roberts

Below are the pics of the commercial mas. Of note, it is an odd caliber 7 x 54. Note the safety in the trigger guard. mas2 by jenjscott, on Flickr mas by jenjscott, on Flickr

I bought 3 of the rifles as on the rt. with the slip- on butt plate and short fore-end 10 or more years ago. Two are still in the boxes. The recent discovery that they, or at least one, will shoot SA ammo has obviously changed the equation completely. I also think they are incredible rifles when they work. This Am I loaded some ammo using 150 grain boattail match FMJ ammo with 35.3 grains of IMR 3031, which was the fastest powder I had on hand that I had any data on. The load is supposed to be at about 2400 fps. per the Hornaday manual I got 10 /10 perfect function. The brass is R-P once fired. I also have two of the military bolt rifles as you do on the lt. In addition I have a commercial sporting rifle in 7.5 x54. It is the same rifle pictured in Frank DeHaas' book on bolt action rifles. He was favorably impressed by the extreme simplicity and strength of the design of this bolt system. I intend to continue with the SA ammo as long as it is available. I had not considered the relative strength of brass or hardness factor relative to military primers. I will be interested in the possibilities as one never knows when availability of certain materials will dry up. I am just interested in options. Would also be interested in acuracy potential. I very much appreciate your response in this thread as there is so much to know. 'So many things to take into consideration.

I have a RRA Standard Operator which has now been to the range only twice. First time out shooting So. African battle pack ammo it shot into about 2.5 inches at 100 yds. With about 50 shots through it improved to about half that and still seems to be getting better. I think that when I get some real accuracy grade ammo I will see marked improvement. The rifle is a little muzzle heavy. in my opinion, I mostly shoot it off the bench, so it doesn't matter too much. Overall I am very pleased with the rifle and would buy it again. That doesn't mean that it won't eventually get a light weight 6.5 Grendle or .358 Winchester upper at some point for the piggie business.

Mas in 308 I am playing with a Mas 57/49 in .308 and like a lot of others I am having problems with dwell. I have found that the So.African battle pack ammo will shoot 10 shots faultlessly. A real joy. I am guessing that it is loaded with a fast powder based on it's performance. So far anything else fails to extract , often with damage to case rims. Am wondering what my options are relative to faster powder for the .308. Anyone seen any data for Lil Gum or Varget, H-110? Or is that entirely out of the box. On the other hand maybe a stiffer spring is the answer, adjustable gas block? Suggestions? By the way this rifle has an amazing muzzle brake, 10 rounds South African ammo as fast as you can pump the trigger and all straight back, No muzzle climb.

I likewise have ordereed a fair amt. of "stuff" from them and the service and prices have been good.

Relative to the upper receiver lapping tool: Brownells says it's only cold rolled steel. Anyone with access to a lathe could turn one out in just a few minutes. Looking at it, I would make the pilot longer to ensure better alignment in the upper.

Got a RRA heavy varmnet rifle on order. Was ordered almost two months ago, should be soon now. The Cayote Carbine and the .458 SOCOM are in and shot well and I am very happy with them. I got magazines and a several and assorted stuff in trasit somewhere.

I have a .358 Winchester in a Browning BLR. By history .358 rifles are also supposed to be bad kickers, but I have not found that to be the case with this rifle. I am loading a 200 grain Hornady blue nose at near 2500 fps. as I remember.(I havn't played with it much for a while.) I have only killed one deer with it. A low neck shot at approx 75 yards that broke the neck ands caused remarkably little bruising. I think for Alaska the .358 would be worth considering as it closely approximates .35Whelen energies / performance and is a barrel change for AR308 platform. Back to the issue of recoil. I would think that the straightness of the stock on the AR platform would mitigate that somewhat. Stock shape is everything, For example the Marlin lever guns are far more punishing in .44mag than In the Ruger .44 bolt rifle. Excuse me if I wander too much.

I have been thinking that the most profitable way to improve shooting at this time is just to start keeping better records of practice sessions. With that in mind I did a google (shooting diary) and came up with a printable page for a notebook which , I think pretty much covers all bases. The sheet covers Performance Analysis and as well weather, attitude, preparation, concentration etc. I think analysis or at least attention to how you get to the range can be as important as how you do after you get there. We often pay too much attention to results and not enough to preparation. I intend to start back shooting prone position smallbore as a prep for other stuff. I don't know what is done with AR in prone or other competition. Smallbore is available with a monthly match in the area and anything on a regular basis is better than nothing.

I just bought a RRA Standard Operator and it seems to be Ok. I have shot only a few rounds so far, don't know much yet. I have been playing the game for a number of years and have varied interests from flint rifle to modern varmet bolt rifles and about everything in between. I particularly like the single shots in the transition from rifled musket to early smokeless. Mostly I'm talking rollingblocks, Gras, 71 Mauser. Anyway back to the RRA. I hope to get to shoot this weekend if weather holds. Will get an update on performance with the rifle for anyone who is interested.