Yeah, I know this should be posted in the hunting or general rifle areas, but in reality it's about my PRS shooting "trainer" and it's chambered in a wilcat based of a caliber that took PRS by storm a few years ago, I'll post here, there has to be a hunter or two amongst our bunch.
Now that my beloved 6mm Creedmoor has gone maintream and been "factorized", it may be time to talk about the "little" Creedmoor, the 22.
I found out about it a couple of years back while I was looking into building my 6mm and while there wasn't much info on it, everything I read led me to believe I had found what I was looking for. A caliber I could rechamber my 220 Swift to, that would feed flawlessly from a detachable mag and that would still deliver the same performance level as the mighty Swift (50 gr. bullet at 4100+ fps.) . It worked, the rechambered barrel actually shot better than before and although an inch shorter, it had no problem matching the Swift velocity. The only problem with the setup at that point, was the barrel's 1-14 twist, it can only stabilize 50 gr. bullets or lighter, which isn't really what this caliber was designed to do. We were suffering a low in coyote population so I never shot anything with the rifle but all that shooting and getting to know the caliber just left me wanting some more and over the course of the summer I planned to rebarrel the rig with a properly twisted tube to see what this baby really is all about.
Plans always seem to change and once the Benchmark 1-7.75 twist, 5 groove medium palma arrived from Gary, I looked at my options and decided to rebarrel my 308 instead. This rifle was a perfect match to the rifle I use in practical rifle competitions and predator hunting would allow me spend a lot of time in the field with a twin to my match rifle, or should I say a "super charged" twin. Because once you move away from traditional varmint type bullets and start feeding this caliber long heavy VLD's, you just move into a whole new level of performance, it's simply the "ultra mag" of the 22 calibers.
Presently we have two of them in the field, both are shooting 75 gr. Bergers VLD and dropping preds. My partner's has a Shilen 1-7 twist, it used to be a 223 that I rechambered for him. Out of his 22 inches barrel and using H4350 we get 3450 fps for a velocity. My Benchmark was finished at 26 inches and it allow me to use a slower powder H4831sc and gain a bit of speed, presently my speed is 3550 fps, but the barrel is still brand new with less that 100 rds through it so I wouldn't be surprised if it picked up a bit of speed as it settles down. Accuracy for both rifle is in the 0.4 MOA range.
With a 100 m zero, my hold for 350m: 1mil, 500m: 1.9mils, 1000m:7.2 mils. , my 6mm Creedmoor requires 8.1mils for 1000m. So it's flat, very flat and forgiving in the field where ranges are often guestimated.
Our season is going very well this year, we're seeing more pred and so we got to properly test the caliber in the field and so far, it beats anything I have ever carried for predator hunting. My old standards, with which I have shot the majority of preds with, was a 243 Win. pushing a 70 gr. Ballistic tip @ 3500 fps or my Swift and while the numbers my seem really close on paper, it really isn't so in the field. It may be a close call in the first 300 meters but once you get beyond that the Creedmoor is just flatter, drifts less in the wind and just hits with so much more authority, you can hear it when the bullet hits flesh and see it in the way the critters react, lung shots drop them in their tracks just as if they'd been spined shot. I've witnessed and videoed a few coyotes shot by my partner's 30-378 pushing 200 gr Bergers at 3400fps and the 22 Creedmoor is just as impressive. My load still hits with 322 ft/lbs at 1000 meters, a typical 22-250 loads delivers the same energy about 525 meters.
Reloading for it is quite simple just as with the 6mm Creedmoor and I basically use the same dies for both calibers just by switching neck bushing.
Of course that type of performance isn't just available in a 22 Creedmoor, there are various 22-243 wildcats that could do just the same with a fast twits barrel, but for me this was the easiest solution because I shoot a 6mm Creed already. This is the next step, varmint calibers are evolving to match the capacities of the new breed of long range shooter. If you can hit a 6 inches plate at 700 yds in a match, there's no reason to pass on a coyote at that same range, at least, that's the way I see it.
This one was shot at 350m and was exactly the reason that I built this gun for. Coyote was driven out of a wood patch by my partner and it came out running. I was kneeling with the gun in one hand and running the camera with he other hand. Once I spotted the coyote and knew it was within the frame if the camera, I dropped prone, found the coy in the lense, by that time it had stopped to look back, I guestimated the distance based on prior readings of my surrounding, centered the 1 mill mark on his chest and boom, dog down. I'm not on camera, but you can hear me move once I spot the coyote and the shot breaks less than 15 seconds later.
I doubt I would have made that shot two years ago before I started shooting PRS style match, that training has honed my skills and now that I hunt with what is essentially my PRS rig, with a Horus reticle, I'll be training for PRS style shooting from November to March in scenarios that are just as challenging as those found in matches with lotsa of small fast moving targets. Win win situation.
