Scouting the SMLE Rem 600 Clone

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Re: Scouting the SMLE Rem 600 Clone

Post by Ranch Dog »

Well, now I'm glad I ordered the Burris Zee rings as the correct loads/velocity shot just as low. Not sure why that is so, just doesn't make sense.

I went ahead and tried 39.6 grains of BL-C(2). Quickload places it at the 40.7K PSI (18.5 Tonnes □). At 50 yards it shot pretty good but produced a slight vertical stringing which I place on the large ES (111 FPS) & SD (33 fps). The case compression was only 81% so I kind of expected the ES & SD. My experience with BL-C(2) is that it doesn't tighten up unless the compression is 90% or above. Muzzle velocity was 2122 FPS.

My next question is what kind of pressures do you guys shoot your SMLEs at? You using the "18.5 Tonnes □" on the proof stamp or the SAAMI spec of 49.0K PSI?
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Re: Scouting the SMLE Rem 600 Clone

Post by klr »

Ranch Dog wrote:Well, now I'm glad I ordered the Burris Zee rings as the correct loads/velocity shot just as low. Not sure why that is so, just doesn't make sense.

My next question is what kind of pressures do you guys shoot your SMLEs at? You using the "2.5 Tonnes □" on the proof stamp or the SAAMI spec of 49.0K PSI?

1. At 50 yards I wouldn't expect to see a lot of difference in drop. The faster bullet exits the barrel quicker so recoil doesn't have as much time to bring the shot up as it does with the slower round.

2. I'm using the Hodgdon data. Right now I'm using their max load with IMR 3031 which is around 46,100 psi. Brass looks good and extracts smoothly.
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Re: Scouting the SMLE Rem 600 Clone

Post by Ranch Dog »

Ranch Dog wrote:You using the "2.5 Tonnes □" on the proof stamp...
That should have been "18.5 Tonnes per □" ".
klr wrote:1. At 50 yards I wouldn't expect to see a lot of difference in drop. The faster bullet exits the barrel quicker so recoil doesn't have as much time to bring the shot up as it does with the slower round.

2. I'm using the Hodgdon data. Right now I'm using their max load with IMR 3031 which is around 46,100 psi. Brass looks good and extracts smoothly.
Thanks. I probably will not be able to mess with this for at least a week now. Bummer but have other things to take care of.
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Re: Scouting the SMLE Rem 600 Clone

Post by Ranch Dog »

I would say that I'm officially finished with the SMLE Scout work and the rifle is ready for it's life here on the ranch!

There was a five day interruption in the project as I needed to stay a spell with my sister but I was chomping at the bit to get back to the ranch and this this project. A member on Shooter's Forum had offered to mill a Redfield Jr. 600 base and that we thought would fit and that base had arrived while I was gone. Once a few tasks where out of the way, I dove in.

Unfortunately, when going over specifics with the fellow on SF, I had failed to consider the distance between the rings of the 600 vs. 600IER mounts. The 600 mount I was sent had a greater ring spacing than the IER mount. Given that scout scopes are pretty short, the rings would have been right up against the eye & exit bell. I only have one solid anchor hole in SMLE metal and to use that with the 600 mount, coupled with the ring spacing issue, would place the scope completely out of position. Bummer! Seems every way I've turned I've met an obstacle with this rifle.

With no alternative, yesterday afternoon I took up the skeleton 63B mount and got busy. I had to recut the aft most hole to 8-40, that is the hole into the SMLE barrel, and then drill and tap 3 more holes. Of the four holes in the mount one half straddled one hole that had already been drilled in the rib so I went forward and drilled another in the pillar of the rib. The white arrows indicate the mount screws.

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I went out and shot it with a 45.0K PSI load of BL-C(2) and the first shot hit the bullseye. The recoil was substantial, the primers were normal but the bolt was a bugger to open. I was shooting at 2 minute intervals but the barrel did got hot and started to produce vertical stringing. I took a paper target and it would not slip along the barrel.

This morning I went back to a 40.7K PSI load, this time with H4895. I also pulled the forward stock and really worked on the barrel channel to insure no contact. Then, I said "what the heck" and epoxied the mount to the rib.

Shortly after lunch a friend of mine showed up and I told him I had too many chores to catch up on and couldn't play. He said he wasn't going anywhere until I shot the SMLE with the big bullets. So, I stopped everything and we headed to the range. With a dwindling supply of bullets and two weeks before I can get more. I decided to lob a bullet out to 100 yards for starters.

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Not bad! It was 5" low and 1" right with the crosshairs centered in the tube. Not bad at all! I made a small correction and the next three shot group at 100 was very good. Over corrected with the next three shot string but did dial it in with the last. The last shot of the last string was shot at a 6" gong I have at the 100 yard berm. I wanted to see how hard it hit that steel. It hit very hard, dead center, flipping it over the beam it hangs from. I'm very pleased and have 5 cartridges remaining should I run across a sounder of hogs.

