Long Range Rifle/Scope/PRS question(s)

I have everything to load the Dasher, Wilson FL bushing sizer, Wilson hand micrometer seater, a .266 & .267 bushing, 6MM BR cases, Berger 105 Hybrids, Wilson case holder to use with my Wilson trimmer, Whidden Case Gauge (Used like the RCBS Precision Mic), and a Whidden 6 Dasher shoulder Bump Gauge not in the pic. (Does the same thing as the Whidden 6D Case Gauge but uses a caliper.)

I bought some CCI 450 primers locally and they raked me over the coals (Just under $50 for 1K after tax). They seem to be a favorite for loading the Dasher, so I bought some, I had Fed 205, 205M, WSR (Old Nickle and new Brass), Wolf, but no CCI SR primers.

6MM Dasher Reloading.jpg

Rifle came today. I'm in the poor house, but I am happy.

It's a poor pic, but in person the quality jumps out at you. I'll have no excuse for getting my tail whipped next month. :)
Impact Precision Rifle.jpeg
 
@Walkalong, I have to say, despite the photo that's a really nice looking rifle. I remember @taliv and his thread with lots of photos but your stock looks nicer. I bet there are some hours into making that stock and I'm looking forward to more photos, targets, your thoughts and impressions etc. Congratulations ... you must be over the moon with that rig. :D
 
A quick pic with the Bushnell stuck on top. It's not tightened down, just popped on with the rings still in place from the Seekins. I want the scope up a hair higher so will get higher rings.

Still not a great pic, but better, and the full rifle.

Yes, I am stoked, no doubt, a big grin right now. :)
Impact Precision Rifle with Bushnell XRSII 4.5-30x50.JPG
 
Man that looks good … the best of modern manufacturing but with a timeless and classic look. I have to say, my AXMC is cold and soulless compared to that beauty. I really like how the scope color plays well with the black rings, black barreled action, and brown stock. Way to go @Walkalong. :D
 
Legionnaire said:
Makes me want to sell off a half dozen or more to fund a really fine rifle ... maybe ...

I sold a Savage rifle and three Ruger revolvers in recent months and used that money to pay some of the cost of the AXMC. I'm more inclined to part with handguns that I don't use compared to rifles. I carry a Ruger KLCR every day and a Ruger SRH Alaskan Bowen on the trails but every other handgun sees very limited use these days. I have some nice 1911s that are basically safe queens and still have more than a few firearms that I don't shoot much but am in no hurry to part with.
 
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Sighted in the Vortex Viper PST 5-25x50 Gen II after work today.

I really like this scope. So much so that if I wasn't broke I would buy another at the sale price or a Razor at the sale prices at Eurooptic.

1. Read the dang directions with a new scope.
2. Glass is really nice, especially at the sale price, reticle is real nice, parallax is dead on at 50 and 100 yards, set it, bobble your head behind the scope, reticle stays put on the target. Clicks are really nice, audible and crisp.
3.The feature for sighting in with unlimited stops in adjustment vs clicks is really nice.
4. Read the freaking directions before sighting in. *Sigh*

I bore sighted it the old fashioned way at 50 yards by looking through the bore, dialing the reticle up and over to match that round spot on the target, shoot a shot, reposition the scope and while keeping it steady dial the reticle to the first shot. Shoot another shot. Bingo.
Sighting iin Seekins Havak Bravo with Vortex Viper PST 5-25x50 Gen II Pic 3.jpg

Sighting iin Seekins Havak Bravo with Vortex Viper PST 5-25x50 Gen II Pic 1.jpg

Do be careful with the staple gun, and don't forget to get your cardboard and target at 100 yards when packing up. I do that too much.
Sighting iin Seekins Havak Bravo with Vortex Viper PST 5-25x50 Gen II Pic 7.jpg
 
I have had issues with the Seekins feeding from the AIAW mags, bolt over round jams, round popping sideways jams. The mags have an 1/8" vertical play when "locked" in and the bolt barely catches the top round on the inside edge. The 10 round AICS mag that came with the Impact locks in with almost no play and it lines rounds up beautifully. The cut in the back of the AIAW mags is higher than the AICS mag and lets the mag hand down too far. I intend you weld up under that catch on the mag and cut a new spot a bit lower to get the mags higher. I figure that will help because when I push the AIAW mag up when running the bolt it feeds very well. Gotta fix those mags, and if I cannot, I'll just use AICS mags. The P-Mag that came with the Seekins doesn't work all that well with it. I gave it away today to a fellow at work who uses them.

