The intent of this and subsequent pages in this series is to offer some insight into competitive benchrest shooting - insight directed mostly toward those that haven't had the pleasure of participating.  Specifically, the subject will be 100/200/300 yard sanctioned group shooting.  The goal is to provide enough information to assist folks in an endeavor to participate successfully with minimal effort and expense.  I suppose that the intent could be satisfied and not the goal or the opposite.  Hopefully both can be achieved in time.

The term "benchrest shooting" has a spectrum of meanings.  On one corner of the spectrum it simply means shooting from a bench and then ranges four dimensionally from there.  No attempt will be made to define the other "corner" of the spectrum because of its nebulous nature.  This corner is not unlike the fabled creature Bigfoot.  Folks swear that they have been there but their pictures are blurry.  I believe this is where Fox Mulder's sister is lost.

Somewhere in the mix, we find competitive benchrest shooting and within that relatively small niche we find 100/200/300 yard sanctioned group shooting - the "game" if you will.  The meaning of the term "benchrest shooting" for this area can be loosely defined by stating the object of the game:

SMALLEST GROUP WINS

More specifically defined, small group wins but there are rules concerning equipment and procedure and these rules ARE the definition of the "game".  Certainly, there are many aspects of the game that can't be found within the rules and that's where the fun lies.

Links to the rules:  |IBS |  |NBRSA|

The reason for all this "defining" business is an attempt put the reader in the right place.  Experience from monitoring the Benchrest Central forums for these years indicates that folks who have never participated in sanctioned competition have little or no conception.  No offense intended there but it's a valid observation - an observation supported by having been without said conception my own silly self.

While the subject of conception is on the table this would be a good place for me to throw out the scant qualifications behind the writing.  A listing seems appropriate:

1. There is no competitor that I haven't beaten.

2. There is no competitor that hasn't beaten me.

3. 16 years experience with the first 2 items.

That's it!

Again, the intent is to provide information to those interested in benchrest shooting.  The next installment will concern how to get a smooth start.  Beyond that it's easy street.  We'll paint by the numbers for a while and then get into that fourth dimension you thought was a typo earlier.

I'll end this with the first bit of advice just to show good faith.  Any religious connotation is coincidental - credit given to the original copyright.

___________________________

Beware of false prophets!

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Wilbur

Before we jump into the nuts and bolts of competitive benchrest, some uncomfortable details have to be addressed – Right here, right now.  There may be folks that visualize themselves playing benchrest shooter without a full understanding of some prerequisites.  A couple or three questions need to be asked and realistic answers are recommended.

1) Do I have the time?

The possibility exists that sanctioned benchrest shooting is not something you can do.  Attending a sanctioned match will very likely (if not always) require traveling hundreds of miles and the expense of a weekend from early Friday afternoon to late Sunday night.  In many locations, that would be a minimum.  Do some homework to determine where you will have to go to compete.

Later, there will be a suggestion to travel to a match just to look around and get a feel for “things”.  If following that suggestion gives you the slightest heartburn then perhaps a re-think of the whole idea is necessary. A “problem” with time resources is not a show stopper in some cases but a significant consideration in every case.  Don’t fail to factor in family commitments - both real and perceived

2) Do I have the money?

The purpose of this question is not to have you evaluate your relative net worth.  Trust me, you have ENOUGH money.  The real question is whether or not you have THE money?  I talked with a spectator at a match one Sunday and he stated that he would dearly love to get into benchrest shooting but just couldn’t afford it.  Later, I was cleaning my rifle and saw him driving away in a brand new custom painted chrome plated pickup truck pulling a real nice trailer.  There was a four wheeler in the bed of the truck and three more on the trailer.  I figured the 4 wheelers were a family thing and that was how his priorities aligned.  On the way home that night my Caravan shuddered past 170K and I paid the light bill plus late charge on Wednesday.  It was either pay the light bill or get my wife’s partial plate fixed.  It all worked out well at the time because I bought a jug of powder and all we could afford was soup and mashed potatoes anyway.  Money is not a show stopper either.  Just give it some direct thought before you end up taking a loss on your purchases.

