A Tube Gun? (Oh My, Another barrel)
Moving forward in time to the April 2010 Boomershoot Dinner, I was again very fortunate in the raffle and came into possession of another barrel blank. This one was made by Lija in 6.5mm (.264 cal.) with a 1 in 8 twist.
photo by Dave RNS Photographer ©
If you’ve read the previous sections, it probably doesn’t come as a surprise that I would again approach John Pierce to build a rifle with this new barrel. At the time I had been leaning toward a 6.5 x 284 chambering, as it seemed to be a popular caliber in long range shooting. After further reading of various accounts, stories, forums, blogs, I changed course and settled on 6.5 x 47 Lapua, or 6.5 x 47L. The chatter about this chambering was that it recoiled less than the 6.5 x 284, had longer barrel life and was also very accurate. I always like stuff that’s a little different, so I was going to ask John to make me another rifle similar to the one in 22BR with a varmint/sporter type stock (the barrel contour was the same as the previous barrel), only in the 6.5 x 47L chambering.
I again called John’s shop and made the appointment to drive up and discuss the project. Once I got there and we got into the conversation, John asked me why not build a tube gun. Huh? I wasn’t familiar with the term. I asked John what he meant by a tube gun and he happened to have one in his office. Many or even most of you may be familiar with this type of rifle, but in case you’re like me and hadn’t had the pleasure, “a tube gun is a barreled action that is fit into a solid tube that completely supports the action†(quoted from Jense Precision Firearms website).
The gun is modular with the tube/action section accepting different buttstock configurations. They can be configured as single-shots or repeaters. Add a lower section, grip, trigger assembly, fore end tube, barreled action, rail on top for scope or sights and you’re good to go.
It didn’t take much arm twisting to get me intrigued with such a firearm. John uses modular kits from Gary Eliseo’s Competition Shooting Machine Co.
Ok, I’m in. John’s assistant Jim sat with me as we configured the rifle and its components. I changed from a short action to a long action, as this would allow for a switch to another caliber, say .338 Lapua Mag. by changing barrels and the lower section that houses the trigger and magazines, while keeping the remaining components. For now, this rifle will have a “short†lower that accepts the short action Accuracy International magazines that are used with the .308 cartridge (the 6.5 x 47L has the same bolt face dimensions as a .308).
Also included were the multi adjustable buttstock. Being a lefty, I opted for an ‘ambidextrous’ cheekpiece. Added to the buttstock was a mono pod that can be swung up out of the way and actually rest on a rear bag at the bench when in the up position. I specified a Jewell trigger, ordered several AI magazines in 10 and 20 shot capacities, added a +15 MOA picatinny rail for scope mounting and selected a choice of many different coatings and colors.
The Pierce action
photo by Dave RNS Photographer ©
Lower module, Grip, Magazine, Upper Action Sleeve w/ rail
photo by Dave RNS Photographer ©
I left the shop to work their magic and shake, bake and stir the components into a rifle. Several weeks later, lo and behold, I had a tubegun. I have never given any of my firearms a nickname, but I felt the desire to provide a name for this rifle.
Behold Blackthorne!
photo by Dave RNS Photographer ©
I had Pierce thread the end of the barrel with the same pitch threads as those on my Tikka T3 Tactical, in order to use the Sako muzzlebrake that I ordered for use with the Tikka. This Sako muzzlebrake is used on the Sako TRG 22/42 series of rifles as well as the Tikka. The cap that is screwed on the muzzle when the muzzlebrake is not used had to be made to an outside diameter slightly larger than that of the barrel in order to match the threads of the Tikka.
photo by Dave RNS Photographer ©
photo by Dave RNS Photographer ©
Along with the rifle, I also got 5 boxes of Berger 140 gr. Match Target BT bullets from John. I ordered Lapua brass cases from Sinclair and proceeded to group them by weight, arranging them in columns for each 0.1 gr. The result was the expected ‘bell’ curve with the majority of the cases centered in the middle ranges.
photo by Dave RNS Photographer ©
It turns out that even high quality brass from a respected manufacturer can have some minor issues out of the box, so it’s a good idea to inspect the cases.
photo by Dave RNS Photographer ©
I would be running all the cases through a Redding body die and then a Sinclair neck expander to make all the necks round. To set the body die to size the cases just barely enough to chamber, I removed the firing pin assembly from the bolt and repeatedly chambered a case and closed the bolt. I would turn the body die down into the press by slight movements, size the case and re-chamber it until the bolt closed with just a slight ‘feel’ to it as it locked down. At that point, the position of the body die in the press was good and it was locked down.