I used some steel TPS medium rings to mount the Vortex and it got it up more where I am more comfortable shooting the gun. The Bushnell with the Seekins low rings was a little too low to suit me. Don't remember if I mentioned that earlier.
 
awesome shooting. that's factory blammo in the seekins?
 
Yes. Hornady 108 Gr ELD Match

I have about five places bookmarked for the 108 gr ELD ammo, gotta check when you need it and figure shipping.

Might be my imagination, but the barrel seems to be settling down a little.
 
I have had issues with the Seekins feeding from the AIAW mags, bolt over round jams, round popping sideways jams. The mags have an 1/8" vertical play when "locked" in and the bolt barely catches the top round on the inside edge.

I read back through the first 8 pages, I thought I had elaborated on this in this thread, but I know I have in multiple places, maybe our PM’s?

At any rate, open the feed lips of the AW mags slightly with wide smooth jaw flashing pliers and they’ll run like a top, regardless of mag pressure from barricade or bag. They do sit lower in the action than AICS mags which I have seen be a good thing for the Seekins lug arrangement. Push an AICS mag against a barricade and you’re very likely to crash the lug or bolt body against the mag lip of AICS or ARC mags. Not a thing with properly tuned AW mags. I also mentioned at one point a “friend” who threw a magpul AICS pattern mag into the bushes in TX at a match because it just wouldn’t feed reliably, despite a lot of effort to trim and fit the mag lips to feed.

The AICS 10rnd mags tend to be standard fare, but a lot of us do prefer the shorter body, stagger feed AW’s, and with the Seekins lug arrangement, feeding from the AW’s is a lot easier to tune for ALL positions than the AICS mags. I would be very close to saying the AI pattern Pmags simply cannot be made to feed reliably in the Seekins for ALL positions. The AICS and ARC mags can be, but they are harder to tune to do so, and more finicky - more sensitive to varied mag pressure. The AW mags do take some tweaking, but they’ve proven to me to be the best feeding in the Seekins action under ALL positions we face in PR competition.

This is the tool I use to tweak mag lips, think it was $20. Works fantastically. I lift the AW lips just a teeny bit and life is grand. Prone with no mag pressure, pressed upward on a concrete pipe, pressed to the side in an angled porthole, or pressed backwards by the barricade bag, they feed in the Seekins. Side pressure and upward pressure on AICS or ARC mags usually mean I crash the bolt on the mag lip.

6A35CB06-2B63-4DC0-BFBF-6258385DEF39.jpeg
 
From page 16 of this thread:

It's not just the P-mags.

Open your bolt, insert the mag, and take a peak inside the ejection port at your bolt face and lugs. Even better if you have a DBM Rem 700 handy to compare side by side.

1) The Seekins lugs run 90degrees turned compared to standard 2 lug Rem 700 pattern rifles. This means the lugs are oriented up and down, rather than horizontally in the receiver. In other words, the lugs hang DOWN below the boltface. That's great for reliable pick up - it'll dig deep into a mag, especially stagger feed AIAW mags, to pick up the rounds, BUT it also means the mag feed lips must be wide enough to let the lug(s) pass through, else the bolt will crash on the mag. I would have to search to find it whether it was in our PM's (or those with another user), or in one of these threads, but I know I've mentioned that here a few times - the rotated lug design is a blessing and a curse, which requires some tweaking to the mags, regardless of brand or material.

2) The bolt body of the Seekins rifle is oversized and the bolt head diameter smaller than the body - so it has a step/shoulder at the front edge of the bolt body. Unfortunately, that also means the mag lips have to be low enough in the action to clear the bolt body - which wouldn't be a problem, except that it also means those 90degree lugs HAVE to reach farther down to pick up rounds. Even if we open the mag lips wide enough to clear the lugs (but not wide enough to lose grip on the rounds), we still have to worry about clearing the bolt body, else the shoulder will crash on the lips...

So tuning the mags for the Seekins design is a balancing act between having the lips trimmed down low enough and opened wide enough to clear the lugs and the bolt body, but keep them high enough and tight enough to retain the rounds in the mag.

"My Friend" screwed up on the first 10rnd Pmag HE tried to modify for the seekins will blast all 10 out of the top if you drop it - HE filed the inside edge of the lips to open them for the bolt lugs, before I, er, I mean... HE realized the next step would be crashing on the bolt body shoulder and then HE had to file them down to clear the bolt body too - so HE cut them OUT as well as DOWN... The result is that the lips have just the slightest tenuous grip on the top round, so if you bump it hard enough to let one slip, the next hits hard enough to overwhelm the lip and blast the whole thing empty. It was spectacular to watch when I, er, I mean MY FRIEND pulled that mag out of his back-up holster when another mag had failed. HE dropped it on the deck to get a different grip, it blasted all of my, er HIS backup rounds across the platform like a water-balloon, so in a fit of frustration, HE threw the mag into the bushes and left it there to die in Texas...

