GA Precision Surgeon 260 Remington

[longrangehunter]

A little over a month ago I picked up a older used 260 Remington built by George Gardner of GA Precision on a Surgeon Action wearing a 24" Bartlein 1:8.2 twist MTU barrel in a McMillan A1-3 stock w/a AICS DBM. Nice rig, I was told it had less then 300 rounds through it and from how little wear I saw on it looked barely used.

I've tried posting a picture of it but the files are too large....... which is too bad since I'm sure you guys would like to see it.

So I thought I'd put up the first 10 rounds through it but the final load I settled on is much more interesting considering it only took a .02 increase in powder charge and a different primer in less then 20 rounds to produce these bug holes.

139 Lapua Scenar @ .0175" off the lands
42.7 H4350
F210M primer
Lapua 260 Rem. brass @ 2.2400" CBTO = 2.800" OAL
Avg. right about 2750 fps muzzle velocity.

 

[DrMike]

Excellent results. Nothing wrong with that.

 

[longrangehunter]

Thanks Mike,

I've been using this gun for a month now at every piece of steel I own, even once out to 1300 yards, I have about a 100 rounds down the barrel to date. If I miss it's not the guns fault but the user behind it! I put 8 rounds through it at 1300 yards that were close, one was dead center but 3"-4" low of hitting the target. Shooting a 19" diameter target at that range is honestly a waste of my time, and ammo. I don't know why I hike up that mountain for that to shame me in the end, but oh well?

 

[Guy Miner]

You've got one heck of a rifle there!

And evidence of some mighty fine work at both the loading bench and at your range.

Cool.

 

[Palouser]

Wow. That is really impressive!

 

[longrangehunter]

I shot this just now prone off a harris bipod using a Flatline Ops rear bag at 290 yard. The first shot went high and to the right, a quick turn of the turrets brought the two other bullets on target. It was a spray painted black dot about 2" in diameter.

The other splatter marks are from my .223 Remington R5, they make a much smaller mark and don't dent the Hardox Steel 1/4" plate has much. The little 73 grain 22 cal bullet is no match for any 6.5 mm gun shooting long distance.

The other day I shot at my steel prairie dog during a hail storm just to see what effect the 1/4" pee sized hail would do on a bullets flight path but the file size is too large to load on here. Needless to say, the hail didn't have much of a effect on POI at 180 yards just a little low, about 1/2"-3/4". I'll see if I can get the pictures of that loaded.

 

[sask boy]

Cole, that is some very fine shooting :wink:! I would think she is a keeper!! Thank you for the reports and photos it is very much appreciated.

Blessings,
Dan

 

[longrangehunter]

This is three shots while shooting during a hail storm the other day low on the neck line and the two from today are on top of the neck line. Both were shot prone at 181 yards.

The bottom three in the belly were shot with no dope in the scope on a different day in the rain.

 

[longrangehunter]

I was able to reduce the size of my pictures to download. So here's a pic of the GAP Surgeon in 260 Remington that George Gardner built years ago on the bench above where I did the shooting during the bad weather under the front porch.

It is a heavy pig at 13.5 lbs. to carry around but since I don't workout this keeps my arms tone enough.

 

[longrangehunter]

Here's a closer look at the two that made contact with the 2" dot on the steel today. I should remind myself that 290 yards is nothing for me to write home about, but this was done rather hastily...... three shots under 30 seconds.

 

[DrMike]

Very enviable riflery, and a most handsome rifle.

 

[Elkman]

Great shooting and a great rifle, congratulations to you both!!!

 

[SJB358]

Wow, very nice rifle. I have heard so much good about GA Precision. That rifle just looks nice!

Great shooting. Those small 6.5's seem really addicting!

 

[Rigbymauser]

Tack driving precision is always of interest. Great rifle set-up!.

 

[sask boy]

Cole, 3 shots in under 30 seconds and a group like that is nothing to sneeze at 8). That rig looks like it is all business and is looking to boot !

Blessings,
Dan

 

[longrangehunter]

Thanks Guys,

This gun will be used next month at the Sniper's Hide Cup that replaced my Wby. Vanguard 7mm-08 that I sold after having my head handed to me at the JC Steel Target Challenge.

Since I had never been in a Match before I had a lot to learn about gaming..... short for stacking the odds in your favor. If you're unable to get a clean shot off at one part of a stage, it's best to just through out the lead and move to the next target and not waste time at something that will just eat up your limited time in the stage.

