Blackfeather Range Report
Before I start...some disclaimers. I'm a relative newb at bench-rest range shooting so take my feedback with a grain of salt.
The Blackfeather is a very nicely finished product with tight tolerances all round. It's solid aluminum with no thin gauge sections anywhere that I can see. It installs easily if one reads and follows the instructions, assuming the receiver is within reasonable spec. Compared to removing the damned flash hider, installing the Op. Rod Guide was a breeze.
On to the good stuff. The platform is a Norinco, 22" M305 that starts out almost bone stock with perhaps 20 rounds through it. The only additions are a CASM mount and Zeiss 3-9 x40 scope.
See the groups below. These are at 100 yds with Norinco FMJ after sighting in. Best group was 4" to 5". Group 3 was fairly tight (2.5") except for a flyer from the last shot. Some stringing of the groups and likely not the best the rifle could do. It was late in the day and we were a little rushed.
The next pics were after the Blackfeather install. Changes at this point include the installation of a SEI Vortex flash hider and some gas lock shims (not enough to make tight - ran out of shims). The BF is configured with a Hogue grip and a Magpul CTR butt stock. While the CTR is nice and solid (no wiggle) it isn't a great choice for bench rest shooting. The pull is a little short, the base/underneath of the stock comes to a point which makes it a little hard to put a sandbag under there without interference with one's shoulder. Also (relevant only for us girliemen), the rubber butt pad on the stock is much narrower than a US GI, which concentrates recoil. I was actually sore after about 50 rounds.
As of this report I haven't added any Op. Rod Guide tension. A a nice surprise was "ping" where I hadn't had this before.
So how did it group? See below.
Groups #1 and #2 were for sighting-in since we had to remove the scope to do the install. Groups 1 to 5 were shot with Norc FMJ with diameter being about 4" to 5". At this point I was fiddling with the butt stock trying to get comfortable. The best group was the #1 which as about 1.5" if we discount the last round flyer.
We then switched ammo to Commercial grade Winchester Super-X, 150gr. for group #6. Surprise! That's an honest 2", 5-round group. One surprise was that the POI was 3" lower then with the FMJ. This was kinda interesting so 12 clicks up on the scope the next groups were as follows:
The center group was shot with Win Super X - a 2.5" core group with a flyer. I was a little distracted by the muzzle blast coming from my buddy shooting his shorty next to me with a muzzle brake, but the result still is not bad. After readjusting the scope for a change in ammo, the remaining groups were shot with FMJ in the order of upper right, upper left, lower left. The upper right group only shows 3 rounds where I think two rounds hit the cross-bar of the target stand that we were using. The remaining groups were 2-3 inches.
I think it's a little early to make definite conclusions. I'd have to say that the ammunition introduces more variability than the rifle at this point. I have to try out a variety of Commercial grade ammo to see what the rifle can truly do (I'm not prepared to reload right now).
The next mods include a cheek rest for the CTR, an op. rod. spring guide (supplied as part of the Blackfeather kit but shipped separately) and more shims for the gas lock.
I have to say I'm enjoying this toy and am getting more confident in my first-round accuracy. I need to find somewhere I can do some prone or off-hand shooting.