daved20319
10-10-2020, 12:21 PM
So I got this from Cabela's a couple of years ago, came as a .223. Put it in a Boyd's Pro Varmint stock, added pillars, bedded the action with Devcon, and ditched the blind mag in favor of a single shot sled from SSS. With my Sightron S-TAC 4-20x50, it was a tack driver, sub-MOA was the norm at the ranges I had available (300 yards and less). But I wanted something more, something more appropriate for 1000 yard shooting, even if shooting that far is a rare if ever proposition. So I built a Grendel on a Howa Mini Action, more capable than the .223, but still not really a true 1000 yard contender. And yes, I'm well aware folks shoot them at 1000 yards, I hope to with mine someday, but it's not in the same class as most of the real contenders. But I have a problem, I'm recoil sensitive. But a friend got a 6.5 Creedmoor recently, a Savage 10, added a good break, and it was quite pleasant to shoot, so I figured I could handle the Creedmoor. Decided I only needed one long range rifle, so was going to sell the Grendel to finance a new build. But then I decided to go cheap, the Savage was a budget build from the start, and found a 6.5 Creedmoor take-off barrel at a good price. Added an OEM bolt head, and voila! my 12 FV is now a 6.5 CM. So much for history ;).
So got it to the range for its second outing yesterday. First outing was mostly familiarization and trying out various factory loads, see if anything stood out. 4 of 5 showed promise, mostly 140's but 1 was the Hornady Match 147 ELD-M. That was actually the best of the bunch, but all but one were sub-MOA. But I was having my usual issue with recoil, not bad at all, but compared to the Grendel, it was beating me up a little. This is a heavy rifle, as it's just a bench gun, I wanted it heavy, it was just under 12 lbs. A brake would be an obvious answer, but the 12 FV doesn't have a threaded barrel, and if I can avoid the expense of getting the barrel threaded (don't think my machining skills are up to the challenge), so much the better. Budget build, remember? But adding weight is cheap and easy, and there were a couple of places available in this stock. Was able to add over 2 lbs. of lead, current total is right about 14.5 lbs. And that extra weight did the trick, recoil is now on par with my much lighter and brake equipped Howa Grendel.
So as mentioned, got it to the range yesterday. Was going back and forth between the Howa, Savage, and my CZ 97, really mostly plinking rather than any serious target work. Then my shooting partner got to the range, and we set up steel targets out to 400 yards, about as far as we can reach at our local range, and farther than I've ever shot before. Had 8" plates at 400 & 300, a small silhouette at 200, and a 4" plate at 100, never shot the latter. Let me tell you, even SEEING that 8" plate at 400 yards was a challenge, it took one of us spotting and the other shooting to even get there. But we finally got serious, my partner went first with some reloads for his 7mm-08, he tagged it a couple of time, but is still working on his load. We then switched to our Creedmoors. It took a few shots to figure out my hold, but once I did, I scored 3 consecutive hits, then had my partner take over. Told him my hold, and he also promptly scored 3 consecutive hits with my rifle. Would have done more, but that was pretty much the last of our ammo, and the light was starting to fail.
So to say I'm pleased with this rifle would be an understatement, especially considering what I've got into it. Total to date, which includes glass and the Creedmoor conversion, is still just under $1000. Make that just over $1000, I had to buy an action wrench and GO gauge for the CM conversion. This has really whetted my appetite for reaching out to some truly long range shooting, a couple of years ago, I couldn't have imagined I'd be able to hit something at 400 yards, now I'm eager to raise that bar some more. My apologies, I don't have any current pics, but maybe some day. Later, and thanks for all the help and support from this forum. Later.
Dave
So got it to the range for its second outing yesterday. First outing was mostly familiarization and trying out various factory loads, see if anything stood out. 4 of 5 showed promise, mostly 140's but 1 was the Hornady Match 147 ELD-M. That was actually the best of the bunch, but all but one were sub-MOA. But I was having my usual issue with recoil, not bad at all, but compared to the Grendel, it was beating me up a little. This is a heavy rifle, as it's just a bench gun, I wanted it heavy, it was just under 12 lbs. A brake would be an obvious answer, but the 12 FV doesn't have a threaded barrel, and if I can avoid the expense of getting the barrel threaded (don't think my machining skills are up to the challenge), so much the better. Budget build, remember? But adding weight is cheap and easy, and there were a couple of places available in this stock. Was able to add over 2 lbs. of lead, current total is right about 14.5 lbs. And that extra weight did the trick, recoil is now on par with my much lighter and brake equipped Howa Grendel.
So as mentioned, got it to the range yesterday. Was going back and forth between the Howa, Savage, and my CZ 97, really mostly plinking rather than any serious target work. Then my shooting partner got to the range, and we set up steel targets out to 400 yards, about as far as we can reach at our local range, and farther than I've ever shot before. Had 8" plates at 400 & 300, a small silhouette at 200, and a 4" plate at 100, never shot the latter. Let me tell you, even SEEING that 8" plate at 400 yards was a challenge, it took one of us spotting and the other shooting to even get there. But we finally got serious, my partner went first with some reloads for his 7mm-08, he tagged it a couple of time, but is still working on his load. We then switched to our Creedmoors. It took a few shots to figure out my hold, but once I did, I scored 3 consecutive hits, then had my partner take over. Told him my hold, and he also promptly scored 3 consecutive hits with my rifle. Would have done more, but that was pretty much the last of our ammo, and the light was starting to fail.
So to say I'm pleased with this rifle would be an understatement, especially considering what I've got into it. Total to date, which includes glass and the Creedmoor conversion, is still just under $1000. Make that just over $1000, I had to buy an action wrench and GO gauge for the CM conversion. This has really whetted my appetite for reaching out to some truly long range shooting, a couple of years ago, I couldn't have imagined I'd be able to hit something at 400 yards, now I'm eager to raise that bar some more. My apologies, I don't have any current pics, but maybe some day. Later, and thanks for all the help and support from this forum. Later.
Dave