I took the ten cases that comprised the two outboard rows on each side of the group of cases and would use them to determine initial bullet seating depths. The only loading manual I had which showed the 6.5 x 47L was a copy of a Vihtavuori manual. This, however, only showed loadings for Vihtavuori powders, which I don’t have. I did find the overall cartridge length listed at 2.795″.
photo by Dave RNS Photographer ©
I seated the Berger bullets into the cases at a length longer than would be used in the final loading.
photo by Dave RNS Photographer ©
With enough neck tension to retain the bullet upon extraction, I chambered the un-powdered cartridge and closed the bolt. The bullet engaged the rifling and was pushed deeper into the case. The cartridge was extracted and measured for overall length. It turns out that the long ogive surface of the Bergers was contacting the rifling sooner than I anticipated and the resulting overall length was less than I expected.
photo by Dave RNS Photographer ©
The bullet was seating with the boat tail base extending slightly below the body/shoulder junction of the case. This was not something that I wanted to see, as I wanted the bullet base to be above the body/shoulder junction. In the next picture the cartridge on the right side is the seated bullet in the case that was chambered.
photo by Dave RNS Photographer ©
I bought a box of Sierra 142 gr. MatchKings to try as an alternate. After seating a MatchKing further out of the case and then chambering the unloaded round, I experienced a similar situation as with the Berger bullets. The overall length when ejected was 2.748â€, which was the same as the Berger. Hmmm. . . .   Nothing to do but load up some rounds and see how they shoot.
By this time it was getting closer to my departure date to hit the road for the 2011 Boomershoot. To make matters worse, the March and early April weather in Michigan just plain sucked. It was cold and wet every day with not one nice day until the day before I was to leave for Idaho. I called Sierra and consulted with a technician about possible loads for my combination of barrel length, twist rate, bullet, powder etc. He suggested starting at around 38 gr. of H4350 and working up from there. I loaded three rounds each starting at 38.0 gr. and increasing by 0.3 gr. each increment up to 41.0 gr. I managed to get to the range the afternoon before I hit the road and tried to determine the best approximate load at 300 yds. I wasn’t able to complete a proper “optimal charge weight†test in time as I was cleaning the barrel after every five shots. This was the first time firing the new gun and I wanted to perform at least a minimal amount of cleaning to help with barrel break-in. Disappointed with my inability to determine the optimal load for final tweaking, I went home and loaded 60 cartridges with 40.2 gr. of the H4350. I took these with me to Idaho to give the rifle its first real workout at Boomershoot 2011.
When I travel to Boomershoot each year, I usually take 4 or 5 rifles in different calibers. My first year in 2005 I was driving a full size, 4-wheel drive pickup with a canvas tonneau cover over the bed.
photo by Dave RNS Photographer ©
I didn’t like parking the truck at motels with such an insecure storage environment for the rifles, so I would stash the guns behind the seats in the regular-sized cab and haul them up into the room wherever I stayed. I didn’t particularly care for this situation and as things worked out several months later, some kid rear-ended my pickup, causing enough damage to render it a “totaled†loss before my next trip to Idaho. When I replaced the pickup, I wanted something more secure for the cargo. I settled on a Suburban where the cargo is surrounded on all sides by the metal body. In addition, I wanted another level of security and obtained one of these:
photo by Dave RNS Photographer ©
The unit is made by TruckVault Inc. in Sedro Woolley, Washington.
Each drawer has a lock that can be opened via a key or the combination module. With the rifles inside the locked drawer(s), which is inside the locked vehicle, I have a much better comfort level traveling across the country than I did with the pickup. Nothing is, of course, foolproof, but I am satisfied with this setup. The only limitation so far, is that there is not room in the drawer for more than a couple of hard cases. I have been using soft cases or the silicone treated Bore-Stores fleece soft covers to allow 4-6 rifles to fit in one drawer, with adequate supply of ammo in the other drawer.
photo by Dave RNS Photographer ©
I brought 4 rifles to Boomershoot 2011, the new 6.5×47 tube gun, an AR-15 for the “high intensity†session, “old reliableâ€, my Remington 700 VS in .308, and a Tikka T3 tactical in .223.
The newest arrow in the quiver being the 6.5×47 tube gun, my main focus on the first day of field fire was getting on target at the 385 yd. berm with this rifle. The Tikka and Remington bolt guns were both Boomershoot alumni. I should mention that the weather on day 1 was nasty cold and windy with gusts to 15-20 mph. Not too conducive to precision bullet placement at my skill level. Once I was hitting the “poppers†at the berm, I was satisfied for the time being. It got to be lunchtime and the mid-day cease-fire was called. We ate lunch prepared in the Boomeragio kitchen mentioned earlier.
photo by Dave RNS Photographer ©
After lunch all of us in the RNS group decided to call it a day and head back to Trib’s to chill out. The weather was making for a less than enjoyable shooting experience. Since we had another day of field fire on Saturday followed by Boomershoot on Sunday, we weren’t lacking for additional shooting time.
