Sharps4065
New Member
Hi all
A not so brief intro...
I've been shooting and reloading since the early 1970's. At that time it was all for pistols which came to an abrupt end after the post-Dunblane massacre hysteria and stitch-up of sporting shooters in 1996.
After a brief lay off I started shooting long range BPCR in 2000 and that required a whole new outlook on reloading! Developing loads accurate to 1000 yards and beyond for 50/90, 40/65 & 45/120 using black powder was a challenge that was both frustrating and cathartic. There has to be an element of mad scientist about any reloader and definitely in BPCR. I can't have been too bad at the load development or shooting as I represented GB in the World Historic Long Range Championships in 2003 at Bisley and 2006 in South Africa (unfortunately the last one ever run internationally).
I have a number of other rifles that I load for but, again, with BP. A couple of Winchesters, '76 in 50/95 and '73 in 44/40. Just sold a Spencer in 56/50 - which I now regret!
, Winchester '87 and Greener which I use for slug, Husqvarna Rolling Block in 12.7x44R.
I also do vermin control for local farmers, golf courses etc. and this what my nitro rifles are mainly used for. I have Sako Quad Varmints in .22lr & .17hmr and a Sako 85 in .204Ruger. The .22 is for rabbit and very close range fox (farmyard or garden). The .17 for rabbit and fox out to, say, 150m. The .204Ruger is solely for fox and used on a couple of farms where I need to reach out to 250-300m with a clean kill. One farm I need to be able to shoot beyond that and that is where the 6.5 will come into it's own.
The 6.5 will also be used for long range target out to 1200 yards at Bisley and, when I want to just plink with it, I'll play on this https://nra.org.uk/nra-bisley/ranges/bisley-buffalo-target-51/
It's a Bergara B14 with a GRS stock and Timney trigger. The glass is an MTC Viper Pro 5-30 x 50. Not the most expensive or best but I have MTC optics on my other 3 nitro rifles and I find them more than adequate and seriously under rated. In the 1st instance I'm using using Hornady 147grn ELD Match until I'm geared up for reloading.
Then will come the hopefully not to lengthy process of load development. I plan on using Swiss RS powders. Not only is it excellent powder (I've always used their BP and that is excellent) but my good friend is a main agent for it and he lives only 10 miles away. Easy access and friends and family discount....
Open to suggestions for the choice of bullet heads but am starting with Hornady 147grn as the factory loads I've been using so far have been impressive.
Long range rifle shooting is my main love so I look forward to a long and informative membership of this forum.
Clive
A not so brief intro...
I've been shooting and reloading since the early 1970's. At that time it was all for pistols which came to an abrupt end after the post-Dunblane massacre hysteria and stitch-up of sporting shooters in 1996.
After a brief lay off I started shooting long range BPCR in 2000 and that required a whole new outlook on reloading! Developing loads accurate to 1000 yards and beyond for 50/90, 40/65 & 45/120 using black powder was a challenge that was both frustrating and cathartic. There has to be an element of mad scientist about any reloader and definitely in BPCR. I can't have been too bad at the load development or shooting as I represented GB in the World Historic Long Range Championships in 2003 at Bisley and 2006 in South Africa (unfortunately the last one ever run internationally).
I have a number of other rifles that I load for but, again, with BP. A couple of Winchesters, '76 in 50/95 and '73 in 44/40. Just sold a Spencer in 56/50 - which I now regret!
I also do vermin control for local farmers, golf courses etc. and this what my nitro rifles are mainly used for. I have Sako Quad Varmints in .22lr & .17hmr and a Sako 85 in .204Ruger. The .22 is for rabbit and very close range fox (farmyard or garden). The .17 for rabbit and fox out to, say, 150m. The .204Ruger is solely for fox and used on a couple of farms where I need to reach out to 250-300m with a clean kill. One farm I need to be able to shoot beyond that and that is where the 6.5 will come into it's own.
The 6.5 will also be used for long range target out to 1200 yards at Bisley and, when I want to just plink with it, I'll play on this https://nra.org.uk/nra-bisley/ranges/bisley-buffalo-target-51/
It's a Bergara B14 with a GRS stock and Timney trigger. The glass is an MTC Viper Pro 5-30 x 50. Not the most expensive or best but I have MTC optics on my other 3 nitro rifles and I find them more than adequate and seriously under rated. In the 1st instance I'm using using Hornady 147grn ELD Match until I'm geared up for reloading.
Then will come the hopefully not to lengthy process of load development. I plan on using Swiss RS powders. Not only is it excellent powder (I've always used their BP and that is excellent) but my good friend is a main agent for it and he lives only 10 miles away. Easy access and friends and family discount....
Long range rifle shooting is my main love so I look forward to a long and informative membership of this forum.
Clive