3) Am I a competitor?

Last but by no means least is the will to win and a tolerance for losing.  It’s OK to have a little internal bleeding because your last shot knocked you out of a 3 Gun win at the nationals.  That’s the way it should be.  Try not to let it trickle to the outside.  It’s not OK to be satisfied with less than the win nor is it OK if warts grow on your lips if you don’t win.  Nobody wins every time and nobody is expected to win every time.  If you already know that you can’t laugh it off or don’t believe that you can win then pass on competitive benchrest shooting.  This IS a show stopper.  If you are so disposed, you can't have fun and it's the fun that keeps you going.

Have you read those rules yet?

The initial dilemma of most people that become interested in benchrest shooting is what equipment to purchase.  It seems that many want to give it a whirl with a "store bought" rifle just to see if they like it.  A typical question is, "What rifle can I buy that can be upgraded as my skills improve?"  On the surface, the question appears reasonable but it contains a "telltale" of misguided knowledge.  It's OK to be misguided. The purpose here is to un-misguide and the intended method is unconventional.  I'm simply going to tell you the truth as I know it.

After Waco, I don't know if the following is the truth but here's the story:

On Nov. 18, 1978, in Jonestown, Guyana, more than 900 members of the Peoples Temple cult, led by Rev. Jim Jones, committed suicide by drinking poisoned punch. (click)

The point of that headline is that the truth I tell won’t coincide in every case with what you see, hear and read and may come across as if I were asking you to take poison.  To that thought I can respond that my poison is not nearly as deadly as some you have already consumed.

Enough beating around the bush, let's get on with it!

As stated, the object of the game is to shoot smaller groups on average than the competition.  The list of equipment necessary to accomplish that objective is long and initially expensive by my standards:

Within this list, there are items that will affect your scores and others that are support items.  The rifle, the barrel and the dies are about the only items that matter much and the dies are only included because of a distraction factor but more on that later.  Truly, the rifle and barrel are the items that matter the most and together are the most expensive.  That said, let’s hit this list item by item. 

Rifle

The reason the list states “Sporter class rifle” is that a Sporter rifle is legal in any class.  If you have one rifle, it should be a Sporter.  I think the word on the street still advises that a Heavy Varmint rifle is the better starting rifle since it is easier to shoot but nothing in the match results support that thinking. The Sporter scores are as good or better in almost every case.  Personally, I don’t think a Heavy Varmint is easier to shoot .

The rifle is the foundation and dictates success or failure.  Read that again.  The grim truth is that a new custom rifle made of the best parts available has a much higher probability of being mediocre than it does of being competitive.  Competitive in this context means that the rifle would have a chance of winning whereas mediocre means the rifle would have the proverbial “snowball’s chance in hell”.  Worse yet, a mediocre rifle will likely remain mediocre until the end  - which can be considered as that point in time when it is no longer your rifle.  That last sentence is opinion and can’t be claimed as the truth.

There is one and only one choice in rifles and that is a full blown benchrest rifle, weighing three ounces less than the 10.5 pound sporter class weight limit, chambered in 6 PPC, Jewell trigger, flat forend stock and a quality scope of 36 to 45 power.  Anything less and you’ll be back at the benchrest store before the scorer’s ink dries on your targets.  If you want to use a Remington 700ish action that’s fine but a custom action will make you feel “complete” and sell easier come hard times.  Sure, matches have been and will be won with rifles that differ with this description.  By the same token, if it gets cold enough you can push a wet rope.  Yes, I do know what you want to do and why you want to do it.  Believe me, I do know and I'm begging you not to do it.

There is no “best” component when choosing the parts for a rifle.  The Jewell trigger is standard equipment, there are “top” action and barrel considerations, and a myriad of stock choices.  There is no best – stop asking.

As for gunsmiths, go with the guys that understand benchrest shooting.  They understand the criteria and will do their best to protect you from yourself.  Tell your gunsmith that you want a sporter class rifle in 6PPC three ounces light, stop talking, and start listening.  If you have already chosen the parts tell him about it.  Don’t agree to be a guinea pig.  Who’s the best gunsmith??? You’re kiddin’ right?

