FIRST RIFLE: JACK OF ALL TRADES

Created on 14th May 2009

VINCE BOTTOMLEY has some tips on buying a first rifle - and it's best to pick one gun that'll cover a range of disciplines

AS MEMBERSHIP secretary for a large shooting club, the question I'm asked most frequently by new shooters is: "What rifle should I buy?" I usually answer that question with another one: "What do you intend to shoot with it?" We are a competition-orientated club with a very full calendar covering just about every discipline from black powder to benchrest, so the answer is typically "Everything!"

A shooter's first rifle always seems a big investment - in addition to the rifle itself, there's a scope, mounts, bipod and probably a shed full of reloading gear to acquire. If possible, that first rifle must be something of a ‘Jack of all trades' so that the shooter can take part in several disciplines with his ‘one gun'.

A heavy barrel 308 from one of the big four manufacturers is usually a good choice. It can be used for F-Class, tactical shoots and benchrest. After a year or two, when our shooter has gained some experience of competition shooting and found the limits of his equipment, it's time to upgrade. He now wants to specialise and get something better for his favourite discipline - maybe even a custom-built rifle.

Such a shooter approached me recently. He had developed an interest in accuracy and taken to benchrest with a 308 factory rifle. He had enjoyed some success at 600 and 1000yd but found the 308 to be a bit of a bruiser at 100yd. He also found the 308 to be a useful F-Class tool at all ranges. "I want a benchrest rifle that will be competitive at 100yd but I also want to shoot at 600 and 1000yd and, of course I want to do a bit of F-Class, so no barrel-burners!" The ‘one-gun' concept again!

The only calibre I could think of which would remotely satisfy these requirements would be something like the 6BR but there are few suitable factory rifles available in this chambering. 100yd benchrest is so competitive these days, a 6BR just would not cut it against full-house 6PPC custom benchguns. Although the 6BR is a fine cartridge even for extreme ranges, there are other options and personally, I wouldn't advise anyone to attempt to build one rifle to satisfy all these criteria.

Short range 6PPC bench guns will typically have a 1 in 14 twist and shoot a 68gn bullet but if you wanted to use a 6BR at extreme ranges, a faster twist would be desirable to stabilise heavier bullets. Also, the heaviest class in 100yd benchrest is the 13½lb Heavy Varmint class. Most successful 600/1,000yd Light Guns are built closer to the 17lb weight limit. We could end up with an expensive compromise that may not perform satisfactorily in any of these disciplines.

As 100yd benchrest was a definite requirement, I managed to talk our shooter into buying a secondhand 100yd 6PPC bench gun built on the famous Stolle action. This would give us a competitive 100yd rig and also an excellent ‘donor' action and a decent stock. With a switch-barrel set-up we might just end up with a useful long-range rifle for far less than the cost of a new custom gun.

The all-aluminium Stolle action is without doubt the world's most popular benchrest action. It's built to the highest standards, it's massively stiff and is a full 8" in length with an enormous flat bedding-area. It would certainly lend itself to our project - except that our shooter was not too sure about the switch-barrel concept. I hoped however to change his mind as I had already explored this option with my own Stolle, so I knew the idea was sound and I was able to show him exactly what he would end up with.

Not surprisingly, the prospect of swapping barrels frightens off a few shooters. Many don't like to mess with their rifles, even to the extent of normal maintenance. Some have never taken their barrelled action out of the stock - why should they? Well, once you have gained a little experience, a basic understanding of what makes your rifle shoot is always useful and ideally we should be familiar with the basics.

Our rifles get wet, cleaning fluid works its way under the action, triggers get dirty and bolts get clogged-up so it's a good idea to keep an eye on things that you can't easily see. Too often, a shooter only becomes aware of a problem when it causes a failure of some kind - usually in the middle of a competition. Taking the barrelled action out of the stock from time to time and stripping the bolt is just good housekeeping.

Most clubs will have experienced shooters who can show the novice how to remove the action screws and, more importantly, how to torque them up again and how to strip a bolt and clean it. Please, don't mess with things if you are not confident and DO NOT ATTEMPT TO ADJUST A TRIGGER - this is a job for the experienced gunsmith.

If these simple tasks frighten you, then you may well be terrified by the prospect of changing a barrel. With the proper tools, though, it is a straightforward operation and is a familiar sight at major benchrest shoots.

With a factory rifle, the barrel is normally fitted really tightly by the factory. Its removal is not practical for the owner and is best left to the gunsmith with the proper equipment. Similarly, a recoil-lug sandwiched between barrel and action, as favoured by many manufacturers, makes barrel swapping a bit more complicated. Factory rifles therefore will not generally form part of a switch-barrel system and factory barrels will normally only be removed when shot-out. The one exception is Savage - its barrel nut fixing makes barrel swaps a possibility providing you have the correct spanner and headspace gauge.

A custom rifle is a different matter. Many custom actions have a built-in recoil-lug. The fit between barrel and action is a precision joint and it does not rely on extreme torque to hold it securely in place. It can be removed and replaced quite easily with a minimum of equipment but nonetheless you must observe a few precautions.

Cleanliness is the key and the action threads and barrel threads must be kept scrupulously clean. The tiniest particle of grit could cause the thread to seize with catastrophic consequences, but keep it clean and it won't happen. After cleaning, both threads must be lightly lubricated. Several suitable greases are available for this purpose but remember, in use this joint will get very hot and an anti-seize grease which will stand the temperature should be used.

Although the threads are the means by which the barrel is attached to the action, the joint is made on the action face and the barrel shoulder. These surfaces must be equally clean and free from any detritus and again, lightly greased.

It's important that excessive grease does not ooze into the action during the barrel-changing process, so be careful to check and clean as necessary before attempting to chamber a round. Grease in the chamber could raise the pressures inside to dangerous levels.

Action wrenches which fit inside the bolt-raceways rather than clamping around the action are normally used with custom rifles. Excessive torque is not required and I use a very short tommy-bar in the action wrench and just nip it up by hand as tight as I can. It probably sounds more involved than it really is but as long as you keep everything clean, you can't really go wrong. Have a look at the sequence of photographs. The whole process takes about 10 minutes.

So, we have our 6PPC Stolle-actioned benchrest rifle and our shooter is sold on the concept of a switch barrel. Only the cartridge choice remains for him to sort - and it must be a cartridge which will perform out to 1,000yd. 

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