February 20th, 2022Sunday gunDay:.22 PMP for 300m Prone CompetitionThe 300m.22 PMP — Lower Recoil OptionBy the GS Arizona
This article was originally published in Precision Shooting Magazine years ago. We are republishing it because the.22 PPC is still a popular cartridge for many disciplines, including silhouette and benchrest shooting. I have spent the last few years shooting 300 Meters in the USA, a largely solo pastime. It is a very popular sport in Europe with thousands of competitors and overflowing national championships. However, 300 Meter shooting in the USA is still a relatively unknown discipline. For example, the entry to the USA Shooting 300 Meter National Championships at Fort Benning didn’t reach 20 competitors in [years gone by]. The 300 Meter ISSF target is composed of a 100mm ten ring, a 200mm 9 ring, and so forth. That’s a 3.9. Ten ring at 328 meters for those who object to the metric system, electricity, and other intrusions into a well-set universe (which ends with the dragons). [Editor’s note: GS Arizona was a champion-class prone shooter in both rimfire, and centerfire disciplines. He also had a popular online blog, which has since been closed. [300 Meter Basics
Three-position matches at 300 meters can be either prone, standing, kneeling, or all prone. As I am at that age when my limbs aren’t limber and the middle-section obscures one’s view of the toes, I shoot prone matches and leave the 3P to the 300 Meter shooters. The 6BR is loaded with a 105 to 108gr bullet and has a velocity of 2850 fps. The 6BR is the best cartridge available at the moment. It delivers accuracy, low recoil, and easy loading. We shouldn’t go on a quest to find better cartridges every now and again. This article will focus on one such search. If you are willing to spend some time learning about a difficult struggle in a forgotten corner, grab a cup of coffee and some chocolate chip cookies, and read on. Getting Started-The Concept Behind The Project
The basic principle behind building a.22 PPC is that less is more. Higher scores should be possible if there is less recoil and good accuracy. The tough part is meeting the 6BR’s ballistic and accuracy standards. If you ask me, I might admit to wanting to do something else. I decided early in the project that I would stick to 80-grain bullets. The 80 is too heavy for safe and sane pressure in cases the size of the PPC. There are also many manufacturers that make 80-grain bullets. Bullets can be selected and tested more effectively because of their versatility. Barrels are another option. All of the top barrel manufacturers offer a 1 to 8? Twist.224 barrel (unlike a limited selection of 1:6.5?) Twist required for 90 grain.224? bullets). First, I needed to specify certain dimensions for the reamer manufacturer. Although I did not change the.22 PPC’s essential dimensions (headspace, shoulder angle, or body taper), there were some areas that I felt required to be different than the standard Benchrest PPC. These were neck diameter, throat length. A 0.255 was the best option due to the exceptional quality of the Lapua brass. The neck diameter would allow for unturned brass while still leaving 0.002? Clearance around the neck of a loaded ammunition. To allow for the bullet’s 80-grain bullets to be used, the throat was specified longer than a standard PPC. 300 Meter.22 PPC — Equipment Liste
Hardware
RPA Quadlite, RPADefense.com.
Stock: Master Class Highpower Prone MasterClassStocks.com
Barrel: Broughton,.224? bore, 1:8? twist, 30? Palma contour
Rear Sight: Warner #1, Anschutz Iris, Warner-Tool.com
Front Sight: Gehmann Iris by Scott Riles
Trigger: Jewell 4 Oz. one-stage
Bolt Knob: Keychain starting at 7-11 ($2.00). Gunsmithing
Barrel fitting, sight, scope bases: Warner Tool Company.
Alex Sitman: Stock inletting, hardware, and pillar bedding
Master Class Stocks Detours along the Way
Like Quixote, I’ve made some mistakes along the way to my dreams. What is that 0.255? The neck diameter proved to be the first. Although turning brass is not a problem, I was so impressed by the quality of the.220 Russian Brass that I decided to skip turning or just take one light (0.001?). clean-up cut. That’s fine. However, PPC die-makers assume that you have turned necks. Using unturned brass causes problems. For example, the Redding Competition Seater wanted to crimp the entire length the neck onto the bullet. It turned out that it was 0.250. The neck diameter of the sliding sleeves. Reaming the sleeves was not difficult as the sleeve was made of relatively soft steel. This problem was solved by hand turning the chambering wrench with lots of care and oil. This allowed the neck to be opened up to 0.255 Which might be 0.001 It was more than I expected, but I can live with it. You won’t be able to use a non-bushing, unturned brass die. It will just overwork your neck. However, the Redding bushing dens worked well. Fired brass is 0.254? and is sized up to 0.250? In two steps (0.252 and 0.250) In two steps (0.252???? and 0.250?) to maintain better concentration. I don’t know why I didn’t see that spec, but it’s what happened. The extra throat length has not caused any problems with Nosler 80, although it could with shorter or more pointed bullets. My inability to make well-informed decisions about powder and primer choices was further demonstrated by my inability. It might seem simple to add a heavier bullet into an existing cartridge, but it was actually quite difficult.
