First Shots - Ruger M77 "Hawkeye" Long Range Target 6.5 PRC

[Kent Goldings]

Well, I did it. I blew my summer pay on a bonfide target rifle.

It is the Ruger Hawkeye LRT in 6.5 PRC. I took it to an undisclosed location and took the first shots with 143 gr. Hornady ELD-X Precision Hunter Ammo.
The muzzle velocity was about 3000 fps.

The scope is Vortex Diamondback 6-24x50

I took 4 shots to zero it at 100 yards. The video shows the next two shots at the far target.

View attachment First Shots.mp4


















Things went pretty well after that.

 

[SmallGameAddict]

Nice!

 

[SmallGameAddict]

So, with the 26" barrel you were getting about 40 fps more velocity than the advertised 2960 fps Hornady specs show for a 24" barrel. Interesting!

Real nice rifle sir! Congrats.

 

[Kent Goldings]

I took the muzzle velocity from just the first 4 shots. I don't know if that makes 40 fps statistically significant. That way just be luck of the draw.

 

[SmallGameAddict]

I took the muzzle velocity from just the first 4 shots. I don't know if that makes 40 fps statistically significant. That way just be luck of the draw.

It's not really but...youre getting better than the advertised velocity. That's a plus

 

[SmallGameAddict]

You made me smile this morning when I read this thread. Re: the .243 thread yesterday, you had already done your homework, and had an ace up your sleeve.

 

[Kent Goldings]

I have 4 rifles that will shoot to 1000 yards. My first was my Ruger American 308. It took me 6 months tweaking the rifle and loads to hit it. And, it still is shaky in a stiff wind.

When I built my Remington 700 6.5 CM. I had it to 1000 yards in the first day. What I learned from the 308 showed me what I needed to do.

 

[SmallGameAddict]

My personal interest lies in rifle deer hunting opportunities beyond 300 yards, being able to take advantage of them if and when they arise.

I have one 9 day window/year on a buddy's father's land, and that is the last 9 days of the Regular Season here. Conditions have to be just so, and then, of course, you have to actually see a deer.

I'm hoping that when we move to KY, I will have many more opportunities in the hills.

Edit: on my own property, I have one particular lane that is 200 yards tops.

 

[Jaywmustang]

Nice. Thought about getting the 6.5 prc.

 

[Kent Goldings]

I’d wait until the ammo supply is better. I experienced nearly immediate buyers remorse when I discovered that ammo and brass is nearly impossible. I had to order brass straight from gunworks for $1.75 a piece. I lucked out getting factory ammo from target-sports, but that source dried up almost right away.

On a related note:

The downside of shooting steel plates is the lack of visible evidence. I shot a 1/4 mil group at 1000 yards today and have nothing to show for it.

 

[whatwasithinking]

Very nice indeed! I over looked this rifle before, I may need to give it another serious look.

On another note, I think production is trying to keep up with demand (or at least that is my wishful thinking).

 

[Kent Goldings]

I was also looking at the RPR. But, this has the same barrel and the M77 Mauser-like action. I like the more traditional laminate stock as well.

 

[Jaywmustang]

Any issues with bullets coming apart?

 

[Phauxtoe]

I guess I’m out of it I was at the range the other day and the guy next to me was shooting something called 6 mm BR or 6 mm benchrest.

 

[meketrefe]

So, with the 26" barrel you were getting about 40 fps more velocity than the advertised 2960 fps Hornady specs show for a 24" barrel. Interesting!

Real nice rifle sir! Congrats.

Velocity figures are pretty subjective because they depend on so many variables aside from length alone.
Precise bore diameter.
Type and measures of rifling.
Freebore dimensions (idealy reamer brand/variant)
Temperature of the round
Temperature of the barrel
Barometric pressure
Distance form muzzle to the reading
Spread / deviation and error margin.

Like something as simple as 3R shallow groove or poly rifling can make a substantial difference vs. a more typical
6 square ratchet enfield style rifling.

Essentially, ammo, bullet and powder manufactures do not give enough data to have an accurate baseline and that is why the
spreads vary so much. Also reloading books are full of not just inaccuracy but actual mistakes. The lymans book is a good example
of many mistakes but they all have them. Sometimes lazy writers they take data from one bullet and apply to the equivalent
bullet into a different bullet maker and barrel by guessing and extrapolating. So the results are a disaster. Of course they do not
test every single combination, how could that be? but what is even worse is that they do not even run their loads by a decent
internal ballistics math like quickload. So they end up with all sort of impossibilities and mistakes. They do not even have the
the creativity to look it up in a reliable source. IMO they copy the garbage data from one edition to the next.
I have lots of books and at this point they are all obsolete. In reality one just needs one book to get started and the rest
just take data from the ammo manufacturer but also other sources like powders, independent bullets tests, quickload, etc... and
then get to see all the potential problems with the data. ultimately actual testing with our own ammo and your own barrel
is the final truth, and the only truth so a decent chrono is a must.
And also measure the chrono against other chronos to make sure one knows the error. They all have errors, it is just a matter
of making sure what the error is (hopefully small) and the most important thing, that the error is consistent.

sorry for the long reply. This might be relevant only to people looking for competition or extreme accuracy and/or long range work.

