Oryx Chassis Initial Thoughts

[ninosdemente]

JasonCo, on your picture you have two slots for rounds. Is it off a old piece cut to size and valcro? Just curious. Thanks.

Forgot to mentioned, the only bummer when ordering is that it doesn't allow you to choose color unless one buys the extra color pieces. Wasn't planning on spending an additional $40 just to have the others laying around. Wonder if those can be painted.

[JasonCO]

Short Action Precision 2 round holder6020

[ninosdemente]

Thanks for the reply.

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Celltech, when you mounted your stock to the rifle did you experience any bolt action stiffness when the screws were torqued? I have a problem where if torqued at 60 in lbs as indicated by instructions, my bolt action is stiff. If the screws are loosen just enough, then I don't have that problem as if it were torqued. Thanks.

[celltech]

Thanks for the reply.

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Celltech, when you mounted your stock to the rifle did you experience any bolt action stiffness when the screws were torqued? I have a problem where if torqued at 60 in lbs as indicated by instructions, my bolt action is stiff. If the screws are loosen just enough, then I don't have that problem as if it were torqued. Thanks.

Sounds like your front action screw is hitting the bolt head. Loosen everything up and take out the bolt...then tighten again. Feel in the bolt chamber for the action screw and I bet it's just coming past the receiver threads. At this point you have 2 options. Either lightly grind down the stock bolt a smidge or upgrade to some nice grade 8 hex cap bolts. But you will still have to grind the cap bolt down to the right size...

[ninosdemente]

Thanks. Will try grinding.

[ninosdemente]

Did grind but still have minor problem with bolt.... will try to give it a better cleaning see if that improves. I purchased some JB compound and Mothers Billet polish if this might help.

On a side note, yesterday was second day shooting it. Purchased 3 boxes of Hornady American Gunner 140gr as I'm planning on loading.... I still have a lot of practice to do... so my groupings need a lot of improving. I don't recall this from first time but yesterday did hear that pinging sound but something was shaking as I could see when looking through scope. I was using bags, possibly I'm not holding the rifle correct/sturdy enough or the bags?

Thanks.

[wquiles]

12FV put together. Currently 6.5 Creedmoor, waiting for a 25 Creedmoor barrel......
man, that is a sharp looking rig you got there :)

[celltech]

Did grind but still have minor problem with bolt.... will try to give it a better cleaning see if that improves. I purchased some JB compound and Mothers Billet polish if this might help.Thanks.

Hold off before you start trying to polish stuff. What is the "minor problem"? And does it go away if you put the action in the old stock? If the bolt binds when the action screw is tightened then it's still too long.

[ninosdemente]

Will test with original stock again see what it does.

Any idea about the shaking?

[celltech]

Look through the scope without touching the gun...is it still shaking? Odds are you are actually holding the gun too tight and transferring motion to the stock.

[scootergisme]

I agree with celltech. A lot of people pull the buttstock into their should way too tight and grip too tight with their hands. Tight grip applies to pistols, rifles and shotguns. I get pointers from our sniper team leader. He taught me a long time ago to lightly snug the buttstock into my shoulder, lightly grip the rifle and gently squeeze the trigger. Hold it just tight enough that the rifle doesn't fly out of your hands on recoil. Breathing is huge. A lot of people hold their breath when getting ready to touch the round off. He taught me to squeeze the trigger in the small pause between breaths. Holding your breath affects yours eyes first, tiny capillaries carrying O2 to your retina. Dry fire, dry fire and then dry fire some more practicing grip, breathing and trigger control. Mind over matter on recoil. It can't be stopped. Train yourself to just let it happen with minimal (none is best) physiological responses on your part. You'll be amazed what you can do with good shooting techniques.

[ninosdemente]

Was not aware that holding the rifle too hard transfers motion to the rifle. Will have to remember this next time I shoot again. Just learned something new. Did not notice crosshairs shake though when shooting rifle, if this would be best indication. Thanks again for the help.

[ninosdemente]

Scootergisme, thanks for the reply. When starting, I'll be honest, I did take the shot while holding breath. After online videos, reading online, it mentioned taking shot when exhaling and that is what I have been doing up to now. Will definitely try taking shot between breathes. Just was doing some dry firing tries, lol.