P.
NorthernHowlersBrigade.com
Now that my beloved 6mm Creedmoor has gone maintream and been "factorized", it may be time to talk about the "little" Creedmoor, the 22.
I found out about it a couple of years back while I was looking into building my 6mm and while there wasn't much info on it, everything I read led me to believe I had found what I was looking for. A caliber I could rechamber my 220 Swift to, that would feed flawlessly from a detachable mag and that would still deliver the same performance level as the mighty Swift (50 gr. bullet at 4100+ fps.) . It worked, the rechambered barrel actually shot better than before and although an inch shorter, it had no problem matching the Swift velocity. The only problem with the setup at that point, was the barrel's 1-14 twist, it can only stabilize 50 gr. bullets or lighter, which isn't really what this caliber was designed to do. We were suffering a low in coyote population so I never shot anything with the rifle but all that shooting and getting to know the caliber just left me wanting some more and over the course of the summer I planned to rebarrel the rig with a properly twisted tube to see what this baby really is all about.
Plans always seem to change and once the Benchmark 1-7.75 twist, 5 groove medium palma arrived from Gary, I looked at my options and decided to rebarrel my 308 instead. This rifle was a perfect match to the rifle I use in practical rifle competitions and predator hunting would allow me spend a lot of time in the field with a twin to my match rifle, or should I say a "super charged" twin. Because once you move away from traditional varmint type bullets and start feeding this caliber long heavy VLD's, you just move into a whole new level of performance, it's simply the "ultra mag" of the 22 calibers.
Presently we have two of them in the field, both are shooting 75 gr. Bergers VLD and dropping preds. My partner's has a Shilen 1-7 twist, it used to be a 223 that I rechambered for him. Out of his 22 inches barrel and using H4350 we get 3450 fps for a velocity. My Benchmark was finished at 26 inches and it allow me to use a slower powder H4831sc and gain a bit of speed, presently my speed is 3550 fps, but the barrel is still brand new with less that 100 rds through it so I wouldn't be surprised if it picked up a bit of speed as it settles down. Accuracy for both rifle is in the 0.4 MOA range.
With a 100 m zero, my hold for 350m: 1mil, 500m: 1.9mils, 1000m:7.2 mils. , my 6mm Creedmoor requires 8.1mils for 1000m. So it's flat, very flat and forgiving in the field where ranges are often guestimated.
Our season is going very well this year, we're seeing more pred and so we got to properly test the caliber in the field and so far, it beats anything I have ever carried for predator hunting. My old standards, with which I have shot the majority of preds with, was a 243 Win. pushing a 70 gr. Ballistic tip @ 3500 fps or my Swift and while the numbers my seem really close on paper, it really isn't so in the field. It may be a close call in the first 300 meters but once you get beyond that the Creedmoor is just flatter, drifts less in the wind and just hits with so much more authority, you can hear it when the bullet hits flesh and see it in the way the critters react, lung shots drop them in their tracks just as if they'd been spined shot. I've witnessed and videoed a few coyotes shot by my partner's 30-378 pushing 200 gr Bergers at 3400fps and the 22 Creedmoor is just as impressive. My load still hits with 322 ft/lbs at 1000 meters, a typical 22-250 loads delivers the same energy about 525 meters.
Reloading for it is quite simple just as with the 6mm Creedmoor and I basically use the same dies for both calibers just by switching neck bushing.
Of course that type of performance isn't just available in a 22 Creedmoor, there are various 22-243 wildcats that could do just the same with a fast twits barrel, but for me this was the easiest solution because I shoot a 6mm Creed already. This is the next step, varmint calibers are evolving to match the capacities of the new breed of long range shooter. If you can hit a 6 inches plate at 700 yds in a match, there's no reason to pass on a coyote at that same range, at least, that's the way I see it.
This one was shot at 350m and was exactly the reason that I built this gun for. Coyote was driven out of a wood patch by my partner and it came out running. I was kneeling with the gun in one hand and running the camera with he other hand. Once I spotted the coyote and knew it was within the frame if the camera, I dropped prone, found the coy in the lense, by that time it had stopped to look back, I guestimated the distance based on prior readings of my surrounding, centered the 1 mill mark on his chest and boom, dog down. I'm not on camera, but you can hear me move once I spot the coyote and the shot breaks less than 15 seconds later.
I doubt I would have made that shot two years ago before I started shooting PRS style match, that training has honed my skills and now that I hunt with what is essentially my PRS rig, with a Horus reticle, I'll be training for PRS style shooting from November to March in scenarios that are just as challenging as those found in matches with lotsa of small fast moving targets. Win win situation.
P.
NorthernHowlersBrigade.com