Sizing Dies

The benchrest shooters needs are minimal when it comes to dies.  The task is to refurbish spent cartridges such that the finished product chambers and extracts with little more difficulty than operation of the empty rifle. That’s it.  Make this hard if you like but it doesn’t have to be.  Once upon a time it was believed by many, if not all, that the closer the case fit the chamber the better.  That turned out to be a crock – not a complete crock but a crock nonetheless.  Problems arise when trying to fit the case to the chamber and the result is nearly always difficult bolt operation at the most inconvenient occasion.  Folks often go to unnecessary extents to accomplish the “task” all the way up to owning a chamber reamer and a matching die reamer.  Even then, the gunsmith has to hit the headspace on the money or things don’t work as planned.

An explanation of what needs to be done and why seems appropriate.  My conception of what happens to the cartridge case during its lifetime and the actual science of the matter may differ significantly but it fits well and that’s good for now.  No argument with alternate theories.

When a case is new it appears to go along with whatever is asked of it without much resistance.  Blow it out, size it here, size it there, blow it out again and life is good.  It is here that any system works.  In fact, if you really want an easy life, use newly formed cases for every aggregate fired….all problems solved.  The setting on the powder drop dictates the aging of a case but in time the age will begin to show in terms of “spring back”.  An aged case will expand a bit when withdrawn from the die and reduce the previously enjoyed clearance between the case and the chamber wall.  The spring back will eventually require a change to the process or the fight with the bolt will become an insuperable distraction.  Remember that we came here to win.

The fight with the bolt is caused by two dimensions of the case.  One is the base to shoulder dimension and the other is the case diameter in the web area.  A single sizing die that tends these dimensions for the intended life of the cases is adequate.  The problem with that arises when a decision is made to increase the powder charge.  As an example, let’s say everything is going well and has been for a couple of matches.  The powder charge is increased for whatever reason and that changes the characteristics of the cases (intended case life changes).  Two targets later the bolt is getting hard to operate and the single die will no longer fix it.  If you don’t have new cases ready to shoot you’re dead.

So what’s a mother to do?  If we had identical chambers from barrel to barrel we could make up a single die that would always work.  Some folks do just that and enjoy tinkering until everything is just so so.  The easier method is to have two dies.  One of the two is a shoulder bump die that functions to reduce the base to shoulder dimension, deprime and size the neck. The other is a base die to reduce the diameter of the case in the web area.  The shoulder die can be used without lube and will likely be all that is needed until you hit the cases with that extra bit of gunpowder – that little skosh more that makes it shoot great.  That little more powder may cause the web to swell a bit and require using the base die to get you out of trouble for the moment.  Use it between aggregates and if that’s not enough you really should give that powder setting a reality check.  Lube is required when using the base die and should be removed before firing.  The shoulder bump die always follows the base die as the base die elongates the case kind of like stepping on a fish to make it a legal length.

A couple of things need to be stated for safety’s sake.  Bumping the shoulder will not fix a case that is swelled in the base area and if the shoulder is bumped excessively in an attempt to do so a very very dangerous headspace condition exists.  Do not shoot the case!  Learn the base to shoulder dimension of your chamber by measuring a fire formed case and be cautious of how much you shorten that measurement with the bump die.  If you have bumped the shoulder 3 to 4 thousandths beyond normal and the case is still tight then pull out the base die.

Having two dies may not sound like the better method on the surface but here’s what you get.  Regardless of the chamber dimensions, the cases, or the powder charge…you’re good to go.

Oh yeah, you’ll need a couple of neck bushings to go with that bump die.  One for newer cases and another that is a size smaller for when the neck tension is not enough to hold the bullet in place.

Bullet Seating Die

There are several makers of what I will call “Wilson type” bullet seating dies. Some have more convenient adjustments than others and some are made to tighter tolerances.  Basically, they all function similarly.  Get your hands on whichever strikes your fancy or fits your budget.

It's 4 AM - More on the "stuff" soon

Wilbur