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Originally Posted By Erik72: I realize your loading 77gr for the 600yd line but you might try some lighter bullets like the 60gr V-max (flat base) or 63gr SMP from Sierra (also flat base). I've had excellent results with the Sierra Game King bullet too. It's a 65 gr spitzer boat tail. What twist rate is your barrel? I've tried and tried to get my 1:8 twist barrels to shoot the 77gr bullets well but I've found better success with the lighter bullets. That's just my experience. I've got a 20" WOA 1:7 twist barrel now so I may go down that road again. View Quote Iirc this one is also 1/7. I am also working on lighter bullets and they are showing great promise. Your recommendation has been echoed by a couple here. You are likely onto something. Fwiw, the 60 vmax is one of my favorite bullets for diggers. But since I have a lot of 77’s I am hoping to find the sweet spot for them. If not I’ll switch gears. Thanks for the tips! |
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23.6 Tac under 69 smk seating depth test, all 5 shot groups. Interesting enough charge weight is lower than my 77 gr load. I may try to push this faster if accuracy doesn’t go to shit.
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Regardless of whether this gun will be a 1/2” target gun from a bench or not, it is now one of my favorites. I just finished my second field session shooting ground squirrels in one of our company orchards. When they built this gun they added some kind of black magic because it is exceptional in the field. So far I am averaging over 50% on some pretty tough targets. Today I went 10/18 confirmed with a couple probables that made it to the burrows.
Love this gun with 50 & 53 gr vmax! Attached File |
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Preparing for our August rifle shoot with the WOA. Shot 77 Scenar’s and 53 vmax out to 600 yards this am. The gun has a definite preference for the 53 vmax’s. The extra speed keeps it surprisingly flat even at 600. The more I shoot this gun the more I like it.
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How was the wind?
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"Technique isn't something that can be taught. It's something you find on your own." - Bunta Fujiwara
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Another 18” WOA spr profile owner here. Mine has been great. Glad you’re enjoying yours too!
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Best group yet with the woa. This was 100yds with 53 vmax over 25.8 Tac with cci 400’s a .438 moa. Brass was 4x Winchester. The 77 Scenar load is nothing to write home about. I have some 52 eldm’s and 69 smk’s yet to finish work ups. Took this load out for squirrels this evening and it produced results!
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Originally Posted By SpeyRod: Best group yet with the woa. This was 100yds with 53 vmax over 25.8 Tac with cci 400’s a .438 moa. Brass was 4x Winchester. The 77 Scenar load is nothing to write home about. I have some 52 eldm’s and 69 smk’s yet to finish work ups. Took this load out for squirrels this evening and it produced results! https://www.ar15.com/media/mediaFiles/152968/IMG_1779_jpeg-2932217.JPG View Quote Was there anything left to eat? |
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Death to quislings.
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Originally Posted By SpeyRod: Plague ridden ground squirrel. The goal is to evaporate them so the can’t spread it. View Quote View All Quotes View All Quotes Originally Posted By SpeyRod: Originally Posted By backbencher: Was there anything left to eat? Plague ridden ground squirrel. The goal is to evaporate them so the can’t spread it. Ahh. |
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Death to quislings.
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The 52gr eldm’s seated 2.255, 1.86” ogl, over 24.2 H335 with Fed 205’s shot a .68” 5 round group. Definitely a decent load but only running 2,860 fps. The faster loads fell apart on the accuracy side. But to be fair my expectations for accuracy are perhaps a little high. My goal is a load that will break .75 moa occasionally and 1 moa regularly.
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Found a large colony of ground squirrels stripping our pear trees. Parked the Jeep in the shade of a tree and sat and waited. My setup for this type of damage control is to put the windshield down and suspend the WOA from boat straps. The vfg allows me to anchor against the steering wheel for extra support. Today over the course of 2 hours sitting in one spot I went through 50 rounds of Black Hills 50gr vmax load. I normally use my 53gr vmax handloads but due to last months competition I was low on inventory. This Black Hills load was very accurate and produced a lot of hits including a 290yd shot on a young one. In the picture below the top of the road is 900 yds. I also got 6 squirrels by the closest smudge pots. Too close to even focus but with magnification backed off and holding -8moa I got it done.
I have to say, the only rifle I have owned that could match this one would be my 16” LaRue Predatobr. (I will replace that gun one day!) So, if you need a 16” spr for comps or depredation work this WOA is a solid bet. I highly recommend it! Attached File |
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Originally Posted By SpeyRod: Found a large colony of ground squirrels stripping our pear trees. Parked the Jeep in the shade of a tree and sat and waited. My setup for this type of damage control is to put the windshield down and suspend the WOA from boat straps. The vfg allows me to anchor against the steering wheel for extra support. Today over the course of 2 hours sitting in one spot I went through 50 rounds of Black Hills 50gr vmax load. I normally use my 53gr vmax handloads but due to last months competition I was low on inventory. This Black Hills load was very accurate and produced a lot of hits including a 290yd shot on a young one. In the picture below the top of the road is 900 yds. I also got 6 squirrels by the closest smudge pots. Too close to even focus but with magnification backed off and holding -8moa I got it done. I have to say, the only rifle I have owned that could match this one would be my 16” LaRue Predatobr. (I will replace that gun one day!) So, if you need a 16” spr for comps or depredation work this WOA is a solid bet. I highly recommend it! https://www.ar15.com/media/mediaFiles/152968/IMG_1819_jpeg-2949428.JPG View Quote Now that is a mobile blind. Sounds like a great way to spend some time eradicating pests.🤠 |
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Chicken Farmer by choice hunter of shade tree's and hiding spots by nature.
