. It was basically this same combination that he used to set a 10 shot 1000 yard world record back in 2004. I can see why it worked so well for him. I'm rather pleased to see a ladder test with .5 grain increments return such a stellar group. Shot at 300 yards last week at a 2" dot. Ok, so it just keeps getting better. Last week, a colleague of mine and I were at the USASOC Sniper Competition up at Fort Bragg. We had a vendor booth set up right across from David Tubb who was there promoting his new DTACv2 reticle. So we had a good bit of time to chat about all kinds of good stuff and David just happens to be one of the kings of 6mm. So I was curious as to what he would recommend for a load in my 243. He told me "hands down H1000, its the best powder for heavies in a 243". Of course, its the one powder I don't have, so I go grab a pound and last week when I was out working on loads for this rifle I shot a baseline ladder to see where I needed to focus. Based on the excellent data from last week I settled on 48.5 grains. But there was still velocity left and no signs of pressure at all. Ultimately I want a load that is accurate and fast. So I loaded up a few loads above 48.5 to test out. Below is a group I shot at 400 yards today. 3 of the rounds were 48.5 grains of H1000 and the two others were .3 grain increment increases and I shot them with this to see how they stacked up. Still no signs of pressure and enough room in the case for 50 grains. So I will be working up just a little more to see what it produces and if I can hit my velocity goal while maintaining accuracy. If nothing else, I have a load that is superb although about 100 fps less than my target velocity. But I can deal with it. This rifle just amazes me. I've still got some other load work I wanna do, but this will be the load I use most likely as it is hard to argue with. The guys at Accurate Ordnance really hooked me up with this finished package. I've never been a big accuracy buff but this new stick is creating a paradigm shift for me. I am starting to see how accurate rifles can be interesting. To say I'm pleased is an understatement. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
warpspeed Posted December 19, 2011 Share Posted December 19, 2011 Nice rifle! Those groups do not lie. I have been wanting a 243 bolt gun for awhile but hardly have time to shoot anything I already own let alone something new. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AlamoShooter Posted December 19, 2011 Share Posted December 19, 2011 Dang Thats nice shooting. I hope my 260 does close to that good, But I just don't think I will have your skill for some time no matter how good my gun may be. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bigbrowndog Posted December 19, 2011 Share Posted December 19, 2011 todd, where do you buy those mismarked rulers, you know the ones that measure in feet not inches Nice shooting dude!!!, and a pretty rifle as well. Trapr Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rtr Posted December 19, 2011 Share Posted December 19, 2011 .243 is a great caliber for a bolt gun, great to see someone else enjoying theirs! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted December 19, 2011 Share Posted December 19, 2011 Sweet Rifle, and the groups are outstanding. Kudos to the builders, and to you for being able to pull the trigger that well! If I ever shot a 1" group at 400 yards I'd quite right there as I know I'd never do better! I like the .243 a lot also, and have an old ithica (tikka or sako re-branded) that is really nice but it sure won't shoot groups like that! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bryan 45 Posted December 19, 2011 Share Posted December 19, 2011 Very nice! I loaded up some 105g Amax for my 6mm Remington a couple months ago, but haven't had the chance to try them out yet. Your groups are inspiring though! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
David.Hylton Posted December 20, 2011 Share Posted December 20, 2011 Nice shooting, what does it weigh? I'm a fan of 6.5 mm so I have to ask why not 6.5 Creedmoor or .260? Do you have a specific purpose in mind for it? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
00bullitt Posted December 20, 2011 Author Share Posted December 20, 2011 I was just looking for a good dual purpose rifle and the 6mm 243 seemed to fit the bill the best. It provides me the versatility to shoot lighter bullets and heavy bullets and the bullets have a great BC. I wanted a rifle that would serve double duty for varmint shooting to 1k yards and be a good tactical rifle as well as take deer down if I chose to. I get to 1k right at 25 minutes. The 243 is a great performer with a huge selection of bullets available. I'm currently developing a wildcat that I expect to be fairly popular. Especially if an ammo company decides to pursue it. It will be made as a series of cartridges in 6, 6.5, 7mm, and 30cal. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CCL Posted December 20, 2011 Share Posted December 20, 2011 Nice stick, nice shooting and even nice penmanship! I can't shoot or write that well...kudo's to you. ccL Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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