Decades ago I bought a Remington 788 from a guy who acquired it in an estate sale. It had a Hart bbl and was chambered in .223 improved. He didn't want to mess with any of those "danged wildcats" so I bought it for less than the cost of the bbl. It has one of the nicest bedding jobs I've ever seen. I've done no work to it other than putting a timney trigger in so I can't claim any credit for it's performance. Its put together so tightly that if i seat a bullet too long and pull it accidentally a couple granules of 844 will prevent it from going into battery. The twist rate is 1:14" so it's limited to 52 gr or less bullets although it shot ok with 55gr Bart's (I don't think they're still available).
Initial fire forming was very promising, 53gr sierra HP over 24.7grs of wcc844. I was pleasantly surprised at groups around .5". Eventually I settled on 52gr Berger fbhp over some h322 in Lapua cases. CCI 450s were my choice of primers. I did all the benchrest tricks, turning the necks, uniforming the primer pockets and flasholes. Everything about this combination is wrong. Rear locking lugs and the extreme spread from 322 shouldn't work, but it did.
I know before I sit at the bench if I'll shoot well or not, it's almost a zen-like thing for me. I could never be a serious competitor in the bench rest game because on a bad day I can't shoot for shit. Another zen-like thing is I can see in my mind the path of the bullet before firing. Sort of like bowling, you know a strike when you release the ball.
Anyhow, this thing shoots in the high .1s on a good day. My ex-brother in law tried it and said " Not only could I castrate a fly at 100 yards, i can choose which testicle I'm going to take out first."
Initial fire forming was very promising, 53gr sierra HP over 24.7grs of wcc844. I was pleasantly surprised at groups around .5". Eventually I settled on 52gr Berger fbhp over some h322 in Lapua cases. CCI 450s were my choice of primers. I did all the benchrest tricks, turning the necks, uniforming the primer pockets and flasholes. Everything about this combination is wrong. Rear locking lugs and the extreme spread from 322 shouldn't work, but it did.
I know before I sit at the bench if I'll shoot well or not, it's almost a zen-like thing for me. I could never be a serious competitor in the bench rest game because on a bad day I can't shoot for shit. Another zen-like thing is I can see in my mind the path of the bullet before firing. Sort of like bowling, you know a strike when you release the ball.
Anyhow, this thing shoots in the high .1s on a good day. My ex-brother in law tried it and said " Not only could I castrate a fly at 100 yards, i can choose which testicle I'm going to take out first."
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