A couple of hours of LR doggin with the 7 LRM

xphunter

Active member
Aaron and I had set aside two mornings and two afternoons for some LR doggin. Rain and high winds took away three of those shooting opportunities. We did go out Saturday afternoon late. Winds were in the 7mph zone but were not constant.

Aaron is running a rear-grip XP-100 chambered in 7mm Dakota (180 Berger Hybrids). He made a benchrest stock for his XP that is 3" wide in the forend and is also 3" wide at the base of the grip. He added lead to it to make the weight overall around 32 pounds (no muzzle brake). 20" 1.250 diameter Krieger or Bartlein 8.5 Twist, Jewel trigger, 12-42 NF benchrest scope. Has a Variable Gantry Mount scope base that can be adjusted to over 100 MOA.

Mine is a BAT non-designated action, 7mm LRM (Long Range Magnum), 1-8 twist Krieger W/Gunwerks brake, Jewel trigger, Eric Wallace Benchrest stock, 20 MOA base, Burris Signature Zee Rings (added 20 MOA with inserts), Sightron S-III 6-24 with MOA reticle. Gunwerks factory ammo (180 Berger Hybrid). It weighs around 16 pounds.
Gunwerks chambered the barrel. I was going to run a 20" tube for this project, but once I realized that Gunwerks was looking for ballistic information for shorter than their normal barrel length in their rifles (25.5"), I decided to go with a 21.75" tube. This is closer to what they are considering.
I guessed MV based on what the typical MV was in a 25.5" 7 LRM would be when cut down to 21.75" to be around 2850 fps. I ran several different drop charts in 50 fps increments.
First time I shot this rig was sighting it in at 100 yards Saturday afternoon using only their ammo. I didn't have time to load for it, as I got it Friday afternoon.
I shot out to just over 1600 yards. No dead dogs, but a handful of real close ones. If they had been rock chucks, they would have been dead for sure. Beyond 1500 to 1600 yards the S-III with its 1/4 minute dot was just to large. Chose this scope since it has 100 MOA internally and a 20 MOA reticle. Should have put my 8-32 S-III (less internal MOA) on.
I would normally had a heavy barrel but this was the only 8T I could find at the time.

These are purely bench specialty pistols, built for the sole purpose of accuracy off of the bench.
Both of us were using MAX Rests.

My longest shot was just over 1600 yards. Dogs were going down after 1 or two close shots which made things difficult.

Aaron went out to the 1900 yard distance. Higher magnification and adjustable scope base is key here. He got so close on this one dog that gave him more shot opportunities, I was convinced he was going to get it, but one shot that almost grazed his left shoulder motivated him to go down and never come back up.

I shot 20 rounds at pd's, while Aaron shot 91 rounds at pd's.
We started off at in 1,300 yard range as the winds were not great yet.
If we had stayed in the 1300 to 1400 yard range for the whole time we would have had dead dogs, especially when conditions got good at the very end.

Give us some more time with good conditions and there will be dead dogs at 2K+
grin.gif




 
Last edited by a moderator:
Thanks!
I would have been tickled pink to get a dog between 1400-1600 yards with the way mine is setup currently.
Benchrest loading techniques, tweaking bullet depth possibly, meplat trimming and pointing, higher magnification scope, and a Variable Gantry Mount or the Ivey (then I can use my higher magnification scopes) will get my rig ready for the races.

If Berger will ever get around to producing the 195 Hybrid it will also be a game changer in terms of drift.
That is why I picked up this 8T to begin with.
Ideally, a heavier barrel would be preferred, but this one is better than nothing.

If my barrel was heavier, I could always spot my own shots. I could spot a good number of mine, but the farther it was the more difficult it was. Part of that is due to lack of magnification.

Plus, the Gunwerks brake is not intended to be the most effective in terms of felt recoil reduction, but rather do an effective job for a hunting rig and still keep nice lines.
Curious to chronograph the factory ammo.
With a MV of 2850 fps, elev 4300 (180 Hybrid .674 BC) my drops and drift at 1600 is 50.75MOA 8.00MOA (10mph FV). Impact velocity is 1384 fps
 
What type of optics are you using to see the P dogs at that distance?
Are you trying to spot them with binoculars first or just using the spotting scope to see them for the first time?
I've shot a lot of P dogs and it's hard to see them with binoculars over 1,000 yards away.
Seems like you would need some thing in the 25x or 30x power range just to pick them up to start with.
 
Originally Posted By: chuck hunterWhat type of optics are you using to see the P dogs at that distance?
Are you trying to spot them with binoculars first or just using the spotting scope to see them for the first time?
I've shot a lot of P dogs and it's hard to see them with binoculars over 1,000 yards away.
Seems like you would need some thing in the 25x or 30x power range just to pick them up to start with.
Spotting scope is a vortex razor HD with the 30x wide-angle eyepiece with the MOA reticle.
Next time I will use 8 – 32 or a 10 – 50 or a 12 – 42 scope.
I spotted for Aaron with my 6-24 Sightron a majority of the time.
Beyond 1500 yards I started using my spotting scope to spot.
 