Stage 4 on Saturday was a positional, No equipment maybe used. ie: No bags, bipod, tripod, gloves, etc. Slings are acceptable.
Time limit: 3 minutes, 1 pt. per hit.

Engage target G w/3 rounds hit or miss standing position @ 337 yards (I hit 2 for 3).

Then engage target H w/3 rounds hit or miss from the Kneeling position @ 370 yards (0 for 3) I wasted so much time trying to get off a clean pull at this part of the stage I wasted half of the allotted time, and should have moved through it in order to get to the better shooting positions to rack up points.

Then engage target H w/3 rounds hit or miss from the Sitting position @ 370 ( I was able to get off only 1 round with a hit before the clock ran out). Had I not wasted my time at the kneeling position I could have moved on to the easier positions and earned more points.

Target J was prone @ 409 yards 3 rounds hit or miss.

I hope to do a lot better next month, but we'll see?

 

[DrMike]

The match does sound challenging, and instructive. Good review for those of us who haven't shot in such a match.

 

[Darkhorse]

Don't worry your shooting will get better. I did a good bit of target shooting years ago and the nerves get you in the beginning, but the more you compete the better you can control them.
Back then I trained for a heart rate of 60 BPM. This gives you a whole second to get on target and fire before the next heart beat throws you off.
I always disliked kneeling. It was my worst position. Probably because I didn't practice it enough.
My practice regimen was to shoot several times a week. If not with the centerfire then with a .22, back then we could actually buy smallbore ammo. I would shoot one day 5 shots from each position for accuracy. Usually several times a week.
After learning where I was weak I would shoot 10 shots at that position and less at the others. Of course this is an example as I usually shot more than 20 rounds a session.
Your time will get better as your accuracy and muscle memory increases from the practice sessions.
Before every out of state hunt I shoot 20 per session as I'm now shooting magnums. 10 shots offhand, 5 shots sitting, 5 shots prone. Or 10 each offhand and sitting. I always shoot more shots offhand as that is a tough position.
That rifle looks real good and so does your shooting. Good luck.

 

[longrangehunter]

Thanks Ron,

Lucky for me I was born with a super low heart rate, huge lungs and just seemed to have a natural ability to shoot anything well as a kid. Down side is at age 50 I'm not the same person I was only a few years ago. Not only age related but the miles and just a lot of hard physical work throughout my life. Actually competing doesn't get me worked up at all. I am competitive, but I'm there to have fun with it. So I just get down to business and don't over think it. Once I run it through my head what I need to do, and what's required of me, I'm ready before I even get behind the gun. Most of the time I was ready before the RO's were ready.

Another thing that really caught me off guard was shooting an entire stage Weak side! Weak eyed, Weak shoulder, and to make it even worse, body positioning was prone downhill at an uphill target long range. 755, 946 and 740, 931 yards from two different places.

8 rounds total-two at each target in 2 minutes. Needless to say I got a "0". The one thing I realized was these Match's are set up in some stages to put you in a very awkward position. For me personally hunting long range for a great number of years, I found a way to get myself in the best possible position to get off an extremely accurate shot. These Match's aren't setup for good body positioning but just the opposite in some cases.

Stage 2 on Sunday was a Floating platform to simulate shooting from a boat. First from the kneeling position 3 shots hit or miss at target A-306 yards, then into the sitting position at target A again, then transition into prone if you wanted to engage 4 more shots hit or miss at target B-546 yards. Time 2:30 minutes. I never made it to the prone position due to the clock running out but I did score on 3 hits.

Even as much as I do practice, I wouldn't necessarily go out of my way to put myself in an awkward body position in order to get off a shot....... I'm more interested in placing accurate first round hits that would cleanly kill a Game Animal or hits on steel without too much fuss in field conditions. These Tactical Match's are a lot of fun and I meet a lot of good people. Which is a big part of why I go, besides I have nothing else better to do!

 

[HOGWILD338-378]

Nice rifle and I have been looking over on that website and I tell you it's humbling when I look at my collection and the look at just a couple of GAP's ! I might have to pick up a custom but just afraid I could not keep a budget building it the way it needed to be built! They are some fine firearms for sure! Long Range incline and decline is hard to do even for people that have all this expensive RF and calculators except for a few that hit the object every hit which I am sure is edited heavily! Yes I have seen them on TV proclaiming this is all you have to do :roll: seems your skills are pretty good for sure ! You have the rifle to do whatever ya want! I was thinking maybe trying a Long Range Course somewhere but I am mobility impaired unless a bear is behind me !