 

[SmallGameAddict]

Yeh, I get all that. Realistically, inputting extremely accurate velocity figures only really matters beyond maybe 600 yards as far as plotting your trajectory goes. Case in point- for deer hunting your goal is to hit an 8" vital area. Aiming dead center, is 1/2" more bullet drop @ 563 yards than you calculated important? Short answer-no. You're still going to hit the animal in the vitals, and just as relevant, you can't even adjust your scope for that.

 

[Kent Goldings]

Knowing your numbers and doing your Homework can save you a bit of ammo at the range. But, I've only once hit the 1K target with no compensating for wind.

I think the best practice for deer here in NYS is to compute a maximum point-blank zero. This should take out a lot of the guess-work inside 200 yards.

 

[Celt]

great looking rifle, and a good way to spend some time. Im picking up my new long range rig tomorrow, but it will be a few weeks before getting to the range.

 

[SmallGameAddict]

@Kent Goldings, you're right. For someone who isn't interested in taking it to the next level, a 200 yard zero can take you (I don't mean you in particular, I mean everyone in general) to 300 yards plus or minus, using easy holdover allowing for drop. 300 yards in commonly used cartridges for deer hunting means your horizontal crosshair is just about even with the top of the animals back.

It's like wanting to be competitive @ an NHRA event in Pro-Stock class. You have to invest time, money and effort.

Know yourself, and your shooting abilities.
Know your rifle.
Know the cartridge it's chambered for.
Know the load you plan to use.

With that knowledge, you can buy a quality rifle scope that meets your needs, along with quality rings and bases, that are designed for accurate shooting beyond 300 yards. And today, you can do that without a lot of fuss, IF you're willing to do your homework, study the ballistics of the particular cartridge and load you're going to use, esp the bullet performance and design parameters. And, check the wind drift for that bullet's velocity in the cartridge and load you plan to use. You can extrapolate the data from there..

A lot of guys don't want to be bothered with all that, nor spend the time and money.

Plus, every day of deer season, you need to check the weather and prevailing wind speed and direction. While your sitting there scratching your nuts waiting for Bullwinkle to stroll by, you can keep an eye on wind speed and direction at your location and at the distances you can shoot safely. Also you've likely used your rangefinder and checked the distances to various landmarks, so when you spot him you'd already have a real good idea of the distance. So if he suddenly shows up @ 350 yards, you've made the preparations to be able to take advantage of that opportunity. You've taken it from a remote possibility to a very high probability, of a hit in the vitals resulting in a humane kill.

One of my rifles, the Ruger American .308, using the Hornady American Whitetail 165 gr BTSP load is easy to use. Hornady specifies a 1800 fps minimum impact velocity for their SP and BTSP Interlock bullets. With a 22" barrel, that takes me to about 400 yards of reliable bullet performance. Windage? Super simple. 10 mph, about 1 MOA per 100 yards, so 4 MOA @ 400. My scope's reticle has reference marks for accurate holds.

Plus, people need to factor in conditions. I can't control the weather or time of day.

Ideal: calm still quiet overcast day. A permanent blind overlooking a large clearing. At least 1/2 hour before the end of legal shooting time. An relaxed animal completely unaware of your presence at least 50 yards or more from the tree line. A steady rest (backpack etc.) utilized by someone's who's made the preparations. Instead of going home empty handed because all you could is watch (or worse yet, take a by guess and by gosh shot and wound that animal), he can bring that deer home, and smile about how it was so worth it all.

 

[S&W Fan]

I guess I’m out of it I was at the range the other day and the guy next to me was shooting something called 6 mm BR or 6 mm benchrest.

6 mm has been around for quite awhile. My FFL guy Shoots competitive bench rest here in NY and PA. He shoots 6mm with a custom built Bench Rest Rifle and his hand loads .

 

[Carlos Hathcock]

6 mm has been around for quite awhile. My FFL guy Shoots competitive bench rest here in NY and PA. He shoots 6mm with a custom built Bench Rest Rifle and his hand loads .

Is your guy Bob P.?

 

[S&W Fan]

Is your guy Bob P.?

No, Mike M.

 

[Kent Goldings]

I got this doohickey to attach my DSLR to my spotting scope. I was able to video a proper 1K group.

 

[SmallGameAddict]

Pretty neat. That was some pretty rapid fire shooting.

I don't know what powder Hornady uses in the Precision Hunter, but after 3 shots on my Rem 700 30-06 the barrel's pretty warm. 5 shots and it's so hot you can't touch it. No signs of excess pressure either.

 

[Kent Goldings]

I hand fed each cartridge. I edited out between the shots to compress the upload size and to cut out the between shots banter among the shooters.

 

[SmallGameAddict]

I hand fed each cartridge. I edited out between the shots to compress the upload size and to cut out the between shots banter among the shooters.

Gotcha

 

[Kent Goldings]

These were my handloads. I used Reloader 25. It seemed to work.

 

[SmallGameAddict]

These were my handloads. I used Reloader 25. It seemed to work.

Can't argue with success

 

[toxophilite]

@Kent Goldings phone skope? or camera mounted to spotting scope?

 

[Kent Goldings]

Nikon D7500