Based on my positive experience and the recommendation of a few friends, a Broughton barrel was ordered for the PPC. It is a.224? bore 1:8 bore 1:8? The barrel is excellent, just like all the other Broughton Barrels barrels. The barrel and reamer were in my possession and they were sent to Al Warner to barrel it, and then to Alex Sitman to make the stock. I cannot praise Alex’s stock work and Alan’s metalwork enough. They have barreled and stocked many rifles for my over the years, each one flawless. Alex’s Highpower Prone stock is perfect for me. The trigger is a Jewell at 4 oz., and the rear sight and front sight are both Warner #1s. The Centra aperture is a Scott Riles. Although load testing and shooting can be more frustrating than talking to gunsmiths and planning, the end results are worth it. I had a lot of Nosler 80 grain bullets and some preconceived ideas about powder and primers. It was time to get to work on the loading bench. Load Development + Accuracy Testing
It was easy to fire-form the.220 Russian case to the PPC chamber: insert a Nosler77 (leftover from a previous project), load a caseful IMR 4895 (about 23 grain), and run an expander through the neck. These were shot at 100 yards, while zeroing the rifle. I was impressed by the accuracy. Fouling was minimal, a promising start. I loaded the brass with Varget, the 80-grain bullets, and then formed the brass. This project was made easy by Varget’s excellent results in the 6BR. It quickly became apparent that the speed was too slow. Although the accuracy was excellent, the powder fouling in barrel was heavy even at the highest load (28.5 grains) and the soot was all the way down the shoulders. After just 20 shots, cleaning the bore felt like repairing a rusty water pipe. I knew I wouldn’t make it through a 60-shot match (roughly 70 shots with sighters) without cleaning the bore. Putting the.22 PCP to the Test in Competition
At this point, the PPC was taken to a match at 300 meters with the Varget load. It might not look perfect but I had to give it a try. I was able clean the rifle right away after firing the first string, which was a 198. I also had a 198 second string, but I couldn’t clean the third string. The fouling effects were evident in the 194 score. Although a 590 total isn’t bad for 300M it was still a bit lower than my average with the 6BR range – which is my home range. The score dropped when the group opened up in third string, which I was unable to clean. Varget is not recommended for Nationals. All 60 shots are fired at once without any breaks for cleaning or additional sighters. It had been used in the fire-forming loads, and I could have tried it immediately if I had any sense. The fire-forming loads shot so well. I spent a good month fooling around with Varget, stubbornly holding on to the preconceived notion it was going to work well in this combination. I tried 4895, ranging in strength from 26.8 to 28.6. It was slow, but 4895 was better. Powder fouling was still present, but to a lesser extent. Although the shoulders still had some soot, it was less. I settled on 27.8 grains for a practical load and loaded 70 boxes.
I had to move from Florida to Arizona at this point which caused a delay of several month in testing. The load also suffered from the move as 4895 was much more suited to the Arizona’s hotter and dryer climate. I had 70 rounds of 27.8 loaded so I practiced shooting them. Everything was fine except for one primer (Federal 205M), which pierced the edge. It was the first primer failure in this project so I didn’t pay too much attention. The extraction was good, the primer edges were well radiused, and the base growth was less than two tenths. I had the opportunity to shoot a 500-yard match prone the next day, so I reloaded the cases with the exact same load. I pierced two primers more at the firing pin edge, causing two craters to enter the firing pin hole. As you can see, all subsequent shots cratered into this area, even though they were not pierced. I was considering switching to Hodgdon Benchmark, which is slightly faster than H4895, but that was too late. It was now time to repair the bolt face and switch to a stronger primer. 25 rounds were loaded with CCI BR4 primers, 25 with Remington 7.5 primers. These primers are known for their tougher cups, which I hoped would reduce the piercing. The mild flash of the Federal 205 is something I like and it contributes to accuracy. However, I needed a primer that held together better than I needed to cut another tenth MOA. I brought 50 rounds with me to the range to see if the powder charge needed to be reworked. IMR 4895 load because it is best to only change one thing at once. As they are for most of the year in Phoenix, temperatures were in the 100-110 degree range during testing. The primer testing at 200 yards revealed that the CCI BR4 primers were better suited for this load than the Remington 7.5 primes. The CCI BR4 primers performed better than the Remington 7.5 primers in terms of accuracy, with only one primer failing out of 50. I shot two ten-shot groups prone (scoped with each), the Remington-primed group averaged just over 1 MOA, while the CCI-primed group averaged 1/2 MOA. The main difference was in the elevation of the groups. The difference between the two was mainly due to the amount of elevation in the groups.
