11-15-2017, 12:51 AM
Well, it's for real. Will I be lining up to get one? it didn't make me feel like I had to have one - which is odd for any AR. Lol
Instructor was/is working on prototype JP barrel and brought it to Blue Steel Ranch. 20" barrel with R+2" / 1:7 twist pushing factory 90 gr SMKs in the low 2600s. Shot a 5 shot group with it at the sight in range and it's pretty damn accurate- especially since was getting broken in. Stock was way too short for me so I strung the group vertically around an inch but it was around 1/2" horizontal. Hard to judge recoil since it had a full auto rated Thunderbeast on it and a PRS. Felt like a 223. My guess is that it will be like my 22 Nosler - a sharp 223 - without the hefty can.
Winds were 15+ mph when instructor had it at the KD range. Was really hard for me to see hits on the heavier plates and with the lighter splash with the wind. I did take it to 1k on the last day in the morning calm, but their 1k plate is really heavy and I didn't see any movement or splash but instructor saw trace go in. One of the students rifles went down early the second day (Jewell trigger on a 6.5 CM Surgeon). He ended up using the 224V for the better part of 2 days without knowing what it was! Wasn't hard to see/hear most hits out to 700 on a relatively calm day, but my Grendel was smacking them a lot harder last year pushing factory Amax around 2450. I guess one benefit is that we did a timed stage with 2 shots on each target. Lighter hits mean you don't have to wait for the plate to stop swinging for as long.
90 gr VLDs probably won't shoot well due to jump. Barrel life of around 8k is what Federal is thinking with factory ammo. Pressure is relatively low - powder charges are closer to 223 than Grendel. Was also noted that Federal has been working on hardening their case heads.
Instructor was/is working on prototype JP barrel and brought it to Blue Steel Ranch. 20" barrel with R+2" / 1:7 twist pushing factory 90 gr SMKs in the low 2600s. Shot a 5 shot group with it at the sight in range and it's pretty damn accurate- especially since was getting broken in. Stock was way too short for me so I strung the group vertically around an inch but it was around 1/2" horizontal. Hard to judge recoil since it had a full auto rated Thunderbeast on it and a PRS. Felt like a 223. My guess is that it will be like my 22 Nosler - a sharp 223 - without the hefty can.
Winds were 15+ mph when instructor had it at the KD range. Was really hard for me to see hits on the heavier plates and with the lighter splash with the wind. I did take it to 1k on the last day in the morning calm, but their 1k plate is really heavy and I didn't see any movement or splash but instructor saw trace go in. One of the students rifles went down early the second day (Jewell trigger on a 6.5 CM Surgeon). He ended up using the 224V for the better part of 2 days without knowing what it was! Wasn't hard to see/hear most hits out to 700 on a relatively calm day, but my Grendel was smacking them a lot harder last year pushing factory Amax around 2450. I guess one benefit is that we did a timed stage with 2 shots on each target. Lighter hits mean you don't have to wait for the plate to stop swinging for as long.
90 gr VLDs probably won't shoot well due to jump. Barrel life of around 8k is what Federal is thinking with factory ammo. Pressure is relatively low - powder charges are closer to 223 than Grendel. Was also noted that Federal has been working on hardening their case heads.
Let's go Brandon!