I do remember trying to hold the rifle a bit too much towards shoulder and did hold grip pretty hard. Part of the reason was I was having problems with bags as did notice the rifle would "slip" when I had the cross hairs where I was intending to shoot. Part of the reason why I held it more tighter than usual... guess that was just a bad day for me. Luckily only wasted 25 rounds instead of 50 before I finally gave up for that day. :eek::mad:

I still consider myself an amateur so I really need to work on my technique. I was told a 22lr bolt action is great to practice on as no recoil and way cheaper.

Hopefully not too much to ask, can you refer/guide me to a good online video on proper "bolt action shooting technique/guide". Don't get me wrong, I have searched on my own, but am now curious if I have been following a wrong technique. I count myself in the equation as well.

In regards to the bags, it turned out that they needed to get refilled again. I previously had filled them with cat litter.

[ninosdemente]

I tested on original and still the same. I checked the back screw and it doesn't even protrude at all. Has a good amount before it does. The front does not protrude... a couple of threads. Trying to "pay attention" as I move the bolt back and forth, seems that it is more in the middle section/area of receiver.

Since I have another Savage 12FV, but in .223.... can I "test" the .223 bolt on the 6.5 creed rifle and vice versa? I compared them side by side and both look the same. There are areas where they are different.

[celltech]

You had me confused there for a minute. So the original problem with the bolt was when you were trying to lock the action and the bolt head was hitting the action screw? And now you are saying that sliding the bolt back and forth in the action is sticky? The Savage bolt is not known for being the slickest thing in the world. It will wear in some more as you put some rounds through it. And maybe put some light lube on the contact points. If you want to polish it some, go ahead...but stay away from the JB paste for now. But yes, you can swap bolts around and check the difference. The .223 baffle is likely longer and the bolt face is smaller, but it will fit.

And a question while I am thinking about it...so the front action screw was too long. Did you install that eccentric spacer between the stock and action screw?

[scootergisme]

can you refer/guide me to a good online video on proper "bolt action shooting technique/guide

Unfortunately I cannot. I've been blessed to get to go to shooting schools as part of being a firearms instructor for the department that I work for and getting to shoot with our snipers. Once you have a functioning and reliable firearm, shooting in 99.9% mental. When you dry fire, don't just squeeze the trigger. Get in a shooting position (prone, bench, etc.), practice butt placement, grip, breathing, trigger squeeze and follow through. When you actually shoot, have someone load the firearm for you. Sometimes with a cartridge and sometime without a cartridge. When you squeeze the trigger on an empty chamber, you will learn a lot about your technique. Don't get discouraged and stay at it!

[ninosdemente]

celltech, when the screws were shortened, it did help and now the sliding is "sticky" when moved back and forth. I did try the bolts interchangeably and the 6.5 bolt worked well on the .223 rifle no problem. Then I took the .223 bolt and used it on the 6.5 rifle and worked well. So I then put some grease on the 6.5 bolt and tested it again on the 6.5 rifle and did way better. Started to slide much better... but as you mentioned, guess will only tell through many rounds as I barely only have 75 through barrel. By the way, I did install the spacer.

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scootergisme, no worries. Thanks for the tips.

[prichardson54]

Scootergisme, thanks for the reply. When starting, I'll be honest, I did take the shot while holding breath. After online videos, reading online, it mentioned taking shot when exhaling and that is what I have been doing up to now. Will definitely try taking shot between breathes. Just was doing some dry firing tries, lol.

I do remember trying to hold the rifle a bit too much towards shoulder and did hold grip pretty hard. Part of the reason was I was having problems with bags as did notice the rifle would "slip" when I had the cross hairs where I was intending to shoot. Part of the reason why I held it more tighter than usual... guess that was just a bad day for me. Luckily only wasted 25 rounds instead of 50 before I finally gave up for that day. :eek::mad:

I still consider myself an amateur so I really need to work on my technique. I was told a 22lr bolt action is great to practice on as no recoil and way cheaper.

Hopefully not too much to ask, can you refer/guide me to a good online video on proper "bolt action shooting technique/guide". Don't get me wrong, I have searched on my own, but am now curious if I have been following a wrong technique. I count myself in the equation as well.

In regards to the bags, it turned out that they needed to get refilled again. I previously had filled them with cat litter.

FWIW, For going through all the components of equipment and technique in an easy to follow format, I really like the Long Range Shooting Handbook by Ryan Cleckner. I also think his videos are extremely straight forward and helpful, even for people with tons of experience. It is always helpful to get back to basics and work on your process.

[ninosdemente]

Thanks prichardson54, will look him up. Have been spending some time on youtube trying to find some videos. Did find some, not many though. Looking at videos won't do much if I don't practice on the field though.