ihmsa forums

I finally got to shoot my new 30BR Savage at Melvin & Roberts match last weekend. If you’ve never been to a shoot in Lincolnton (population 1,556) you’ve missed a visit to a great range and a chance to eat at The Chicken House restaurant – serving every part of the chicken, even the last part that went over the fence. I love the Chicken House, I save all my “fried food” credits and don’t tell my wife when I eat there, I don’t have many other vices anymore so I don’t feel that guilty. Back to the 30BR.

I started this build before some heart problems in January of last year so I didn’t shoot it until January of this year. It’s a Savage “Target” action (3 screw) with a Broughton 5C 1:17 barrel chambered by Ronnie Long then finished by Nat Lambeth. I always planned to shoot a Lapua 100gr bullet, that’s why the 1:17 twist, and try to get close to 2,700fps out of the 12” barrel. I also want one pistol that I can shoot in 4 classes; Unlimited, Unlimited Half Scale, UAS and HS.

I started with 28gr of H4198 and worked up to 32gr, all the bench rest shooters use 34gr of H-4198 but with the Lapua bullet that’s a crush load so I stopped at 32gr. That turned out to be a very good load hitting 2,300fps but it’s stout even with the OP muzzle break.

Last week I had a chance to try loads with N-133 and N-110. The N-133 load I tried was 28gr with 100gr Lapua and 110gr Speer bullets. The 110gr Speer’s rang one ram and the load overall was accurate but not what I was looking for - fast and flat shooting. The N-110 loads were 22gr of powder with the 100gr Lapua and 110gr Sierra, this was a great load with zero clicks for pigs, 2 clicks for turkeys, and 2 clicks for rams (no ringers) – 1/4 MOA clicks.

I’m looking forward to trying both the H-4198 and N-100 loads at the East Coast Regional match the end of April and we’ll see if they take over the rams at that range.

Dave's culinary review of the ''Chicken House'' while correct, is lacking one key aspect. They are also known for their Catfish dinners. I wont go into all the details-----let's just say I can attest to the fact. Hushpuppies, Coleslaw, Fries and Tea. RP

Wooooo how come i was not told about this place to
Eat fried food last Saturday?????
Spare me the gun details and tell me more
About fried Catfish with the trimmimgs

Richard is right, the catfish is well above average at The Chicken House but it’s like going to a steak house and ordering sushi, they may have it on the menu but… For great catfish I go to Troy Alabama or Jackson Mississippi.

http://www.singlepage.com/chicken-house-14/menu -- I hear my cardiologist calling.

Dave, I am curious - why did you decide on the 1-17" twist ? I know your intention of shooting light bullets, but doesn't this severely limit the guns versatility ? Not being judgmental, just curious ! A bullet you may consider if the 100's and the 110's don't work out is the Sierra 125 grain spitzer. I used to shoot it in my 30 Carbine TC, and even in that cartridge it did OK on rams. It did leave a few, but at your velocities it may be what you are looking for !

I use to shoot a 256 Win Mag in a Contender using 117gr bullets the 256WM always took over the rams it was 1:10. My goal was a really fast flat shooting bullet around 100gr in 308 without a lot of recoil (I'm old) so I landed on the 30BR. I picked the Lapua 100gr and had the gun chambered for that bullet, the 1:17 twist was to get the speed up. I have tried 110gr bullets in it and they are accurate but I buy the 100 Lapua’s in lots of 1,000 (for FP & BB with the 30 Carbine I use 180gr GC lead). The Lapua's don't work well past about 250 meters but out to 200 they are good and hard enough not to evaporate on the rams.