1500 yards!?!?
scared.gif
Heck I'm still trying to pop a prairie dog beyond 600 yards!! Maybe I need to come up and see you so you can school me.
 
With the right gear, good conditions, and maybe a little coaching, meeting that goal could come faster than you think on a pd.
 
Originally Posted By: xphunterWith the right gear, good conditions, and maybe a little coaching, meeting that goal could come faster than you think on a pd.

Maybe but I don't think I have a rifle that will reach that far. Now I gotta break it to my wife that I need to be able to bust pdogs at 1500+ yards and need to buy another gun!! That outa go over with her real well!!lol
 
Sounds like she is not going to like me from the start...
lol.gif



Originally Posted By: 1up5downOriginally Posted By: xphunterWith the right gear, good conditions, and maybe a little coaching, meeting that goal could come faster than you think on a pd.

Maybe but I don't think I have a rifle that will reach that far. Now I gotta break it to my wife that I need to be able to bust pdogs at 1500+ yards and need to buy another gun!! That outa go over with her real well!!lol
 
Originally Posted By: xphunterSounds like she is not going to like me from the start...
lol.gif



Originally Posted By: 1up5downOriginally Posted By: xphunterWith the right gear, good conditions, and maybe a little coaching, meeting that goal could come faster than you think on a pd.

Maybe but I don't think I have a rifle that will reach that far. Now I gotta break it to my wife that I need to be able to bust pdogs at 1500+ yards and need to buy another gun!! That outa go over with her real well!!lol

She will just have to learn to live with it!!! She seems to hate anything that deals with me buying guns. I just ignore her and buy what I want anyways. lol

Dave
 
Seriously, I do not want to be a part of or encourage a martial dispute over funds
shocked.gif

I am glad to share how to get set up for distance shooting from several different platforms though
thumbup.gif


Originally Posted By: 1up5downOriginally Posted By: xphunterSounds like she is not going to like me from the start...
lol.gif



Originally Posted By: 1up5downOriginally Posted By: xphunterWith the right gear, good conditions, and maybe a little coaching, meeting that goal could come faster than you think on a pd.

Maybe but I don't think I have a rifle that will reach that far. Now I gotta break it to my wife that I need to be able to bust pdogs at 1500+ yards and need to buy another gun!! That outa go over with her real well!!lol

She will just have to learn to live with it!!! She seems to hate anything that deals with me buying guns. I just ignore her and buy what I want anyways. lol

Dave
 
Good gawd, it looks like i missed it. Don't quit yet Ern. It'll happen i'm sure. Just let me know when, so's i can be there.

I was there when Ernie hit 1590 on the 9th shot spotting with a set of 22X Big Eyes [22x Bushnell Spacemasters mounted in a bracket for binocular application--great "budget" system, IMO). I could see every shot trace with the sun behind us. It was almost perfect. Dog was centered and made for his mound when gut tissue got stuck on a cactus stopping him and he finally died. That was probably the most memorable shot i've ever seen made. XP-6-284/115 DTAC i think.
 
The Variable Gantry Mount is heading this way!
It is just getting started and Aaron is really cranked up about seeing it through as well.
 
I chronographed the 7LRM, using Gunwerks ammo on late Friday afternoon.
Right at 2850 fps.


I shot this 5-shot group at 100 yards yesterday after engaging two targets from 400-1100 yards, in increments of 100 yards in a local LR match.
We could take up to two shots per target.
Everything was under time requirements.

Targets at each distance were 1MOA and 1/2 MOA, so of course, the target sizes varied.
You got more points if you hit the target the first time.

The man who put on the match on his own private range took 1st on this portion and I came in second using the 7 LRM.
This all was done with Gunwerks ammo-No tweaking by me!
I just chronographed the load last night night and had not had a opportunity to confirm drops.
Between me confirming my zero, chronographing the load, shooting the match and letting some guys shoot the 7LRM for fun (Never had shot a SP before), I had over 50 rounds through this barrel since the last cleaning.
I am very pleased with the chambering (Gunwerks) and accuracy of this barrel (Krieger) and with the manufactured ammo produced by Gunwerks.
In talking with Aaron Davidson of Gunwerks, he told me he wants at least 1/2" groups at 100 yards with their ammo and rifle.
I forgot at the moment, whether this was a 3-shot group or a 5-shot group, since they make LR hunting rigs, not comp rigs.
Scope is a Sightron S-III 6-24 with MOA reticle.
 
Back
Top