The purpose of the 80-grain PPC for 300 Meter shooting is not clear so I have done most of my testing at 200 meters on the local public range (Ben Avery Shooting Facility, Phoenix) and at 500 metres in some of the local prone matches. After resolving the primer issue, I tested the load at 500 yards to ensure that it was stable at that distance. Final testing at 500 yards was a success. I fired 24 shots from the prone position. The group’s bulk was at 3 meters. The horizontal spread was 0.6 MOA, but it was slightly larger when the group was fired in fast-switching, gusty conditions. CCI BR4 primers worked flawlessly, with no sign that pressure despite temperatures exceeding 100 degrees. F. This is not a general statement about the inadequacy Federal primers. I have used the exact same Federal 205M primers in my 6BR, and have never had any problems. Simply put, the 80-grain Federal 205M primers are an odd duck and have special requirements when fired in the conditions that prevail in my region. It is possible to use the basic concept of a.22 PP for 300 Meter matches, even though it is more complicated than the 6BR. The 6BR had a minimal recoil reduction, almost unbearable, but the accuracy is comparable to the 6BR, if not slightly better. The PPC has been a great addition to the Phoenix shooting scene. It is useful for 500-yard prone matches and sparks good conversation with new friends when I’m testing or practicing at the range. Future plans include testing Hornady 75- and 80-grain bullets, and Hodgdon Benchmark Powder. After consulting with my moderator who ran simulations in QuickLOAD to confirm, I will be testing Reloder 15. QuickLOAD predicts that RL15 allows for 100% load density and good velocity. I will have the reamer ground for a shorter throat, tighter neck and a tighter throat at some point. However, this will not be until it is time to rebarrel.6mmBRNorma versus.22 PC
The 6BR is the perfect cartridge for shooters who want a highly accurate and easy-to-load cartridge that can be used at 300 meters to 600 yards. All you need, including brass and reamers, is just a phone call away. It is a difficult task to obtain the.22 PPC. To allow unturned brass and a longer freebore to accommodate the 75- and 80gr bullets that were the heart of the project, the chambering reamer was custom ground. Redding Competition Seater, an excellent unit, had to be modified to accommodate the thicker neck. After overcoming these hurdles, I struggled to find a powder that would work well with this combination. I am still looking. Unlike the 6BR, where any of a few powders will work (Varget 15, Reloder 15, IMR 4895 and Norma 203B), the 6BR is not a case where only a handful of powders will do the job (Varget 15 Reloder 15, N140 or N540, IMR 4895 and Norma 203B). The.22 PPC has been finicky with heavy bullets, even with the most precise powders leaving a lot of carbon fouling. Despite these problems, the.22 PC offers a little more accuracy than the 6BR, and a little less recoil. These two factors can lead to slightly higher scores during prone matches. To get the best out of the PPC one must make time to clean between 20 shot strings. This is a significant effort in the mad rush of pit changes and scoring, shooting, and just being tired. The original rifle was a.223 but it proved insufficient for my purposes so I had it rebuilt into the.22 PPC that you see here. It’s fun and challenging, but I wouldn’t recommend it as a primary rifle. It can be frustrating. The 6BR is like the 350 Chevy. It will do the job no matter what. The.22 PCP is like a Ferrari. It will scream when you do it right, but it requires more care and maintenance. The.22 PPC is not the right vehicle for you. Parting shots — The.22 PCC vs. the 6mm BR
The 6BR is a reliable, accurate, and reliable cartridge that can be used for distances between 200 and 600 yards. If you find the journey as enjoyable as the destination, you might enjoy a.22PPC for prone shooting. Although I was able to get a lot of help from friends, gunsmiths and suppliers, as well as parts makers all over the world, I must also acknowledge the immense debt that we all owe Ferris Pindell, Dr. Lou Palmisano, for this project. Without them, there wouldn’t be PPC. We stand on the shoulders giants. Reprinted with permission
