TARGET OK; COMPETITION NOT SO MUCH

For this segment of the website, we look forward to input from others. That's because our experience with formal target shooting is limited and in the distant past. Initial exposure dates back to high school in the 1950s, with 50-foot indoor matches using mid-priced Winchester and Remington target rifles chambered in 22 LR. Then, in later military years, the M14 in a fine match rifle version served well in competition out to 600 yards. To go longer meant an occasional flight to Camp Perry to compete in national events. Then, competition became more critical and potentially deadly when the rifle became a military version of the Remington 700 Varmint Rifle in 7.62 Nato with a hogged-out barrel channel and Redfield 3-9 power scope with internal range estimator. The scopes were replaced with Redfield's 4-12 a year or so later, with better adhesive on the range estimator decal on an internal lens. Today, the closest factory rifle to the old military sniping rifle is Remington's 700 VLS in 308 Winchester.

After the military stint, it seemed natural to move into bench rest competition. This was in the early 1970s. It took about six years to realize how much I didn't like it. I kept waiting for the pleasure part to materialize, but instead it just keep getting worse. This was not an event at which to generally be social and perhaps talk about the latest automobiles. This was anal competition between very focused and seemingly single-subject lemmings; one guy wins a couple of times, and a good number of the rest of them want to follow his lead. Kind of like the scene in When Harry Met Sally when the lady in the restaurant says, "I'll have what she's having."

I'll give you an example: I'm a doubter. Thomas and I could have easily sat at the same table without a word of disagreement. I doubt that anyone consistently produces a better barrel than a premium-grade Douglas. Douglas Barrels have been around for decades, and they have been process innovators. I've never had a problem with one, and accuracy results have often been amazing. After winning a match in the mid-1970s (100-yard bench rest), I was asked this and that about what I was using; load, etc. Well, they were homemade bullets that came out of the basement weighing 50.5 to 51.4 grains, mostly with less-than-perfectly uniform hollow points. Nobody liked hearing that. And the barrel? Douglas, of course. With responses of, "You're kidding, right?" Wrong.

I recently had the opportunity to examine a totally wiped-out barrel made by one of today's glorified leaders. It had way too few 6 BR rounds fired through it (just 1200), and had lost that gilt-edged accuracy after only about 400, according to its very unhappy owner. I retired my Douglas, chambered for the 6x47 Remington, after 5500 rounds. It had dropped off to the low 2s by then, and was no longer top-tier competitive. As it is, I've used a number of classy barrels; Hart, Shilen, Krieger, etc. (None of the brands listed here were that of the failed barrel mentioned.) The point is, I don't think there is any magic that Douglas Barrels doesn't already know about. So, if you want to get me in a barrel conversation, it's best that you understand that I'm not easy to be taken in. I've seen too much, on paper and through bore scopes, for too many years. The proof for me comes in the form of long-term performance. I'm not impressed with any barrel that only performs well, no matter how well, for some few hundred rounds of a relatively mild cartridge.

Observations: Bullets are a trial-chosen component. When the right powder is found, buy it in 8-pound or other large containers so you're not jumping from one lot to the next. If you refuse to buy anything other than your favorite match-grade primer, you may be waiting for nothing superior. A long-term test of regular versus match primers in several cartridges and rifles, keeping very careful records and being as statistically astute as possible, revealed absolutely no difference in performance (accuracy or velocity). Be more careful when purchasing a used target rifle than you would a hunting rifle. Buy a cheap pair of high-powered reading glasses and learn how to look at the throat of a rifle barrel, which requires you to get your head right up there just behind the action. If you try to look down the barrel from the butt of the stock, and think you can tell anything, you are a butt head.

Feel free to join in if you wish. We like to hear opinions and experiences from anyone who likes this sport.

JDC