Another thing that made Friday’s shooting less than ideal was a stupid mistake of omission on my part. I forgot to load my shooting stool in the truck. As a result, I was using a 5 gallon plastic pail and two folded tarps to sit on. Bottom line was that I was never able to get a comfortable shooting position at my bench with any of the rifles all weekend. Sure, I was able to make hits, but my body positioning was always out of “syncâ€. I even had a checklist of all the various gear that I bring on the trip and guess what wasn’t specified? Note to self: update Boomershoot checklist.
The weather was better on Saturday and we continued to shoot at poppers and IPSC targets at the 385 yd. berm and up the hill. I had a limited amount of handloaded .308 ammo for the Remington 700 and was rationing it along with the 6.5×47 cartridges to keep enough for Sunday’s main event. Sunday was met with mixed results. Many of the boomers were encased in plastic containers (easier to assemble = more efficient production of 1000+ targets). These didn’t ‘react’ as reliably when hit as the ‘old model’ cardboard boxes. Nevertheless, we had a great time and many boomers were hunted down.
I invited Scott, a co-worker of Phil’s who joined us this year, to settle in behind Blackthorne and try a 6.5×47 boomershot. One shot – One Boomer!! Way to go Scott!
photo by Dave RNS Photographer ©
Phil and his new ESS shooting shades also took a turn behind Blackthorne . . .
photo by Dave RNS Photographer ©
David took a breather from his rifle-cartridge pistols and tried his hand with an Enfield (accessorized in case any boomers decided to charge the Boomeragio for a little hand to hand tussle) . . . .
photo by Dave RNS Photographer ©
Alas, the afternoon flies by and it’s time to break down the Boomeragio pack up the trucks and vacate the Boomershoot site for another year.
photo by Dave RNS Photographer ©
We returned to Trib’s for one last night and ate with Bob and Kenda at the Mexican restaurant in downtown Orofino that we like to go to every year. Come Monday morning, we all said our good-byes and hit the road for our travels home. My trip wasn’t finished however, and I was headed for Colorado and New Mexico.
I knew that I would have to conduct further load development on Blackthorne after I returned home to Michigan, but for the maiden shakedown cruise, I was very pleased with the performance.
The guys did comment on how they liked the rifle but thought it could use improvement in the pistol grip area. I had to agree that the grip that came with the rifle was rather pedestrian looking and put a new grip on the to-do list.
Some months after Boomershoot I was again looking at the competitionshootingstuff website and followed a link to a gentleman in New Mexico, a master stock maker named Doan Trevor. Check out his website at Doan Trevor.com. In addition to his target rifle stocks, Doan also makes wood grips that fit the Eliseo lower unit. In Gary’s own words from his website: “. . . the upright grip angle and correctly made palm swell and thumb shelf encourage a secure and repeatable grip while allowing some flexibility for variations in position. . .” I contacted Doan and ordered a grip for a left-hand shooter. Doan was one of the friendliest people I’ve ever spoken with on the phone as I described what I was looking for in a grip. He asked me to send a check and a tracing of my left hand for sizing purposes. When I received the package, I was more than pleased with the look and quality of the grip . . . .
photo by Dave RNS Photographer ©
and how it looks on the rifle . . . .
photo by Dave RNS Photographer ©
You may have noticed the leather scope cap on the eyepiece in the picture. They are hand-crafted by a Michigan benchrest shooter named Rick Averill.
photo by Dave RNS Photographer ©
photo by Dave RNS Photographer ©
His web site is rickaverill.com. In addition to the leather scope caps, he has some other very clever gun related projects on his site. Check it out.
Next:Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Part 5Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Shooting ‘The Great White Buffalo’
(will post on Monday, 1/16/12)
Previous Chapters:
Part 1 Hunting for Boomers
Part 2 Gunning for Prairie Rats
Part 3 My Introduction to .22 BR
Dave,
Nice series of articles. I have been enjoying them. The weather wasn’t that bad on Friday last year, just a little snow and ice and 20 mph crosswinds. I will admit though when it got to the point of not being able to see through the blowing snow to the 385 yd line it was time for a break.
Hope to see you in April.
I’m out in Seattle, and have enjoyed your articles immensely. Looking at tube guns a few months back has inspired me to start a machining class that I am a few weeks into. I might just get out to boomershoot this spring just to watch- and it gives me a reason to go flying, too.
Brian, thanks for the kind words. You should really try and make it to Boomershoot. Joe often has cancellations as we get closer to the event. You ought to bring a rifle and give it a whirl. Lot’s of fun. If you make it, come by the Bomeraggio (at the west end of the firing line) and say hi.