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In the picture above you can see that the bare metal has been reblued, it was easy to match perfectly in that the finish is so thin.
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Re: Scouting the SMLE Rem 600 Clone

Post by Ohio3Wheels »

Nice

Make smoke,
Curt.......makin' smoke and raising my carbon foot print one cartridge at a time +guns +guns
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Re: Scouting the SMLE Rem 600 Clone

Post by klr »

I'm glad you stuck with it. I love a happy ending. :D

Looks like it's a shooter with those 215 gr bullets. We just need to see the hunting report now.

Are you planning on trying the Hornady bullets again?
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Re: Scouting the SMLE Rem 600 Clone

Post by Ranch Dog »

klr wrote:Are you planning on trying the Hornady bullets again?
Probably will as I still have about 60 of them.

Next up is a Decelerator 750 grind to fit pad for this rifle. At the bench, it delivers a beating.
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Re: Scouting the SMLE Rem 600 Clone

Post by klr »

Ranch Dog wrote:
Next up is a Decelerator 750 grind to fit pad for this rifle. At the bench, it delivers a beating.
I'll bet. This is the 2100 fps load, correct? Did you chrono any of those 49.0k loads?

I know my 150gr @ 2500 fps load will easily handle anything here in Southern Ohio, but I'd still like to try some of those big heavy bullets. It's a sickness. :lol:
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Re: Scouting the SMLE Rem 600 Clone

Post by 62chevy »

Not only is it good looking but it can shoot too. Very nice.
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Re: Scouting the SMLE Rem 600 Clone

Post by Ranch Dog »

I believe that this is one of the last posts that I made concerning my SMLE No. 5 sporter so I will pick it up here. I haven't been posting anything here about the shooting I've continued to do with this rifle but I dropped my interest in cast bullets until I could iron the accuracy issues out with the rifle. I also moved away from the expensive Woodleigh bullets to the Hornady 174-grain RN (3130), PPU 180-grain SPBT (B125), and Speer 180-grain RN (2233) to see if I could find acceptable hunting accuracy with the rifle. Some fellows over on Shooters Forum has been helping me with this and the details are best contained in this topic: My SMLE No. 5 Sporter Shoots MOA One Shot Groups!

The bottom-line is that the rifle was delivering poor accuracy but some simple changes to the stock, cork pressure pads, made this rifle a 1.25 to 1.50 MOA rifle.

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It came down to the PPU or Speer bullet and I will take from that topic from here...[hr]I did some shooting yesterday afternoon trying to decide between the PPU B125 or the Speer 2223. The PPU 180 grain SPBT has been very consistent but the Speer 180 grain RN can beat the PPU's MOA performance, cut it in half, when the cartridges are directly fed into the chamber and not coming up out of the magazine. My only interest is in the rifle as a hunting arm so the Speer bullet presents an issue. Here is yesterday's target.

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I've been chasing this Speer "thing" since I started shooting it, this bullet hangs up on the round nose as it moves out of the magazine and into the chamber. The PPU with the SP can be chambered with a two fingers. I've had a bunch of three shot 100-yard targets with the Speer RN where all the bullets are on the same horizontal line but up to 8" apart! I started walking downrange after each shot to number the bullet hole and identify which side of the magazine the cartridge peeled off of. Each time the shot displacement is opposite the side the cartridge was stacked, no variation. This happens every time the Speer is magazine fed and as well with the Hornady bullet. I've tried to overcome the issue with a number of changes but without success. A longer cartridge OAL is needed but the confines of the magazine dictate what is being used.

Also, note that I split a case at the web. This is round 8 on the brass but this particular case is one of five that experienced considerable pressure early in my shooting when I was trying to push the rifle to the CIP pressure standard. Three of the cases were damaged beyond use and were tossed and I died the lettering of the headstamp on the remaining two just so I could see where they failed. Prior to this cycle, I thought I could feel a faint line inside this case but decided to shoot it. The remaining case was smooth but after this firing, I now feel the ring so it has been pulled from use.

This brings my load development to a close with this rifle. 47.0-grains of Hybrid 100V at a COAL of 3.070" will do everything that I need this rifle to do.

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The ballistics and terminal performance:

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Here on the ranch, the deer season is over but there is a whitetail hunt starting tomorrow on a Wildlife Management Area just west of me. I'm going to get loaded up and go over in the morning to see if I can get drawn for one of the "standby" positions. The SMLE will go with me.[hr]In the wee hours yesterday morning, I killed this boar.

Image[hr]I have other rifles that need my attention and I need to get beyond this $100 rifle. Sometime in the Spring, I will return to it with my Accurate 31-210H bullet to see if the cork stock pads cut the accuracy down to a usable size like it did for the jacketed bullets. I suspect it did.
Michael
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