February 27, 2022Sunday Gunday – The Smallest 100-yard 5-Shot Team in History
Take a look and be amazed! Look and be amazed! This benchrest rifle in.30 caliber shot a 0.0077? five-shot group at 100 yards. This is the smallest 100-yard group ever taken in competition by any gun at 100 yards in historical history. We may never see anything less in our lifetimes. Mike Stinnett broke the 0.009 record (seventy-seven tenths of an in) Mac McMillan is credited with the five-shot group. The previous NBRSA Lightvarmint Record of.009 was set in 2009. Five shots at 100 yards were taken on 9/23/1973. This was 49 years ago. Experts considered the record “untouchable”, unassailable, or “unbreakable”. Mike broke Mac’s record forty years after it was established.
The gun that produced the historic “.0077”? The gun that produced the historic.0077 was a Light Varmint class Benchrest rifle. It was chambered as a wildcat.30-caliber, the 30 Stewart. This cartridge is necked up from the 6.5 Grendel case. The load used Hodgdon H4198 powder, BIB 114gr and 10-ogive bullets. The record-setting load of ammo was loaded before the match. One man is closer to perfection than any other shooter. Michael Stinnett’s.0077 is what you are seeing. The smallest 100-yard 5-shot group ever shot in rifle competition history, was a NBRSA world record group. The group was certified at.0077 (though it was labeled.008 Below is the range-signed target. This was five shots, according to a moving backer. This is a NBRSA Light Varmint class record. Mike’s incredible group is sure to surprise you. It is also smaller than any 100-yard NBRSA 5-shot record for any class, including Unlimited (Rail Gun). Stinnett’s.0077 is also noteworthy. The IBS records for ALL classes are smaller than the group in Official Benchrest 5-Shot 100 Yard World Records Sanction Light Varmint Heavy Sporter Unlimited NBRSA 0.0077 Mike Stinnett 0.027? Ralph Landon 0.041 Jerry Thornbrugh 0.49? Gary Ocock IBS 0.051? Mark Shepler 0.052? J. Ventriglia 0.060? J. Neary 0.045 Gary Ocock
Mike Stinnett’s.0077 is better than any Rail Gun. group was smaller that ANY group shot in ANY class — event Unlimited Rail Guns, as shown below: Below is a larger-than-life-size view. We used this photo to measure the group using target-calculating software. It came out at.006? The software only allows for three digits. We understand that it is better to work from a real target than a photograph, so we don’t challenge the official measurement. This does confirm that the five shots are very small. Record with a.30 Caliber Modified Grendel Cartridge.
Many people have inquired about the gun and ammunition that produced the.0077. group. The rifle was chambered in a.30 caliber wildcat, the 30-stewart, which is based upon the 6.5 Grendel case necked. Mike used Hodgdon H4198 powder with BIB 114gr and 10-ogive bullets. The record-setting ammo was loaded before the match, which is notable. Unfortunately, we do not have a photo yet of the target. It is still being certified by the official NBRSA. Mike Stinnett.0077? Record Group Equipment ReportMike reports that “Several guys have asked so I’m listing my equipment. The hardware build began in 2008 with the goal to build two identical Benchrest rifles that could be used for both score and group. The goal was to shoot 6PPC and an.30 Cal with no base rifle changes. “Record-Setting Equipment and Components Action: Kelby Panda Speedy Shorty with solid bolt and PPC diameter bolt face. Kelby was asked by the manufacturer to create several identical actions with the intention of eliminating any variation in head space between the new rifles. This allowed me to use one set-up for both rifles and ammo interchangeability. Thomas ‘Speedy” Gonzalez received both actions to be blue-printed, and had Jewell triggers installed. Reamer: 30 STEPART (I call it a 30 PCP because that is what everyone expects. However, it is a custom design and Ralph should get about 99% of the credit. Barrels: Krieger was chosen for the barrels. Randy Robinett, BIB Bullets, suggested a 1:17? The safest and most effective solution was found to be a 1:17? Ralph Stewart cut all my chambers with a custom-designed reamer. Ralph was able to maintain my barrels within.0002 deviation, which was our goal. Ralph Stewart also makes the barrel tuner. Stock: Larson (including action bed) Scope: Leupold 45X Competition In Kelby Single Screw Tall Rings Brass : Lapua (Base Case is 6.5 Grendel). Bullets: Randy Robinett (30 Cal. 114gr and 10 Ogive (secondary bullet, primary is 112gr BibiB) Powder: H4198- Stout Load with 2980 FPS Velocity Front Rests: Farley Coaxial Bags. Microfiber Flags: Graham Wind Flags. About the Cartridge — 30 Steward (Based on Lapua6.5 Grendel Parent Brass).
Mike explains that Mike was trying to find H4198, the best powder for stability. Before we settled on the current configuration, there were many versions of the reamer. I am optimized to use the 10 Ogive BIB bullet. Powder to the bullet’s base. The small 30-cal case was not a good candidate for compression, as I discovered during testing. The bullet is only 0.12 inches in height. The bullet is seated only 0.12? I size the brass, bump the shoulder so it fits into the chamber, then fill the chamber with International Clays. Cotton wads are added on top. I have a barrel that can be used to make fire. I would not recommend the Clays and cotton wad method for a barrel. After the initial fire-forming, I mandrel the neck to.30 caliber, turn and trim. It takes at most 8 firings to form a complete case. If you fire three loads, I find that the brass doesn’t have a sharp shoulder and no pressure on the bolt. This makes it difficult to select the right die. Brass will continue to harden after 25 firings. Match brass has been fired with over 500 rounds. I have never had to blow a neck or case using my forming method. I load match brass using a Hornady Custom Shop Size Die and a Ralph Stewart Custom Seating Die. If you are curious, the small group was actually fired with preloaded rounds. This is something I do occasionally with local matches, or 50 rounds in a batch for a match. “Mike wanted his smiths, Randy Robinett and all those involved in running the matches to say “Thank You” as these guys make our matches possible and maintain the integrity and record system. I was very fortunate to have all the right people at the right places for this match. Measurement – I only saw it for 10 seconds and I can tell you that I was very happy I didn’t have to measure that target. Many thanks to everyone! Mike StinnettSimilar Posts