All of that sounds bad about the Seekins design, but really, I do love the rifle/action and it does work very well - I just wanted to spell out WHY they might take a little more thought than some other actions. AICS and Accurate mags took some bending AND filing, whereas 10min worth of bending on AIAW mags left me with perfectly reliable feeding - and AW mags are easier to load (and unload) and are shorter than standard centerfeed AICS mags. Comparatively, a standard Rem 700 without feed rails (cut for DBM) or Rem 700 clones often won't reliably feed from AW mags, because the curvature of the bolthead won't reliably reach the caseheads in the staggerfeed layout.
 
At any rate, open the feed lips of the AW mags slightly with wide smooth jaw flashing pliers and they’ll run like a top
I have looked at the videos about 'tuning/tweaking" the mags over the last week or so, and finally figured that is what you meant by you had tweaked the AIAW mag(s). Although I could make one, I have the mag lip adjustment tool coming from MPA (Ordered their mount for the Impact/Bushnell). I also have the duct bending tool you pictured from my air conditioning days where I played duct man when he was out drunk. I haven't used it in decades, but I do oil it up from time to time when I go through the tool boxes.

The 1/8" vertical play of the AIAW mags in the Seekins drives me nuts, but I guess if tweaking the lips works I could live with it, maybe, so I will at least mod one of the two I have. Different strokes for different folks.

I was very encouraged when they fed well when held up, the bolt gets so much more of the case. Worst case scenario is I use single stack AI mags. It's a nice rifle, but that Impact.....just wow. Of course we pay for it.

And y'all are right, the TT trigger is very nice. :)
 
In my defense, it's a long thread. :D

No offense intended, and I hope none taken by that. I knew I had written it out SOMEWHERE on this forum, and assumed it had to be this thread. But I had to forum keyword search to find it. 4 pages ago was a LOT of topics - ha!
 
I knew you had mentioned tweaking them, but must have glossed over the how when I looked for it in the thread. I found a couple of good utube videos on it though. It's all good. Knew I was missing something. I do wish they locked in with less play like the single stacks.
 
I've been running AW mags in my AW for almost 10 years now and it's by far the best magazine I've ever encountered for a bolt action rifle. I wish that the AWM mags were built around a larger version of the AW mags because the single stack AWMs have never been as smooth for the first round from a full magazine. Not a huge deal but something I notice. I used to use AICS magazines in my custom Remington 700 with AICS stock for F-Class and I ran into feeding issues due to the feedlips that caused me some frustration.

I haven't done much testing with the AXMC rifle/mag combination but there seems to be more mag movement with the AXMC compared to the AW. Another reason why I still prefer the AWs over the AXMC.

On a side note, the second Vortex RAZOR HD GEN II EBR-7C MRAD arrived today so I'll be putting that scope on my AW this weekend and moving the Premier Reticles Heritage 5-25x56mm to the AWM .300 Win Mag. I get to shoot the AW to zero the scope ... fun stuff!! :D The NF should show up next month and that scope will be going on my AWM .338 Lapua Mag.
 
fwiw, my experience is AW mags run great in the AI rifle they were designed for. AICS run great in everything else. AW mags have historically NOT be that reliable under the various custom actions that weren't really designed for it. eventually the tweakers seem to get it sorted out, but i'll keep running AICS. never had to tweak a single lip to accommodate my bighorns, surgeons or impact.
 
The vertically oriented Seekins bolt lugs are a different arrangement than most 700 clones like the Surgeon & Impact. Typical clones don’t have the reach to reliably feed from stagger feed AW mags, while the Seekins lugs reach down into the mag. Blessing and a curse, as the lugs will crash a mag with a smile on their face if they aren’t opened wide enough, but on the upside, they reach down into AW mags and pick up stagger feed rounds with ease, once the lips are opened enough to avoid crashes.
 
It's totally unacceptable for any practical rifle/stock/magazine combination where the bolt will crash into the magazine feedlips when an upward force is applied to the underside of the magazine, and yet I've seen it time and time again with factory and custom rifles. All four of my AI rifles will run just fine with the entire weight of the rifle resting on the magazine. The MPA chassis with the AICS magazine gets this right too, but I've seen a number of Manners stocks and others running AICS mags where any upward pressure on the magazine causes issues.
 
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