Its a Barnard actioned, Shilen barreled, Shehan stocked behemoth assembled by Rhino rifles weighing in at one stone four pounds.
Being new the barrel needed breaking in and my mate was having problems getting suitable range time to do the job so I took it up to Scotland with me where I could fire and clean at my leisure.
I was quiet looking forward to this as I've been toying with the idea of assembling a similar type of rifle myself as my sight diminishes then the need for scoped shooting looms ever more on the horizon. This would give me the chance to play with such a rifle and see if it got me juices flowing enough to prompt me into action.
The three main elements of the rifle, action, barrel and stock all come from proven and well known makers and they exude the quality that one would expect from the cost of them.
The rifle has a Picatinny scope rail mounted so my first job was to mount a scope. I left in a bit of a rush and just grabbed an old Bushnell Elite 8-32 x 42 scope from the shelves and a set of Picatinny rings. Of course when I got there the bloody rings were 30mm and the bushnell is a 1" tube. So I had to source so rings locally, finally got a set of Leupolds but as they are "better" rings they need their own special shaped allen key to fit the screws and naturally this wasn't with the rings. Don't get me onto scope rings and rails and lack of uniformity and interchangability :evil: .
Anyway with the aid of a near enough allen type head and a hammer I got the rings and scope mounted.
This where the first real issue came to light with the Barnard action. The action is extremely well made to very tight tolerances and is a smooth as silk. Up end the rifle and unlock the bolt and it slides gently out of battery under its own weight. To remove the bolt from the action is simple and elegant no catches just aligning the cut in the bolt with the sear and it slips out dandy. However to do this the bolt handle has to go over 90 degrees and I couldn't do this with the scope mounted to give me good eye relief. This was a real bugger for barrel break in as the bolt needs removing very frequently for cleaning 'tween shots, so I had to settle for less than good eye relief on the scope.
Anyway I finally got shooting putting 60 odd rounds down the barrel in the process. At 110 yrds they all went into a 3/4" hole which was very good considering that I wasn't really shooting for accuracy, I only had an old Caldwell basic front rest with a dish cloth cable tied onto it for a bag, I couldn't get proper eye relief on the scope and my eyes were continually being detracted by the dazzley stock. The group was 3/4" vertically but only 1/4" horizontally so considering the issues 1/4" 100yrd groups straight out of the box is your starting point. Just what I would be expecting for that amount of money.
The ammunition came with the rifle so I'm not sure of the load but the rifles owner has the details and we will be loading some up over the next few weeks. It was Lapua cases and bullets with a Hodgdon powder that I do know.
Interestingly on the sixth shot or so the round wouldn't chamber, initially thought it might be the ammunition but a few further random round chamberings still came up with the same problem. On further investigation a cleaning patch thread was caught in the chamber, you could see where the fibres were flattened by the case shoulder, upon removal of the offending thread every thing chambered as it should. Tight tolerances though.
The rifle came in a very robust wheeled plastic case that was a real bugger to move around, it felt like a I was dragging a coffin.
So my friend has got a highly accurate new rifle with aesthetics that he finds pleasing to his eye that will allow him to compete in his new discipline and I wish him many hours of pleasure with his rifle.
For me it did nothing to kindle the fires of desire for such a rifle, not withstanding the quality and accuracy which I think was worth the money he paid for it, I have no desire to possess one at this point in time. At the end of the day in target shooting it is about scores. Personally I'm happy shooting my .303" which does 2" groups rather than a 1/4" grouping rifle. The 303" will shoot at a larger bull than the 6mm to compensate for its larger groups so they only difference between me and my mate score wise will be our abilities to read the wind at the longer ranges. Such is the stuff of target shooting.
The problem with the action and the scope mounting still bothers me though, the owner has now mounted his own scope and has good eye relief and the ability to withdraw the bolt. Still its something to bear in mind if you are considering a Barnard action.
Here is some eye candy for those of you into gun porn bling.
My mate Winston wrestling with the eye relief, he reckons that this rifle would be a b*****d to carry on the hill. :lol:
