A couple years ago my father purchased an Accuracy International AW in .338 LM from Wolverine equipped with a Schmidt & Bender PM II. The gun sat in the case until about January when I mounted a B.O.R.S. system on top of it, only to put it away once again.
Saturday a good buddy of mine (cdnredneck_t3 here) came down to help me break this gun in. My father was occupied with packing for his fishing trip (he left yesterday for the coast) so I needed a good spotter.
Pic of the toys we played with.
We broke the gun in using Microlon Gun Juice. I'm not completely sold on this product but I have to say the gun cleaned up fairly quickly throughout the break in. I will however say that if you are treating with Gun Juice and are on paper with your rifle, do not make any adjustments! I shot a 14" group while breaking in with Gun Juice at 300 yards.
After the break in I shot a 4 shot group at 300 yards (off Harris Bipod and AI Monopod) which you can see in the above picture. (above picture shows the versapod, which wasn't used longer than 3 shots) Here is a bit of a better look at the actual target.
On Sunday we took the gun back out to zero at 100 for the B.O.R.S system, as well as chronograph the factory Lapua loads. I was fairly impressed to see an average of just above 3000 FPS when Lapua rates the ammo at 2970, while using the same length barrel.(maybe Gun Juice works.) I was also extremely pleased with the way this gun shot. I took one sighter shot (after attempting to zero the turrets with the B.O.R.S. system) followed by a small adjustment. I moved to the right .1 MRAD and lower .2 MRAD. The next four shots went exactly where I was hoping they would go.
Target for zeroing at 100 yards (90 degrees out of orientation)
After spending a weekend with this gun I will definitely mention a few things about this setup:
The recoil was a very slow push compared to smaller caliber rifles. I have shot a Remington MLR with factory brake sitting on an AICS 1.5 chassis before shooting this gun and both are comparable. I will say the biggest difference between the two is that the AI has a better brake. I honestly wouldn't be afraid to let a 12 year old kid shoot this gun from a bench.
The Versapod is absolutely useless for me in long range conditions. I honestly don't understand how so many people praise them over a Harris with a pod lock. A versapod is comparable to humping a 5 gallon pail full of water. SLOPPY!
The monopod has it's pros and cons. I really enjoy the ability to drop and adjust it quickly, but without turning the actual leg in the dirt itself. This allowed for easier adjustment without slowly auguring a hole. I did have a few issues with it though. While adjusting the thumb wheel, the quick adjustment would give, and drop down one notch. I was really frustrated with that but later on in the day it seemed to smarten up.
The Schmidt & Bender scope really surprised me. I've shot a fair amount through an NXS and thought that the S&B must be magical to cost as much as it does. I was fairly impressed with it for the most part but am not fond of some of the features. I immediately found the reticle to be thick, and the glass comparable to a Nightforce.
It wasn't until late in the day that I decided I would never personally buy a Schmidt & Bender over a Nightforce. We were shooting toward the sunset and found the glare to be almost unbearable, unless you could hold your head off to the right side in that one magical spot where everything became clear. It was at this point we stopped shooting, and grabbed a few guns from the truck to start a comparison. My STW with the NXS and cdnredneck_t3's .22-243 Middlestead with a Leupold Mark IV. The NXS was definitely the best with the glare, allowing a guy to move his head around easily before finding a spot where the sun took over. I was honestly shocked to look through the Mark IV and find it was better than the S&B with glare!
All in all I would say that my weekend was great. We did a fair amount of shooting and got to play with a kit that most people don't get to see in person too often. I have the B.O.R.S. system set up but have yet to test it for doping drop. I'm hoping the wind stays down this afternoon and I'll be able to post up some results using it.
I will say after shooting this gun, I don't honestly know how I was able to simply look at it in the case for two years... My dad has no idea what he is missing out on, but I look forward to showing him once he gets back from his fishing trip!
Edit: After reading this over I sound like I'm complaining a lot about this setup. I just want to stress that this is by far the sickest kit I have ever had my hands on to date!
Saturday a good buddy of mine (cdnredneck_t3 here) came down to help me break this gun in. My father was occupied with packing for his fishing trip (he left yesterday for the coast) so I needed a good spotter.
Pic of the toys we played with.
We broke the gun in using Microlon Gun Juice. I'm not completely sold on this product but I have to say the gun cleaned up fairly quickly throughout the break in. I will however say that if you are treating with Gun Juice and are on paper with your rifle, do not make any adjustments! I shot a 14" group while breaking in with Gun Juice at 300 yards.
After the break in I shot a 4 shot group at 300 yards (off Harris Bipod and AI Monopod) which you can see in the above picture. (above picture shows the versapod, which wasn't used longer than 3 shots) Here is a bit of a better look at the actual target.
On Sunday we took the gun back out to zero at 100 for the B.O.R.S system, as well as chronograph the factory Lapua loads. I was fairly impressed to see an average of just above 3000 FPS when Lapua rates the ammo at 2970, while using the same length barrel.(maybe Gun Juice works.) I was also extremely pleased with the way this gun shot. I took one sighter shot (after attempting to zero the turrets with the B.O.R.S. system) followed by a small adjustment. I moved to the right .1 MRAD and lower .2 MRAD. The next four shots went exactly where I was hoping they would go.
Target for zeroing at 100 yards (90 degrees out of orientation)
After spending a weekend with this gun I will definitely mention a few things about this setup:
The recoil was a very slow push compared to smaller caliber rifles. I have shot a Remington MLR with factory brake sitting on an AICS 1.5 chassis before shooting this gun and both are comparable. I will say the biggest difference between the two is that the AI has a better brake. I honestly wouldn't be afraid to let a 12 year old kid shoot this gun from a bench.
The Versapod is absolutely useless for me in long range conditions. I honestly don't understand how so many people praise them over a Harris with a pod lock. A versapod is comparable to humping a 5 gallon pail full of water. SLOPPY!
The monopod has it's pros and cons. I really enjoy the ability to drop and adjust it quickly, but without turning the actual leg in the dirt itself. This allowed for easier adjustment without slowly auguring a hole. I did have a few issues with it though. While adjusting the thumb wheel, the quick adjustment would give, and drop down one notch. I was really frustrated with that but later on in the day it seemed to smarten up.
The Schmidt & Bender scope really surprised me. I've shot a fair amount through an NXS and thought that the S&B must be magical to cost as much as it does. I was fairly impressed with it for the most part but am not fond of some of the features. I immediately found the reticle to be thick, and the glass comparable to a Nightforce.
It wasn't until late in the day that I decided I would never personally buy a Schmidt & Bender over a Nightforce. We were shooting toward the sunset and found the glare to be almost unbearable, unless you could hold your head off to the right side in that one magical spot where everything became clear. It was at this point we stopped shooting, and grabbed a few guns from the truck to start a comparison. My STW with the NXS and cdnredneck_t3's .22-243 Middlestead with a Leupold Mark IV. The NXS was definitely the best with the glare, allowing a guy to move his head around easily before finding a spot where the sun took over. I was honestly shocked to look through the Mark IV and find it was better than the S&B with glare!
All in all I would say that my weekend was great. We did a fair amount of shooting and got to play with a kit that most people don't get to see in person too often. I have the B.O.R.S. system set up but have yet to test it for doping drop. I'm hoping the wind stays down this afternoon and I'll be able to post up some results using it.
I will say after shooting this gun, I don't honestly know how I was able to simply look at it in the case for two years... My dad has no idea what he is missing out on, but I look forward to showing him once he gets back from his fishing trip!
Edit: After reading this over I sound like I'm complaining a lot about this setup. I just want to stress that this is by far the sickest kit I have ever had my hands on to date!
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