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18" Predator upper showed up yesterday. Hope to sight it in soon. Fit, finish are good and it is much lighter weight than the 20" DPMS heavy barrel I had. Came with an XL t shirt and a rubber deflector for empties. Still waiting on suppressor to get out of jail.
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Originally Posted By SpeyRod: Found a large colony of ground squirrels stripping our pear trees. Parked the Jeep in the shade of a tree and sat and waited. My setup for this type of damage control is to put the windshield down and suspend the WOA from boat straps. The vfg allows me to anchor against the steering wheel for extra support. Today over the course of 2 hours sitting in one spot I went through 50 rounds of Black Hills 50gr vmax load. I normally use my 53gr vmax handloads but due to last months competition I was low on inventory. This Black Hills load was very accurate and produced a lot of hits including a 290yd shot on a young one. In the picture below the top of the road is 900 yds. I also got 6 squirrels by the closest smudge pots. Too close to even focus but with magnification backed off and holding -8moa I got it done. I have to say, the only rifle I have owned that could match this one would be my 16” LaRue Predatobr. (I will replace that gun one day!) So, if you need a 16” spr for comps or depredation work this WOA is a solid bet. I highly recommend it! https://www.ar15.com/media/mediaFiles/152968/IMG_1819_jpeg-2949428.JPG View Quote Heck yes, that’s what it’s all about! |
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Originally Posted By dirtyboy: 18" Predator upper showed up yesterday. Hope to sight it in soon. Fit, finish are good and it is much lighter weight than the 20" DPMS heavy barrel I had. Came with an XL t shirt and a rubber deflector for empties. Still waiting on suppressor to get out of jail. View Quote Excellent! The 52 & 53 gr loads I have developed have been solid. The 69smk load was good but I think I need to try a different powder. Still working on 77’s. Good but not great, yet. |
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Just ordered a 18" rifle gas WOA barrel for a build. Is there any need for an adjustable gas block on these? It was needed on my Grendel and Creedmoor but can't see why I would need one here... Any feedback?
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Originally Posted By 3one5: Just ordered a 18" rifle gas WOA barrel for a build. Is there any need for an adjustable gas block on these? It was needed on my Grendel and Creedmoor but can't see why I would need one here... Any feedback? View Quote Unless you're going for absolute reliability, fixed irons, or a bayonet mount, other than cost, an adjustable gas block won't hurt. Worst case, you screw it all the way open & leave it there. |
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Death to quislings.
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I’m looking at some kind of precision upper. White Oak 16” SPR or their lightest weight 3 gun, or a Centurion Recce.
Any input on how these compare? |
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Originally Posted By grizzlyblake: I’m looking at some kind of precision upper. White Oak 16” SPR or their lightest weight 3 gun, or a Centurion Recce. Any input on how these compare? View Quote Not familiar with the 3rd but I would buy my WOA again. Not sure how the weight compares but could weight it when I get home. Mine is the SPR. |
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Any specific BCG recommendations to use with this barrel? Tempted to just go with the standard Toolcraft.
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I ordered up their 24" heavy barrel varmint upper in 2012. It has been amazingly accurate with a variety of loads. It shoots the 77gr IMI razorcore very well, and the Federal 69gr match stuff pretty good as well. All sub MOA if I do my part.
As for handloads, it really liked 60gr VMAX over 23.5gr of H335 in lake city brass. It is a heavy sonovabitch though. Something to carry in the truck while you drive around looking for coyotes in fields, or set in a blind calling them in. Best for punching paper though. ETA: it is .223 Wylde chamber |
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So just pulled the gasblock to open up the vented set screw. It is really close to .093 (3/32) for the intermediate gas length. My vented set screw is .049 so going to open it up to .060 and see how it does. This was Turbo K suppressed with decent speed handloads. Looking to make it run on an H buffer and flat wire spring with minimal gas to face. Mine is the 18" intermediate gas length midweight 3 gun barrel.
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Rail and other parts were set to be delivered today. I gathered up the tools and got the upper mounted in the vice in anticipation. Delayed! Boo USPS boo FedEx! Guess I’ll do it tomorrow.
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Originally Posted By 3one5: I really just need a trigger now. I'll probably toss an ambi safety and charging handle on it eventually. https://i.imgur.com/iYlkpMw.jpg View Quote Nice! I need to try my can on mine. Tough to pull the brake off when it works so well! |
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At our 600 yd shoot we have a little friendly challenge. We have 5” plates at 320, 480 and 600. The challenge is 3 rounds to hit one plate @ each range. Sounds easy? Not as easy as you would think. The targets are spread across the range and wind on one side is sometimes very different than the other. Last weekend I couldn’t hit 3 in a row with my very accurate Gap. So I grabbed the WOA to give it a run. I hit one, two and three with a witness. The funny thing was the third, at 600, hit was on the plate next to the plate I was aiming at. Wind definitely got me on that one but a hit is a hit… not bad for my running and gunning gun!
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Originally Posted By WildBoar: 69smk loves Accurate 2495 going through my WOA View Quote My 18” 1:9 (special order for heavier and longer) loves 69’s SMK with AR Comp or Varget. More often than not, all holes touching at shorter ranges like 100 yards. Obscene accuracy out of all of my WOA. I can not recommend them enough. I have not often said this as they are wicked accurate and fairly priced. If everyone finds out, I fear higher prices. |
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“They that can give up essential liberty to obtain a little temporary safety deserve neither liberty nor safety.”
– Benjamin Franklin, Historical Review of Pennsylvania, 1759 |
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