For many years - since reading about the Steel Safari back in about 2008 - I have been keen to shoot field-style or PRS matches and haven't prioritised doing so. After shooting the Sparrowhawk hunter course in Jan, I realised that these matches are a lot more common and accessible than in the past. Earlier in the year, I had a spare Remington 700 short action with .378 bolt face sitting around. I decided to use this action to put together a rifle that would be, optimistically, reasonably suitable for both shooting matches and hunting.
The intent was to build a rifle precise enough to compete, light enough to carry hunting, and chambered in a SAAMI standard cartridge with available components, dies etc - with sufficiently good ballistics to hit targets downrange, with sufficiently low recoil yet sufficient splash down-range to self-spot, and efficient enough, with long enough barrel life, that I can actually shoot it affordably. Terminal ballistics on animals weren't a significant concern, because we know that .223 is sufficient so anything larger is clearly also sufficient. AICS mags required.
Cartridge selection based on these criteria narrowed the field - On the low end, .223 does not have sufficient splash downrange to spot shots reliably, other .22 cal rounds lack barrel life.
6mm, 6.5mm or 7mm gives sufficient splash to spot downrange. All have good ballistics, and barrel life probably increases with bore size. I did not consider .25 cal rounds as there were none SAAMI standard. 7mm has excessive recoil for spotting shots from positions. This leaves 6mm and the smaller 6.5mm rounds.
Considering the 6.5CM, .260, 6.5x47, 6mmARC, 6mmBR (and variants), 6GT, 6CM, .243. Ultimately, I felt that the extra recoil of the 6.5 cartridges would be too much for good spotting, and outweigh the benefits of the higher BC, extra splash and potentially longer barrel life.
For 6mm cartridges, the 6mmCM is very short on barrel life, as is .243. The 6ARC uses a non-standard bolt-face, and mags are limited. 6BR and variants are notorious for feeding issues.
This narrowed it down to the 6mm GT.
The 6mm GT is a moderately sized case with a .473 and SRP case-head, developed specifically for PRS use to fix the feeding issues found in BR variant cases. It was initially developed from a shortened 6.5x47 case by George Gardner of GA Precision and Tom Jacobs of Vaportrail bullets
It is optimised to shoot 105-110gr 6mm bullets with common powders like 2208/2209/N150 etc. Case capacity is between 6BR/variants, and the x47 case. Brass is available from Hornady and Alpha, and factory ammunition is available from Hornady.
Greg at Terminator put the rifle together for me with a variety of bits I sent him & he supplied -
700 SA with bolt fluting & oversize knob. Greg supplied a 2nd bolt with the appropriate bolt face, so I still have the .373" bolt spare - may end up a .223 in future....
Brux #3 (Bartlein 2B) .236 1:8" twist barrel, fluted, at 18 inches
Timney HIT
Hawkins M5 DBM
GRC elite stock
DPT
I have put a 3-18x44 Mk6 on top in Talley rings. The comb of the GRC stock was too low, even in the lowest possible 34mm mounting option, so I have added a Victor Company cheek riser. Next to my M7 .223
Attachment 264391
The rifle shoots very well using alpha brass - I tested - noting that the barrel has sped up around 60fps over the first 200 rounds -
an old, slow batch of 2209 - at book max of 38.1gr gives 2710fps (once barrel sped up)
a new batch of 2209 - book max gives 2790fps (same)
2208 - book max of 33.1gr gives 2670fps or there abouts.
This target was the extent of load testing.
Attachment 264390
I have chosen to go with 2209, as I was looking for 2700-2850fps speed range. Once I get through my old stock of the slow 2209, I'll switch to new powder and drop 1gr or more under max to stay at around 2700fps.
I did also try the 109gr ELDM, which gives 2780fps with a book max load of 2209, but does not stabilise in the 1:8 barrel - I would have preferred a 1:7 or 1:7.5 but unfortunately only a 1:8 was available in the contour I wanted. Barrels are consumable anyway so it will be shot until it dies and replaced.
I have had good feeding with the 5 (6) round Magpul AICS mags, however the Magpul 10rd is no good. An AI 10 rounder works well once the feed lips were tweaked.
I have shot 6 red deer with the rifle since I got it, out to 500 metres. It worked well as expected.
Attachment 264389
Last weekend I shot the individual match at Sparrowhawk, the first match with the rifle. Round count of 64, across 9 stages, with targets from 400-900m, 2-minute time limits per stage. This is clearly not a dedicated match rifle. The total weight is 3.6kg (8lb) with scope and suppressor, the bare rifle is 2.5kg. Most people shooting these matches are largely using mild 6mm cartridges in 20+ LB chassis-based rifles with 26+ inch straight taper barrels, muzzle brakes, etc. The light weight is a handicap for shooting from positions and for spotting my impacts downrange, which is key for success in PRS type matches. I however didn't feel that the rifle held me back, and there is plenty of room for skill development which will get me more points than buying gear. I placed tied at 13 out of 19 - improvements will include time management, some better work on stage planning, etc. My goal is to shoot all the South Island based PR matches for 2025 where I don't have scheduling conflicts.
Attachment 264392
Attachment 264393
Attachment 264395
